Selecting a Website Builder
Building a website is now easier and more affordable compared to the past, thanks to the wide range of user-friendly, DIY web builders available to consumers. Above, we have compiled a list of do-it-yourself website builders, showcasing the features offered by each.
When choosing a website builder, the first step is to consider the type of site you want to create and the functional requirements you have. Below is a list of key factors to consider when selecting a website builder, to help you create your ideal personal or business site.
Evaluate the Software Features
There are numerous outstanding website builders to compare and choose from, but the best option for you will depend on the features that matter most. For instance, Wix and Squarespace are excellent choices if you prioritize simplicity. Wix and Web.com offer excellent stock images and photo editing tools. Squarespace and Shopify provide first-class shopping cart solutions.
If you're specifically looking for a high-quality hosting platform that works well with WordPress or another preferred CMS, iPage or FatCow might be your preferred choices.
A Great Website Deserves an Excellent Template
The template you select is the foundation of your website. It determines the entire layout, including menus, colors, background elements, photo, and text alignment. A reliable website builder will offer hundreds of templates to choose from, with the quality of those templates being crucial. Wix and Network Solutions offer a smaller number of free templates compared to some competitors, but the ones they provide are among the most visually appealing. Squarespace is also a great option for high-quality templates.
To Pay or Not to Pay?
Should you opt for a free platform like WordPress or a paid platform like Squarespace? This decision depends on how much control you want over your website and the scale you aim to achieve:
Free website builders are ideal for those on a budget, but they typically don't allow you to connect your own domain and require you to display the company's ads on each webpage.
Paid builders require an investment, but they provide more storage, bandwidth, and tools. Additionally, you can use your own domain and remove any ads displayed on your site.
Consider these additional factors when deciding between free and paid website builders.
Brand Reputation Matters, Too
We understand that trust is crucial when selecting a website builder. All the website builders featured and compared on this page are industry leaders, with some of them being in operation for over two decades. Register.com has been around since 1994, Web.com since 1995, and GoDaddy since 1997. Network Solutions has an even longer history, established in 1979!
Furthermore, these companies have received numerous industry accolades. For example, BigCommerce has earned two Stevie awards for Best Overall Business. GoDaddy has received three Stevie awards for their sales and customer service, and has been recognized as one of Arizona's Most Admired Companies for two consecutive years.
Industry accolades serve as a strong indicator of a brand's value. Squarespace, for instance, has won multiple Webby Awards over the years, spanning various categories such as Features & Design, Web Services & Applications, and Best Practices.
Looking for Design Services?
While these website builders offer an array of excellent designs out of the box, sometimes you may need something more customized. If you want a professional to design a stunning website on your behalf, your best options are Wix, Web.com, and Network Solutions. These platforms offer competitively priced DIFM (Do It for Me) web design services. Once your site is built, you can still use their easy content management system to maintain it.
If your site includes an online store, BigCommerce is another excellent choice. They can connect you with one of their carefully vetted design partners who specialize in BigCommerce. Moreover, with hundreds of partners to choose from, you can compare rates and portfolios to find the option that best suits your needs.
Don't Forget About Google
If you want your website to be easily found by potential visitors, readers, customers, or fans, it is essential to optimize it for search engines. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) encompasses all the techniques and best practices that enable a website to achieve prominent search engine rankings.
To ensure that your website builder is SEO-friendly, look for features such as:
- The ability to edit title tags, meta descriptions, and alt image attributes
- Automated XML and HTML sitemaps
- Search-friendly URLs (good: mysite.com/latest-news; bad: mysite.com/349596)
- Keyword density and conversion tools
Wix and Web.com are two of the best website builders for SEO. They offer all of the above features, and Web.com even provides the service of optimizing your site with the help of SEO experts (additional rates may apply).
Hosting and Domain Bundles
Your website hosting is comparable to real estate. Instead of paying for physical property, you pay for storage and sufficient bandwidth to ensure your site runs smoothly. All of the website builders featured on this page offer hosting services for your website, and most of them allow you to connect your own domain for a small fee. Squarespace is one of the few hosting providers that offers a free domain when you sign up for a yearly contract.
