Chapter 2: Planning Your Website

Planning Your Website is super important because this is where most beginners either set themselves up for success or run into headaches later. Think of it like planning a trip from Hyderabad to Goa: decide your destination (goals), choose the right vehicle (hosting), and pick a good address (domain). If you skip this, you might end up on a bumpy road or paying extra to fix things.

I’ll explain everything in detail, like we’re chatting over chai, with real examples (including ones relevant to someone in Hyderabad/Telangana building a site in 2026). We’ll cover the three main sections you listed.

Deciding Your Website Type and Goals

Before spending a single rupee, sit down and ask: What do I really want this website to do? And Who is it for? This decides everything else—design, features, budget, even which plugins you’ll need later.

Step-by-step way to think about it:

1. Define the primary purpose (type)
   • Personal blog or content site? → Focus on easy posting, SEO, fast loading for readers.
   • Business/service site (e.g., freelance web developer, graphic designer, consultant)? → Professional look, contact forms, portfolio gallery, booking calendar.
   • Online store/e-commerce? → Product pages, payments (Razorpay/PayU for India), cart, shipping.
   • Portfolio/showcase? → Image-heavy, clean design, testimonials.
   • Membership/community? → User logins, courses, forums.
   • Local business (e.g., Hyderabad cafe, tuition center)? → Google Maps embed, WhatsApp chat, local SEO.
2. Set clear goals (SMART ones)
   • Short-term: “Launch a basic site in 2 weeks with 5 pages.”
   • Long-term: “Get 500 visitors/month in 6 months via Google,” or “Generate ₹50,000/month from services,” or “Sell 20 products/month.”
   • Audience: Who are they? (e.g., local Hyderabad folks, pan-India clients, international freelancers?) This affects language (English + Telugu?), mobile optimization (huge in India), and speed.

Real example from Hyderabad: Let’s say you’re building a freelance web design portfolio site (common for someone named Webliance!).

• Type: Portfolio + service business.
• Goals: Showcase 10 past projects, get 5 leads/month via contact form, rank for “web designer Hyderabad” on Google, look professional on mobile.
• Why this matters: You’ll need a fast host (for good Google ranking), contact plugin (WPForms), portfolio blocks/theme, maybe WhatsApp integration. Skip e-commerce features to keep it simple/cheap.

If your goal is just a hobby blog about Telangana travel/food, keep it lightweight—no need for fancy hosting yet.

Pro tip: Write this down on paper or Notion. It prevents “feature creep” (adding random stuff later that slows your site).

Choosing and Registering a Domain Name

Your domain is your online address — like your house number on the internet. Make it memorable, brandable, and relevant.

Key tips for choosing a good domain in 2026:

• Keep it short (under 15 characters if possible).
• Easy to spell/type (no hyphens if avoidable, no numbers unless meaningful).
• Include keywords if it helps SEO (e.g., hyderabadwebdesigner.com).
• Prefer .com (most trusted globally), but .in is great for India-local focus (cheaper, signals local).
• Brandable > keyword-stuffed (e.g., webliance.com > hyderabadbestwebdesigner.com).
• Check availability on multiple extensions (.com, .in, .co, .tech) but start with one.

Popular extensions in India right now:

• .com → Universal.
• .in → Local trust, often cheaper.
• .co / .io → Modern/startup feel.
• .tech / .online → Good for tech services.

How to register (step-by-step example):

1. Go to a registrar’s site (recommendations below).
2. Search your name (e.g., “webliance”).
3. See suggestions if taken (e.g., webliance.in, webliance.tech).
4. Add to cart → Pay (usually ₹500–1500/year for .com/.in).
5. Most give free privacy protection (hides your phone/email from public WHOIS).
6. Point it to your hosting later (easy DNS setup).

Best domain registrars for Indians in 2026 (based on pricing, ease, support):

• Hostinger — Often cheapest (₹400–800/year for .com/.in), bundles with hosting (free domain on annual plans), great AI suggestions, 24/7 chat.
• GoDaddy — Huge in India, frequent deals (₹99–500 first year), but renewals higher (~₹1000+), good phone support in Hindi/English.
• BigRock — Indian company (Endurance-owned), affordable .in domains (~₹300–600/year), local payment options (UPI), reliable.
• Others: Namecheap (cheap renewals, good privacy), but slower support for India.

Example for you: Search “webliance.com” — if available, grab it for ~₹800/year via Hostinger. If not, try webliance.in (~₹500) to target local clients.

Avoid free subdomains (yourname.wordpress.com) — looks unprofessional.

Selecting the Right Hosting Provider (2026 Recommendations: Budget-Friendly + Performance-Focused)

Hosting is where your site “lives” — bad hosting = slow site → bad Google ranking, frustrated visitors leaving.

In 2026, focus on:

• Speed (LiteSpeed servers, NVMe SSD, CDN).
• Uptime (99.9%+).
• WordPress-optimized (one-click install, auto-updates, caching).
• India data centers (Mumbai/Chennai for low latency).
• Support (24/7 chat, Hindi options).
• Price — Intro deals low, but check renewals.

My top recommendations for Hyderabad users in early 2026 (budget to performance balance):

1. Hostinger (Best overall for most beginners/budget — my #1 pick right now)
   • Price: ₹69–₹200/month intro (renew ~₹300–800).
   • Why great: Mumbai servers, LiteSpeed (super fast), free domain + SSL, AI site builder, WordPress staging, excellent uptime/speed tests.
   • Ideal for: New sites, blogs, small businesses, portfolios. Loads fast for Indian visitors.
   • Example: A Hyderabad freelancer gets <300ms load times, perfect for local SEO.
2. Bluehost India (Beginner-friendly, official WP recommended)
   • Price: ₹169–₹500/month.
   • Why: One-click WP install, free domain/SSL, good for starters, but slightly slower than Hostinger in some tests.
   • Good if you want simple + phone support.
3. YouStable / MilesWeb / Cyberin (Indian brands, budget + local support)
   • Price: ₹59–₹300/month (YouStable often cheapest with NVMe).
   • Why: India data centers, unmetered bandwidth, good for growing sites.
4. Cloudways (If you want better performance later)
   • Price: ₹800+/month (DigitalOcean/Google Cloud).
   • Why: Managed, scalable, fast — upgrade when your site grows.

Avoid super-cheap unknown hosts — they oversell servers, leading to slow sites.

Quick decision guide for you:

• Budget <₹300/month + new site → Hostinger.
• Want local Indian company + cheap → YouStable or MilesWeb.
• Plan to grow fast → Hostinger or Cloudways.

Once you pick hosting + domain, most let you install WordPress in 5 minutes.

Phew—that’s Chapter 2! This planning saves you so much rework later.

What next?

• Want help brainstorming your specific site type/goals? (Tell me what you’re building!)