How to Make a Professional HTML / CSS Website?

Whatever you are an individual or a company owner, you are here now to learn how to build your own, professional website using simple HTML and CSS coding. To gain more information on this topic, I decide to do some online research and found lots of website who provide a step-by-step guide on how to get started with learning HTML. From my experience, I know that when people are looking to create a professional HTML website, they do not actually looking to learn the in-side-out of this programming language. They want a simple and fast solution to get started with their website.

In this tutorial I will present you 3 ways to create a website using HTML and CSS; it will involve some level of programming skills, however we will not start with the basics, explaining what the head and body tag is used for. There are plenty of websites you can learn the basic, for instance w3schools.com is a pretty good one.

Build a HTML website from scratch

This is the longest and hardest way to create your website. Beside that you will need a good knowledge of HTML and CSS, each line of code have to be written by you. This can be time consuming and can take weeks to finish your project. Even if you have the skills and the knowledge to write all the code by yourself, in my opinion it does not worth the time and the effort you put into it.

If you still insist to write the whole code your website, I suggest using a html framework such as bootstrap to speed up the process of the development. If you plan not to spend much time on the development, you should consider getting a template.

Build a website using a HTML web template

Getting a ready-made website template is a fast and easy way to get it going. You will certainly need some level of HTML and CSS knowledge to be able to modify the template for your needs, but certainly you will not start the whole project from scratch.

Here are few of my favorite free html template providers, from where you can download which will fit best your design needs:

• http://html5up.net/
• http://www.tooplate.com/
• http://templated.co/
• http://www.templatemo.com/
• http://www.templategarden.com/

The above listed providers offer responsive templates as well, this means that your website will not only look good on desktop but will also adapt perfectly to and screen resolution such as smart phones and tablets.

Before start using any free html template, check out the provider’s term of use and license. Some templates may be limited for personal projects only; others may allow you to use them for commercial websites as well.

If you can afford to get a premium website template, you should check out the following providers:

• http://themeforest.net/html-templates

Getting a web template and modifying it to your needs, is not enough to publish your website online. You will also need to purchase a domain name and a premium hosting account. I highly recommend using HostGator, they offer a free domain name and an affordable introduction price for new web hosting accounts.

Build an HTML webpage using a site builder tool

If you decide to go with a website builder, probably you are in a hurry and want to make your website as fast as possible. Using a software to create a website has become a very common practice, not only because it significantly reduces the time of web development, but it makes it super easy and accessible to everyone. A website building tool does not require any knowledge of programming, with its in-build drag-and-drop features and WYSIWYG editor you can create a professional website in couple of minutes.

With HostGator, you can build a professional website without the need of using any programming. The website builder available at HostGator, offers you a wider range of modern templates that are suitable for different categories. Choose a template that you like and start creating your website. This browser based website builder enables you to add and publish different pages with different layouts, upload images, insert contact form and Google maps, add facebook buttons, facebook comments and other social applications, menus, boxes, tabs and a lot more. You can also create a section for blog posts.

Here is a screenshot of above mentioned website builder tool:

If you want to find out more about HostGator, I recommend reading our detailed HostGator review.

Which method to choose for making your own professional site?

Well, if you are new to website building and HTML, and want to learn this language, probably you should start working on a basic website layout; this way you can learn and build at the same time. If you already know some level of HTML and CSS, and want to get your project done quickly, probably a website template would be the best choice. If you are in big hurry and do not have the time to learn programming, the best option is to use a site builder.

Certainly there are other methods as well to use for building a website, but in this case we have been focusing mainly on creating simple HTML website.

So if you made the decision on the method you will be using, do let me know in the comments below.