It was about time. I'd been telling myself for ages that it was time to launch a new website, and here I am, after a fairly long time since I decided to do it until I finally released this version 1.0 of my website, but you know how it is: «The shoemaker's children go barefoot... and the website is a joke!«.
There's still a lot of work to be done, both in terms of content and on-page and, of course, off-page optimization, since it's a completely new domain (zero age, no inbound links, very little content… in short, an SEO gem!), but it was important to take that first step. A reasonably well-functioning website is a fundamental business card, and I couldn't keep handing out presentations and links to my LinkedIn profile to potential clients and anyone who asked me what I do.
Luckily, I've never lacked work, since in this industry references from satisfied clients count for a lot. Therefore, not having a personal website that functioned as a portfolio has never been an obstacle to getting new projects, but even so, I think that as freelance marketing consultant The time had come for the digital blacksmith in me to have his own website from which to promote the services I offer: SEO audit, digital acquisition strategy, web analytics, training y PPC (Sorry, no ironworking).
I would therefore like to take advantage of this first post not only to welcome you to my new digital home, but also to help those who want build a website from scratch, with some basic tips and recommendations on how to plan the project.
In my experience, much will depend on three factors: the objective you have in mind, the resources you have available, and the skills you possess that can be applied to the website creation project. More specifically, these three points refer to the following:
- The objectiveIt's not the same to want to set up a personal blog that will be updated from time to time with photos of your cat, as it is to set out to create an e-commerce site with dozens of categories and thousands of products, complex functionalities and other fancy features.
- ResourcesFrom my point of view, the two main resources required to carry out any project are time and/or money, the latter being primarily an extraordinary accelerator and multiplier of space and time, allowing you to outsource tasks and therefore drastically reduce the time needed to reach your goals. Obviously, time becomes more important and valuable the scarcer it is. If you're working eight hours in an office, you have to walk the dog, pick up the kids from daycare, pack your lunch for tomorrow, and, at least occasionally, get six to eight hours of sleep… well, even if you skip your favorite Netflix series, you probably won't have any time left. This is why money is also important, as it allows you to buy time… from others.
- SkillsObviously, the more knowledge you have applicable to website creation, the better. There's no great mystery to it. If you know how to program, design excellent graphics, write user-friendly copy that also appeals to search engines, if you know SEO, if you know how to convert paid traffic into sales or leads, if… (and the list could be almost endless, just as there are countless tasks involved in launching a website), you can save a considerable amount of money. Of course, this only applies if you have the time to perform these tasks. However simple the project may seem, if you want to achieve results (visibility, sales, etc.), I assure you, the number of bullet points you'll end up writing down in that notebook will be very long.
Having these three factors clear is key to being able to plan a project correctly, not lose motivation when you face the first obstacle (and there will be many and of different types, whether you do everything yourself, or outsource many tasks) and find the right solution to move forward.
In my case, I decided to create my website myself: I bought a cool domain 😄, downloaded and installed WordPress on one of the hosting services I use for my projects, and bought a paid WordPress template, which I then tweaked to suit my needs (work in progress, (There are still some things I haven't finished modifying yet).
Graphic elements, copywriting, and, of course, SEO for the site are also my responsibility. Well, to be 100% honest, the wonderful photos on the homepage are the work of my good friend and excellent photographer, Davide Pellegrini.
How do you build a site like this from scratch? Easy, as I already said, the steps I followed were the following:
PlatformI wanted a CMS I was familiar with that wouldn't limit my customization options, and in this sense, WordPress (you can download it from their official websiteIt has been almost a must-have choice. I've been using this platform for many years for various projects and I still love it.
DomainWhenever I need to register a domain, I usually use two trusted providers, which are: GoDaddy y Nominalia. Good prices and impeccable customer service are all I ask of a domain registrar. There are actually many options on the market, and many of them are very good, but these are two of the providers I've worked with most often, and I feel I can recommend them without fear of disappointment.
HostingAs with other service providers, I also have accounts with different web hosting providers. For my personal website, I have used Bluehost, While Bluehost doesn't have stellar reviews, I believe it has improved significantly in recent years in terms of reliability and, above all, customer service. Personally, I've never had any serious issues with them, and the rare times I've needed their help, I've always received fast and effective support (via chat and in English, admittedly). Another nice bonus of Bluehost is that its cPanel includes a WordPress installer that guides you through the process step by step.
TemplateFor those who don't want to spend money on a template, the good news is that there are literally hundreds of free WordPress themes On their official website, although in my case I preferred to choose a paid theme, for several reasons that I might elaborate on in a later post. A website where you can find excellent paid themes, at all price points and with fantastic support services, is... ThemeForest.
These are the essential first steps to start your WordPress website from scratch. From here, and if that wasn't enough, a world of possibilities opens up, and that's where planning becomes crucial.
I hope you enjoyed this first post and, above all, found it useful. If you have any questions, Leave a comment And I'd love to answer you.
