Studies show that almost 67% of the world’s population uses the internet globally. This massive online presence makes having a well-designed website crucial for any business.

To reach even a fraction of this vast audience, you need a strong online presence—a website. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a tech expert to design a website. With the right website builder, creating a site from scratch can be straightforward and accessible.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through how to design a website from scratch in seven easy steps. You’ll find useful tips, strategies, and best practices to help you create a professional and effective online presence. Read on!

Why Create a Website?

Everyone knows what a website is but few understand its importance. Whether you’re the owner of a non-profit, an eCommerce product store,  or any customer-facing business, you should have a website.

Here’s why:

1.  Your Website is an Important Marketing Tool

For 50% of customers, a company’s website design positively or negatively impacts their opinion of the brand.

When done right, your website can double up as a marketing asset. With strategic SEO, high-quality images, and relatable content, you can attract more potential customers and drive sales.

2.  Your Website is the Key to Accelerated Growth

Think of your website as your 24×7 online companion, doing all the selling while you recharge and take time off work. Your website never tires. Instead, it constantly demonstrates to customers what’s great about your brand and product.

3.  Your Website Can be Up and Running, Quickly

The biggest advantage of setting up a website with a DIY website builder is that you can get it up and running quickly. Plus, you can make changes on the fly as opposed to waiting for someone else to step in and do it. Instead of waiting for external web developers, designers, and content creators, you can bank on your expertise and vision to get started.

4.  Your Website Can Save You a Ton of Money

Generally speaking, basic website-building tools are inexpensive, particularly compared to the value they bring. Given that designing a website can cost anywhere between $300 to $5,000 a year, you’re better off designing it yourself.

How to Design a Website from Scratch in Easy 4 Steps?

Building your own website is a great way to go. However, creating one can be difficult if you don’t know how or where to begin, which is why we’re breaking it down for you. Let’s look at the process of how to do website design. 

Step 1: Consider If You Have the Relevant Skills

Before you even begin conceptualizing your website, you must conduct a SWOT analysis of your existing skillset:

  • Do you at least have a beginner’s knowledge of web development and coding, such as HTML/CSS and JavaScript?
  • What’s your exposure to SEO best practices?
  • Will you be able to troubleshoot and fix bugs in real-time?
  • Do you know the difference between front-end and back-end web development skills?

Step 2: Have You Chosen a Web Hosting Provider?

If you want to build a revenue-generating, gorgeous website, you need to partner with a reputable hosting provider. They’ll not only help you get started with the right process in place but also help you with domain registration if needed.

Most vendors also offer features like web builders at a discounted rate for first-time users. When selecting the vendor, dive into your site’s goals and needs. For instance, if your site will have high-quality images and videos, you must opt for a provider who guarantees maximum speed and at least 99% downtime.

Step 3: Conceptualize Your Domain Name

Your domain name will be your website’s identity. So, you want to make sure you pick the right name. Start by looking at the domain names of your competitors. Then, do keyword research to see if you can plug in strategic keywords and make your domain name visible to search engine algorithms.

Take a look at the following domain name for an Australian brand that sells jojoba oil:

Source

This domain name—The Jojoba Company—clearly communicates what the brand sells.

So, do your market research and create a memorable name that your ideal target audience will want to remember.

Step 4: Narrow Your Choice of a Content Management System (CMS) or a Web Builder

Selecting the right website builder or CMS will cut your work down in half. With this multi-purpose tool, you can design, customize, and publish without engaging in even one line of code.

For example, Crazy Domain’s website builder offers an AI Builder to help you design a professional-looking website within minutes.

And if you’re worried about nailing the website’s content, its AI Writer feature comes in handy:

Source

You can also use the AI writer to write social media posts and flesh out entire digital marketing campaigns on the go.

How to Create Website Design? 8 Tips + Best Practices 

With the basics underway, it’s time to dive into the fun part—designing your website. Bookmark this checklist as you put your design cap:

Tip #1: Define Your Website’s Goal

Before you dive into creating your website, take a moment to clearly define what you want to achieve.

Take a look at Target’s site:

Source

Target is an eCommerce store that sells general merchandise at cost-effective prices. Its website’s layout and design showcase deals, offers, and more.

However, here’s the catch: Different websites serve different purposes. So, identify which site type will best meet your objectives and engage your audience effectively. For example, an eCommerce store is perfect for selling your products directly to customers.

A portfolio site is ideal for showcasing your creative work whereas a resume site is great for attracting potential employers. You can build blog-driven sites, event sites, photography sites, fitness sites, and more, depending on the type of product you want to promote.

Once you’ve narrowed down the type, select design elements that will align with your main website goals. For instance, if you plan to sell photos, set up a portfolio layout with an integrated online store. This way, you’ll be able to sell prints to ready-to-purchase customers.

