Tag Archives: type

How to Build a Website From Scratch

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Hosting

The post How to Build a Website From Scratch appeared first on HostGator Blog . You’re here because you want to build a website. Luckily, building a website is much easier than it used to be. What used to take months and months of work can now be done in a single afternoon. Even if you’ve never built a website before, you can quickly build a professional website, all with the help of a website builder. But, building a website requires more than just choosing the right website builder . There are a few foundational steps you’ll want to complete to help ensure the success of your site. Jumping in without a plan is a surefire way to get overwhelmed by the process. Below you’ll learn about the different types of sites you can build, how to plan your website, and finally, how to build a website from scratch without having to touch a single line of code. Why Build a Website? There are plenty of reasons to build a website. Whether you have an idea for a new personal website, want to showcase your passion, start a blog, highlight your portfolio, build an eCommerce website , or create a website for your existing business, it couldn’t be easier to start a new site. And best of all, you don’t have to be an experienced web designer to make one. Just a few years ago building a site was an intensive process. You either had to spend time learning to code yourself or hire a website developer to turn your vision into reality for you. But today, with the help of intuitive website builders the process is incredibly simple. Even if you’ve never built a website before, or even registered a domain name , you can have a website online in a single afternoon, if not sooner. Overall, the length of time it’ll take to build your website will depend upon the type of site you’re building. A simple 3-page website will be much faster to build than an eCommerce site that’s selling dozens of products. Step 1: Determining Your Niche The first step in website building is determining what kind of site you’re going to build. The approach you’re going to take to start a blog will be different than building a site for a physical storefront. Review the questions below to determine what kind of site you’re going to build. This will help you save time over the long run and ensure you’re building the right kind of site the first time around. Who’s Your Audience? Every successful website serves a specific audience. By taking the time to understand exactly who your audience is first you’ll improve your chances of creating a successful site. However, you won’t have to do this if you’re creating a simple website that you have no intention of building a business around. For example, maybe you’re creating a personal blog so you can practice writing in public, or you’re creating a simple one-page site for fun. But, if you want to grow and monetize your website, then you’ll want to place a focus on your target audience. Spend time browsing through other sites in your niche and attempt to infer the kind of audience they’re serving. Why do they like certain content types?  Why are some forms of content more popular than others? You can also head over to a tool called Buzzsumo to find the most shared content related to your niche. This can give you an idea of what your audience likes to consume and directions you can take with your site.   How Are You Serving Them? Once you know who you’re serving, it’s time to figure out the best way to do that. For example, maybe you’ve found that your niche loves video content. In that case, you’ll build a site that’s oriented towards videos. Or maybe you’ve uncovered a ton of related eCommerce products you can sell, in that case, you’ll want to build a site that has eCommerce capabilities. Spend time browsing through other sites in your niche to get an idea of certain site elements you’ll want to include. Maybe you’ve found a similar site that you love the layout of, or you like the type of messaging they use on their site. As you browse through competitor sites take note of the things you like and other elements you think you could improve upon. All of this will come in handy during the design phase. Step 2: Planning Your New Website Now that you know the type of site you’re going to build, let’s do some basic planning that’ll help to accelerate the site building process. Below you’ll get a basic feel for the elements that make up a professional website. Get these elements right and your site will stand head and shoulders above your competition. Site Structure Most websites look and function the same. It can be tempting to buck trends and create something wholly unique, but you’ll do yourself a disservice in doing so. Most users have certain expectations in mind when visiting a website. They expect certain website elements to be where they should be. The last thing you want is to confuse and overwhelm your visitors the moment they land on your website. Basic website elements include: An easy to use navigation bar, typically at the top of the site Homepage text and a sidebar, or no sidebar at all Logical site organization that lets users intuitively move from page to page The theme you choose should take care of your initial site organization. It can be tempting but try not to stray too far from the initial build. These templates are created by professional designers and developers and have web design best practices built in. Essential Website Pages The number of pages your site has will differ depending on the type of site you’re building. But generally, most sites