6 Tips For Building A Website On A Budget

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The initial costs of launching your own website can seem intimidating, and if you don’t already have a website, it can seem like you’ll need to spend thousands of dollars to get one up and running. While it’s true that some websites cost more than others depending on their structure and number of pages, the first thing you should know is that it doesn’t cost thousands of dollars to build your own website. In fact, it doesn’t even have to cost hundreds of dollars or tens of dollars or even single-digit dollars. So, whether you are building a platform to buy flight tickets to Iceland or you simply want a functioning business blog, here are 6 tips you can use to build a website on a budget.

6 Tips For Building A Website On A Budget

1) Getting free hosting

One of the easiest ways to get free hosting is by signing up with a free WordPress account. You just need to sign up, enter your website name and username, choose a password, and you’re good to go. The downside of this option is that you will be limited by the amount of storage space available on the host server. Another option is to host your website on your own domain and hosting service provider. This will allow you to have unlimited storage space and bandwidth for a monthly or annual fee. The downside of this option is that you’ll have to do more work upfront in order to register your domain name and set up hosting services for your website, but it’s still an incredibly affordable choice.

2) Choosing a free template

An easy way to build a website is to choose a free template and customize it. This saves money on design costs and you can usually find an open-source theme for free. Some places to find amazing templates are Squarespace Templates, Google Sites, Wix Templates, Hubspot Templates, and Trello Layouts.

3) Putting your site together

Pick a platform. If you don’t want to pay for a professional website designer, there are plenty of options for making your own site on your computer or phone. WordPress, SquareSpace, and Wix are all affordable and easy to use. Find some great images. You’ll need at least one good photo for the banner and one or two more to make up your background image (or wallpaper). You can use sites like Unsplash or Creative Commons for free photos that you’re allowed to use in your design as long as you give credit where it’s due.

4) Designing yourself

When you’re designing your own website, it’s important to focus on the things that are most important and take advantage of free resources. There are many great online tools like Canva, PicMonkey, and Flickr that you can use for free to create your website. In addition, there are plenty of templates available for purchase or use with a Creative Commons license that will save you time and money. Finally, don’t forget about the power of social media. Your website is never done – so make sure to keep updating it as your business grows. If you have any trouble deciding what to put on your website, then start with these basics: who are you? What do you do? Who is your target market? What problems do they face? What solutions do you provide? And how can people get in touch with you? You’ll be surprised at how far these few sentences will go when it comes to giving potential customers an idea of what sets your company apart from everyone else.

5) Hosting Your Site

If you choose not to use a free host then you need to decide on your hosting provider. The first step to creating a website on a budget is figuring out where you’re going to host your site. There are several options out there, but the two most popular are Linux hosting and WordPress hosting. Linux hosting is typically cheaper than WordPress hosting but can be more difficult to set up. With WordPress hosting, you will be able to use one of the many free themes that are available online or purchase a theme that suits your needs.

6) Getting Your Website On Search Engines

Now that you have your site up and running, you’ll want it on search engines. So, head over to Google’s Webmaster Tools and sign up for an account if you don’t already have one. This will give you a verified domain and the ability to manage how Google sees your site. You can also use this as a platform for things like submitting sitemaps, crawl errors, and other website optimization methods.