Building Your First Website

18 minutes

What you will learn

How to create a simple website using free tools
The basics of HTML — the language of the web
How to add text, images, and links to a page
How to publish your site so anyone can see it

You Don't Need to Be a Programmer

Building a website today is easier than ever. You do not need to write complex code or spend months learning. In this tutorial, we walk through creating a simple, professional-looking website using free tools — and publish it live on the internet in under an hour.

What You Will Need

A computer with internet access.
A web browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Brave).
An email address (for signing up to free services).
That is it. No special software, no paid tools.

Option 1: No-Code Website Builders (Fastest)

For most people, a no-code builder is the best place to start. These platforms let you create websites by dragging and dropping elements — no coding at all.

Google Sites — completely free, simple, integrates with Google Workspace. Best for: personal portfolio, club website, simple information page.
Carrd — free for one site, beautiful single-page designs. Best for: personal landing page, event page, simple business site.
Canva Websites — free, uses Canva's design tools. Best for: visually-focused pages, portfolios, event pages.

In the video, we build a site with Google Sites in under 10 minutes — and publish it live.

Option 2: HTML Basics (More Control)

If you want more control, understanding basic HTML is empowering. HTML is not a programming language — it is a markup language. You are just labelling content so browsers know how to display it.

Here is the simplest possible webpage:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>My First Website</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Hello, Zambia!</h1>
    <p>This is my first website.</p>
    <img src="my-photo.jpg" alt="A photo of me" />
    <a href="https://example.com">Click here</a>
  </body>
</html>

That is it. <h1> is a heading. <p> is a paragraph.<img> is an image. <a> is a link. Everything else you see on the web is built from these same simple building blocks.

Option 3: AI-Assisted Building (Modern Approach)

Tools like Landingsite, Wix ADI, and even ChatGPT can now generate entire websites from a description. You describe what you want, and AI builds it. This is the fastest way to go from "I need a website" to "my website is live" — and it is getting better every month.

How to Publish Your Site

Google Sites: Click "Publish" — it is instantly live at a Google Sites URL.
GitHub Pages: Free hosting for HTML files. Slightly more technical but completely free with a custom domain option.
Landingsite / Carrd / Wix: Publish with one click. Free subdomains available.

Next Steps

Once your first site is live, the best way to improve is to keep building. Create a page for your side project. Build a portfolio. Make a site for your church or community group. Every site you build makes the next one easier.