will have the following website pages, no matter the niche: Homepage. This is the first page your visitors will see. It should be simple, concise, and immediately tell your visitor’s what your site is about. About page. Your about page is your chance to establish a relationship with your visitors. It’s commonly one of the most popular pages on your site, so you’ll want to spend time creating quality copy that draws your readers in, tells them what you’re about, and speaks directly to their needs and how you’re uniquely qualified to solve them. Services/product page. This will look different depending on what you’re selling and the niche you’re in. However, most sites (unless it’s purely for personal use) will have one of these pages, if not multiple. Contact page. Depending on the type of site you’re creating you’ll probably want to make it easy for your visitors to contact you. This can be through a contact form, an email address, or even your phone number or Skype address. Blog page. Most sites will be able to find some value in maintaining a regular blog. Some sites are purely content-based, while others will be able to use the blog as a means to provide value to your visitors and improve search engine rankings. Keep in mind that most website building software will take care of the basic website layout for you. Once you select a theme or a template, this will form the foundation for the rest of your site. However, by knowing what other pages you want to add, and what site elements you’ll want to include you’ll be able to speed up the process and avoid wasting time when creating your site. Step 3: Choosing Your Website Building Platform By now you’ve determined the type of site you’re going to build, and you have a plan of attack for the website elements and pages you’re going to create. Now, it’s time to choose the right tool to help you build your website. As a beginner you’ll have a ton of different options at your disposal, from website builders to content management systems , and more. One of the easiest ways to build your site will be using the GATOR website builder. Website builders in general greatly simplify the website building process. There are many things you can do with the Gator website builder. You’ll select a theme or template that will act as the foundation of your site, you’ll use the tool to make changes and customize your site, you’ll add content, and then publish your site online. The process is quite intuitive and you’ll be able to build a custom website without having to change, or even look at, any code. In time you can test out other website builders, tools, and content management systems, but when starting out you’ll want to give yourself the advantage of using one of the easiest tools out there. Once you’ve successfully built your first site you’ll have more confidence when it comes to customizing your site, or using different tools altogether. Building a Website with the GATOR Website Builder For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll show you how to build a website from scratch using the HostGator website builder. This website builder is packed with a vast selection of professional themes that span dozens of niches. Once you fire up the tool you’ll be amazed at just how easy it is to customize your template, add site elements, add pages, modify text, and more. Follow the steps below to build a website from scratch using Gator: 1. Select Your Template The first step when launching your website through HostGator’s website builder will be choosing your template. This template will act as the foundation for the rest of your site, so choose wisely. You’ll be able to filter the template selection based upon niche, or you can browse through all of the templates until you find the perfect fit. Most of the themes can fit into a variety of niches. But, you’ll notice that the preloaded content and general structure is more niche-oriented. If you want to build your site as fast as possible, then choose a template that’s within your niche. Once you’ve found a template you’d like to customize, just hover over the template and click ‘Select’. 2. Customize Your Template With your template selected it’s time to start customizing. You’ll probably want to spend a few minutes clicking around and getting used to the layout. It might seem a little confusing at first, but it will get easier. Almost every element of your theme can be customized by clicking. When you hover over and click any element of your site the tool will bring up a window to give you your customization options. If you like the existing layout of the site, then all you’ll have to do is edit and switch out the existing text, and upload your own images. On the left-hand menu you’ll be able to edit any additional pages, add new site elements and sections, along with changing out the overall color scheme. Once you’re satisfied with your site all you have to do is click ‘Publish’. However, it’s probably a good idea to preview your site to catch any last-minute errors before you publish your site online. Get Started Building with GATOR As you can see, building a website is much easier than it used to be. Today there are myriad tools that can help you build a website in a single afternoon, all without having to touch a single line of code. With the GATOR website builder, you can quickly and easily build a professional website completely from scratch. For beginners, it’s hard to beat the usefulness and simplicity of the GATOR website builder. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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How Much Does a Website Cost?

