I have a domain name but how do I start to build a website around it?

Many times, people get brilliant domain ideas and rush to register the domain. Nothing wrong with that. But then, they start wondering, I have a good domain alright but how do I start to build a website around the domain?

Designing a website is usually in three phases. The first phase is the domain registration; the second is the hosting of the domain and last but not least, the design of the website. That is the most widely used approach but some people might decide to start from number three. They design the website on their computer first, and then go buy a domain and host the site. The order doesn’t really matter- what matters is to make sure all the phases are realized.

For the purposes of this hub, I will assume that you have already registered your domain and have hosted with a reliable webhost. (If you have not yet registered a domain, you might want to refer to the following helpful hubs on the topic:

There are different web design platforms and the choice of the best platform to use depends on ones expertise. If you don’t have the time for this or you just hate design work, then you don’t need to worry about this step as you can simply hire a web designer and he will do the worrying for you. Freelancer.com is probably the best website to hire freelancers that will give you value for your money in your web design. If you are working on a tight budget, don’t worry about it. You can actually design a website without knowledge of coding thanks to the CMS revolution. CMS stands for Content Management System. That’s right; you don’t need coding any more to build a website on your domain. You just need to learn managing content. Anybody that knows to click and drag can use a CMS. Cool, right?

Which is the best CMS?

There are many CMSes that exist today and I am in no mood for starting another 3^rd world war by endorsing one as the best. There has been a debate ever since the CMS revolution hit the shores of web design on which one is best. My verdict is none is. I think all are equal and choosing the right CMS depends on which task you want to perform since all of the CMSes are built to achieve different things.
“Wait a minute….you lost me… what are some examples of Content Management Systems (CMSes)?”
Am glad you asked. Examples of the most commonly used CMSes are Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, etc. obviously etc is not another example of CMS. Hahaha

You can do some Google research and settle on one that best suits your needs. If you are building a blog, wardress is the best CMS to use since it was actually developed to be a blogging platform

Once you have settled on your proffered CMS, login to the administrative end of your domain (also known as Cpanel for most of the webhosts). You will need the login credentials from your webhost. If you lost them, you can simply write an email to them (known as a support ticket) and they will reset it for you. Once you are in Cpanel, look for fantastic under soft wares and click on it. In the resulting window, you will see a list of various scripts and CMSes that you can install. Navigate to the CMS of choice and click on install. When installing the CMS, take caution to ensure that you don’t install in the root folder (which is usually the default). Since you are still learning the CMS, you should install it in a subfolder in order to hide your work from the public until it is complete. For instance, yourdomain.com is the root while yourdomain.com/newfolder is a subfolder.

Step three: Start building!

If you are a newbie, the whole idea might sound scary but don’t worry, Even the most experienced web designer today began where you are beginning. And the best thing about the CMSes is that they not only have lots of tutorials online but they also have amazing forums where you can connect with other developers and get help at absolutely no fee until you become an expert developer-and who knows, you might even end up becoming a professional web designer.

If you are still with me, you recall step 3. If not, please go back and read it again. Once you are satisfied with your website, you can now move it to the root by simply copying the files. You might want to ask for support from your webhost to avoid any problems but it is an easy thing s you shouldn’t be scared at all. After moving the files tot eh root, open your domain in a new tab. The website should now be displaying on your domain.