Image Credit: creativeart
How to Build A Website that Sells You and Your Brand
I have been working in the web and digital media world for over twenty years. From hand coding static html pages in the early 2000’s, to transitioning into advanced content management systems, I have seen the world of website building grow into what it is today.
In today’s digital world, having a well-designed, functional website isn’t optional—it’s essential. Whether you’re launching a personal blog, an online store, a business, or online portfolio, building an effective website requires a balanced blend of tools and skills.
If you’re just getting started (or need a refresher), here’s a straightforward guide to I assembled help you properly build a website that actually works.
*This page contains affiliate relationships. A commission may be earned when a purchase is made through these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Key Skills You Need
Basic HTML & CSS
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the foundation of every webpage. Think of HTML as the “building blocks” of your web pages. If you are building a house, think of HTML as the frame or structure of the house.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) styles the content. CSS is used to define attributes for things like font size, color, positioning of elements, and even animation. In reference to the house example above, think of CSS as the painting and decorating of the house, bringing the look and feel of it alive.
Why it matters: Understanding how HTML and CSS work gives you control over layout, formatting, and styling—even if you use a website builder, like GoDaddy or Elementor.
Basic JavaScript
JavaScript adds interactivity to websites—like image sliders, forms, pop-ups, and animations.
Start with DOM (Document Object Model) manipulation, event handling, and fetching data from APIs (Application Programming Interface).
Design Fundamentals
You don’t need to be an expert graphic designer, but knowing a bit about layout, color theory, spacing, and typography goes a long way when building an effective website design. As you may know, being a user of the internet, lackluster design can not only have a negative effect on navigating a website. It can also be a big factor in make a good, trustworthy first impression. You don’t want visitors leaving your website seconds after they get there.
Pro Tip: Use graphics software tools like Adobe, Corel and InVideo to design graphics and video for your site, enhancing its usability and experience.
SEO Basics
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ensures people actually find your website, by applying strategies to increase your exposure in user searches.
Keyword Research
Use tools and services that can help you define what terms are being searched for to find the content you feature on your website. Some of these services, like Google Keyword Tool, will help you find relevant keywords to use. Other services, like Semrush, will additionally give you an analysis of your competitors, analyze your pages for SEO, and other valuable information in addition to keyword suggestions.
On-Page SEO
Title tags, meta descriptions, headings: These are important elements in the page structure that search engines use to not only answer search queries, they use them to display information in search results. Be sure to use the correct character lengths for title tags and meta descriptions, and that your page content uses heading tags. (h1, h2, h3, etc.)
Mobile Optimization
Over the past decade, optimizing websites for mobile devices went from being a luxury to a necessity. More than half of internet users access the internet from their mobile devices, in particular, their cell phones. For this reason, it is crucial to make sure your website is properly formatted to fit mobile devices. This is done primarily through “mobile queries,” which are written in CSS. These queries resize the content to fit the device the viewer is using, and are triggered by the device when the website is accessed.
Page Speed
Many factors contribute to page speed. Image size, the speed of your web host, caching, and even plugins and extensions your website is using. Occasionally, run page speed tests to get an analysis of what your load speeds are, and correct what is necessary as suggested. Page speed testers can be found by searching for them online.
Content Creation
Even the best-looking websites fall flat without quality content. Being able to write clearly, concisely, and for your audience is crucial. This goes for video and image content as well.
Must-Have Tools to Build a Website
Website Builder or CMS (Content Management System)
To get started building your website, choose the tools and services based on your needs and skill level.
- Beginner-Friendly: GoDaddy, Shopify
- Flexible and Powerful: WordPress (with themes + plugins)
- Developer-Focused: Webflow, custom-built with React or Next.js
Domain Name + Hosting
You will need both a domain and web hosting package to make your site go live.
- Domains: Namecheap, Domain.com
- Hosting: Bluehost, SiteGround, Hostinger (for WordPress)
Design Tools
These are essential for creating images, videos and for adding additional fonts and type styles to you website.
- Wireframing and Prototyping: Figma, Adobe XD
- Graphics and Video: InVideo, Corel, Adobe, Kittl
- Icons & Fonts: Font Awesome, Google Fonts, MyFonts
Content Management Tools
A content management system is among the best ways to build and manage content on your website, making it easy to organize your website.
