If you want to start your own online presence but don't have any coding knowledge and/or are not comfortable with installing plugins on your site, then there are plenty of websites that can help you get started without having to learn anything new. These services often provide templates which allow users to pick from different layouts. There are also pre-made pages available in some cases so that you don’t need to worry about creating an entire page from scratch.
But what if you do know how to code well enough to make edits yourself? What if you prefer to use something more advanced than just a template? If this sounds like you, then it might be time to look at using one of these tools as your main source of inspiration when designing your website instead. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got no experience whatsoever – you could still create a beautiful looking web page and have it up live within minutes!
We’ll take a look at three options below: Weebly, Wix.com and Figma.com. Each offers its own unique set of benefits depending on your needs, and each will give you access to thousands of ready made designs and themes along with drag & drop functionality meaning you can easily change things around to suit your tastes.
If you’d rather stick with Microsoft products then Wordpress (GNU General Public License) is probably where you should turn first. You won’t find many design elements here though, plus it requires you to install a plugin called Visual Composer before you can see all the features. But if you're already familiar with Microsoft Office programs such as Excel and PowerPoint then learning WP isn’t too difficult either.
So let’s take a closer look at each option to decide which would be right for you.
The most basic form of website is simply text. This allows anyone who knows nothing about HTML to open their browser and view the content. While this may seem easy, it does mean that you’re limited by what words you can put into the page, although this can be changed later on. The downside to this approach is that it’s not very dynamic, so you wouldn’t be able to add images or videos etc. Also, if someone wants to link to your site they’ll only be able to click through to another URL, making it harder to promote your work. So while this method works perfectly fine for personal blogs, it’s less suitable for professional sites.
Wix.com is a great choice for beginners because it gives you everything you need in order to create a fully functional website including hosting, domain name registration and free email accounts. Once you've signed up for a free account, you'll be given two simple steps to follow - choose a theme, and once you've done that you can go ahead and build your own webpage. In fact, you don't even need to register until after you've chosen a theme, so feel free to test drive the platform before committing to a purchase.
Once you've gone through selecting a style, you can begin adding your own custom content onto your page. For example, you can upload photos, write blog posts and include links and other information. All of this is done via drag & drop controls located directly above the page editor. To add additional content, you simply select ‘Add Content' from the menu bar which appears automatically whenever you enter edit mode.
You can also switch between editing and previewing modes by clicking on the gear icon that sits beside the editor. Doing this will display a list of buttons allowing you to import external files, delete existing ones, save changes, export to PDF, download a PNG file, copy content to clipboard and more.
To complete your website, you'll have to pay $9.99 per month for a premium plan which adds extra security measures, unlimited storage space, support 24 hours a day 7 days a week and much more. However, you can sign up for a free trial period of 30 days that lets you try out the full service for absolutely no cost.
Figma.com offers a similar feature set to Wix.com but costs $19 per year through monthly subscriptions. Although it lacks the ability to host your site itself, it does offer unlimited pages, domains and e-mail addresses. Other key features include:
Drag & Drop interface
Built-in blogging system
Access to over 300+ professionally designed templates
Customizable widgets
Responsive layout capabilities
Free fonts
There are several ways to get a hold of Figma. One is to use our guide to finding cheap Figma templates for designers. Another is to join one of their official groups such as Learn Design Online. Memberships typically range in price from £10 / $20 / €15 / AU$25 annually.
Another alternative is to check out the following resource lists:
1. Free Website Builder Resources [No Longer Available]
2. Recommended Websites For Learning How To Make A Website From Scratch
3. Best Websites For Beginners That Teach You Everything About Building Your Own Site
4. 10 Sites Every Newbie Should Know When Starting With Website Development
5. Top 5 Blogging Platforms Of 2020
6. Best WordPress Hosting Services
7. 3 Reasons Why I Am Not Using WordPress Anymore
8. 8 Great Places To Get Started On Making Money With Affiliate Marketing
9. 4 Awesome Tools Used By Professional Graphic Designers Daily
10. 9 Must Have Software For Creating Graphics And Videos As An Artist
11. 14 Cool Things You Can Do With Photoshop CC 2019 ($30 Value!)
