In this article, you are going to learn how to get a free website builder and domain.
In fact, this is the same tool used by millions of online entrepreneurs like you who are tired of dealing with web designers, you know how they can get on your nerves sometimes.
With website builders, forget all about the headaches of building a website of your dreams.
I mean, who said you should give up your peace of mind to get what you want?
Question is, is it possible to get what you want without sacrificing anything?
That is what this article is here to answer, so make sure you stick to the end because we have a surprise for you.
How to start an online business
Starting an online business in 2021 takes little to no effort. All you have to do is get that viable idea, build a website, and wait for the money to roll.
Wait!
I wish it was that simple.
If there is something the year 2020 taught most of us is that you can work from home. This came as a surprise because we have been brought up thinking that the only way to work optimally is to have a cubicle in your workplace.
But thanks to the 2020 pandemic, people were confined to their homes, some showing up to video conferences with nothing but pajamas. As much as that was hilarious to watch, there is a takeaway here.
Having an online business is the only surefire way to secure your financial freedom.
See, people are now moving to shop online, making the e-commerce industry a trillion-dollar industry. Why do you think Jeff Bezos is the richest man on Earth?
It is because of online shopping.
So, how can you get started?
Requirements for starting an online business
Obviously, you need an idea. This can either be a service or product you have identified as a ready market.
Why the idea first?
Your business idea will set the tone for the rest of the process.
A domain name
A domain name is the address people will use to access your website.
For example;
To access Amazon, you have to type amazon.com into your web browser. That is the domain (website) name for that company.
Now, from the above example, here are three things you need have in mind;
· A website name should be short and memorable. Amazon is only one word long and memorable. Keep yours at most 3 words long. Anything beyond that is ambiguous and users will struggle to remember
· Pick a Brandable name. Avoid generic names like bestclothes.com or anything along those lines. Again, what do names like Facebook.com, Twitter, Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay have in common? Besides being the household website names, they are Brandable. As such, settle for a website name that you can easily turn into a business.
· Settle for popular domain extensions – there are over 100 domain extensions, but only a handful are actually useful and important. For example, .com, .net, and .org, are the most popular extensions. Here is the thing, depending on your business niche, some extensions make sense to use. For example, if you are a SaaS business, .io extension will make more sense than a .net.
Other domain extensions perfect for online businesses include; .shop, .store, and .shopping.
For example;
If you are intending to start selling fashion, you can register a domain like fashionistar.store.
It is memorable, short, and more importantly, a user will instantly understand what is going on the site.
Now that you have a perfect domain name, what next?
Build a website
A perfect domain name is only part of the equation of starting an online business. The next step involves creating a website.
Think of it as your storefront where you will be selling your services or products. It will serve as an inventory management front and customer service medium.
Having that in mind, you have two ways to build a website.
a) Hire someone to build it for you
There are a ton of freelance web developers out there. In fact, if you visit sites like Fiverr, you can get one for as low as $5.
But if it is that simple, why isn’t everyone doing it?
Well, to say the least, working with independent contractors can sometimes result in undesired outcomes.
For example;
It is common to hear website owners complaining about stalled projects or half-done sites.
Is there another option?
b) Do it yourself
Instead of spending thousands of dollars on someone who will disappoint in the end, why not do it yourself?
Before you say it, I am aware you may or may not have a technical understanding of how website creation works.
This is why there are free website builder tools to help you.
With these tools, website creation takes on a few minutes and doesn’t involve you digging into code or anything.
Free website builder and domain (how to create a website yourself)
So far, we have identified the things you need to start an online business;
- A business idea
- Have a domain name
- Create a website
With the last two, you need to get them separate.
Let me explain.
To get a website name, you need to search and register one with a domain registrar. And depending on the type of domain you picked and the registrar, this should set you back a few dollars.
For example;
A .com domain in GoDaddy goes for $12 per year. But at OLITT, the same domain only costs $8.49 per year.
It doesn’t end there.
You can get both free of charge.
How?
You can create a free website and get free .olitt.com domain.
If you register with OLITT, you save at least $4!
As for the website, here is how to get it for free on OLITT.
OLITT Free website builder and domain
First, you need to access https://www.olitt.com/
From there, click on Create your free site.
That should take you into the system directly.
#1. Pick category
From here, your first task is to pick a website category.
As you can see from your left panel, there are several categories to choose from. So, which one should choose?
The category you pick is dictated by the type of website you want to build.
Here is a simple guide;
- App development – for apps and SaaS companies
- Marketing – for marketing agencies such as social media, Advertising. perfect for building a website for your marketing agency.
- Online stores – if you are creating a website for selling products, this is your category.
Ideally, a category contains all the website templates curated for specific functionality.
With that in mind, we are going to build an online store for our fashionistar.store business.
So, click on Online Stores on your bottom left.
#2. Choose template
When you click on a category, it leads up templates under that category. In a nutshell, templates are pre-made websites you can use to reduce the website creation process by half.
OLITT comes with 200+ website templates.
This means that you have over 200 chances to get that perfect website you have always wanted.
With the templates loaded, it is now your turn to sort through them and pick the one you like most.
- Pick one depending on the appealing features you are looking for
- Are you selling a single product or more than one? Pick a template that meets your needs
For this tutorial, I picked the Single Product template, assuming we are going to promote only one product.
#3. Start editing
This is the beauty of a free website builder like OLITT; the creation process has been reduced to three steps (choose a category, pick a template, and then start editing)
But before you start that process, you first need to create an account.
If you are an existing OLITT user, just type your email and password to log in. But for the new users, to get a free website builder and domain, you need to create an account.
In this case, you have three options:
- Use Google account (Gmail) to create an OLITT account
- Or go with an Apple account
- Also, you can provide an email and password. You will be required to confirm the email address you provide here, so make sure it is valid.
If you use the first two, you won’t have to type a password all the time.
Once you are in, the editing process begins.
For example;
To change texts, double-click on the block and start typing.
You have several tools at your disposal including; bold, italic, underline and changing the text color.
If you wish to change the image, click on the open blocks section. From the section select Image. A dialog box appears, choose how to add your photo.
Click on Upload Images. Select the image from your hard drive to add to your new site.
To add an element or section/block; hover on an existing block and click on open blocks or settings tab.
And then choose elements from the available menu.
Wrapping up
That is how to get a free website builder and domain.
Go ahead and get started here free now.