Lets start with the basics. To get any kind of shindig going online, you are going to need a website. Nothing less. As much as this sounds like a bit of a tricky task, especially if you have never really created one before, I can assure you that this is easier than it sounds.
For example would you believe that it took approximately 10 minutes for this website to go from idea to live? True story.
Web Designers Always Tell You Otherwise
Heres the thing. Web Designers make awesome looking websites. They are good at doing that. However, most web designers lack one important skill.
They are not marketers. They design websites that look great, but if you speak to most web designers and ask them about SEO or conversion optimization, they will look at you blankly.
So, heres mistake #1. Dont pay to have a website created for you. At least, not yet anyway. Instead, lets create one from scratch.
Introducing WordPress
WordPress is a blog platform that can also support content based websites. It is super easy to set up, and has a huge amount of plugin support, plus themes as well.
Wondering what a WordPress based website looks like? You are looking at one.
The thing that makes WordPress so usable is the fact that it has an administration panel in the backend, so you dont need to edit code, or so any of that kind of junk just to get a page live. All you need to do is write content, and hit the publish button.
How To Install WordPress
If I try and explain how to install WordPress, it will end up confusing you, I am sure. Instead, I will show you how it is done.
Check out the video below.
WordPress does look quite bland when it is installed, however, there are a wide variety of free themes available, plus a few premium options which may suit those who are willing to invest a bit of cash in making their blog look a little more unique.
As such, my recommendations come as follows:
- Thesis Theme: The theme that this blog is built on
- Headway Theme: An easy to use alternative to Thesis
- WooThemes: One of the best collection of premium themes that I know of
- Theme Forest: Community developed themes, and quite cost effective
- OptimizePress: A sales letter theme for product launches
Other Platforms
Sure, you can create a website using many other platforms. Most people will prefer to start from scratch with a HTML template, or even other well known blog scripts. Whilst WordPress is arguably the easiest way to get started, here are a few resources that I have used myself over time:
- Joomla: Blog and Content based website script
- Theme Forest: Great for HTML templates and extremely cost effective
