There are many reasons to want to know how to create a website, from personal or hobby pages, to affiliate marketing sites, to entire business websites. Unless you are fluent in HTML or website code and can use a text editor to create a website, you will need to find some website design software. You will also need to make a decision about website hosting and domain names.
Your options are:
Use a free website builder / Buy website builder software
Use third party hosting / Buy a domain name and host the site yourself.
I guess if you’re asking how to create a website, then you’re a relative newbie, so here are my tips for publishing to the web:
Go to http://www.blogger.com. You’ll need a Google account, if you already have one, sign in and follow the easy tutorial to create your website (it’s actually a blog, but a blog is just one type of website), if you don’t already have a Google account , you must first create one. Either way, you should be ready to create your first website in a matter of minutes. Write a post, publish it and congratulations, now you know how to create a website, totally free.
Remember to make a note of your site URL, then go back and check your site, and if you see any errors you can quickly edit them and then republish. Similarly, you can create a WordPress blog for free, but it’s a bit more difficult to set up, you’ll find instructions at http://www.wordpress.org
So if you can create your own website for free and get free hosting, why would anyone bother buying a domain name, website builder software, and hosting, before creating their own website?
The answer really depends on how seriously you take your website, and that means, how seriously other people besides your friends and family view your work. If your site is commercial in any way and you intend to make money from it, you need to pay close attention right now…
The reasons are as follows: the website creation software that Blogger can use has limited capabilities; it will look like a blogger blog no matter what you do. WordPress, on the other hand, can be customized however you want, but it’s technically difficult to do so.
On the other hand, you will find that you have a lot of options when it comes to buying website building software. All you have to do is select the one that performs the functions you want and learn how to use it.
Naturally, you’ll want people to find your websites on search engines, which means they have to rank higher than other competing websites, and these days there are plenty of competing sites. Increasing your ranking means promoting your site, and that takes time and/or money. How would you feel if, after years of effort, Blogger, WordPress, or your free hosting account provider decided to take your site down, or sell it to a competitor, or suddenly show their ads on your site? It happens, and even if it doesn’t happen, you will always worry that it might happen. Imagine that your site has become successful and is earning you $100 per day. How would you feel if it disappeared, even for a week? That’s why people buy their own hosting, and since it can cost as little as $5 a month, it’s really a no-brainer.
Whichever route you choose, my last piece of advice is to post then edit. Don’t try to make your site perfect, just make it good enough. You can always improve and add to your site later.