Creating a website seems like a planet far, far away from us. An area somewhat vague and unknown yet a daily part of our lives with all the connected devices we have in our homes and carry with us as we go about your day.

Now, how would we get our own website out there? can I get a website too? Answer, Yes! it can be done!

Let’s explore the idea and what’s available out there so we can make a website for blogging or eCommerce, or other available options.

Building a Website

A website put together by yourself will give you a great sense of pride and accomplishment. As mentioned, it may seem as a task only for professionals but it really can be a simple experience and life lesson. A lot of web design programs can be simple copy, drag and paste programs, and these are included in a Web Host’s cPanel dashboard.

I’d also recommend if you can’t afford paying for a Web Host, check out a free web host, where you can eventually upgrade to paying for your own domain. Do be aware there are people who do not recommend using ‘Free’ sites but not everybody can afford immediate payments for a full domain host. There are many free web hosts available such as the following site :

I have found Free Web Hosting has worked well over all with zero downtime and notified when it’s scheduled. Their assistance was wonderful when I eventually upgraded my site to it’s own domain. I have any questions, I send a ‘Ticket’ which is responded to quickly and they help me make understanding ‘geek’ a lot easier. Give them a trial run. 🙂

Extra Web Host Features

• A web host may offer other web building programs. One hugely popular site for blogging is WordPress and it can be ‘launched’ quickly and easily.

• They will assign you an ‘account name’ for your FTP program (FTP – File Transfer Protocol). You may have to download a third party FTP program too, such as, CuteFTP, Cerberus, Fetch onto your own computer.

• A web host will have a ‘cPanel’ dashboard with various ‘tools’ and ‘programs’ which can provide further options to explore while learning to navigate your cPanel.

• Other building tools you can use or build, include Classifieds, Forums, eCommerce, along with other blogging platforms such as Joomla.

A few of the ‘tools’ found inside your web host ‘panel’ will have strange names, such as ‘My SQL’, PHP, file manager or htaccess generator. Consider them as ‘attached’ to your WordPress or other site, as they are used to store the files to operate these sites. They are important and strong password to your cPanel will help protect them.

You may need to enter these areas to ‘tweak’ your site. Again, your web host will assign you, or recommend for your account, a ‘name’ and strong Passwords for security reasons. I’m sure you don’t want to get ‘hacked’. You will also usually find a ‘Back Up’ area in the ‘cpanel’ and you must use this regularly, in the event you’re ‘blocked’ from entry to your web site. A back up will help restore your site to it’s original place and appearance. WordPress also has plug-ins that can back up your site also from their dashboard.

a Web Host cPanel

Research to Begin your Website

The skills you gain and knowledge you learn along the way are beyond priceless and you will enjoy this project. I assure you, that this is one very fun skill to learn, which you will also be able to share or offer to others, for a reasonable fee. For myself, I prefer an affordable annual payment and just need to pay attention to ‘dates’ for renewal.

I highly recommend that you research and read all you can about web hosts, WordPress, or other program you’re considering. Being duly informed and educated will help make your entry into the world of web sites less painful or frustrating.

Understanding the basics of Coding such as CSS, PhP, hex color codes, etc., helps you to be able to ‘change and tweak‘ your web site over all design. It also gives you confidence when entering those areas with your web site coding source. I preferred to keep my site as minimal as possible and hopefully not make anybody ‘bug eyed’ from the blue light of computers.

A last note that I’ve learned in regards to changes and tweaks to your site. Keep a RECORD of those changes such as ;

• the date

• time

• file name

• line number

• code snippet changed, or added

• and keep a copy of the original code

A record will help you quickly UNDO any unforeseen wreckage of your website and it’s broken. Your record can quickly point you to where you need to return the original code which you can fix inside your cPanel and domain files. Yes, I broke my website a time or two and it’s not fun but I was able to repair it too. 🙂

Learning in Motion

Further Learning Resources

CodeSandbox

How do I Protect my Website from Content Theft?

What is Malicious Code: A Comprehensive Guide

I hope you found this article informative. Please feel free to leave your comments and Share with friends and family. Use the ‘Ask a Question’ form and make a request, on a topic of your own interest. It is FREE to my RSS feed.

An Informal Cornr, all rights reserved. Ginsense writes articles on business skills, development, health, science, technology and society and enjoys advocating for independence, security and a better world for all of us.