Building a website means putting a few parts together in the right order. This article explains those parts, what you need to do for each one, and when it makes sense to get help.
01The five parts of a website
- Domain. The address people type, for example yourbusiness.com. It is renewed every year.
- Hosting. The server where the site's files live and are sent to visitors.
- Design. The layout of the pages, colours, fonts and how the site looks on a phone.
- Content. Texts, photos, prices and contact details.
- Google setup. Page titles, descriptions, a sitemap and the link to your Google Business Profile.
02Get the domain
- Pick a short name you can say over the phone. Ideally your business name.
- Decide between .com and a country domain. In Türkiye, .com.tr addresses have been given to the first applicant without documents since 14 September 2022. The .tr domains are run by TRABİS, part of the telecoms authority BTK.
- Buy it from a registrar and make sure it is registered in your own name.
Compare renewal prices, not first-year prices. The two can be very different.
03Choose hosting
If you use a site builder such as Wix or ikas, hosting is part of the plan. If a designer builds your site, ask for the hosting location and the yearly fee in writing in the quote. The site's address should start with https, which shows that the connection between the visitor and the site is encrypted.
04Do the design
- Phone first. Many of your customers will open the site on a phone. Buttons should be easy to tap with a thumb.
- Few pages, clear pages. Home, services, about, contact. A separate page for each service helps you appear in searches for that service.
- Contact on every page. Call and WhatsApp buttons visible on every page.
We compare templates, free sites and custom design in a separate article.
05Prepare the content
Content is usually the part of a site that takes longest. Collect these in advance:
- Your logo and, if you have them, your colours.
- Photos of your own work and your premises.
- A list of the products and services you sell.
- Address, phone, WhatsApp number and opening hours.
- The questions customers ask you most often. The site's questions section comes from this list.
06Prepare for Google and launch
- Give every page a title that says what the page is about, and a short description.
- Put the site live on your domain.
- Add it to Google Search Console and submit your sitemap. Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site. Search Console lets you tell Google about your most important pages.
- Add the site's address to your Google Business Profile. If you do not have one yet, follow our Google Business Profile guide.
07Build it yourself, or have it made?
- Build it yourself if you have the time, a few pages are enough, and you can prepare the texts and photos yourself. Site builders are made for this.
- Have it made if you want to appear in specific searches on Google, need more than one language, or would rather run your business than the website.
If you decide to have it made, what decides the price is explained in a separate article.
