Create a Website: Step-by-Step Guide & Best Softwares
Nils Martens9/2/2021
Website builder, WordPress or something else? That's the question when creating a website!
Table of contents
- Website, webpage, homepage, one-pager - yes, what now?
- In 5 steps to your own website
- Final word on costs
Creating a website has a bit in common with the title of the story 1001 Nights: There are about as many ways to approach such a project. You can look for a developer and graphic designer, use one of the many website builders on the market, use a CMS like WordPress, dig up some website software, or take over a finished website. But that's not enough: Another option is to code and design a website yourself - provided you have the necessary expertise. But thanks to YouTube and other tutorial providers, this is no longer a problem today. Add to this numerous questions about features, costs, SEO, or the most sensible website structure. We'll keep this guide to a minimum and give you the best answers to basic questions so you can get started right away. We will also give you a step-by-step guide, introduce you to ideal tools, reveal the most important features for your website, and discuss costs. So: Let's create a website!
Recommended Content-Management-Systems
On our comparison platform OMR Reviews, you can find more recommended content management systems. We present over 160 solutions that are specifically tailored to the needs of content management agencies, website operators and companies. This content management software offers comprehensive support in all aspects of website management. Take this opportunity to compare the different software solutions, drawing on authentic and verified user reviews:
Website, webpage, homepage, one-pager - yes, what now?
The internet provides some mysteries. One of them is probably the fact that terms like webpage or homepage are often used synonymously for website. We will now clarify this mystery once and for all.
- Website - This only refers to a page within a website. Thus, web pages can be those behind menu items such as "About Us", "Blog" or "Prices". Website and webpage are therefore not the same.
- Homepage - This is the start page of a website. If you land on this, the homepage defined by the creator of the website always opens, while you can also get to a webpage via a Google search result. So the question we're answering today is not what to consider when creating a homepage, but when creating a website.
- Website - Because that is the term that defines the entirety of a web presence. A website thus consists of webpages and a homepage.
- OnePager - These are websites that consist of a single HTML document. There is a menu, but it leads to different sections of the document. You can scroll down on a OnePager, but you can't switch between webpages. Tipp: A OnePager is suitable for you if you just need a WWW presence, without much fuss.
- Landingpage – Similar to the OnePager, a landing page consists of only one webpage. With the difference that there is no menu and the user is supposed to be specifically moved to a conversion. So it is the "landing place" for those who have found a company, for example, via an advertising ad. Tipp: A landingpage is suitable for you u.a., if you want to sell something or are looking for newsletter subscribers.
By the way: If you are looking for good themes - for free or for money - you should take a look at our listicle on OnePager and Landigpage Themes.
Recommended E-Commerce-Platforms & Shopsystems
On our comparison platform OMR Reviews you can find more recommended e-commerce platforms & store systems. We present over 230 solutions that are specifically tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized companies, start-ups and large corporations. Our platform offers comprehensive support in all areas of online commerce, from product presentation to customer management. Take the opportunity to compare different e-commerce solutions, taking into account real user reviews, to find the perfect system for your individual business needs:
In 5 steps to your own website
Two questions often go through one's synapses in the same way: How do I create a webpage and how do I create it for free? The answer has already been discussed in many places, and we always come to the same conclusion: Whether it makes sense to do it for free or it makes more sense to spend money depends on what you want to do with your website. If you need a shop, is it just a presence or do you need many features to meet your requirements?
In order not to exceed the framework of our guide, we limit ourselves to creating a website using a website builder and the content management system WordPress; including tool recommendations. We also explain how much a website costs per year with the respective tool and whether it is a good idea to create the website for free.
Step 1 - Define what your website should be able to do and make two decisions
Basically, all five steps are essential to build a reasonable website with sense and understanding. The following two decisions are the foundation and prevent a mess of images, videos, texts and subpages from emerging in the end. As in business or other projects in life, it also applies when creating a website yourself: Good planning is half the rent.
- OnePager, Landingpage or Website: First, you consider what kind of web presence you need. We have already discussed the differences. Sit down and write down what your page should achieve. Important: This is not about the look. This is only relevant from step 4. Do you want it to be a landing page that you direct to from a Linkedin ad to sell your product? Do you want to present yourself as an agency on the net, but the website does not need to act as a sales funnel? Or do you want to run a blog that also offers a newsletter, which users can sign up for in a form mask? The answer to the purpose question automatically leads you to the answer of whether a CMS or a construction kit system is the right choice.
