How do you make the website, step by step?
You need a domain, hosting and the software itself, then a theme, your pages and a few plugins. The order below suits most small business sites. Each step looks short on paper and takes longer the first time.
- Plan your pages: home, services, about, contact and the questions customers ask.
- Register a domain name and buy web hosting.
- Install the software from your host's control panel and set a strong admin password.
- Choose a theme, then set your colours, fonts, header and footer.
- Write each page and add your photos.
- Add plugins for your contact form, backups, security and search settings.
- Add a privacy notice, a cookie banner and your business details.
- Test every page and form on a phone, then make the site public.
How long does it really take to build it yourself?
For a first business website, plan for about 40 to 70 hours of your own time. The install takes minutes. The hours go on learning the dashboard, writing, photos, layout and fixing what looks wrong on a phone. These are our planning figures for a first-timer, not a promise.
- Planning your pages and what each one must do: 3 to 5 hours.
- Domain, hosting and installation: 2 to 4 hours.
- Learning the dashboard and setting up a theme: 6 to 10 hours.
- Writing the words for every page: 8 to 15 hours.
- Choosing, editing and resizing photos: 3 to 6 hours.
- Building the pages and menus: 8 to 14 hours.
- Forms, backups, security and search settings: 3 to 6 hours.
- Privacy notice, cookie banner and company details: 2 to 4 hours.
- Testing on phones, fixing and launching: 3 to 6 hours.
After launch, allow 2 to 4 hours a month for updates, backup checks and the fixes an update can cause. If you sell products, our guide on building an online shop yourself sets out the extra hours a shop adds.
Rather have it done for you? We build your website free, it goes live in days, and you pay nothing for the first 14 days. No card needed. See how the free 14-day trial works.
What skills do you need to build it yourself?
You need technical set-up, design and writing skills, all at once. Most owners are strong in one of the three. Your site wins enquiries only when all of them are done well.
- Technical set-up: domain settings, hosting, installing software and connecting email.
- Design: a layout that looks professional on a phone and a laptop.
- Copywriting: words that explain what you do and why a customer should call you.
- Search engine optimisation (SEO): page titles, descriptions and headings that match what people search for.
- Security: updates, strong passwords, backups and knowing how to restore them.
- Data protection: a privacy notice and cookie consent that meet UK rules.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) says you must tell people how you use their details at the time you collect them, so your contact form needs a privacy notice. Our guide to building a small business website lists the other UK details your site must show.
What do you have to keep doing after launch?
You look after a self-built site for as long as it is live. The core software, your theme and each plugin release updates. Someone has to apply them, check the site afterwards and fix anything that changed.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) advises you to apply software updates as soon as they are available. Test a restore from your backup now and then, because a backup that will not restore is no help on the day you need it. Spam form entries, renewals and broken layouts after an update all land on your desk too.
Would you rather have it done for you?
Buzzozo designs, writes and builds your website, puts it live on our hosting and looks after it every month. You spend about ten minutes on the phone telling us about your business, and our team does the rest.
Your managed website includes fast green UK hosting on renewable energy, firewall and malware protection with round-the-clock monitoring, and daily backups. Software, plugin and security updates are part of it, and your domain stays in your name. If you want a design made from scratch for your brand, see our web design service.
See it working before you pay anything. Get your website built free for 14 days, with no card needed and no contract. On day 14, keep it on a Website plan from £149 a month, or walk away owing nothing. That founding price is for the first 100 businesses and is kept for life. After the first 100, the plan is from £299 a month. You can cancel any time. Your site comes with an AI chat assistant that answers visitors' questions around the clock and captures enquiries while you work.
Every Buzzozo website plan also comes with UK support by phone, WhatsApp and email.
Selling products online? Compare this with making an online shop website. If your site is mainly there to show your work, read how to make a portfolio website.
Common questions
Can I make a website like this without coding?
Yes, for a simple site, using a theme and the block editor. You still need design sense, clear words and patience with settings. Bookings, a large shop or anything custom usually needs a developer.
How long does it take to make the website yourself?
Plan for about 40 to 70 hours on a first business website if you have not used the software before. Most of that goes on writing, photos and layout. Then allow 2 to 4 hours a month for updates and checks.
Who keeps a self-built website secure?
You do, unless you pay someone to. Updates, backups and restore tests fall to the site owner. On a Buzzozo plan our team handles security, daily backups and updates for you.
Can someone build my website for me instead?
Yes. Buzzozo designs, writes and builds your website and hosts it for you. You get it free for 14 days without a card, then decide whether to keep it.