How can I create a free website in Ireland?
This is a question most small and medium business owners like you struggle with all the time. But not anymore, in this article, we will show you how to build a beautiful website without paying anything.
Is that even possible?
Well, in the 21st century, everything is possible.
Why is this important?
According to research published by WeAre.ie back in 2016 aimed at understanding deeper the digital health of Ireland, their findings were shocking.
17% of the Irish small business owners do not have any digital asset. That is is to say, they are not on any social media platform and no website.
Surprisingly, 55% of them said they don’t intend to build a website in the future.
Why is this worrying?
For starters, whether you get online or not, your competition will. Just as Bill Gates said:
If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business ” – Bill Gates.
To make this easy for you to decide whether to get a website or sit on the fence here is something to think about;
55% of people will search online for reviews and recommendations before making a purchase. 47% of them will visit the company website, 26% checking out your physical store, and 23% of them going one step further to talking with friends and family.
Simply put, if you don’t have a website, you are leaving so much money on the table.
What you need to start a website in Ireland
Assuming you already have an established business, and just looking to scale it online, getting started should be easy.
- Domain name
A domain name is the special address people will type into their web browser to access your site.
For example;
To access Facebook, you would normally type facebook.com (some include the www part, but they are all the same).
Facebook.com is the domain name of the FB company. And without that address, you wouldn’t be able to access their products and services.
Now, to get your domain, you need to register.
How?
It is simple actually.
If your business is called, say, FashionIreland, you can go ahead and register that name of your business as your website name.
For this to succeed, you need to buy the name. This ensures that no one else will be able to re-register it once you have it.
Are there free website names in Ireland?
Yes, sure!
You can get a free domain name in Ireland, and I will show you how in a minute. Before then, let’s look at the next thing you need to create a website.
- Web hosting
In simple terms, web hosting is like the ‘house’ where your website will live. This is where you will store your files (articles, images, videos, databases).
In most cases, you are required to procure this service and pay either monthly or yearly, whichever you choose.
Luckily, there are the best web hosting service providers out there.
For example;
Bluehost. It is the most popular provider, with thousands of users. In fact, WordPress (popular CMS) recommends them.
Another provider is TruehostCloud.com.
These guys offer the best cloud hosting services at extremely affordable prices. Alternatively, you can’t miss finding local web hosting providers within Ireland borders.
Moving on.
When looking for a web hosting provider, you need to be careful because your online success depends on it.
- They should be affordable – consider you are just starting out, you may not have enough budget, and you need every single coin to grow your business
- They should provide additional services. For example, you will need things like email hosting to handle your business email services, SSL certificates to secure your site against malicious attacks, among others.
- Excellent customer service – at some point, you will need help. When that happens, support should be readily available and reachable at all times.
Make no mistake, there are more things to consider, but these should get you started.
Now, once you have your domain name and web hosting account, you are set to create a website.
Here, you have two options;
- Hire someone to create it for you. There are thousands of web developers willing to help you create a website of your dreams, at a cost. The amount you will pay depends on the experience of the developer and the type of site you want to create
- Create it yourself. Instead of spending thousands of euros, you can instead save that to help scale your business. I will show you how to create a free website in Ireland without touching the code.
Quick question;
Can you get free web hosting in Ireland?
Just there are free domains, it is possible to get free web hosting in Ireland through the use of website builders.
Let’s dive into how to create a free website in Ireland.
How to create a free website in Ireland
To create a free website easily in Ireland, you need the help of a website builder.
A website builder is a tool that helps you create website pages without the need to touch code.
In the past, to create a site, you’d need to dig deep into code. These are the building blocks of a web page, and you would have no choice but understand everything from CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
But not anymore.
Anyone with a basic understanding of handling computer mouse can now create a professional and beautiful website in just under 10 minutes.
Introducing Olitt.com
Olitt is a free website builder in Ireland.
With it, you can create a free and beautiful website in under 10 minutes without touching the code.
Here is how;
Steps to create a free website in Ireland
Take these steps to start building your website now.
Step 1. Go to Olitt.com.
Step 2. Click on the Create a free website button.
Step 3. Pick a website category.
What type of website are you building?
If you are building a personal website for showcasing your portfolio, pick the Creative category.
Are you building an online store? Pick Online Stores.
