What I personally use to create a website

“What do you use to create a website? Is it hard to create a website if I want to do it myself?” I get a lot of these questions whenever people come to my website. Since I receive so many web-related questions, I decided to create a dedicated page where I list down all the things I use to create a website.

As always, some links on this page contains affiliate links. I’ll be compensated if you make a purchase through my affiliate links. The commissions I receive will be used to compensate my time for producing the content on this website and also to pay for the hosting.

With that said, here are the things that I use to create a website.

Self-hosted WordPress

I love using WordPress because you can create all sorts of websites with it. I don’t just use WordPress to create a website like my author site. I even used WordPress in the past to create an online store too.

When I say self-hosted WordPress, it means that you need to have your own domain name and a hosting plan. Don’t worry if it sounds too technical to you. Creating a website with the self-hosted WordPress isn’t that difficult even if you don’t have any technical background in web development.

If you’re used to the blogging platform such as Blogger, then the self-hosted WordPress is more or less similar to that. The only difference is you have more rooms when it comes to customizing the look and feel of your website.

Do you need to know how to code if you want to use a self-hosted WordPress? Well, it helps if you know how to code. But it’s not necessary for you to know that.

You can create a website using a self-hosted WordPress by yourself. But if you need help, it’s not that hard to find people who can help you since most freelance web developers are familiar with WordPress.

Namecheap

It doesn’t matter whether you choose to use a self-hosted WordPress or not to create a website. If you want people to remember your website easily, then getting your own domain name is the best way to go.

Namecheap is the place where I get all of my domain names. I love Namecheap because the domain names at Namecheap are cheaper than any other domain registrar I come across.

You can also get pretty much all sorts of quirky domain extension at Namecheap too.

Hostgator

I use Hostgator to host all of my websites. I love using Hostgator because of how amazing their customer service is. With Hostgator, I can rest assured that I can reach out to their customer service whenever I have a problem with my website, which tends to happen sometimes.

It’s easy to install WordPress on the server too, thanks to its WordPress one-click installation.

Hostgator also supports other content management systems (CMS) such as Drupal and Joomla. Just like WordPress, you can also install Drupal and Joomla via Quickinstall.

Don’t want to use any of the CMS provided? You can choose to use Hostgator web builder instead to create a website. I never used the web builder before, so I can’t say much about it.

If you’re interested in using Hostgator to host your website, don’t forget to use the coupon code SEKINAMAYU to receive 60% off on any of the hosting package.

Divi by Elegant Themes

Love the look of my website? Well, it all thanks to Divi theme by Elegant Themes.

Divi theme is the only premium WordPress theme I’ve been using to this day. I tend to get bored with the way my website looks sometimes. So, it doesn’t make sense for me to invest in the premium WordPress theme since I always make changes to my website’s look frequently.

That all changed when I discovered the Divi theme. With Divi theme, I can create any layout and customize the look of my website in any way I want without touching a single code. Thanks to its design flexibility, I can always create a brand new look for my website whenever I need to without having to spend anything extra.

While Divi theme can be heaven-sent for someone like me, it can be a nightmare for some people because of how confusing it is to use it at first.

I won’t deny that I also find the Divi theme to be confusing too when I started using it. But with a little practice and inspiration from other websites, I manage to create a website I want with Divi theme.

Typ.io

I’m not sure about you. But font pairing feels like rocket science to me. I can’t seem to find the right font pairing without making it look so jarring.

Since I’m not good with font pairing, I always use a website like Typ.io to find the best font pairing for my website.

I’m not going to lie that I can spend hours looking through at these beautiful font pairing. It seems that finding a beautiful and perfect font pairing has become my new obsession!

What I love about Typ.io is it doesn’t just tell you what font is being used on the website. But it also provides the CSS of the showcased website as well. You don’t have to figure out how to achieve the same look as the showcased website since Typ.io already provides the CSS for you.

Already have a specific font in mind? You can also use the search box to find the matching fonts that will look great with your chosen font.

In case you’re wondering, this is the font pairing that I use on this website.

Design Seed

I’m a big fan of using a color palette since I can just pick any color palette that fits my branding and runs with it. I don’t have to worry about having a strange and out-of-place color combination on my website.

While there are many websites that provide the color palettes for free, I prefer to get my color palette from Design Seeds instead.

I love the color palettes from Design Seed because the color palettes are derived from nature. Another thing that I like about Design Seed is you can use the color palettes from Design Seed on any project you want.

I can’t say for sure if you can use it for the commercial work. But it doesn’t hurt to ask them for permission if you intend to use the color palette for the commercial use.

For those who are curious, this is the color palette I use on my website.

Grammarly

I love using Grammarly because it can help me with correcting any typos and grammatical errors with a click of a button.

I use Grammarly pretty much for every writing project I have. Thanks to Grammarly, I no longer have to worry about typos and grammatical errors since I can fix it right away before I hit the publish button.

Grammarly is also available on iOS and Android too. Now the damn-you-autocorrect moment has become a thing of the past thanks to Grammarly.

WordPress plugins that I use to create a website

The good thing about WordPress is you can add more features to your website with the help of the plugins. These plugins are free and you can get them directly from the plugin directory. Some plugins also have a premium version too. You can get these plugins if you need more than just the basic features provided.

Here are the plugins that I’m currently using on my website.

Akismet Anti-Spam

This plugin protects my blog from the spam comment. If you receive so many spam comments, then use this plugin to weed out the spam comments from your blog.

AMP

While my website is optimized for mobile, I still need to install AMP plugin since Google tends to favor websites that have AMP version. Sure, my website looks ugly when it’s viewed as AMP. But what can I say? I’m only doing it because Google wants me to.

Force HTTPS

For some reason, some parts of my websites aren’t secured despite having an SSL certificate installed on the server. This plugin solves the problem by making every page on my website secured.

Google Analytics for WordPress

This plugin doesn’t just make it easy for you to connect your website to Google Analytics. But it also shows you the stats that matter to you the most. You can view all the reports straight from your WordPress dashboard without having to visit Google Analytics itself.

Google XML Sitemap

Want to let Google know that your website has been updated with a new blog post? This plugin makes it easy for you to submit your sitemap to Google.

iThemes Security

This plugin helps with making my website secured from hackers. It’s easy to configure too. The plugin also has a premium version which can do so much more. But I only use the free version for the time being.

Limit Login Attempts

This plugin will kick the intruders away from my website when they attempt to log into my WordPress dashboard. When you use this plugin with the iThemes Security plugin, it takes your WordPress security to the next level.

MailOptin – Lite

This plugin makes it easy for me to place the opt-in form at the end of my blog post. I also use this plugin to create an opt-in popup as well. It’s easy to customize the opt-in form too, which is a big plus to me.

Pretty Links

I use this plugin to track my affiliate links.

Simple Comment Editing

The problem with the WordPress commenting system is you can’t edit your comment after you submit. This plugin allows your blog readers to edit their comments for a specific time before the comment is locked out for good.

SumoMe

This plugin makes it easy for me to add social sharing buttons on my website. What makes me love this plugin is that I can choose which page I want the social sharing buttons to appear.

WordPress Popular Posts

This plugin will display the popular posts on my website.

WP Super Cache

Just like the name implied, it’s a caching plugin. This plugin is already pre-installed the moment I install WordPress on my server.

Yoast SEO

This plugin helps with optimizing every single page of my website for the search engine. It’s thanks to this plugin that you’re able to discover me online. 

What else do you need to know?

I feel that I already cover every single thing that I use on my website. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know right here.