Launching a professional website used to take weeks or months of planning and hard work. You would need to write code, configure hosting, and build every page from scratch. Fortunately, you don’t have to do any of that anymore. WordPress and Elementor make it possible to build and launch a professional website in less than 24 hours – even if you’re a beginner.
From startup business websites to portfolios and blogs, Elementor allows beginners to create fully functional websites with beautiful designs in a day. Learn how to build and design a website in one day by following this step-by-step guide.
Start With the End Goal in Mind
Before installing WordPress or choosing your website’s design, take a few minutes to determine why you are creating a website. What do you want visitors to do when they land on your website?
Write down your answer, then keep referring to this statement as you make design and content decisions throughout the day. Sticking to a plan is the best way to build your website in one day.
Get Hosting and a Domain Name
After deciding on your website’s purpose, you will need a place to build it. Securing hosting and domain name are always the first two steps in learning how to build a website quickly.
Domain names serve as your website address (e.g. google.com). Hosting providers are companies that store your website files.
Pick a hosting provider that specializes in WordPress websites. Make sure your hosting plan includes 1-click WordPress installation, security, backups, and access to support staff when you need help. Choose a domain name that reflects your brand or business name.
Install WordPress in Minutes
Use your hosting provider’s one-click installer to install WordPress. This process should take less than 5 minutes and removes technical barriers that may have stopped beginners from getting started in the past.
Log into WordPress from your desktop computer and familiarize yourself with the WordPress dashboard. Knowing where to find key areas like Pages, Media, Themes, and Plugins will make everything else easier later.
Select a Minimal Theme
Installing a WordPress theme will give your website its initial design. However, you will be designing most of the site with Elementor. As such, choose a minimal theme that is lightweight and Elementor compatible.
Many popular WordPress themes are lightweight. They use clean typography and minimal elements that allow Elementor to easily make bigger design changes. Minimal themes also offer the fastest loading times for your visitors.
Install Elementor and Plugins
Navigate to the Add New Plugins section in WordPress. Search for Elementor and click install. It will only take a few seconds to install and activate Elementor.
At this point, install a couple of other important plugins. Things like security plugins, backup plugins, contact form plugins, search optimization plugins, and performance optimization plugins.
Remember, the less plugins you use, the faster your website will be. Keep your theme and plugins to a minimum.
Design Your Homepage
The homepage is the first impression visitors will have of your website. You should spend extra time designing the homepage so it accurately describes who you are and what you do.
Pick a clean layout with plenty of white space. Add an attention-grabbing headline followed by a few content sections. Highlight important links with buttons and use images when appropriate. Simplicity is your friend.
Design Other Pages Using Themes
Designing the homepage first allows you to create a custom theme that can be applied to other pages. Head back to Elementor and edit each website page while applying styles from your homepage theme.
Fonts, colors, spacing, buttons, and other design elements should stay consistent on every page. Elementor allows you to copy certain settings which can be applied to other pages.
Add Images Throughout Your Website
Images help tell your story and creates visual interest. Pick quality images that enhance your content and align with your brand. Avoid using graphics that are too busy or uploading large files that impact page loading speed.
Once you’ve added valuable content to your website, go back and upload images that will make your website shine. Remember, images play a vital role in communicating messages and faster loading speed is always important.
Optimize Your Website for Mobile Visitors
More visitors are browsing websites on mobile devices than ever before. Designing a website that adapts to mobile viewers is very important.
To help you make informed decisions about hosting and domain selection, here are some common options and features to consider:
| Hosting Type | Example Providers | Key Features | Best For |
| Shared | Bluehost, SiteGround | Low cost, shared resources | Small websites |
| VPS | HostGator, DigitalOcean | Dedicated resources, scalable | Traffic growth |
| Dedicated | Liquid Web, InMotion | Full control, high performance | Large businesses |
| Cloud | AWS, Google Cloud | Flexible pricing, global reach | Dynamic traffic |
With these options in mind, you can choose the hosting and domain setup that best fits your website goals.
Elementor offers responsive design controls so you can tweak how each page looks on desktop, tablet, and mobile views. Take a few extra minutes to check over each page on your smartphone or tablet. Elementor should handle most of the heavy lifting for you.
Speed Things up
Website speed is very important. No one likes waiting for slow websites to load. The easier you make visiting your website, the better the experience will be for everyone.
Here Are Some Quick Speed Tips:
- Optimize image sizes.
- Turn on caching.
- Disable plugins that you are not using.
- Keep media files small.
- Update themes and plugins.
Add Contact Forms and Navigation Menus
Navigation menus and contact forms are important. Visitors should have plenty of ways to contact you and learn more about your business. Create a basic navigation menu that links to your main website pages.
Add a contact form with only the essential fields. You don’t want questions getting in the way of someone wanting to contact you. Keep forms simple and friendly.
Proofread Your Website
Before publishing your website take the time to review each page. Look for common spelling errors, formatting inconsistencies, and missing images.
Everything on your website should work perfectly. Check all buttons, forms, menus, and links to ensure they’re working properly. Check your website’s mobile view too. Spend an extra 15 minutes cleaning up your site before launch.
Publish Your New Website
After reviewing your website for errors and ensuring that everything is working as it should, go ahead and publish the website to the world. Congratulations! You should have built and designed your website in less than one day. Website design doesn’t stop once you hit publish. Continue tweaking your content and design with helpful tips you learn along the way. Over time you can add more advanced features and functionality to enhance your visitors experience.