The Ultimate Guide to DIY Websites

With the rise of DIY culture, it's no surprise that DIY website builder (Do It Yourself website builder) has become increasingly popular. Whether you're a small business owner, a freelancer, or just someone looking to establish an online presence, there are many benefits to having your website. However, with so many DIY website builders, choosing the best one for your needs can be overwhelming. That's where Strikingly comes in - a user-friendly and affordable option for anyone looking to build their own website.

Why DIY website building is popular?

DIY website building has become popular because it allows individuals and businesses to take control of their online presence without having to hire expensive web developers. With the abundance of easy-to-use website builders available today, anyone can create a professional-looking website in just a few hours - no coding skills required.

What are the Benefits of Having a Website?

Having your own website can bring numerous benefits, such as increased visibility and credibility for your business or personal brand. A well-designed and informative website can help you connect with potential clients or customers, showcase your work or products, and generate leads.

What are DIY Website Builders?

DIY website builders, also known as online website builders or drag-and-drop website builders, are tools that allow you to create a website without any coding. They provide templates and an easy drag-and-drop interface to add elements like:

• Text
• Images
• Videos
• Contact forms
• Blog posts
• Ecommerce products
  

Image taken from Strikingly

Some of the popular DIY website builders are:

• Strikingly - Free website builder that is ridiculously easy to use. Offers hundreds of free templates, easy drag-and-drop features, and perfect for everyone.
• Wix - Free website builder with hundreds of templates. Easy to use with drag and drop.
• Squarespace - Stylish website builder with designer templates. Used by many creative professionals.
• Weebly - Another easy-to-use website builder with both free and paid plans. Good for small businesses.
• WordPress.com - Free website builder powered by WordPress. Lots of flexibility and options for growth.
• Shopify - Specialized website builder for ecommerce stores. Makes it easy to sell products and accept payments.
• Bubble - Visual programming tool to build web applications without code. A bit more advanced but still code-free.
  

Some of the main benefits of DIY website builders are:

• No coding required - Anyone can build a website with an easy visual interface.
• Professional themes - They provide many stylish templates that look great on any device.
• Simple to update - Easy to update text, images and add new blog posts or products yourself.
• Affordable - Typically very affordable, with many free options for simple sites. Easy to scale up as your needs grow.
• Integrations - Many integrations are available with email, analytics, ecommerce and more.
• Mobile-friendly - All templates are fully responsive and sites work great on both desktop and mobile.

DIY Website builders allow users to create websites without extensive coding or web design knowledge. These platforms typically offer pre-made templates and drag-and-drop editors that make it easy for beginners to create their websites.

Strikingly: Best DIY Website Builder

Strikingly is one of the best DIY website builders on the market today because it offers an intuitive interface that makes creating websites simple and fun. With its wide range of customizable templates and built-in features such as e-commerce integration and social media sharing buttons, Strikingly is perfect for small businesses or individuals looking to establish their online presence quickly and easily.

Whether you're building a personal blog or an e-commerce site, Strikingly is a great option for anyone looking to create a professional-looking website without breaking the bank.

It’s not easy to build your own DIY website. But with website builders, it should be easy and fun. Of course, you still need to make preparations and plan how you want your website to look. Here’s a few tips for you:

1. Plan Your Website

DIY website building has become increasingly popular in recent years, as more and more people seek to establish their online presence. With the rise of DIY web design, creating a website without any prior experience or technical knowledge has become easier than ever. In this section, we will discuss the key steps involved in planning your own DIY website.

Sett your website goals

Before you start building your website, defining what you hope to achieve with it is important.

• Are you looking to promote your business or personal brand?
• Do you want to sell products or services online?
• Or do you simply want a platform to share your ideas and connect with others?

By setting clear goals for your website, you can ensure that every aspect of its design and content serves a specific purpose.

Define your target audience

Once you have established your goals, the next step is to identify your target audience.

• Who are the people that you want to reach with your website?
• What are their interests and needs?

Understanding your target audience is essential for creating content that resonates with them and designing a user experience that meets their expectations.

Choose a website theme

Choosing the right theme for your DIY website is crucial for creating an engaging user experience. A good theme should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and aligned with the overall tone of your brand or message. Many DIY website builders offer a wide range of themes catering to different niches and industries.

Image taken from Strikingly

Develop your website content

The content on your DIY website plays a critical role in attracting visitors and keeping them engaged. Whether it's blog posts, product descriptions, or multimedia content like videos and images, creating high-quality content that offers value to your target audience is essential. You should also ensure that the tone and style of your content align with the overall branding of your site.

Planning your DIY website is a critical step in ensuring its success. By setting clear goals, defining your target audience, choosing the right theme, and creating high-quality content, you can create a visually appealing and engaging website for your visitors. With the help of the best DIY website builders like Strikingly, you can easily achieve your website-building goals.

2. Build Your Website

Building your website is the most exciting part of the DIY website process. With Strikingly's user-friendly platform, you can create a professional-looking website in no time.

A. Sign up for Strikingly

The first step to building your DIY website is signing up for Strikingly. It's easy and free! Simply create an account and choose a plan that works best for you.

B. Choose your website template

Strikingly offers a wide variety of customizable templates to fit any type of business or personal brand. Choose from modern, minimalist, or bold designs that will make your website stand out from the rest.