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Hosting

The post How Much Does a Website Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog . How much does a website cost? Is there a general range I should expect to pay for a new website? If you’re just getting started online, then you’ve probably turned these questions over in your head. They’re very important questions to answer. Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward answer for either of them. It all depends on the goals of your site, the type of site you’re building, and the method you’re going to take to build out your website. As a general rule of thumb the more hands-on you’re going to be throughout the process the lower the cost will be. So, using a website builder or a CMS will be much cheaper than hiring a professional website designer. Below we’ll examine how much a website costs to build, as well as the factors that will influence the overall cost. Website Cost Considerations The price of your website will depend on a lot of different factors. Both pre-existing factors, as well as the type of site you’re going to build. Here are a few of the main considerations that will influence the overall price. 1. Your Choice of Domain and Hosting Every website needs a domain name and hosting. Your domain name is what people will type into the address bar to access your site. While your hosting is where all of your website’s files will be stored. You can purchase these together or separately. 2. The Platform That Powers Your Site You’re going to have a lot of different options when it comes to building out your site. You can use a website builder, choose a CMS like WordPress , or even hire a professional to build your site for you. With WordPress, you can rely on free themes and plugins to reduce your overall cost, while with a website builder you’ll typically pay a monthly fee. Hiring a web developer will be the most expensive option. We’ll cover this in more detail below. 3. The Type of Website You’re Building The type of website you’re building will greatly influence the overall cost. For example, if you’re building a simple personal blog, then your expenses will be very low. But, if you’re building out a complex eCommerce store, then you should expect higher website build costs. Generally, the more complex and feature-rich your website, the higher the cost will be. But, this cost can be offset by doing most of the design tasks yourself, or using the right website builder software or CMS. Essential Website Expenses: Domains and Hosting Costs The overall cost of building your site will be greatly influenced by factors above, like the type of site you’re building, and what software or platform will form the foundation for your site. But, there are two essential expenses to building a website that you won’t be able to avoid: your domain name and hosting. Here’s how the cost of these two elements breaks down. 1. Domain Name Costs Your domain name is probably one of the first things you’ll purchase. Your domain name is the URL that people will type into their website browser to actually view your site. We won’t get into choosing your domain name here. But here are a few great resources for choosing the perfect domain name: How You Can Choose the Best Domain Name for Your Blog The 7 Best Domain Name Suggestion Tools Is My Domain Name Available? Every domain isn’t created equal. Most domains will run you around $9 to $15 per year. However, the costs can run up into the hundreds or thousands, if you’re absolutely set on a certain domain. Here are a few factors that will influence the overall cost of your domain : The Top-Level Domain The top-level domain is the .com or .org that follows your domain. The top-level domain or domain name extension you choose will influence the overall cost of your domain. There are dozens of different top-level domains to choose from. But, the most common are .com, .org, .net, and .co. You’re probably best off choosing .com if it’s available. A lot of other domain name extensions are experimental, or country-specific, but sticking with common and widely recognized extensions is probably your best bet. Going for more abstract and creative domain name extensions will probably add a higher fee to your domain name purchase. The Type of Domain Purchasing a brand new domain will definitely be the cheapest option for acquiring a domain. But, there are other options available if you’re absolutely set on a domain. Here are two common methods for acquiring a domain besides purchasing it through a registrar : Reach out to the current site owner. If you do a domain search on HostGator Domains and see that the domain is already taken, then you might be able to get in touch with the owner and place a bid. This will usually be a more expensive route. You should expect to pay at least a couple hundred dollars, maybe more. Purchase your domain through a marketplace. There are sites like Sedo that list domain names that people already own. These domains are pretty pricey, but if you have the budget, this allows you to buy a domain outright, or make an offer. Once you’ve settled on your domain name it’s time to buy it. If you’re looking for the best deal, then you’ll probably want to buy your domain name right here at HostGator. Just type in your desired domain name, see if it’s available, and complete the purchase. If your domain is available, then your desired extension will influence the yearly price. You can simplify your life even further by purchasing your domain name and hosting together. 