Wix Make Quick Easy Professional Website Free

First Thing's First: Get Your Website Ideas, Text, and Images In Order Preview 03:32

In this lesson we'll talk about the website I am going to design as a case study in this course for an American non-profit organization. We'll discuss gathering content like text and imagery as well as the importance of solidifying your idea and thinking about navigation and what you most want to communicate with your new website.

Many people want to just jump in and start making a website without the preparation. But if you skip the planning stages, you'll actually spend more time later redoing your website, reordering menu items, and fussing with images. Trust me. Let's take a moment to plan our beautiful new website first and make sure the images you want to use are worthy enough to put on it.  :-)

Laying the Groundwork: Creating a Site Inventory and Navigation Chart Preview 03:17

This extra lesson comes from my in-depth full web design course, Web Snax: Super Simple Recipes For Easy Web Design

Here we are going to think about what content we want to have on our new website and what we DON'T want. We are also going to then organize this content to make it easy to find, logical, and user-friendly for our website visitors.

Organize Your Content and Fine Tune Your Ideas Preview 03:26

In this lesson we'll talk about ways you can further solidify your ideas and how to think about which pages you'll have and what you most want to communicate via your website. 

Making Images Ready To Use on the Web Preview 10:18

In this lesson, I'll show you how to clean up and adjust images so they will look professional and sharp on your new website. Your website is only going to be as good as your weakest image, so make sure they all are in top shape before you start designing your new site. In this lesson I use Adobe Photoshop. You can get a free trial of Photoshop from Adobe's website. You can also make similar edits to your image using the free program Gimp or Photoshop's online tool. See the links in the resources section. 

Also look at the extra lesson in the last section of this course to use a free online photo editor made by Photoshop to help you get your images ready for your site.

What Kind of Website Are You Going to Make?

Take a moment to let me know what kind of site you plan to create.

Set Up a Wix Account and Choose Your Template Preview 06:10

In this lesson we will set up a brand new Wix account and browse through templates so we can choose one and get started making our beautiful new website. 

Setting Up Your Logo on Your Home Page Preview 03:19

In this lesson we'll set up our logo and start chipping away at customizing our new home page.

Extra: Put Your Existing Logo on a Transparent Background (*In Under 4 Minutes) Preview 03:42

In this lesson I will show you a super easy and quick way to take an existing logo and put it on a transparent background. I normally do this task in Photoshop or Gimp, but after creating this lesson, I'm just going to use the free online tool Lunapic instead. It's a time saver! :-)

This lesson comes from my course, Make Easy But Powerful Social Media Graphics: Canva |Stencil

Saving, Setting Your Wix Site's Name, and Customizing Your Home Page Slider Preview 07:28

In this lesson we will save our work so far, set our site's URL (domain name), and start customizing our main slider on the home page. Good times ahead! :-)

Working With Text and Adding Links in Wix Preview 04:56

In this lesson we'll start redoing some of the template text and swapping with our own text. We'll also talk about links and how to set them up properly.

Make Sure THIS Crucial Information is On Your Homepage Preview 06:57

In this lesson we are going to add the most important information your website needs to have. 

Get Your Image Galleries in Shape and Finalize the Homepage Text Preview 04:07

In this lesson we will work with the image galleries on our home page and finalize the home page text. Making progress!

Adding Services or Events Preview 03:15

In this lesson I add services to the page and make it link to the contact page. (Case Study)

Add Your Social Media Links to the Site's Footer Bar Preview 02:45

In this lesson I will show you how to set up your social media links that will appear in the site's footer. 

Edit the Mobile Version of Your Wix Site and Hit Publish Preview 04:48

In this lesson we will go edit the mobile version of our site and make sure it appears the way we want to. Then we hit publish and are ready to share the link.

Fixing Up the Menu and Adding a Blog to the Site Preview 05:51

In this lesson we will tidy up our menu, add pages, and redo the menu and stacking order for pages. We will also create a new blog and add it to the site by making our first post.

Editing and Formatting Blog Posts in Wix Preview 07:08

In this lesson we will edit and format our first blog post, work with pages, swap images, and adjust blog settings.

Setting Up Your Contact Form and Page Preview 04:26

In this lesson I'll show you how to add free vector art as we customize our contact page. I'll also go over how to set up a Google map and how to make sure your contact form is customized and working.

Adding Animated Effects to Images Preview 02:25

Let's have a little fun, shall we? In this lesson I will show you how to add cool animated effects to your images to help make your Wix website even more dynamic. (*Use animated effects sparingly so you don't make your web visitors sea sick!)

The Final Wrap Up and Important Last Things You Need to Know Before You Go Preview 06:21

In this lesson we will talk about finalizing a site, publishing, how to upgrade your plan, how to find free help on every specific Wix tool, and how to get custom feedback and advice from me.

Now It's Your Turn. Making Your Wix Website

Now that you know all the steps, it's time to get started. (Or at least just check in and let us know where you are at...)

Extra: 5 Easy & Free Tools That Will Free Your Creative Soul Preview 10:24

Don't stop at making Wix websites. Have a look at some of my favorite free and intuitive tools that will have you making images, social media graphics, illustrations, animations, and more. Get a taste of what is possible in under 10 minutes and be up and running ASAP.  [This lecture comes from my full course, Skyrocket Your Creativity: 7 Easy Ways.]

75+ Resources to Get Free Images, Music, and Videos For Your Projects Preview 00:22

Here are more free resources you can use in your creative projects.

Extra: Making Image Fixes on the Go Using Photoshop's Free Online Editor Preview 07:06

In this extra lesson, I'll show you a quick and easy FREE online tool made by the Adobe Photoshop people that will allow you to fix and enhance your web images for free. Use this tool to brighten images, increase contrast, crop, adjust, and more.

This lesson comes from my course (that also utilizes free tools), Quick & Easy FREE Image Fixes for Beginners: GIMP Spotlight

Extra: 7 Easy Ways to Earn Money Online (With or Without a Website) Preview 00:26

In this current economic funk set to stay for years thanks to the global Covid-19 Pandemic, it makes more sense than ever to not put all your eggs in one basket. Why not experiment with creating several or more income generation streams and start creatively earning money using online tools?

Thank You For Taking This Course. Please Review Preview 00:42

I'm so happy that you took this course. Thank you for visiting my online classroom. Please don't be a stranger and I hope to see you again soon.

Bonus: Freebies, Discounts, and Special Offers Preview 01:53

Here is more information on how to connect with me, see my online portfolio, and where to find special offers.