Tip #2: Strategize Your Website’s Layout

Your website’s layout is not important just to make sure your site “looks good” on the outside. It has a more functional purpose—it allows visitors to navigate your site intuitively.

This means that they should instinctively head over to the top-right section to see their cart details as shown here:

Source

And if they want to contact you in any way, they should immediately scroll down and find the relevant details.

But how do you design a user-friendly layout with just the right amount- of layers?

Consider these tips:

  • Draw your website’s layout on paper before advancing to a drag-and-drop builder
  • Choose from a library of free pre-designed templates from the website builder vendor
  • Customize the chosen layout and swap elements such as images, colours, text boxes, and so on
  • Make the right choice between a single-page or multi-page template according to your site’s goals and product lineup
  • Get onto the internet and browse through interesting and engaging sites such as Pinterest, Dribbble, etc. to feel inspired. Jot down points you like so that you can emulate the same for your design idea

Tip #3: Get Your Domain Name Right

We covered briefly about how to select a domain name in the previous section. Here, we’ll dive into the specifics and give you expert-approved tips to try:

  • Add your business name to your domain name if possible to boost awareness
  • Customize your domain name according to your brand’s values, audience’ likes, and product’s USPs to gather customer trust
  • Keep the domain name short to reduce the chances of your visitors misspelling it
  • Do not add numbers, symbols, and special characters—keep the domain name simple
  • Hint at what your brand offers with simple words within the domain name
  • Play around with the domain name by adding or removing words if your original choice is unavailable
  • Select the right domain name extension, popular choices being .com or .net; if your business is location-specific, make sure to choose an extension accordingly

Tip #4: Get Working on Your Website Content

With your website’s foundation set, it’s time to gather all the necessary content such as images, text, logos, videos, and other rich media. At this point, consider:

  • Will you need to do a high-end photoshoot to create an image library?
  • Will you need to hire a professional writer to create product descriptions and weave content for your About Us page?
  • Will you need a videographer for short-style interactive videos?

Logically speaking, use original content to keep your site unique and true to your brand.

And if you don’t have the budget to invest in 100% original content, ensure you’re obtaining resources legally. For instance, if you are using stock images, purchase them if they’re not available free for commercial use.

A few other tips to keep in mind include:

  • Don’t overwhelm your visitors with too much content; focus on quality over quantity
  • Ensure your content is direct, crisp, and value-driven
  • Build content—be it visual or textual—around your brand identity
  • Think about your site’s ideal online persona and map your content to their needs, aspirations, behaviors, habits, and so on

For instance, Sol De Janeiro’s website features products beautifully—the product images are fun, summery, and quirky:

Source

Even the text’s tone and style reflect the brand’s playful personality:

Source

Tip #5: Round Up the Right “Must-Have” Pages

Every business has a unique identity—why should your website be left behind? However, there are some standard pages visitors expect to find.

If you’re building a multi-page site, pick a mix of these key sections:

  • Homepage: Your homepage is the first chance to impress your visitors. So design your homepage to be clean, organized, and visually appealing as OUAI’s homepage demonstrates below:

Source

This design:

    • Clearly communicate what the brand is all about
    • Guides visitors with clean navigation and clear calls-to-action
    • Highlights the brand’s logo and a neat hamburger navigation menu
    • Has a contrasting yet compelling background with striking images
    • Demonstrates engaging text with enticing offers
  • About Us Page: Share your story and values on this page—and do it humorously if your brand personality allows:

Source

You must use a friendly tone by writing in the first person (“I,” “Our,” or “We”) to create a personal connection:

Source

You can also include photos of yourself and your team to humanize your brand and build trust with your audience.

  • Contact Page: Make it easy for visitors to reach you. For this, you’ll need to provide your phone number, postal address, business email, and social media handle links. As a best practice, consider adding a live chat feature for instant communication or a contact form where visitors can leave their messages.
  • Products/Services Page: This is where you showcase what you offer. You can use high-quality images, write detailed and engaging descriptions, and be transparent about your terms and conditions such as shipping, returns, and cancellations.
  • Blog: A blog helps establish your expertise, build a loyal audience, and drive traffic to your site as the Luke Coutinho site showcases below:

Source

You can also share customer success stories, case studies, interviews, and personal experiences to reel the readers in. Most importantly, think about how you’ll provide valuable insights and tips based on your expertise.

  • FAQ Page: An FAQ page answers common questions in a structured manner, saving time for both you and your visitors as shown here:

Source

It enhances the user experience by providing quick answers at the visitor’s fingertips.

  • Privacy Policy: Another element that you can’t afford to ignore is ensuring legal compliance so that your brand can be perceived as transparent and trustworthy. And the best way to do this is by having a privacy policy page. In terms of what to add in this page, if you use third-party services such as web analytics and ads, outline your data practices on this page.

