How do I Make My Own Website - Newbie Guide

The first thing you will need to do is choose a domain name for your website. A domain name is what people will type into the search bar to find your website. It should be something catchy and related to your particular interest, products or service.

If your making a general website or blog, you might want to use your first and/or last name. But if your making a website related to internet marketing strategy for instance, you will want to try and use the word "internet" and "strategy" somewhere in the domain name.

Sometimes its hard to find your first choice for a domain name because its already been taken. But once you do find a name you like its best to get it right away because it may get taken and not be available later if you wait too long.

Every new website must have a home, therefore you will need a hosting company. Hosting companies will give your website a place to live so people can find you. Two of the most popular ones are goDaddy and Hostgator.

Once you have your domain name you must then register it with a hosting company before you can build your site. You can get a monthly hosting package for about $9.00 a month. Most of the time you can buy your domain name and hosting package from the same place. Its a good idea to get them both at the same time because it makes things a little easier, especially if you're a beginner and this is your first time making your own webpage.

When I first learned how to create my own website I knew that I was going to need the right software tool but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. The good thing is that there are plenty of free software tools available to help you get the job done.

An HTML editor is like a word processor very similar to ms word, and it allows you to design your web page simply by typing in what you want and then saving the file. You later upload the information to your webpage.

Important: Always save your main page as index.html

One easy to use free program is called Kompozer, just search for it online, download and go. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles but to be honest, as a beginner, you really don't need all that stuff anyhow.

Expensive and complicated web building software can be very frustrating for the newbie. Make things easy by using a friendly editor.

OK. So you've spent some time designing your first website and now its time to upload it to your hosting companies server. That means you need another piece of software.

File Transfer Protocal software is what you will need to get the job done. Fortunately you can find that for free also. I highly recommend FileZilla. Not only is it free but its easy to set up and a snap to use.

Here are the steps you will take to publish your first webpage using FileZilla

1. Open up FileZilla
2. Enter your domain name in host box (ie. yourdomain.com)
3. Enter your user name and password
4. Click connect
5. Locate your folder on the right panel and click it (* this is usually the public_html folder)
6. Locate your webpage on your desktop on the left panel ( you should have named it index.html)
7. Left click the mouse and drag the files over to your web folder and you're done

Now I understand how scary the thought of creating your first website can be for someone who has absolutely no experience at all. But it really isn't all that hard once you learn the skills to get it done.

Creating a simple two or three page website can be done in a matter of hours. All you need are a few tools to get started.

So don't be a big baby, give it a go.