How to make a website, step by step

Guide · Updated September 2026

How to make a website, step by step

The whole process in plain English: what to decide first, what it costs, and how to go from nothing to a live site. Or skip the steps and describe your business below.

Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no card, no AI. AI building from $20/mo.

The short version

To make a website: decide the one thing visitors should do, choose a website builder, pick a domain, plan about five pages, write the words, choose a design, build it, set up the basics for Google, publish and test it on your phone, then keep it up to date. Here is each step in detail.

  1. 1. Decide what the website is for
  2. 2. Choose how you will build it
  3. 3. Pick a domain name
  4. 4. Plan your pages
  5. 5. Write the words before you design
  6. 6. Choose a design and add your photos
  7. 7. Build the site
  8. 8. Set up the basics for Google
  9. 9. Publish, then test it like a customer
  10. 10. Keep it up to date

Step 1

Decide what the website is for

Before you pick a tool, write one sentence about what a visitor should do on the site. "Call us for a quote." "Book a table." "Buy a print." "See my work and email me." That one action decides which pages you need, what goes at the top of the home page and which features matter.

A site that tries to do everything tends to do nothing well. Start with the single most valuable action and add the rest later.

  • Write down the one action you want visitors to take
  • List the three questions customers ask you most often: those answers become your first pages

Step 2

Choose how you will build it

There are three realistic ways to make a website. A website builder gives you design, hosting and editing in one place and suits most small businesses and personal sites. A self-hosted platform gives you more control but you manage hosting, updates and security yourself. Hiring a developer or agency gets you a custom result but costs the most and makes every change a request.

Website builders now come in two kinds. Template builders give you a design to fill in. AI website builders write the site for you from a description, then let you edit it. We.Inc does both: templates on the free plan, AI building from $20 a month.

  • Check whether you can export or move the site later
  • Check what the price renews at, not just the first-year price

Step 3

Pick a domain name

Your domain is your address on the web, such as yourbusiness.com. Keep it short, easy to say out loud, and close to your business name. Avoid hyphens and odd spellings, because people will mistype them.

You can launch without one: builders with a free plan, including We.Inc, publish on their own address first. When you are ready, connect your own domain on a paid plan. On We.Inc you can also buy a domain inside the app.

  • Say it out loud to a friend and see if they can spell it
  • If the .com is taken, a local or industry ending can work

Step 4

Plan your pages

Most small business websites need only five pages: Home, Services (or Menu, or Work), About, Reviews and Contact. A single-page site with those sections is also fine when you are starting out.

Give each service its own page if you want to be found on Google for it. Someone searching "emergency plumber" should land on a page about emergency plumbing, not a list of everything you do.

  • Home: who you are, where, and the one action
  • Contact: phone, email, address, hours and a map

Step 5

Write the words before you design

The words do the selling. Lead with what you do, who it is for and where: "Family dentist in Austin, open Saturdays." Then prices or a way to get a price, proof such as reviews, and the action.

Write the way you talk to customers. Short sentences, plain words, real details. Real details are what make a page believable and what help it show up in search.

If writing is the part you dread, this is where an AI website builder helps most: on We.Inc's paid plans, you describe the business and the AI writes every page, which you then correct.

Step 6

Choose a design and add your photos

Pick a template made for your kind of business, then change it to fit you: your logo, your colours, your photos. Your own photos of your work, your team and your premises beat stock images every time.

Check the design on a phone before anything else. Make sure the phone number is tappable and the main button is easy to reach with a thumb.

Step 7

Build the site

In a template builder, you open the template and replace the text and photos section by section. In the We.Inc builder, you can click on any heading, paragraph or image on the page and change it right there.

In an AI builder, you type a description such as "a dog grooming salon in Leeds with online booking", review the site it builds, and ask for changes in chat: "add a pricing page", "make the colours warmer".

Step 8

Set up the basics for Google

Give every page a clear title and description that says what it is and where you are. Use one main heading per page. Add alt text to your images. Make sure the site has a sitemap and is not blocked from search engines.

Then create or update your Google Business Profile and link it to the site. For a local business, that profile and your reviews often matter as much as the website itself.

We.Inc sets page titles, a sitemap and share images for you when you publish.

  • Put your town or area in the home page title
  • Ask your happiest customers for a review

Step 9

Publish, then test it like a customer

Publish the site, then open it on your own phone and walk through it as a stranger would. Tap every button. Send yourself a message through the contact form. Check that the phone number dials and the map points to the right place.

Ask two or three people who do not know your business to find one specific thing on the site and watch where they get stuck.

Step 10

Keep it up to date

A website is never finished. Update prices, hours and photos when they change, add new reviews, and add a page when customers keep asking about something new.

Put a reminder in your calendar once a month to check the site. Out-of-date opening hours cost more customers than an old design.

What it costs to make a website

The honest range runs from nothing to a developer's quote. These are the We.Inc prices; other builders price differently, so always check what a plan renews at.

Template site on We.Inc's free plan$0, on a we.inc address, up to 3 sites
AI-built site on We.Inc Starter$20 a month, own domain, 250 AI credits
Your own domain namePaid separately; you can buy one inside We.Inc
Hiring a developer or agencyQuoted per project; usually the most expensive route

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a website for free?

Use a website builder with a real free plan. On We.Inc you can build up to 3 sites from templates and publish them free on a we.inc address, with no credit card. The free plan has no AI; AI building starts at $20 a month.

How long does it take to make a website?

A simple small business site can be done in a day if your words and photos are ready. With We.Inc's AI builder, the first version usually appears in a few minutes, and most of the remaining time goes into checking and adjusting the content.

Do I need to know how to code to make a website?

No. Website builders let you make a site by editing a template or, with an AI builder, by describing what you want. On We.Inc the code is there if you or a developer ever want it, and you can export it to GitHub.

How many pages does a small business website need?

Five is enough for most: Home, Services, About, Reviews and Contact. Add a separate page for each important service if you want each one to be found on Google.

Do I need my own domain name?

Not to start. You can publish on a free we.inc address and add your own domain later. A custom domain looks more professional and needs a paid plan, from Starter at $20 a month.

How much should I pay to have a website built?

It depends on who builds it. Hiring a freelancer or agency is a one-off project fee that varies widely with the number of pages and features, so get at least two written quotes. Building it yourself costs a plan instead: We.Inc is free for 3 template sites on a we.inc address, and AI that writes the whole site starts at $20 a month.

What is the easiest way to make a website for my business?

Describe the business to an AI website builder and edit what it writes. On We.Inc's Starter plan you type a sentence about your business and get a multi-page site you can change by clicking or chatting. If you want to spend nothing, start from a free template.

Related guides and tools

Every how-to-make-a-website guide

Or skip the steps.

Describe your business in a sentence and the AI builds the pages, writes the words and lays out the design. You check it and publish.

AI building from $20/mo. Or start free with up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address.

We.Inc is an AI-powered website builder you can resell under your own brand. Launch a branded client dashboard, bill on Stripe Connect, and deliver AI-generated websites in minutes. White-label plans start at $99 a month for 25 client sites, with a 7-day free trial and no per-site fees.

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