2. Website Hosting Costs Choosing the right web host for your website is a decision you’ll want to take seriously. The right web host will make it easy for you to build your website, as well as improve site performance, keep your site secure, and a lot more. When it comes to web hosting, you’re going to have a lot of different hosting options to choose from. For example, you’ve got shared hosting, WordPress hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting. On top of that, you have different hosting plans within each type of hosting. The hosting package you choose will greatly influence how much your site costs to build. Generally, hosting packages will range from $10/month to $150+/mo. That’s just a very basic estimation. Shared hosting will typically be the cheapest plan, but as your website requires more server resources to function, then you’ll need to upgrade to a more expensive plan. However, as your website grows, both in size and traffic levels, you’ll hopefully be making more money to cover the additional hosting costs. If this is your first website, then a basic shared hosting package will probably be the best type of hosting for your needs. Shared hosting is beginner-friendly, easy to set up, is very cheap, and gives you enough server resources to get you through the initial stages of growing your site. Did we mention it’s cheap? Yes. Here at HostGator, you can pick up the cheapest shared hosting plan for less than $3 a month! Website Design Costs: DIY vs. Professional Services With your domain name and hosting secured it’s time to look at the other big factor that’ll influence the cost of building your website. This section is highly variable, as you’ll soon learn. But, as a general rule of thumb, the more work you’ll willing to do yourself, the cheaper designing your website will be. Here’s a look at the two different routes to building your website: 1. DIY Website Building Costs When building your website yourself you’re going to have a few different options to explore. Unless you know how to code ( or want to learn ), you’ll primarily be relying on a website builder or a CMS like WordPress to build out your site. Here’s a cost breakdown of each of these two routes to site creation. Cost of Using a Website Builder Website builders make it incredibly easy to build out your site. These tools are created for complete beginners meaning it won’t take any coding knowledge to build out your site. The general process will be as follows: you select a template, make changes via a drag and drop interface, add your content, then publish your site. There are dozens of different website builders that exist online today, including one here at HostGator. By using a builder like the Gator Website Builder you’ll help to keep costs low while building out a beautiful and functional website. Cost of Using WordPress to Build Out Your Site Another common option is using WordPress to build out your site. WordPress is a free CMS, so there won’t be any upfront costs required to build your site. All you need to do is install WordPress on your site, which you can do from within cPanel . Then, you’ll customize your site by choosing a theme, and add more features to your site via the vast plugin library. The costs for using WordPress to build your site are highly variable. For example, you can get away with building a WordPress site entirely for free by relying on free themes and plugins. Or, you can spend $100+ on a premium theme, along with premium plugins that range from $10-50+ per month. It all depends on your theme and plugin selection. 2. Professional Website Design Costs Getting your website built by a professional will be the most expensive option by far. The price for a professional website build will vary greatly. The overall cost depends on the type of site you want to be built and who you’re using to build out your website. Here’s a general average cost breakdown for professional web design services: Basic small business site – $1000 – $7500+ Larger business site – $10,000 – $25k+ eCommerce site – $5000 – $20k+ Freelance hire – $500 – $5000+ These are very rough estimates. Generally, if you’re going to hire a developer via a site like Upwork then your costs will be cheaper than if you’re hiring a web design agency to build out your site. It’ll also be cheaper to have a developer customize an existing theme than create a brand new WordPress theme from scratch. On the other hand, if you hire a web design agency , they’ll be able to bring their expertise from creating hundreds of sites and apply that knowledge to your site. They may also bring additional expertise a freelance developer may not have, like UX, SEO, and PPC. How Much Does a Website Cost? The Verdict Hopefully, you have a better idea of the answer to the question: how much does a website cost? As you can see there are ways you can build a website for basically nothing, while other website builds will run up into the thousands of dollars. If you’re looking for the cheapest way to get a website online, then consider using some of the resources here at HostGator . For a domain name and the cheapest shared hosting plan, you’re looking at roughly a $15 upfront investment. Then, you can use WordPress or the bundled website builder. If you’re going to be hiring a professional to build out your website then expect to pay a lot more. The overall cost will depend on the designer or design firm you’re using, along with what you’re asking them to do. For example, doing WordPress theme customizations will be cheaper than building out a 100-page eCommerce site. There is no clear cut cost for the price you’ll pay to build out your website. But, this is kind of a good thing. It means that you can build a website, no matter your budget or existing technical skills. You can create your new website yourself, or you can hire a professional to take care of everything for you. Overall, it’s up to you how much your website costs to build. Whether you have a low or high budget, you’ll be able to find the right combination of tools to help launch your dream website. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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Advise on 10G Hardware