12. 6 Essential Digital Photography Tips Everyone Needs To Read
13. 13 Ways To Use Instagram For Business Growth
14. 15 Useful Social Media Management Apps For Small Business Owners
15. 20 Creative Ideas To Increase Traffic To Your Website
16. 21 Most Important SEO Practices You Need To Follow Before Launching Your First Website Or Blog
17. 23 Powerful Email Marketing Strategies No One Talks About
18. 25 Simple Ways To Improve Conversions On Landing Pages
19. 26 Amazing WordPress Plugins That Will Change The Way You Work With WordPress
20. 28 Proven Ways To Build Backlinks Quickly Without Pay Per Click Advertising
21. 29 Popular Paid Survey Sites Which Anyone Can Join Easily
22. 31 Effective Twitter Ads Tactics That Are Easy To Implement
23. 33 Elegant Facebook Page Designs That Attract Visitors Instantly
24. 34 Easy Steps To Create High Quality Infographics Fast
25. 35 Excellent Video Tutorials For Getting More Views On YouTube
26. 36 Fantastic WordPress Plugins That Add Extra Features To Your Website
27. 37 Best WordPress Plugins For Adding Unlimited Subscribers To Your List
28. 38 Highly Successful Pinterest Strategy That Gets Over 1 Million Pins Visually Implemented
29. 39 Top 50 Social Media Optimization Hacks To Dominate Local Search Results
30. 40 Easy Ways To Grow Your Audience On Instagram
31. 41 Incredible Image Editing Tools For Photographers
32. 42 Beautiful Websites Designed For Kids
33. 43 Best Facebook Groups For Freelancers Who Want To Earn A Living From Home
34. 44 Best WordPress Plugins For Improving User Experience
35. 45 Powerful Amazon Selling Techniques That Bring Profits
36. 46 Advanced WordPress Shortcodes Plugin That Allows Users To Add Rich Content Elements Into Their Posts
37. 47 Best WordPress Plugins For Enhancing Productivity
38. 48 Ultimate Guide To Growing Your Brand Online Through Influencer Marketing
39. 49 The Perfect Place To Find Affordable Domain Names
40. 51 Amazing WordPress Plugins For Boosting Sales
41. 52 Best WordPress Plugins For Better Security
42. 53 12 Ways To Get More Leads From LinkedIn
43. 54 11 Secret Tricks To Rank Higher In Google
44. 55 10 Ways To Generate Leads Using Instagram
45. 56 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Google Analytics
46. 57 5 Ways To Drive Targeted Traffic To Your Website
47. 58 7 Best Ways To Monetize Your Website
48. 59 The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Setting Up Shopify Stores
49. 60 10 Ways To Promote Your Products Like A Boss
50. 61 Easy Methods To Take Advantage Of Viral Marketing
51. 62 5 Secrets To Increasing Engagement On Facebook
52. 63 16 Ways To Stand Out From The Crowd With Your Logo
53. 64 3 Ways To Turn Regular Tweets Into Cash
54. 65 10 Ways To Start Selling On Etsy
55. 66 10 Benefits Of Having A Podcast
56. 67 10 Ways To Become A Vocalist
57. 68 4 Types Of Music Streaming Service You Never Heard Of
58. 69 10 Tips For Writing Killer Press Releases
59. 70 5 Essential Tools For Running A Small Business
60. 71 2 Simple Ways To Launch A New Product
You've probably heard of them – but maybe not enough about what they actually do. A website builder is essentially an online tool that helps you design and host your very own web presence in minutes. It doesn't matter if you're looking to create a blog, portfolio site or even sell products on the internet – you'll need one at some point. But which is the easiest to use? And are there any completely free ones available? Here, then, are our top picks.
There’s no shortage of websites these days. So many people have their own online presences that it seems like everyone has their own website now. If this isn’t already evident from the number of new sites popping up every day, it should be clear by now that having a website is important. But how exactly does one go about creating one? Is it as simple as registering with a domain name registrar, buying hosting space, installing WordPress (or similar platform), uploading images and writing content? Or will you need more than just a few clicks to get started?
The truth is that each person who wants to start a website needs to find a solution that works best for him/her. There are plenty of options out there, so finding the right one shouldn’t be too difficult. However, while each option may work well for different types of website, all of them share certain characteristics. For example, most of them require users to register before being able to access the full range of features. They also tend to offer templates that allow users to quickly set up a basic page, such as a personal homepage, news feed, contact form, etc.. Some let users upload pictures directly into the template, others don’t. In other words, choosing a website builder boils down to deciding whether you want something easy or complicated. You might decide that simplicity is better because it means less time waiting around between steps, but complexity could help you achieve greater control over your final product. The choice is yours!
Websites aren’t cheap to maintain, either. Hosting costs money, plus there’s always the cost of paying someone else to update the site when necessary, adding fresh content, fixing bugs, etc… It makes sense to take advantage of tools that make things simpler, especially if you only plan on using the website occasionally. This list aims to highlight those services that provide everything you need to get started without needing much effort.
Wix is a popular service among beginners due to its ease-of-use. It offers hundreds of beautiful prebuilt layouts, including blogs, galleries, portfolios, ecommerce stores and more. Users simply click through sections to add elements to the layout until it looks perfect. Once ready, the user can publish his creations to several social media networks or embed them onto another webpage.