Both Weebly and Web.com offer hosting plans with unlimited storage and bandwidth, which is a significant advantage. BigCommerce also provides these perks, but if you have an online store with a large number of products and customers, you may need to upgrade to a more expensive enterprise plan.
When comparing hosting options, be aware of the difference between "unlimited" and "unmetered" bandwidth. An unmetered plan is not truly unlimited; while the hosting provider won't prevent you from receiving a high volume of traffic, it may slow down your site once you reach a certain threshold.
The Benefits of Using a Website Builder
The average cost of a website built by a designer can range from $1,000 to $8,000, and each change you request can increase your bill further. Additionally, you have to wait for the designer's availability to implement the changes you want. Ultimately, there is a risk that you'll end up settling for a website you're not truly satisfied with, simply because you believe you can't afford to request further modifications.
Using a website builder is much more cost-effective. The best website builders offer a wide range of choices and give you complete control over your project. For instance, Wix provides more than 500 templates across 70 categories, allowing you to experiment with fonts, color schemes, slideshows, galleries, and even video backgrounds. Wix App Market, a highly regarded feature, offers more than 300 apps that seamlessly integrate into your website.
With a website builder, you have full control over every aspect, from the placement of the call-to-action button to the font on your homepage.
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Website Builder Platform
The best website builder is the one that best suits your needs. Ask yourself these questions regarding your new website:
- What type of site do you want to create?
- What key features do you require?
- Do you have an online store? If yes, how large will it be? Some website builders have Ecommerce plans that impose limitations on the number of items you can sell per month.
- What is the image and vibe of your business?
User-Friendliness
The most important aspect of a website builder is its ease of use. Test the user interface of the top 5 website builders listed above by using their trial site builders. This will give you an idea of which one feels most intuitive and user-friendly. If you have coding knowledge, check whether the website builders provide access to the CSS code as well.
Ecommerce Capability
If you anticipate your business to expand, ask whether you need a website builder capable of handling increased online bookings, reservations, sales, or sales inquiries. Similarly, if you plan to switch to a different hosting option in the future, ensure that you can easily download the full site.
Template Selection
Check the range of templates available and make sure they aren't just slight variations of the same design. You will need templates relevant to your business category. Having a website builder with hundreds of blog templates, but none for restaurants, won't be of much help if you are promoting your café.
Features
The best website builders offer a variety of additional features to enhance your website creation experience. Here are some features to look out for:
- Setup wizards that guide you through the building process
- Drag-and-drop interfaces for easy site design
- SEO tools, including tags editing
- Marketing tools, such as email marketing
- Built-in analytics to track visitors' demographics, location, interests, and more
- Ecommerce tools, including multiple payment processor options, inventory tracking, and product descriptions
- Integrated social media buttons for connecting your social networks with your website
- Mobile-responsive sites that update automatically
- Mobile editing tools that allow you to modify your website using a mobile device
Site Speed and Technical Support
The speed at which your website loads is essential. You do not want to lose potential visitors due to long loading times. Having 24-hour technical support is vital if you are creating your website and need assistance when encountering difficulties, even if it's in the middle of the night. Lastly, while pricing shouldn't be the sole deciding factor, you don't want to pay too much for a mediocre website builder, so be sure to compare prices as well.
Is a Free Builder Worth It?
If you only need to build a basic site without an online store, a free website builder is a good starting point. Keep in mind that free plans offer limited storage, slower load times, and fewer SEO and marketing tools. If you require Ecommerce capabilities, large storage space (for high-resolution images, videos, etc.), additional customer support, and/or many webpages, free site builders may not be suitable.
With that said, free website builders are excellent for testing the waters and having a ready-made platform to share with contacts and social media followers. Should you decide to add more features, many companies offer easy and cost-efficient upgrades. For example, with Wix, you can choose from four premium upgrades that provide increasing amounts of bandwidth, storage, as well as access to analytics and marketing tools, allowing you to scale up based on your website's needs and budget.
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