Every business
Every Retail Shop
Every enthusiast
Everyone has a website now
Thanks to website Builders! They made it very easy to build websites.
Back in the day when I started building websites, you had to buy hosting, buy domain names, configure name servers, Install WP (at times manually install it), and do other cosmetic things like design and themes.
But that was quite an experience and I got to learn more about how hosting works, how to deal with malware issues, most common hosting problems like 500 errors, how to speed up a website, and more. More than all that, the ability to customize everything to my needs was the biggest win for me in building a website without website builders.
I see there are a couple of questions on Reddit and a bunch of other bloggers had some posts on it. That gives me the scope that people are looking for information on this topic. However, most of the existing guides miss the personal touch and practical approach to the guide. I want to take the PRACTICAL approach and explain how I built this site on WP with an Understrap Child Theme. (No website builder plugins, no website builder themes like DIVI)
Step 1 – Buying a domain!
If you are looking for information on building a website with or without a website builder, I am pretty sure, you have a domain or at least a domain name selected. If you have a domain, well and good. If you don’t, then I would suggest creating an account on NameCheap.com and buying your domain. The process is as easy as creating a Gmail address.
Step 2 – Buy Hosting!
There are free hosting providers out there. But they say in Business, when some product or commodity is FREE, the consumer is the actual commodity. So, with free hosting providers, you either end up paying more in the later stages or they have some hidden charges. So it is good to spend on buying a commercial hosting service for long-term benefits like security, reliability, performance, and more.
Step 3 – Configure Domain Name with the Hosting
When you buy hosting services from a provider, they give 2-4 name servers in the first email they send you. And domain name providers have fields for name servers, mostly under DNS configuration tabs on their dashboards. Once you log in to your domain name provider dashboard, search for the DNS configuration tab or contact support, most of them have great support and they will guide you on how to update name servers.
Step 4 – Install WP CMS on the domain
In the introduction Email, along with the name server details, hosting providers also send your logins to the hosting control panel. You can use them to log in and find options like Softaculous or One-Click Wp install options. Once you find them, everything is again as easy as installing the Facebook App and creating an account on it.
When you buy hosting services from a provider, they give 2-4 name servers in the first email they send you. And domain name providers have fields for name servers, mostly under DNS configuration tabs on their dashboards. Once you log in to your domain name provider dashboard, search for the DNS configuration tab or contact support, most of them have great support and they will guide you on how to update name servers.
Step 5 – Search for a Theme
Now that all technical things are set, we can move to the cosmetic side of the gig. There are so many free themes in the WP-Themes repository. There are also many third-party marketplaces where you can buy premium themes with much more customization and niche-specific features. Also, there is a more advanced option. Using starter themes and customizing them with child themes, as I did on dailyblogging.org. The last option needs a bit of work and some basic PHP and CSS knowledge.
If you are just starting with this DIY website without a website builders gig, I would suggest using option 2 — to go with premium themes from marketplaces like ThemeForest and Elegant Themes.
Step 6 – Getting Better
Let it be a website built with website builders, a custom-built website framework like Laravel, or the good old WordPress, this step is the same for any system. As you keep using this system to manage your website, it gets easier and you will get to ride more advanced journeys like adding more modules and functionalities to the websites with plugins.
There are also other ways of building websites without website builders like:
- Building a website from scratch – Using HTML, CSS, MySQL for databases, and some backend server-side programming languages like PHP, JS, or Ruby On Rails.
- Building a website using programming frameworks like Laravel for PHP, Flask or Django for Python, Sinatra, and Camping for Ruby On Rails.
However, these are pretty advanced methods that need some programming and web development experience. Since you are dealing with alternative options for website builders, I would not suggest any of these complicated coding and deployment gigs.
The best alternative for website builders in the process of building high-quality, professional-looking websites is content management systems.