(This article is written in a way that anyone not into web development can read)
As at 2014 April, there were over 900 million websites on the internet and the number is increasing vigorously on hourly basis.
These days, one can hardly do anything worthwhile without having to consider the internet. People order food, clothing, and so on. Isn’t it amazing?
Now, you might have mustered the thought of having your picture or your contents appear on every social media. If that is you, I am that also.
Having your own website starts with using the Google’s blogspot.com, building one with content management systems like Joomla, Drupal, or WordPress or by using any other not well known. I use these: Drupal, Joomla and WordPress.
NOW, LET US TALK ABOUT YOU OWNING YOUR SITE
Whether you are a writer, you have a personal business, you own a company or an organization, the internet is one of the key rungs in the ladder of your success.
Here are what you need to consider before you seal the plan of setting up one:
It starts with you –
1. Self-Definition
When you were born, your parents were not flummoxed about the name to give you, whether masculine or feminine. Just seeing your genital was the only lead.
And that is why you are called Joseph as a male or Josephine as a female.
Self-definition is having a concise understanding of yourself. It is to know what you are made of. And it span to you knowing what you can really do.
For instance, I write motivational, relationships, self-empowerment, love-messages, songs, rhymes, and the list goes on. For me, writing comes easy.
Can you really be a blogger without being a writer?
You can be a blogger without being a writer, but you will only be a poor one. People copy contents on websites and they edit to make their own. If that is all you can do for now, with time you will be better. But lifting a whole article from a website and feeling relaxed as of it’s yours, will only make you one of the wayside bloggers with time. Such act is called plagiarism.com – desist from it.
Ask Yourself this:
2. Why Do I Want a Website?
These days, there a good number of groups and pages on Facebook, having nice titles but are not functioning. And a quite number of websites expire yearly. You must ask yourself why you are considering having your personal website. Is it to just feel among, to really get something done or to showcase your talent? No matter what reason you have, feeling among is not a good one. Scrutinize every thought that comes along with you having your personal website and make sure the focal point is on you having a lasting impression.
Now that you have known that, see this:
3. Domain Name – Sell Yourself:
Domain name is the name of your website. Mine is motivationandlove.
Domain name is what I call ‘site christening’, It is what really sells your website.
By default, your domain name must give every user a picture of what your website is all about.
When anyone searches from google.com, one of the criteria for showing you the result of your search is using the domain name. Seeing something like www.sweetlovemessages.com should trigger this thought: love messages.
In case you want people to search through Google and other site engines like Bing and Ask, you must choose a domain name that really gives a clue of what your website is all about.
Don’t use something like sexyguy.blogspot.com when you your blog is about the internet. And don’t use your name for your blog or your website. That it is working for Linda Ikeji doesn’t mean it will work for you. Desist from the use of abusive domains. You want to blog about technology, Relationship, internet? Let your blog say something close to that.
Next is this:
4. Site Slogan: This is the string of words that appears after your site name or domain name in site engines like Google. It gives more information about your website. While site name or domain name sells your website, your site slogan sells your contents firsthand. For www.coollovemessages.com, the site slogan is ‘for the best expression of love.’ Isn’t that cool?’
Here Comes the Real Deal –
5. The Software To Use:
These days, developing websites comes handy with the advent of content management systems like Drupal, Joomla and WordPress., among many others. They are called open source software such that anyone or anyone operating the system can use it. If you want to build your own website or you want someone to build for you, there are reasons you must use one over the other, depending on the type of website you want to put up. Feel free to contact me on this.
Then Consider This:
6. The Template Or Theme To Use:
A template or theme is what gives your website the structure that everyone sees. It is a professional practice these days to develop a website that is responsive ( responsive means, to open according to the screen size the device anyone is using to visit the site).
While considering a template to use, make sure it is such that will bring out the color of your website. It will be unprofessional to use a template with black texts throughout a website that claims to portray beauty – that is where professionalism and creativity meets!
A warning though: I will advice you not to use any template or theme from any developer that warns you of it not being for commercial use: such themes will not make you appear in Google search. I am a living testimony. There are tonnes of free themes to use.
And Last But Not the Cheapest:
7. Web Hosting:
Every website has a host. And everything (image, audio and videos) you have on a website are stored in the host’s server.
Some web hosts give a free domain with their hosting packages and that sounds like a freebie to me.
While we have bad ones, there are outstanding web hosts. In case you want your website hosted, make sure you do your research about the company.
Thanks for reading….
You need help choosing a domain, you want a website of your own or you need any advice? Feel free to contact me on:
Facebook –Adegoke Olalekan Adebumiti.