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Hosting

We are looking to provide 10G ports both for Colo and Dedicated servers. What type of gear are folks using for providing this type of connec… | Read the rest of http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1732720&goto=newpost Continue reading →

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For resellers/hosts in EU: what VAT do you charge?

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Hosting

As I am in EU (Finland), I am wondering whether in this type of business (services) I need to charge VAT, and which rates depending on the l… | Read the rest of http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1725488&goto=newpost Continue reading →

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5 Ways To Redirect A Website URL

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Hosting

The post 5 Ways To Redirect A Website URL appeared first on HostGator Blog . 5 Ways To Redirect A Website URL When you just get started online, everything is simpler. You only have a few pages of content. Your URL is straightforward, and you’re building some initial momentum. But, over time, your site grows more complex. You have more pages, posts, and URLs to deal with. You create pages and posts that no longer exist, or you decided to simplify the URL structure of your content. Maybe you even purchased a few domains you want to redirect to your site, or you want to switch domains altogether. As you can see, there are a lot of reasons you’ll need to redirect a website to another. Below you’ll learn what a website redirect is along with the most common scenarios then you’ll want to implement a website redirect. What is a Website Redirect? A website redirect will take one website URL and point it to another. When anyone types in or clicks on that original URL they’ll be taken to the new page or website. Even if you don’t need to implement a redirect now, it’s probably something you’ll need to do eventually. Knowing how to implement a redirect will a valuable skill moving forward. You can implement redirects on a URL or page-by-page basis. There are a few different types of redirects you’ll want to be aware of. As you’ll see below, the 301 redirect is the most common and useful, but there are some other redirects available as well.   1. 301 Redirect A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect. This is the most commonly used and powerful redirect as it passes on nearly all of the link juice of the existing domain. This type of redirect takes place on both a browser and server level. In time, the search engines will index this redirect.   2. 302 Redirect A 302 redirect is used when you want to temporarily redirect a URL, but you have the intention of moving back to the old URL. For example, you’re redesigning your site, but want to direct users to a different domain while you finish building your site. 302 redirects aren’t used very often. If you’re considering using a 302 redirect, think carefully: you might be better off just utilizing a 301 redirect.   3. Meta Refresh A meta refresh isn’t used very often. But, you’ve still probably seen this type of redirect before on page loading screens. Have you ever landed on a page and been greeted with a message that says, “The original URL has moved, you’re now being redirected. Click here if you’re not redirected in 5 seconds” ? Then you’ve experienced a meta refresh. This type of redirect does pass on a little link juice, but not as much as a 301 redirect.   Reasons Why You’d Implement a Website Redirect Now that you’re familiar with the types of redirects you can implement, it’s time to go into the reasons you’ll want to redirect a URL in the first place. Here are some common scenarios where you’d want to redirect one website to another.   1. Redirect a Subdirectory to a Page on Your Site Maybe when you created your site you decided to create your blog page on a subdomain of your site. So, instead of your blog URL being “mysite.com/blog”, it’s been “blog.mysite.com.”. Only now you’ve decided that it makes sense to switch your blog off of the original subdomain structure. In this case, you’ll want to implement a redirect. The same goes for any other reason you’ve created a site or section of your site on the subdomain, and now you want to switch up the URL structure.   2. Redirect Duplicate Content to the Original Page Having duplicate content across your site can really mess with your rankings . If you have a large site, then the chances are high you have some pages with duplicate content. When you have more than one version of the same page it makes it hard for Google to figure out which page to rank. You can avoid common duplicate content issues by redirecting the duplicate piece of content to the original. This will not only reduce confusion with your visitors, but it should improve your search engine rankings as well.   3. Redirect Multiple Domains to a Single Domain It’s common practice to buy up multiple domain names related to your main URL in order to protect your online brand. But, instead of just buying these domains and letting them sit there you can redirect them to your main website. Whether they’re common misspellings of your existing domain name, other domain name extensions , or something else entirely, they’re worth redirecting back to your main site.   4. Redirect Your Old Domain to Your New One Did you originally build out your site on a domain that wasn’t your first choice, only to buy your dream domain later on? It happens more than you think. Maybe you went through a massive rebrand and changing your domain name was necessary. Whatever the reason, you need to implement a redirect of your old domain to your new domain. Now, migrating an entire site is more intensive than a simple redirect, but it’s a good starting place.   5. Redirect an Old URL to a New URL Sometimes you’ll have to change the URL of existing pages and posts. Maybe you’re cleaning up your existing URL structure , or you moved some pages around and the old URL no longer makes sense. If this sounds like you, then you’ll want to implement a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. This is especially true if your older posts are already indexed in the search engines, or you have links out anywhere online.   Conclusion As you can see, there are many reasons you’ll want to redirect a website, and a few different website redirects you can use. Hopefully, you have a better understanding of their value and why it’s something you’ll need to learn, eventually. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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