Getting a website set up and launched can be really long-winded and complicated but it doesn't always have to be that way. If you are looking to build a huge website with lots of products on and huge amounts of content, like videos, guides, big images and features then it probably isn’t going to be achievable in a day. Not to the standard you would want, at least.

Websites with lots of functionality and pages take a lot of planning but if you are a small business, just looking to get a very simple, basic website launched then it certainly is achievable in a day.

First of all it is a good idea to understand what you will be limited to in getting a quick website set up. The quickest way to get a website set up is through using a website building tool and it will probably speed things up if go with a free hosting company and it will save you money!

So you can select from a number of free hosting solutions that provide website building tools and Wix.com is one of the more popular options. Now getting a website for free is brilliant in most respects but there are also a lot of limitations to be aware of before you start investing your time and effort into getting it set up.

A website builder has loads of features but it will not have the same options that you would have with say, a WordPress website that gives you the opportunity to use thousands of themes and plugins. This will take your website to the next level in terms of design, marketing capability and functionality. And it isn’t as simple as upgrading your account if you change your mind, you will need to start all over again.

Also, free hosting tends to provide lower performance levels, less storage and bandwidth and they usually come with the terms that your host can display ads on your website. Some people do not want to compromise the control they have over their website and therefore don’t go with free hosting.

But for many small businesses, or people looking to set up a website for a hobby, social purposes etc. free hosting and a website building tool are the perfect, speedy solution.

Okay so first off, head to Wix.com or whichever host you decide to go with. You will see that there is a button that says ‘Get Started’ and this is where your journey begins. Next you will need to sign up and then you can go to the option to ‘Create a New Site’. You pretty much get walked through every action that you need to do to get your website started.

You can choose from a pre-designed template and choose different customisations like colours, styles and backgrounds. All of the tasks like uploading an image are quite easy to do, with handy instructions should you need them and clear icons showing the different actions you can do. The beauty of a pre-designed template is that you don’t have to spend time with formatting or deciding on layouts and absolutely no coding knowledge is required. So for those who are not particularly savvy with technology, they should still be able to put together an attractive website in just a few hours.

You will need to select the colours that you require for your website and then if you have a logo, upload it in the area you want it to be displayed. There are page menu structures already there for you to choose from but you have the control to decide on your own page structure and names.

Generally, the most basic website should have a Homepage that includes logo, maybe a strapline and some details about your company and maybe your main service that you want to promote. You should also have a Contact Us page to make it easy for users to get in touch, although you might want to put all of your contact details on the homepage.

You can always add a blog function and additional pages later on once you have got the key parts of your website finalised. You also have an image library to choose from, or you can upload your own images to bring your website to life. When you‘re happy with all of your content, you can go live all in a day’s work!