- Content Management System or Construction Kit: Decision number two leads you to a comparison of providers that lasts for hours - of which there are as many as there are words in this article. We have taken the work off your hands and extracted the most popular solutions at OMR Reviews. We have summarized the advantages and disadvantages, the annual costs and the optimal use of each tool. After that, you just have to pick the right one.
1. Jimdo - The best Hamburg answer
Usability
- Suitable for beginners and those who like it fast
Costs
- Website: 108 to 468 euros per year / Free version available, but without own domain
- Online shop: 180 to 468 euros per year
- Price-performance ratio: Very good
- More information about the prices of Jimdo
Advantages
- Website building system tailored for self-employed people
- Very easy to handle
- Warning-proof legal texts are included
- Picture database with royalty-free photos
- SEO tools on board
- Free logo tool
Disadvantages
- Little flexibility in the design, for which Jimdo was not intended
- The user feedback on OMR Review also shows room for improvement in terms of meeting the requirements for creating a website
Suitable for
- Company websites, online shops, websites for freelancers, portfolio websites, agency appearances
Conclusion: The days of poor themes in construction kits is long gone, as Jimdo proves. In WYSIWYG style, it becomes child's play to customize a website to your needs. To this end, Jimdo has focused on self-employed people, which is why above all relevant designs, the legal text guarantee, setting up online shops and even a logo creator stand in the spotlight. Creating websites with Jimdo is suitable for anyone who wants to extend the WWW quickly and without prior knowledge. However, if your goal is to implement your website ideas down to the last detail, Jimdo is not suitable. (Direkt zur Jimdo Website)
About the platform Jimdo, websites for companies, online shops or freelancers can be created.
2. Wix - Interesting name with comprehensive building kit
Usability
- For beginners and advanced crafters
Costs
- Websites: 64 to 371 euros per year
- Online shop: 243 to 500 euros per year
- Price-performance ratio: Very good
- More information about the prices of Wix
Advantages
- More than 500 templates
- Design by drag-and-drop highly customizable
- Dynamic effects are part of the design offering
- HTML widgets can be installed
- SEO tools available
- Creating websites with Wix includes 24/7 phone support in English
- SSL certificate
Disadvantages
- Wix is currently struggling with loading speeds
- Changing the templates is a challenge
- Wix is not suitable for large websites (> 25 pages)
Suitable for
- Blogs, company websites, websites for freelancers, landing pages, agency appearances, online stores
Conclusion: Especially noteworthy is Wix's talent for giving the user design freedom. Compared to other building blocks, a lot is possible here. In addition, the large number of widgets that can be installed and a support service that is available around the clock are convincing. According to the services and possibilities, Wix delivers an excellent ratio of price and performance. On the other hand, the loading speed is (still) not satisfactory, although we hope that Wix will make adjustments.
Wix is especially suitable for beginners who bring some time and advanced tinkerers.
3. STRATO homepage builder - Has been on the market for a long time, but solid and up-to-date
Usability
- For users who do not have special requirements for their own website, but want to implement all five steps at one provider
Costs
- Websites: 12 to 180 euros
- Online shop: a rudimentary shop is included, plus there is the Ecwid shop for free with up to 10 products (larger tariffs from 12$)
- Price-performance ratio: good
- More information about the prices of STRATO homepage builder
Advantages
- Very cheap
- Huge selection of responsive themes – optimized for all devices and editable on mobile
- Everything in one place: register domain, website, hosting, online marketing tools, server & cloud storage
- SEO tools are ideal for beginners
- via HTML-Embed-Widget you can add more functions to your website
- You can have your website created by STRATO if you don't feel like a constructor
- Excellent support via e-mail and phone
Disadvantages
- Some of the design templates do not look modern, but some modern designs have been added
- Shop integration is rather rudimentary, expandable for an additional charge or STRATO webshop builder solution necessary
- You still have to take care of the legal issues yourself, but soon, protection packages will be integrated. When exactly is not yet clear.
Suitable for
- Simple company websites, landing pages, websites for freelancers
Conclusion: STRATO is the old hand among the tools we have chosen. Accordingly, the range of services is very large. STRATO offers separate construction kit solutions for simple company websites and for larger web shops. It is surprising, however, that modern points such as the GDPR are only sparsely or not at all covered. As a result, STRATO was already overtaken as number one some time ago. Nevertheless, it is still the cheapest provider, which can also implement Hosting for WordPress, if you don't feel like building any more. In addition, there is the possibility to extend your own website with functions using the HTML-Embed-Widget and thus to individualize it a lot.