These categories contain the pre-made websites you will need to create a free website with ease.
Here is the breakdown;
- Agency – this is the category for marketing, SEO, advertising, or anyone trying to create a website for their agency company
- App development – this is for those trying to launch their applications
- Blank – if you want to start from scratch, this category is for you. Doesn’t contain any templates, but a blank canvas for you to work on.
- Books – for book websites. For example, if you are launching a book soon, you need a book website.
And the same applies to the rest of the categories.
Now, for this tutorial on how to create a free website in Ireland, we will be creating a free website for a social media marketing agency in Ireland.
So, once you have identified a suitable category, the next step is;
Step 4. Pick a template.
After choosing a category on your left, templates load up to your right.
Go ahead and sort through the available website templates and pick one that captures your eye.
One more thing;
Besides you looking for the most attractive template, also consider the one that will require less editing work.
For example;
Since we are building a free agency website, it makes more sense to pick the Digital Agency template because it probably contains most of the things we will need for our site.
With that, no need to remove most things, just replace content with our own.
Step 5. Create an account
The next step is creating your Olitt account.
You have three options;
- Provide email and password
- Use your Google account (Gmail)
- Use Appl account
Either way, you need an account to proceed.
Step 6. Start editing
Once you are logged in, you will be redirected to a window where you can start editing your free website.
Step 7. Publish
Once you are done editing, you can now publish your site and share the URL.
How to edit your free website
The editing process involves adding and removing elements (images, text, buttons, and blocks).
Let’s learn how to each of that.
How to change the text
To change text, double click on the block containing the text.
Either delete what’s there (by clicking backspace on your keyboard) or start typing to replace the existing text.
From the text editing window, you have tools at your disposal.
With it, you can;
- Bold the text
- Apply italics
- Underline
- Strikethrough
- Insert a hyperlink
- Change alignment
- Change color in that order.
The next thing is changing images.
How to change an image on Olitt
Changing an image works like changing texts, double-click on the block containing the image.
Tap on the Choose File button.
From there, go ahead and choose the appropriate image you’d like to use from your local hard drive.
Use the style section to tweak the image (or text) to your liking.
Now that you have changed images and texts, how about adding other elements?
How to add elements/blocks
If you wish to add an element to your free website, say a button, here is how to do it.
First, locate the position you want to add an element and then hover around it.
Click on the block button as shown below.
Doing so will load up a list of elements you can add.
Go ahead and drag and drop any block into the timeline.
How to move, duplicate or delete a block
Click on an element you want to change;
See the editing tools above the element (top right).
- Edit
- Move
- Shift up
- Shift down
- Duplicate
- Delete respectively.
Applies to all elements on the site.
How to save your changes
As you continue creating your free website in Ireland, it is advisable to constantly save your progress.
That is why OLITT auto-saves everything.
To preview, click on the Preview button just next to the save button.
How to publish and visit your free website in Ireland
Now that you are done editing the website, it is time to let everyone know about it.
Go ahead and publish. Actually, the moment you picked created an account, your website is instantly published.
To visit it, click on preview and the Visit button.
And that is how to create a free website in Ireland.
You can view the site we created in this tutorial here; https://digitalagency-14.olitt.com/.
Why Olitt website builder?
Why should you use Olitt?
Among the numerous benefits, here are some of them.
- Free domain names and hosting – you can get a free domain (yourbusiness.olitt.com) and free hosting forever.
- You can connect custom domain even on the free plan (the only website builder in the world offering this)
- Creates blazing fast websites, thanks to a global CDN network with over 42 PoPs
- Comes with a free DNS management system. It supports all the popular domain records
- Easily integrate with web tools like MailChimp, Google Analytics, Hotjar Heatmaps just to name a few
- Free SSL certificates in Ireland – you can secure your website against hackers. It also boosts your chances of ranking higher on search engines
- You have access to over 200 beautiful pre-made website templates
- Insanely discounted domain names – you won’t find such prices anywhere else on the internet.
- SEO resources -you can easily change meta description and alt tags to improve your search appearance.
Wrapping up free website builder and hosting in Ireland
You no longer have an excuse for not taking your business online. Your customers are already waiting for you to take this step.
As you have seen, you don’t have to worry about web hosting and domain costs. Olitt is giving them to you for free.
What are you waiting for?
Get started here. No credit is required.