Figma offers similar functionality, though it requires a bit more attention during setup. While you drag and drop items onto the canvas, you can choose specific colors and fonts. When done, you can export the project to HTML, PDF, SVG or PNG formats. You can also download the source code to edit further, although the editor itself lacks advanced functions.
Webflow and Squarespace both focus on providing a polished experience rather than giving users complete freedom. Both offer lots of customization options, allowing you to easily change almost anything about a given page, including color schemes, font styles, backgrounds, etc… This comes at the expense of speed and flexibility, however. To save time, you won’t be allowed to tweak individual parts of the page. Instead, you must select predefined themes and backgrounds. On the upside, you can preview your pages and adjust settings before publishing.
If you prefer to keep things simple, try Weebly. With this service, you can customize your site with photos, videos, text, links and widgets. All you have to worry about is making sure your page loads fast, since that’s pretty much all you can do here. Plus, you can install plugins for common tasks, such as analytics tracking, email marketing, security certificates, etc...
WordPress (GNU General Public License) is perhaps the oldest and most widely used open source CMS (content management system). Since its release in 2003, it has been downloaded millions of times across multiple languages. As of 2020, WordPress powers close to 30 percent of the entire Internet. That’s why it’s still considered the gold standard for website builders today.
One drawback of WordPress is that it relies heavily on third party plug-ins to function properly. Because of this, it tends to slow down performance considerably. Also, its interface is far from intuitive. Fortunately, developers constantly improve WordPress by releasing regular updates. Unfortunately, those upgrades often come with major changes that can confuse newcomers. Even so, WordPress remains one of the most powerful tools available.
As mentioned above, none of the following tools are completely free. However, you can usually sign up for a trial version without spending a dime. Of course, this gives you limited functionality, but you can test out the basics before committing to paid plans.
Google Web Designer has a free tier that lets you create static pages and share them via URL. You can also import files, but you cannot modify them once published.
Squarespace provides four tiers of accounts, ranging from $4 per month to $12 per month depending on the level of usage. Each account includes unlimited storage, bandwidth, domains, emails, etc...
Figma offers three packages: Basic ($10 monthly fee), Pro ($20 monthly fee) and Enterprise ($50 monthly fee). These include additional perks, such as custom branding, analytics tracking, mobile apps, SSL certificate, etc…
Wix allows you to create a free account that lasts 60 days. After that, you’ll have to pay $9.99 per month for five years.
Conclusion
While there certainly are other viable choices, these are among the simplest solutions currently available. Most of these services provide excellent support, while offering numerous templates and options for customization. If you feel comfortable working within a browser window, you should consider trying one of these services first. If you’ve tried one of these programs but weren’t impressed, you may wish to look elsewhere. Keep in mind that there are dozens of other services worth checking out. Ultimately, you’ll likely find that the best fit depends on your goals and preferences.
In addition to setting up a website, you may need to manage it as well. Whether you’re managing a blog, selling goods online or running an eCommerce store, you’ll eventually discover that maintaining a good website involves more than just designing it. Managing your website’s SEO, handling spam comments, securing your database against hackers, backing up data and keeping backups safe are essential skills. Luckily, there are various ways to learn the ropes -- starting with our beginner guide on how to run a website.
When it comes to designing and creating websites, many people have their own preferences when choosing between different tools – some prefer Adobe Photoshop, others use Microsoft Office 365, while still more tend toward using online services like Squarespace or Wix. But what if you don't want to pay anything extra to create your site? What do you go with then?
The answer may surprise you: There are plenty of options that provide all-in-one solutions for those who need only basic features on their sites. If you're looking at these types of websites, however, be aware that they come with caveats: They aren't as robust as other programs, nor will they give you full control over every aspect of your site. If you know exactly how much freedom you'll need when putting together your site, make sure you choose one of these alternatives instead of going with something less flexible.
But even though these choices usually cost nothing, they can still prove costly to maintain after launch. The good news is that it doesn't take long before you find yourself wondering why you didn't just stick with something simpler. You might already realize that there's an easier option than any of the above mentioned: It's called Wordpress.com -- but let's explore this further first.
WordPress has been around since 2003 and is arguably one of the most popular CMSs available today. Not surprisingly, its simplicity makes it attractive not only to newbies, but also professional designers and developers. With the ability to set up themes from scratch, customize plugins, and publish posts without needing additional knowledge of HTML or CSS, WordPress offers a lot of power without requiring you to spend hours learning advanced coding techniques. And unlike other CMS systems, installing a WordPress theme isn’t difficult either. All you need to do is download the file from the internet, extract it into your computer, open the folder, double click on the index.php file inside, which should automatically start the installation process.