- WordPress CMS: Popular and plugin-rich
- Headless CMS options: Contentful, Sanity, Strapi (for devs)
SEO Tools
Search Engine Optimization is necessary for keeping your websites content competitive in ranking, and being found in searches.
- Free: Google Search Console
- Paid: Ahrefs, Semrush, Surfer SEO
Analytics & Tracking
These tools help you see what is happening behind the scenes with user activity. See page visits, user demographics, track campaigns, enter and exit points of users on your site, and more.
- Google Analytics: For tracking visitors and behavior.
- Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity: For heatmaps and user behavior insights.
Communication & Marketing Tools
Stay in touch with your visitors through live chat on your site, email campaigns, contact forms, and more.
- Email Marketing: Mailchimp, Kit, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
- Live Chat: Tidio, LiveChat, LiveAgent
- Forms: Typeform, WPForms, JotForm
Optional (But Powerful) Developer Tools
If you’re leaning more technical, here are a few extra tools:
- Code Editors: VS Code, Sublime Text
- Version Control: GitHub
- Frameworks: Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap, React.js
- Performance Testing: Google Lighthouse, GTmetrix
- CI/CD Tools: GitHub Actions, Netlify Deploys
Final Tips for Success
As the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” A good website takes time, planning, and good execution and maintenance.
- Start Small – You don’t need every feature on day one. Build and add as needed.
- Prioritize User Experience – Keep things clean, fast, and easy to navigate. Listen to feedback from your visitors for suggestions on improving.
- Optimize for Mobile – Since over 50% of web traffic is mobile, your website should be optimized for viewing on mobile devices. When building your website, take a “mobile first” design approach.
- Keep Learning – The web changes fast—stay updated with blogs, courses, and communities.
Wrapping Up
Building an effective website is a combination of creative flair, technical knowledge, and the right tools. With practice and patience, anyone can do it—even if you’re starting from scratch. Your website is your digital presence to the world that you have complete control of.
Got a project idea or need a custom checklist or beginner’s toolkit? Drop a comment or send me a message—I’d love to help you get started.
Good luck, and much success!
Below are some highly recommended resources, some I have personally used and mentioned above.
Books and Reference
Amazon is earth’s biggest selection of books, music, DVDs, electronics, computers, software, apparel and much more at low prices. The feature a wide variety of books on website building and more.
Email Marketing
Constant Contact allows you to create branded emails, sell products, build a website, and make it easy for people to find you—all from a single platform.
Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that helps you reach your audience and grow your business. Their all-in-one Marketing Platform helps small businesses use personalized, data-backed recommendations and automations.
Website Hosting
Built on open source technology, Bluehost has grown to become one of the world’s largest providers of online solutions. They are a top recommended host by WordPress, and also proudly supports many other open source programs.
We are a web hosting provider on a mission to bring success to everyone who goes online. We do it by constantly improving server technology, providing professional support, and making the web hosting experience seamless.
GoDaddy is the world’s #1 domain name registrar and powers the world’s largest cloud platform dedicated to small, independent ventures. It is the place people come to name their idea, build a professional website, and manage their work.
With Shopify, merchants can build and customize an online store and sell in multiple places, including web, mobile, in person, brick-and-mortar locations, and pop-up shops and across multiple channels from social media to online marketplaces.
Domain Registration
Domain.com is more than just a domain registrar or a website builder- they offer everything you need to find online success, however you define it.
Namecheap is a leading ICANN accredited domain name registrar and web hosting company. They offer all necessary products to bring people’s ideas online, from domain names, hosting and SSL certificates, to productivity and marketing apps.
Sales & CRM
LiveChat is an online tool that helps businesses to get in touch with their customers directly on their website. LiveChat fills in for phone calls, which are expensive and for e-mails, which tend to be slow.
Tidio is a customer experience platform that enables online stores to provide excellent customer service and turn passive visitors into active buyers.
About the Author
Frank has been serving the web and digital media world for two decades. He has been featured on popular television shows on major networks such as Fox Business, Fox News, and ABC, as well as various magazines, news websites, radio shows and podcasts.