Knowledge and Skills I Need to Create and Publish a Website

Creating and publishing a website might seem like a complex task, but with the right approach, anyone can do it—even without deep technical expertise. In this article, I'll break down the essential skills needed to build and launch a website following modern development practices, for free (except for the domain name and your time).

What You’ll Find Out

• The fundamental knowledge required to create a website.
• How to deploy and publish your site without additional costs.
• Best practices for managing code and automating deployments.

This guide is perfect for beginners, QAs, freelancers, and anyone looking to build their own website with a professional approach.

1️⃣ HTML & CSS: Structuring and Styling the Web

At the core of any website are HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). These technologies define your site’s content and appearance.

💡 Essential Skills:

• HTML for structuring your pages (headings, paragraphs, links, images).
• CSS for styling (layouts, colors, fonts, responsiveness).
• Writing clean, semantic HTML for better SEO and accessibility.

📚 Resources to Learn:

• MDN Web Docs - HTML Basics
• CSS Tricks - A Complete Guide to CSS

🐞 Debuggin CSS or HTML issues:

• HTML Markup Validation Service
• CSS Validation Service
• A simple search in any search engine for "HTML validator" or "CSS validator" can also help

2️⃣ Version Control with Git & GitHub

Web development follows best practices that involve version control to track changes and collaborate. Git and GitHub are essential tools for this.

💡 Essential Skills:

• Basic Git commands (clone, commit, push, pull, branch, merge).
• Hosting code on GitHub.
• Using GitHub branches for safe development workflows.

📚 Resources to Learn:

• GitHub Docs - Getting Started
• Learn Git Interactive Course

3️⃣ Deployment with Netlify: Hosting for Free

Once your site is built, you need to deploy it online. Netlify is a popular free hosting service that integrates with GitHub for automated deployments.

💡 Essential Skills:

• Connecting a GitHub repository to Netlify.
• Automating deployments when pushing to the main branch.
• Handling environment variables and site settings.

📚 Resources to Learn:

• Netlify Docs - Getting Started

4️⃣ Domain Management with SiteGround

While Netlify provides a free subdomain, a custom domain adds credibility. If you have purchased a domain from SiteGround, you’ll need to connect it to your Netlify deployment.

💡 Essential Skills:

• Configuring DNS records (CNAME and A records).
• Managing domain settings in SiteGround.
• Setting up HTTPS for security.

📚 Resources to Learn:

• SiteGround - Managing Domains
• Netlify - Custom Domains

5️⃣ Automating Deployment with GitHub Actions (Optional)

For more advanced setups, GitHub Actions can automate testing and deployment processes.

💡 Essential Skills:

• Writing a .github/workflows file for CI/CD.
• Running automated builds and tests before deployment.

📚 Resources to Learn:

• GitHub Actions Docs

Final Thoughts

With just these skills, you can build and publish a professional website while following modern web development best practices. This article is part of my journey of learning web development by creating my own blog and portfolio. If you're on a similar path, stay tuned for more articles documenting my progress and lessons learned!

What’s Next?

🔹 In upcoming articles, I’ll cover adding interactivity with JavaScript and Vue.js.

🔹 More insights into SEO best practices for personal websites.

🚀 Stay curious and keep building!