How to make a website in eight steps

If you want to know how to make a website, we have just the guide for you. In our guide for beginners, you can find out what you need to know to get your content online as soon as possible.

Why is it important to have your own website?

Regardless of whether you’re offering a service, launching a product, creating content or want to get the attention of potential customers, having your own website is the best and, above all, easiest way to achieve this goal. Although recommendations from existing customers or a successful social media presence can also be helpful, having your own website is more sustainable and looks more professional. Once you have decided to create your own website, there are a few things to bear in mind. With our practical guide, you will learn how to build your own website as well as what you should consider before jumping in.

How to create a website? A checklist

• Decide on the type of website
• Find a suitable name
• Search for a provider
• Choose a method
• Buy an SSL certificate
• Use AI to facilitate the process
• Optimise your content for search engines
• Develop marketing strategies

Decide on the type of website you want

Before you start comparing prices, pondering over domains and trying to figure out how to create a website, you should think about the type of website you want to have. Why do you need your own website? What goals do you want to achieve with it and what requirements should it fulfill? After all, there are many different types of websites, and they all require different approaches. For example, if you plan to have your portfolio online, the structure of your website will differ from that of a blog. Likewise, online shops have completely different requirements than online business cards. This is why it’s important to first determine what you need your website for.

Find a suitable name

Every single website has a domain name. This is the name that you enter in the browser to access websites. The name is referred to as an address, which also helps to visualise what the domain name is needed for. The domain is made up of the actual name and an extension such as ‘.com’ or ‘.net’. Although you can theoretically choose any name, there are a few things to consider when making your selection.

• Catchy: The name should be simple enough for potential visitors to easily remember.
• Simple spelling: Don’t unnecessarily complicate the spelling as this could lead to typos and prevent people from reaching your website.
• Logical: It is not helpful if your domain name is memorable but has no connection to you or your business. Companies should include their company name in the domain name or at least a part of it. For individuals, your name or at least a common nickname or stage name is a good starting point.
• Unique: This is not so easy to achieve with well over a billion websites. However, if you have the opportunity to make your domain unique, this will certainly help the number of clicks you get. Hyphens are a great way to improve readability.
• Timeless: In most cases, you will use the same domain name for a long time. This helps to strengthen the overall recognition value. For this reason, it is usually not a good idea to choose a name that is based on a specific trend or other factors that may change with time.
• Endings: In most cases, country endings such as ‘.net’ or the widespread ‘.com’ make sense for an international presence. However, there are also endings that can emphasise the goal of your website even better. These include, for example, ‘.info’ for informative pages or ‘.edu’ for educational institutions. There are also suitable domains if you are looking to create a digital presence for a local business.

Once you have found the right name, you can buy the domain.

Search for a suitable provider

It is important to choose a suitable provider. They will provide you with the hardware that your website will be stored on and accessed from. Providers differ in terms of their flexibility, space and costs. If you create your website with a website builder, a provider is usually included in the package. We’ll explain more about this later on in the article. For all other cases, you can choose one of these three options:

• Shared hosting: With this option, your website is hosted together with other websites on a server. On the one hand, this is a cheaper so you save money, but on the other hand, it can also mean that storage options and bandwidth are limited.
• Dedicated hosting: A dedicated server is only used by you. This not only noticeably increases your flexibility, but also ensures that you have access to significantly greater resources. However, this model is also more expensive and is therefore only recommended for websites with particularly high traffic. You can find out more about the differences and similarities between shared hosting and dedicated hosting in our Digital Guide.
• VPS: The middle ground between the more cost-effective shared hosting and the more flexible dedicated hosting is the VPS (Virtual Private Server) option. This provides you with the resources of a physical server, but virtually. This hosting option is often comparatively fast and flexible, but also requires a certain amount of technical knowledge. You can find a more detailed comparison between VPS and dedicated hosting here.

How to build a website? Various methods

So now you have a catchy name and a home for your website. At this point, the question arises as to how you want to create your website. The decisive factors here are your own know-how, what you expect from the website and the cost factor. You can choose from the following four methods.

