You have a small business and you need a website that is both professional and inexpensive. I will give you a step by step approach that will allow you to create that website on your own as a WordPress blog. This will show your business as professional as well as help you with the search engines because in the world of google content is king.
Step 1 – Secure a Domain Name – Cost – 1 year $10.69
You will need to register a domain name. The domain name should be memorable, short and describe your business. It helps if the keywords people would use to find your business were part of the domain name. I use GoDaddy because they are inexpensive and easy to work with. You can choose any provider you want for your domain name by searching for domain registration on google.
Step 2 – Secure a Web Host – Cost – 12 months at $4.74 per month ($56.88)
The web host is the company that will provide the space for your website/blog. I have always referred to it as a U-Store-It for your website. I use GoDaddy here as well because, again, they are cheap and easy. You can use any hosting company you want, but you have to make sure they offer php and mySQL. These describe the programming platform (php) and database (mySQL) needed for WordPress blogs.
Step 3 – Install WordPress – Cost $0
If you made the decision to go with GoDaddy this is relatively easy process as shown below – all you need to do is to click the Install Now button and it will guide you through the process. If you have another hosting account then you will need to manual install as outlined at the WordPress site.
Step 4 – Find and Install a Theme – Cost $0
A theme will designate the look and feel for your blog website. I know you might find this incredibly hard to believe, but there are literally thousands of themes available for free. You can find them by simply doing a google search for WordPress themes or install them from within WordPress. The images below show how to install from within WordPress.
Sign in to your administrator console then choose appearance link from left side menu.
Click on themes to see the current themes installed. Click Add New button to add new theme.
A screen that will allow you to search themes from many different options will be displayed. You can choose some options that fit what you want for your web look and feel then click on Find Themes button.
A listing of the results are displayed. You can choose the design you like and then click the Install link.
The final step is to activate the theme by clicking the Activate link.
Your theme is now installed and you are ready to add content.
5. Add additional Pages for Your Business
While many themes will have pages already created for you out of the box, you will probably need to change and/or add new pages. This is an easy proposition.
In the Administration Console, you can add new pages by clicking pages on the left side menu and then either clicking the existing page link to edit or the Add New button to add a new page.
6. Find and Install Plugins – Cost $0
Plugins are like themes but instead of design you are adding functionality to your site. Again, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of these that are free. Some help you with SEO, some keep your blog from getting spammed, etc. These are great things to have on your blog and easy to find and install.
Plugins are found and installed just like themes but you click on the Plugins link on the left side of the admin menu.
That’s about all there is to it. If you get stuck, try WordPress site or a google search. There is a ton of information out there. My purpose here was to explain how inexpensive and easy it is to do. If your needs are greater than just a simple blog, you understand the ease but really don’t desire to get dirty under the hood (hey we can all mow the front lawn but many choose to pay someone else) or you want to integrate ecommerce, additional custom functionality, etc., please feel free to contact me or another web design professional.
Good luck and happy blogging!