Do you want to know more about STRATO's services? All tools and helpful articles on the products can be found on our company overview page of STRATO.
Users can both register a domain, create a website and use online marketing tools via STRATO.
4. Squarespace - Has the most beautiful templates of all
Usability
- Also ideal for beginners, but also for self-employed people who have high demands on their website
Costs
- Websites: 132 to 204 euros per year
- Online shop: 288 to 432 euros per year
- Price-performance ratio: very good
- More information about the prices of Squarespace
Advantages
- Comprehensive range of tools: SEO, analysis, blogger tools, e-mail marketing, logo maker
- Very attractive templates
- Podcast hosting possible
- Designed for large website projects with up to 1,000 pages
- With the in-house app (Android & iOS) you can edit your website in almost all areas on the go
- Free webinars to learn Squarespace
- Enterprise solutions are offered
Disadvantages
- The design editor is a bit more complicated to use than Jimdo's, for example
- As beautiful as the templates are, they often fail in the Google PageSpeed (an important criterion for good ranking)
- No phone support
Suitable for
- Large website projects, company websites, blogs, websites for freelancers
Conclusion: Squarespace leaves little to be desired. Accordingly, the US company makes a deep hole in your pocket. Squarespace is especially geared towards businesses, bloggers, and online store owners. Particularly noteworthy is the number of numerous tools and a well-thought-out app that makes pure desktop editing unnecessary. However, you should always keep in mind that it is a US company, which can bring challenges if you start an online store.
Squarespace is suitable for beginners, but also for self-employed people who have high demands on their website.
5. WordPress - The best CMS. Period.
Usability
- Suitable for everyone, you just need to put some time in to get into WordPress
Costs
- Prices depend on the themes and plugins, WordPress itself is open source software.
- More information about WordPress prices
Advantages
- Very large number of free and paid WordPress themes
- More than 55,000 Wordpress plugins are available
- Many possibilities to individualize a website, although this is also dependent on the respective theme
- The easiest to use CMS on the market
- For experts, numerous possibilities are available to perfectly individualize a page using CSS, HMTL and co.
- You can do a lot with WordPress for little money
Disadvantages
- Time-consuming at the beginning to learn WordPress
Suitable for
- All types of websites, apps can even be created with it
Conclusion:42% of web appearances were created with WordPress, according to the popular CMS's website. We didn't count, but we can assume that it's about right. It is the easiest-to-use content management system, which meets the needs of both beginners and professionals. It's not as easy to use as a construction kit, but with a bit of patience and a desire to learn, a lot is possible. No matter what kind of website you can imagine, you can definitely build it with WordPress. From a certain point of individualization, however, you will need knowledge of HTML, CSS or other programming languages.
WordPress offers a wide range of free themes that can be individualized.
Final word on costs
Let's say one thing about costs at the end. Yes, it is possible to create a website for free. No, we don't recommend it. If you want to appear professionally as a brand, as a service provider, as an entrepreneur or with a shop, professionalism starts before creating a homepage. And that costs money. If you follow our guide, this is money well spent. Creating websites for free is only an optimal solution for private people. oder Content-Management-Systemen (CMS). Grundsätzlich geht es nicht darum, WordPress zu verwenden, weil es alle machen, sondern darum, dass Ihr Euch die beste Lösung aussucht. Eine, die zu Euren Kenntnissen, zu Eurem Zeitbudget und zu Euren restlichen Anforderungen passt. Baukasten-Systeme übertreffen Ihren Ruf schon seit einigen Jahren. Aber was braucht man nun alles für eine Website?
Author
Nils Martens
Nils ist Gründer der Personal Branding Rebels und seit Jahren fester Bestandteil des LinkedIn-Games. Mit seinem Team hilft er Menschen und Unternehmen, auf LinkedIn und anderen Plattformen als Personal Brands sichtbar zu werden. Die Rebels unterstützen mittelständische Unternehmen dabei Sichtbarkeit aufzubauen, über einen 360 Grad Personal Branding Ansatz, mit dem Fokus auf Personal Branding Strategie und Beratung sowie das Personal Branding Takeover. Immer mit einem rebellischen Ansatz: Out-of-the-Box-Denken und authentische Sichtbarkeit stehen im Fokus, fernab von starren Algorithmen und Blaupausen.