C. Add your website content

Image taken from Strikingly

Once you've chosen your template, it's time to add content to your site. Strikingly makes it easy to add text, images, videos, and more with their drag-and-drop editor. Make sure to include relevant keywords throughout your content to improve SEO.

D. Integrate social media

Social media integration is essential for any DIY website builder. Strikingly allows you to easily connect your social media accounts and display them on your site so visitors can follow and engage with you on multiple platforms.

With these simple steps, building a DIY website has never been easier! Make sure to take advantage of Strikingly's features and design elements to create the best DIY website possible for your brand or business.

3. Optimize Your Website

Having a website is a must for any business or individual looking to establish an online presence. However, creating a DIY website is not enough. You need to optimize your website for search engines to ensure that it ranks higher and attracts more traffic. Here are some tips on how to optimize your DIY website.

Understand SEO basics

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO involves various techniques such as keyword research, content optimization, and link building. When done correctly, SEO can help you attract more visitors to your website and increase conversions.

Conduct keyword research

Keyword research is identifying the words and phrases people use when searching for products or services related to your business. Using the right keywords in your content can improve your chances of ranking higher on SERPs.

To conduct keyword research, use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to identify relevant keywords with high search volume and low competition. Once you have identified these keywords, incorporate them into your content naturally.

Optimize your website content

Optimizing your website content involves using relevant keywords in strategic places such as page titles, meta descriptions, headers, and body text. However, avoid overusing keywords as this can result in keyword stuffing and harm your rankings.

Ensure your content is informative, engaging, and easy to read for both humans and search engines alike. Use headings and subheadings to break up long blocks of text and make it easier for readers to navigate through your pages.

Build backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites that point back to yours. They are important because they signal to search engines that other websites consider your content valuable enough to link back to it.

To build backlinks, reach out to other websites in your niche and ask them to link back to your content. You can also create high-quality content that others are likely to link back to naturally.

By following these tips, you can optimize your DIY website and improve its chances of ranking higher on SERPs. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, so monitor your rankings regularly and adjust as needed.

4. Launch Your Website

Congratulations on making it this far! You've successfully planned and built your DIY website using Strikingly, and now it's time to launch it to the world.

A. Finalize your website design

Before launching your website, take one last look at your design elements. Make sure everything is aligned properly and that your color scheme is consistent throughout the site. Check that all images are optimized for web use and that they load quickly.

B. Test your website functionality

Testing the functionality of your DIY website is crucial before launching it. Make sure all links are working correctly and that all buttons lead to their intended destinations. Check that your contact forms are working properly and that you're receiving emails from them.

C. Set up website analytics

Setting up website analytics is crucial so you can track how many people are visiting your site, where they're coming from, and what pages they're looking at. Google Analytics is a great free tool for this purpose. Make sure you have it set up before launching your site.

D. Launch your website

Image taken from Strikingly

Now it's time to launch! Double-check that you've completed all necessary steps before making your DIY website live to the public. Once you're ready, hit the publish button on Strikingly and share your new site with friends, family, and potential customers.

Don't forget to promote your new DIY website through social media channels or email marketing campaigns to drive traffic to your site.

Remember: launching a DIY website is just the beginning of ongoing maintenance, updates, and improvements over time.

Maintaining Your Website

After launching your DIY website, the work doesn't stop there. It's important to keep your website updated and secure, while also improving its performance. Here are some tips on how to maintain your website effectively.

A. Update your website content

One of the most important aspects of maintaining a DIY website is updating its content regularly. This not only keeps your visitors engaged but also improves your website's search engine ranking. Make sure to add fresh content, such as blog posts or news updates at least once a week.

B. Monitor your website traffic

Monitoring your website traffic is crucial in understanding how well it's performing and what areas need improvement. Use free tools like Google Analytics to track the number of visitors, demographics, and behavior on your site. This data can help you make informed decisions about future updates or changes.

C. Secure your website

Security is a top priority when maintaining any type of website, especially a DIY one. Regularly update all software and plugins to ensure they're not vulnerable to hacking attempts or malware attacks. Also, use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication for added security.

D. Improve your website performance

Website speed is an important factor in user experience and search engine ranking. To improve your site's performance, optimize images by compressing them without losing quality, use a content delivery network (CDN), and enable caching for faster load times.

Maintaining a DIY website may seem daunting but with these tips, you'll be able to keep it up-to-date, secure, and high-performing.

Build Your Own DIY Website Today

In conclusion, building a DIY website is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. With the benefits of having a website, including increased visibility and accessibility, it's no wonder that more and more people are opting for DIY web design. Understanding website builders is crucial in this process, which is where Strikingly comes in.

When planning your website, it's important to set clear goals and define your target audience. Choosing a website theme that aligns with your brand and developing quality content are also key components to success.

Building your website with Strikingly is simple and user-friendly. With various design elements to choose from and the ability to easily integrate social media, creating a professional-looking site has never been easier.

Optimizing your website for search engines is also essential in driving traffic to your site. Conducting keyword research and optimizing content can make all the difference in ranking higher on search engine results pages.

Once you've finalized your design and tested functionality, setting up analytics will allow you to monitor traffic and make improvements as needed.

Maintaining your website by regularly updating content, monitoring traffic, securing against potential threats, and improving performance will ensure continued success.

DIY websites are an effective way to increase visibility and accessibility for businesses or individuals. Strikingly provides an easy-to-use platform for building professional-looking sites with SEO optimization capabilities. Don't miss out on the benefits of having a website - start building yours today!