The first thing you'll need is a domain, a name for your website. They cost $10 to $20, depending where you register it. You have to pay every year. Don't get a free domain. It's not really free.
Choosing a domain name is important. Work on it. Try and get a .com extension.
Keep it short, memorable and easy to spell. I suggest trying to incorporate the name of your city into your domain.
Visit my Wizard friends to search for the domain name you want.
You're also going to need website hosting, an address for your domain to live. You also have to get an https extension to make sure your website is secure. Those same wizard friends set it up for me. It's a pain, but once it's set up you dont have to mess with it.
I have used the wizards since 1995 for all my projects. They handle all my cybersecurity, etc.
I think the most important consideration when choosing your web host is quality customer service. When I have a problem or a question, the Press Wizards have always provided competent, timely help.
Shopify has some handy tools to get you started, like a business name generator, a logo maker, and even a slogan maker. They also offer a nice collection of themes and examples of successful Shopify store owners.
If you're building your website yourself, you'll need software. I use Dreamweaver and Photoshop from Adobe Creative Cloud. You can build your own app plan.
The CSS Zen Garden is the best place to be inspired. This collaborative gallery was built to demonstrate what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design.
They even have free responsive HTML Templates.
Google Fonts has hundreds of free fonts. I recommend not getting too fancy. Not all fonts work on all browsers.
I've used Shutterstock many times for good stock photography. They have like 400 million images.
Create the perfect gradient for the background of your next project with Gradientify. It's a free, web-based gradient editor with 100-plus versions. It's fun to mess with.
If you want to sell stuff and accept credit cards, you'll need to go to Paypal. I've used them countless times.
WordPress.com gives you everything you need to start your website today. Free hosting, your own domain, a world-class support team, and so much more.
WordPress.com allows you to build a website that meets your unique needs. Start a blog, business site, portfolio, online store, or anything else you can imagine.