Once installed, the rest of the work is done by the user themselves. Of course, you could always hire someone else to help you get started, but aside from being expensive, it would require you to learn another language such as PHP or Java Script. In addition to this, WordPress does offer free tutorials so that users can learn about the basics right away.
However, despite having a simple interface, installing WordPress requires a fair amount of technical expertise. You wouldn't believe me otherwise, because I've actually tried to install it myself several times. After trying various methods and failing each time, my friend recommended that I simply use his hosting service instead. This was a great suggestion! Instead of struggling to figure things out alone, I now had access to expert support whenever needed.
While WordPress is indeed very easy to use, it's important to note that it's not designed to be a complete solution. As an example, you won't be able to upload images directly through WordPress itself unless you purchase a premium account. Also, if you plan on promoting your website across social media channels, you must buy a separate plugin to integrate Facebook ads. On top of this, you will likely encounter issues once you decide to expand beyond the standard templates provided by WordPress. For instance, customizing the sidebar menu becomes quite problematic if you try to change the width of individual elements. Finally, it is unlikely that anyone outside of the US will see your content properly formatted due to differences in languages and character sets.
So if you're planning on launching a blog, or if you'd like to host videos, photos, audio files, etc., WordPress probably isn't the best choice. However, if you plan on publishing short articles or text documents, WordPress could easily become your favorite platform for years to come.
One of the biggest advantages of WordPress is that you don't really need to worry about setting everything up. While it's true that there are certain limitations associated with its default template, you shouldn't expect too much from it. Most importantly, you'll never lose your data thanks to the backup system built into the program. Since you don't need to deal with complicated code, it doesn't matter whether you're a beginner or intermediate coder. Even better, you can add whatever functionality you desire to suit your needs. So far, WordPress has proven to be incredibly versatile.
Another advantage of the platform is that it allows you to quickly switch between multiple accounts without losing your settings. Plus, you can easily share links to your website with friends or colleagues via email. For beginners, it's even possible to import existing blogs onto WordPress.
Of course, WordPress isn't perfect. One thing you should keep in mind is that it's not the ideal platform for video editing, animation, or music production. Another limitation is that WordPress cannot handle large amounts of traffic. Lastly, you won't be able to run paid advertisements on your site unless you upgrade your account.
In contrast, Figma provides almost no restrictions whatsoever. Unlike WordPress, Figma gives its users total creative freedom. Aside from allowing them to edit the look and feel of their site, they are also allowed to modify the underlying structure and format of their pages. Additionally, users have the liberty to remove or replace any element within Figma.
If you plan on selling products or offering services, Figma is definitely worth checking out. However, if you're just starting off, you'll have little reason to invest money into upgrading your account.
Since both WordPress and Figma allow users to edit the appearance and layout of their site, it's pretty obvious that they both feature drag and drop interfaces. Although Figma appears slightly more complex compared to WordPress, it's still relatively straightforward to navigate. To begin with, you just need to select the type of object you wish to alter and place it where you want it to appear. Then, hit "Create" and voila! Your changes have taken effect.
As for WordPress, it basically works in the same manner. However, the editing interface is somewhat less intuitive. For starters, you have to scroll down to view the entire list of objects. Once you locate the item you want to edit, you'll notice that changing its properties involves clicking on specific fields. At times, you may accidentally delete items you thought were saved. Thankfully, you can undo edits made to previously selected elements by hitting “Undo” located under the respective field.
This question seems rather vague, but here's what I mean. When thinking back on the numerous projects I worked on during college, I remember spending countless hours tweaking fonts, adjusting colors, and fine tuning designs. These days, you can save a ton of time by avoiding tedious tasks altogether. With Figma, you can preview the result of your changes in real-time. This eliminates the chance of errors caused by switching between tabs or opening multiple windows. In addition, you can instantly compare two versions side-by-side and adjust accordingly.
With WordPress, you can't avoid doing extensive research regarding font styles, colors, layouts, etc. Before committing to the final version, you should test out several variations until you reach satisfaction. Unfortunately, you'll often end up wasting valuable time tweaking minor details.
Of course, none of these solutions are flawless. Both Figma and WordPress have their shortcomings. For instance, although Figma lets you preview results immediately upon saving, you can't edit the actual webpage. Also, since you can't save drafts, you'll constantly be forced to restart your browser.
Still, if you're willing to put in the effort necessary to master these platforms, you can easily create beautiful websites in record time. Just bear in mind that you'll need to invest some cash upfront to acquire the appropriate skillset. Fortunately, there are tons of resources online to teach you what you need to know.
For more web app development tips, check our article on the five best apps for Android developers.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.