Website builder reviews

What is a Website Builder?

In the early days of the web, you’d need to know HTML to create a website. Now, if you wanted to hand-code your own site, you’d need to know JavaScript, CSS, and PHP. The costlier alternative was to hire a web developer who would do all the work for you.

But creating a website doesn’t have to be so difficult. There are plenty of online tools that allow you to create a professional business site without having any coding knowledge or funds for a developer.

A website builder is an app or a piece of software that allows you to design a website to look however you want by simply dragging and dropping images and text blocks. Behind the scenes, the platform puts it all together and publishes it on the web.

Types of Website Builder

Website builders can be divided into three main categories:

• Proprietary Online Website Builders – this is a complete package that includes a website builder, templates, and hosting for your website.
• Website builders provided by a hosting company – some hosting companies have their own website builders that you can use to build your website.
• Content Management Systems – usually referred to as a CMS. The CMS itself is free to download and use but you have to purchase a hosting plan and then install the CMS onto your hosting server.

Let’s take a look at each of these options more in-depth.

Proprietary Online Website Builders

As mentioned before, proprietary website builders include everything you need to get your website up and running. They provide you with the platform, the templates, and the hosting, and most of them even include a free domain or allow you to purchase one. They take care of the technical aspects so you can focus on creating and launching your site. Some of the most popular standalone website builders are Weebly, WIX, Jimdo, IM Creator, Squarespace, Shopify, Webnode, and WebsiteBuilder.

Wix

Wix is one of the largest premium website builders around. It has plenty of templates to choose from, and tons of customization options. Its templates are also responsive, which means your website will look good on mobile devices. The interface is easy to use, and some plans support e-commerce.

Weebly

Weebly offers responsive templates and an easy-to-use website builder. You can customize the fonts, sizes, and text colors. Weebly also includes basic e-commerce functionality with PayPal or Google Checkout integration. If you’re code-savvy, you can even dig into the HTML and CSS for greater customization.

Jimdo

Jimdo lets you create a website or a Jimdo Online Store. Its templates are optimized for search engines. Jimdo also has a mobile app for both Android and iOS, allowing you to manage your website even if you are away from your computer.

Squarespace

Squarespace has a user-friendly builder interface and beautiful responsive templates. You can use Squarespace to build a simple landing page or a full business website. Its plans also allow you to sell your products, and it offers integration with Stripe and PayPal for payment processing.

Webnode

Webnode boasts more than 27 million registered users, making it one of the larger players in the website builder market. You can easily create a multilingual website, which sets Webnode apart from its competitors. It also deserves praise for making it easy to create a backup of your website and restore it if needed.

WebsiteBuilder

WebsiteBuilder is a relatively new platform that boasts an impressive number of templates. You can setup an online store thanks to its integration with Ecwid, or create a business or personal website if you prefer.

Shopify

Shopify focuses on e-commerce websites and provides templates optimized for selling online. You can also add a blog to your store. Shopify offers integration with several payment processors, and tools to manage your inventory, print shipping labels, and offer discount codes.

Website Builders Provided by a Hosting Company

Many hosting providers offer some form of a website builder on their shared hosting plans. These are bundled with templates, but tend to be limited in terms of customization.

If you decide to use a website builder from your host, make sure that the host will export your content if you decide that it’s not right for you.

Content Management Systems

Content management systems are not site builders as such, but they fall into a similar category. The most popular content management systems are WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.

A CMS can be used to create a simple website, or a more complex site with an integrated e-commerce store. CMSs offer the most amount of flexibility and control, but the learning curve is steeper than with a simple site builder tool.

Aside from the numerous templates available, CMSs can be expanded with plugins or extensions.

WordPress

WordPress powers 28% of all websites that we know about. It’s famous for its five-minute installation, but most hosting companies offer one-click installation of WordPress that makes it even quicker.

WordPress is more complex than online website builders, but it’s still easy to learn. The editor allows you to publish posts and pages using an interface similar to Microsoft Word.

You can use it create an e-commerce website with the WooCommerce plugin, or you can create your own social network with the BuddyPress plugin. There are hundreds of themes and plugins available for WordPress, both free and paid.

The community behind WordPress is huge. You can tap into expert help from the official support forums, or use blogs and tutorials to expand your knowledge.

Joomla

Joomla is more complex than WordPress, but it has a strong community. Like WordPress, there are themes and modules that add extra functionality to your site.

Joomla will require you to edit the code manually at times, whereas in WordPress, you can often bypass any coding. Because of its complexity, some developers prefer to use Joomla for more complicated websites that have interactive features.

Drupal

Drupal is the most complex out of the three CMSs. It has a steep learning curve which might prove to be too much for regular users. But it’s a powerful content management system, and it allows you to create any type of site you want.

Like Joomla and WordPress, Drupal is free to download. Many hosting companies offer one-click installation. The fact that WhiteHouse.gov uses Drupal speaks volumes about the platform’s security, too.

The community behind Drupal is large, with support forums, blogs, and tutorials available readily online.