Tip #6: Design Your Website Elements Right

Your website content is sorted. You’ve set up the domain name. Now, it’s time to design your website pages.

This is a step-by-step process you can follow:

  • Understand the kind of design style you want your website to reflect—do you want it to have a modern and minimal look and feel or do you want something more edgy and quirky? If you have a predefined brand identity, use that document to guide your designing decisions.
  • Think – How will you ensure the browsing experience for visitors is user-friendly, convenient, and quick? This is where you need to work on your site’s architecture:
    • Connect pages as intuitively as possible
    • Add a navigation menu on top with quick links to important pages
    • Ensure your visitors don’t have to click more than twice to get to their desired page
    • Use all these data points to build a site plan and leverage it as a blueprint
  • Choose the right website menu—whether it’s a traditional horizontal header or the popular compact hamburger style. Your menu should be visible on every page. Plus, you must keep the number of items minimal to avoid clutter.
  • The colors you choose for your website influence how visitors feel and behave. Different shades evoke different emotions and can affect how long people stay on your site. Ideally, stick to a simple palette: a primary color for 60% of the design, 30% for a secondary color, and 10% for accents. If you have established brand colors, you can use those to maintain consistency.
  • Select fonts that are easy to read on all devices; after all, your customers may reach your site in a variety of ways—be it mobile, laptop, desktop, and so on. And for your fonts, try and limit your site to three fonts at the maximum to maintain a clean and professional look.
  • Your header and footer improve usability. The header must include your brand’s logo and navigation menu so that visitors can easily explore your site. The footer, located at the bottom, features useful information such as contact details, social media links, an email sign-up form, and so on.
  • Add motion, such as hover effects, video backgrounds, etc., to make your website more dynamic and engaging. However, a word of caution: Use these features sparingly; otherwise, you’ll overwhelm your visitors.
  • Scroll effects add sophistication to your site by creating smooth transitions as visitors scroll. Parallax scrolling, for instance, adds depth and a 3D effect to your page and makes the browsing experience more immersive.
  • A favicon is the small icon displayed in the browser tab that represents your site. Despite its size, it helps visitors identify your site when multiple tabs are open.
  • Don’t underestimate the power of empty space. Whitespace helps create a clean, organized look and makes your content more readable. It also helps users focus on the essential elements without feeling lost.

Pro Tip: Balance, symmetry, and other design principles used in art are just as relevant in web design. Use mockups and wireframes to visualize your design before going live. 

Tip #7: Your Website Should Inclusive

Another area that often goes unnoticed is whether or not your website is accessible. This means making sure people of all abilities can easily use your site easily, whether they have visual impairment, hearing loss, and so on.

With 1.3 billion people living with some form of disability, making your site inclusive is not just important—it’s essential. It also shows your commitment to inclusivity and diversity.

To make your website more accessible:

  • Start with a clear layout and use headings to structure your content.
  • Make sure your site works well with a keyboard
  • Add alt text to your images
  • Use proper heading tags
  • Ensure good contrast to assist people with low vision

As per estimates, these are the most common Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) failures as of 2024:

Source

Tip #8: Strengthen Your SEO

There’s no denying that watching your website traffic grow is incredibly satisfying. One of the best ways to boost traffic is by using SEO (search engine optimization) best practices. SEO is all about optimizing your content so it ranks higher in search results.

Here are some tips to get you started:

  • Keyword research: Find relevant keywords for your site and choose one main keyword as well as a few secondary ones to integrate within your content. The idea is to use them naturally and logically throughout your content.
  • On-page SEO: Fill in the meta-data for each page, such as the URL, SEO title, and description, to help search engines understand your content (and, of course, context).
  • Alt text: Describe your images with alt text, as doing so helps search engines and improves accessibility.
  • Internal linking: Link to other important pages within your site that you wish to promote to help search engines bring them up when a visitor searches for something related to said page.
  • Sitemap: Create a sitemap to help search engines crawl and understand your site’s structure.

Pro tip: Use tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your website’s traffic and performance weekly or monthly.

Get Started on Your Killer Website Design with Crazy Domains!

With advancements in technology, many complex tasks have become easier. Creating a website is no exception. You can create a new website within minutes, make changes to your existing site, keep it looking fresh and updated, and give your brand the digital edge it needs to stand out in a sea of sameness.

Luckily, there are many user-friendly tools available to make your work easier.

Crazy Domains offers a powerful website builder equipped with AI Builder and AI Writer Tools, drag-and-drop features, and customizable templates to make your job easier. Whether you’re looking to create an eCommerce site from scratch or a mobile-ready website, Crazy Domains’ on-the-go editing tools will help you get started quickly.

Head over to our site to start building your website now!