In 2021, anyone in Kenya can create a website without having any knowledge of web development, coding or design.
With access to appropriate tools, you can easily create a website for yourself or business.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to create a website from scratch step by step without having to spend money on web designers.
To get started,you need:
Domain name (custom web address,www.you.com)
Web host (where your site will be hosted)
WordPress ( popular platform and it’s free)
A domain name and are hosting platform are essentials when you want to create a website. This is to ensure that your site will be accessible to others. With the twoin place, you can easily create a WordPress site easily.
Why WordPress?
It’s the most popular web building platform used by 35%+ of websites that are currently on the web.
Ready? Now let’s get to it…
How to create a website in 6 simple steps in Kenya
Step #1: Domain name
This is the first thing you’ll require if you want to create a website.
This is your site name and site address that users will use to locate your site on the web browsers. It is www,you.org yours can be anything.
Domain names in Kenya costs Ksh1000-Ksh3000 a year.
To choose a domain name, consider:
- If designing a business site, ensure your domain name matches with the name of your business/company.
- For personal website your name works just fine.
- Depending on your target market, you can use generic extensions .com, .org, etc if your target audience is international and local extension .co.ke, etc if you target audience in Kenya.
I’d recommend registering a domain with Bluehost
Step #2: Hosting
With a domain name in place, you’ll now need a hosting package.
This is the service that hosts and stores your web content. Without a web host,your site will be inaccessible.
Affordable web hosting services in Kenya costs anything between KSH 1500-5000 a year.
Buy hosting with Bluehost to get:
- FREE domain name with SSL (for security)
- One-click-install for WordPress (free)
- Custom email accounts
- Unlimited or unmetered bandwidth (no traffic limitations)
- Customer support, preferably 24/7 live chat
Click Here to get started with bluehost. On the next page click on “Get started now“
On the next page, you’ll be prompted to choose a hosting package of your choice. Since you’re starting out ,I’d suggest going for the basic package.
On the next page, choose the option to register your domain name. It’s free for the first year with bluehost or if you already own a domain name, you can choose the option to use an existing domain name.
That done, it’ll take you a few minutes for you to gain access and start designing your website.
Step #3: Install WordPress
Now that your domain name and hosting platform are already in place, it is time to install a website building platform and as I had mentioned earlier, we recommend using WordPress.
Setting up your WordPress website is easy, and your web host mostly does it for you, so you don’t really have to get your hands too dirty.
To install WordPress on Bluehost,
- Login to your account
- Click on “My sites” then on the next page, click “create site“
3. Fill in your site’s basic info then the installation will begin all on autopilot you don’t have to lift a finger.
4. with installation done, on the next window bluehost will display your installation and login details. Be sure to save the information on a safe place.
With the installation done, now it’s time to test if everything works as expected.
Just go to your browser and key in your domain correctly. You’ll see something close to this:
I know you don’t like it’s appearance. Not to worry we are coming to that. But first, we’ll have to verify your SSL/HTTP settings.
SSL certificate makes sure that your website gets securely delivered to your visitors.
Bluehost automatically adds an SSL when you create a new website or install WordPress. To check your site’s SSL status, do these steps:
- Log in to your Bluehost portal
- Click on “My Sites”
- Find your site and click on “Manage Site”
- Go to the “Security” tab
- Under “Security Certificate,” you will find your “Free SSL Certificate” status
To know that your site is secure, you should be able to locate a lock next to your domain in a browser.
For those who don’t use Bluehost for their hosting, not to worry. Most web hosting providers have “WordPress install” located somewhere in the hosting cPanel. If dealing with a web host that doesn’t provide “one-click installs“, try setting up WordPress manually.
Step #4: Website customization (Design)
Earlier you may not have liked the appearance of your site. Now it is time to make it your own.
1. Choose Theme
WordPress themes are design packages that gives your site an entirely new look.
There are tons of free and paid themes and more so,you can easily switch from theme to the other.
