Written by Enric Pedro Puig an alumni from London College of Communication (LCC) 2010 (Interactive Media)
Since graduating from LCC in 2010 where he received a Masters in Interactive Media, Enric's career is currently focused on mobile gaming, app development and digital advertising. He is currently, Head of Social Gaming at Zitro where he oversees their mobile gaming efforts.
"Work has been slow. We are staying all day at home with too much free time in our hands. Instead of being productive it’s easier to just binge a random tiger show on Netflix".
It’s times like these when we need to get outside our comfort zone. Stop saying that you will start tomorrow. Try to learn a new skill instead. Feel that despite being all day at home you are accomplishing something.
For instance, creating a website. At the beginning the process seems very complicated. This is the main reason why most people don’t have “computer skills”. They dread to get lost in the process.
The truth is, if you can write an email, you can create a website too. The only question, are you are willing to invest the time to learn how to do it?
If the answer is yes, welcome to where I was 2 months ago. You have an advantage though. I didn’t have this short guide.
- Forget that you need to know how to code in order to create a website. The easier and faster option is WordPress. It’s almost like writing a word document.
- Think what your website will be about. Your art, your resume, your personal blog? Try to stick to one specific subject. More on this later.
- Don’t get stuck for too long choosing a domain name. There are sites like SiteGround that offer you plans which include both domain name registration and WordPress for the same price.
- Once you have WordPress installed you will need a couple of hours to learn how to use it. There are thousands of how to’s online. Most of them go for too long. I prefer to watch them at x 1.5 the speed. You get used to it and you will save a ton of time.
- Don’t be too picky about design. The easier option is to use a theme. Remember that you can learn how to do that on YouTube too.
- If you want to go pro, or if you already have experience online. Try tools like Elementor. It’s a free page builder that uses WordPress as foundation. Plenty of designs and options to choose from and tutorials online too. I wouldn’t waste too much time on this to start with though. It’s just a small part of the whole project.
- Need some graphic designs or an easy to way to create a logo? Use Canva. It’s free.
- Remember the point about trying to stick to one subject? Here is why, SEO. Search Engine Optimisation. Or how people find you online (that is on Google). Try to stay within one niche, for example: knitting wool socks for kids It will be easier for you to rank higher and faster on Google compared to a short keyword, such as socks. There is less content about knitting wool socks for kids, so it will be easier for you to rank faster. This is aiming for long tail keywords. Stick to that.
- Your inspiration is other websites. Just search in Google the keywords that someone would use to find your site. Imagine that your site is targeting to people who want to learn how to knit wool socks. What would they search for? What would they do? That’s called search intent. Learn how to attract your audience and create content around them.
- Keep creating content. Keep at it. Find a reason why you want to create and maintain content. Otherwise, you will stop updating it after a while and no one will ever find your content.
Wondering what I’ve been up to for this last 2 months? Appliance Vibes, a site about mini fridges. Yes, I’ve spent too much time choosing a domain name. I invested too many hours watching videos online and designing the site. But I enjoyed most of it.
Would I do it again? Yes, plus it would take me a 1/10 of the time.
It might not be creating a website, but having a YouTube channel, or maybe a SoundCloud account. The point is that you are investing your free time in something meaningful.
Best part? You can do it pretty much anywhere. I finished this article between my sofa and my home office. Despite being stuck at home I have small changes of surroundings. Different inputs.
So what I learned after creating a website? Persistence and commitment works. Now show yours.
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