Do-it-yourself: website and online store in 8 steps

It is very easy to bring your ideas to the virtual world and create your own website or even an online shop. How can you do it without much effort and basic programming skills? Let's find out in 8 steps!

A website is just a form, it is valuable content. With ready-made templates, visual editors and a user-friendly interface, you can quickly launch a website and spend a minimum of money on hosting and domain name registration.

Step 1: Choose a platform
Convenient and clear interface of Website Builder allows you to create web resources without any knowledge of programming and web development. Choose the design of the future site, add and adjust various elements, insert content and set up site functionality (drag and drop).

If you need a dropshipping site, the choice of builder depends on the needs of the business and the functionality you want to implement. The most popular today are: Tilda, Wix, Squarespace, Weebly or CMS WordPress with building plugins (e.g. Elementor).

If we are talking about an online shop, the best solution is Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix eCommerce, WooCommerce (for WordPress), Squarespace Commerce builders. These builders provide ready-made templates, tools to add products, manage orders, set up payments and more.

Not only beginners, but also experienced drop shippers use eCommerce platforms to create shops and manage orders. It's convenient. Later, many add another sales channel and create their own website.

Step 2: Register your domain and hosting
A domain is the address of your website on the internet, and hosting is where your website files are stored. Registering a domain is essentially registering the right to use that name on the internet. It is important to choose a reliable hosting provider who will ensure that your site is stable, even if you have a lot of visitors. Finding services that offer domain and hosting registration for a small monthly fee is fairly easy. Type in your search term and choose the one that suits you best. Note that website builders often provide their own hosting.

Step 3: Choose a design
Most platforms offer a wide range of ready-made designs. The user can choose the one that best suits their idea and shows the character of the site or shop. Later, you can customise the colours, fonts and layout of the elements.

If you don't like something on your site, don't worry! You can always go back to the previous (or initial) version and make changes. Constructors allow you to correct and update information very quickly.

Step 4: Filling and content
Content, what fills the site, is its foundation, what it was created for. For an online shop - it is products with descriptions and photos. For a regular website - it's text, images, videos and other materials.

Write about the product simply and concisely, in short paragraphs, without excessive jargon. Break up large blocks of text into sections using headings and markers, and choose keywords that vary in frequency.

Step 5: Customise the functionality
Feedback forms, videos, interactive maps, as well as setting up delivery options, payment methods and order accounting can all be added to the pages of the site using the designer's features to make your resource more functional and user-friendly. To make it easy for users to navigate through the pages, think about navigation.

Step 6: SEO optimisation
To make your website visible to search engines, you need to perform basic SEO optimisation. Add meta tags, choose keywords for each page and make sure you create quality, unique content.

Step 7: Publish
Once you have completed all the settings, your site is ready to be published. Click the 'Publish' button. Modern designers allow you to create websites with adaptive design that display correctly on different devices, including computers, tablets and smartphones.

Step 8: Promotion
Effective promotion includes search engine optimisation (SEO), quality content creation, social media activity, advertising campaigns, audience interaction, email marketing and data analysis.

HLTS ltd does not only help its clients to find suppliers and dropshippers. A separate line of business is the support and full promotion of clients' websites and online shops. It is impossible to predict in advance which particular promotional channel will attract traffic. We analyse website traffic, develop and manage advertising campaigns on Google, Facebook and Instagram, Snap and TikTok for our clients.