Free themes are the best place to start for beginners. You can choose any theme of your choice and if on a budget and would like to go for premium themes, we recommend Astra themes.
2. Install the theme of your choosing
Go to your WordPress admin interface then on your sidebar,
Click on “Themes” then on “Add New“
In there next window, key in the name of the theme you’re looking for then click install. In this case, we’ll go for Neve.
After the installation, click on the “Activate” button that will appear in place of the “Install” button.
3. Add Logo
Go to “Appearance → Neve Options” and click on the link labeled “Upload Logo.”
You should see your logo in the corner of the page shortly.
Additionally, you can choose if you want to display the site name and tagline alongside the logo, and set the max-width of the logo. Experiment with these settings and pick what works best for you.
Click on the “Publish” button when done (the top left corner), and then click on the “X” button to exit the Customizer.
4. Change website colors and fonts to that of your choice
This is a pretty simple hack to make your site more unique and more in tune with the identity of your brand.
To do so, go to “Appearance → Neve Options” again. We’re going to focus on the following two marked options:
5. Add a sidebar
Go to “Appearance → Neve Options” panel is set how you’d like your sidebar to look. Click on “Content / Sidebar” to begin.
6. Widgets
These are those small content blocks that usually appear in websites’ sidebars.
To configure widgets, go to “Appearance → Widgets.”
To add a widget to the sidebar, all you need to do is grab the widget from the left and drag and drop it onto the sidebar area.
Step #5: Create essential pages (add content)
Web pages are easy to create in WordPress. But before that, what pages should you create in the first place?
- Homepage – it’s the first page that your visitors see when they go to your website
- About page – a page explaining what your website is about
- Contact page – a page letting visitors contact you
- Blog page – a listing of your most recent blog posts; if you’re not planning on blogging, you can use the blog page as a place for your company news and announcements
1. Create a homepage
If using Neve, your homepage looks something like this:
Appearance will vary depending on your choice of theme so don’t worry about how your site appears.
You can edit the structure of this page as well as the elements on it (all texts and images). Using Elementor.
just click on the “Edit with Elementor” button in the top bar.
You’ll see an interface that resembles this:
Elementor is a visual page builder therefore, you can click any element that you see on the page and edit it directly.
On the left sidebar, there’s a whole customization panel for you. You can adjust the structure and the styling of any content block.
2. Other pages
On the sidebar of your admin interface, Go into “Pages → Add New.” You’ll see this interface:
Begin by adding one where it says “Add a title.” For example, “About Us” or “Contact.
Next, pick a page layout. If you’re creating a standard page, you can go with the first one on the list – “Single Row.” But to in order speed things up, you can choose from the template library. To do so, click on the blue button like the one on the image above.
On the next page you’ll see pre-made page sections choose the one you’re looking for.
From there, you can further customize it and when done, click on the “Publish”
3. Create blog page and add posts
This is where listings of your most recent blog posts can be found.
In most cases, the blog page should have already been created for you.
To add new blog posts, go to Go to “Posts → Add New.”
Step #6 Navigation set up
The menu is what your site visitors will use to go from page to page on your site.
Go to “Appearance → Menus,” and from there, click on “create a new menu.”
- Begin by adding a title. The menu title doesn’t really matter, but it helps to tell your menu among other menus.
- Select the pages to be added to your menu. You can also add other items to the menu – like posts or custom links.
- Click on the “Add to Menu” button to add the selected pages to your menu.
- Drag-and-drop menu items to arrange the links in order of importance.
- Select a menu display location. This differs from theme to theme, in this case, set your menu to the “Primary” location will display the menu in the header.
- Don”forget to save your menu.
Hurray!! Your site is ready!
Congratulations! you’ve now just figured out how to create a website all on your own!
Now that you have the knowledge of how to create a website,what next!
Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section below or a testimonial on our email address info@shadrackbiwotkeyleafy.co.ke.