Website builders

Cost: ££

If you opt for one of the various website builders, you create your website yourself using existing templates. You do not need to have any programming knowledge and can simply follow the program’s instructions. There are many different programs for creating a website, and most website builders offer you the following advantages:

• No installation necessary
• Can also be used without programming knowledge
• Partially automatic updates
• Responsive design
• Professional look
• Less error-prone than other options
• Saves time

However, there are also a few (possible) disadvantages to website builders. It all depends on the provider. Some disadvantages include:

• Significantly less flexible than other options
• Not as individual
• No professional support
• Subsequent adjustments are not always possible
• Moving to another provider is difficult and often impossible
• SEO optimisations are more complicated

Programming

Cost: £

By far the most cost-effective and flexible solution is custom programming. If you know how to make a website, you can build it exactly the way you want and adapt it over time. In order to do this, you need to learn how to code if you don’t already know how to. In our Digital Guide, you can find information on HTML and CSS as well as basic tutorials in PHP, C, C++ and Python. This method is recommended if you already know how to code or would like to learn and need a solution that is as individual as possible. If you program your website yourself, you’ll benefit from:

• Maximum flexibility
• Full control
• Low costs
• Focus on the essentials
• Individual security architecture

However, there are also a few disadvantages to this method.

• Very time-consuming
• Extensive programming knowledge required
• High susceptibility to errors
• Features dependent on your own skills
• No technical support

CMS

Cost: ££

Another method is to use a content management system (CMS). These can be free of charge, depending on the provider and can be customised according to your requirements. This option is ideal if you plan to change the content on your website regularly, need lots of subpages and there are several people responsible for maintaining the content. This approach has the following advantages:

• Low costs
• Simple structure
• No programming knowledge required
• Fast creation
• SEO optimisation possible
• Content can be added at a later date
• Maintenance also possible for employees

The possible disadvantages of a CMS are:

• Dependence on the provider
• Less flexible than independent programming
• Additional costs for maintenance, upkeep and additional plugins
• Updates and security measures are the user’s responsibility (exception: Managed WordPress)

Website design service

Cost: £££

The fourth and most cost-intensive method is to commission a professional agency. You discuss your requirements with them in detail, define the features you need and receive a finished product at the end, which will continue to be maintained for you. This option is particularly useful if you have no programming knowledge and need a comprehensive website with lots of features. Website design services have the following advantages:

• No prior programming knowledge required
• Website optimally tailored to your requirements
• Functionality and security are guaranteed
• Search engine optimisation and responsive design
• Legal issues are taken into account
• Saves you time

Here are the possible disadvantages:

• Significantly higher costs
• Dependence on website design service
• Creation can take longer due to consultations
• Not many opportunities to review the website during the creation process

Build a resilient security architecture

Just as important as researching how to create a website is knowing how to keep it secure. You should definitely take the necessary steps to ensure your website’s security is top notch before it actually goes online. Ensure you equip your website with an SSL certificate. This Secure Socket Layer protects your data by encrypting it against unauthorised access. With some hosting providers, the certificate is already included in the price. Strong passwords and regular updates and backups also protect your website during use.

Make the most of AI

The topic of artificial intelligence has also become increasingly interesting when it comes to creating websites. Various AI websites can facilitate a lot of important tasks that are required for building your website. The new technology is also worth considering when it comes to content creation. This applies not only to creating texts with the help of an AI generator, but also to creating AI images or generating AI videos.

Optimise your content for search engines

To ensure that your content can also be found online after you’ve registered your website with Google and other search engines, a good SEO strategy is useful. This ensures that your content appears prominently in the popular search engines. In our Digital Guide you can find ten useful tips for search engine optimisation, information about what you need to know about SEO when choosing your domain and an overview of the best SEO tools. If you really want to set up your website perfectly, we also recommend using our comprehensive SEO checker.

Choose a strategy for your online and offline marketing

Now you know how to make a website. If your website is online, secure and optimised for search engines, you can start to promote your website. With the right mix of online marketing and offline marketing, you can build your site’s popularity, strengthen your brand and increase the number of clicks on your website.

How do you build a website? An overview of the possible options

The best way to create a website depends on many factors. In particular time, cost, requirements and programming knowledge play a major role. To help you determine the best approach for creating your own website, we have summarised the different methods and their major characteristics here: