Want to create a website tailored exactly for you, but don’t have coding skills or the budget to hire a professional developer? Website builders provide an easy DIY solution.
These handy tools allow virtually anyone to make a website through intuitive drag-and-drop editors and pre-designed templates. No technical expertise is required! Website builders empower you to get your professional-grade website up and running quickly, without needing to learn complex web development.
So don’t let a lack of programming skills stop you from launching that blog, portfolio, online store, or membership site you’ve dreamed of. Read on to discover the many benefits of using a website builder to turn your vision into an impressive reality with a minimum of fuss. We will explore the most popular options, key factors in choosing a platform, getting started tips, and things to keep in mind after launch.
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How Do Website Builders Work?
Website builders remove the complexity of coding a custom website by hand. They allow you to visually select design templates and content blocks, and insert text, images, videos, and other multimedia to build out pages for your site through a visual drag-and-drop editor.
Behind the scenes, the website builder generates clean valid HTML, CSS, and other code needed to render the fully functional website you create through the visual interface. But you never need to write any code yourself.
Most modern website builders also host the website for you, so you don’t have to worry about complexities like servers, DNS configuration, security, and performance optimization.
This combination of easy drag-and-drop site building coupled with managed hosting is what makes website builders such an empowering revolution for launching websites without deep technical skills.
Key Benefits of Website Builders
Ease of Use
Everything is point-and-click with drag-and-drop interfaces in website builders. No HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or other coding skills are required. This makes them very beginner-friendly.
Speed
You can get a website live through a builder in just days or weeks rather than the months required for traditional custom development.
Affordability
Paid website builder plans are very budget-friendly, starting at just a few dollars per month. Much more affordable than hiring developers.
Responsive Design
Websites created will be mobile-responsive out of the box, displaying well on all devices.
Built-in Features
Essentials like contact forms, blogs, SEO, analytics, and more either come bundled or can be added via plugins.
E-commerce Capabilities
Many website builders like Squarespace, WordPress (via WooCommerce) and Shopify enable building online stores out of the box.
Ongoing Support
Get help from customer support teams if you get stuck while building your site.
Most Popular Website Builders
WordPress
WordPress is an open-source content management system that powers over 43% (Around 810 million) of all websites on the web as of 2024. It offers immense flexibility to build all types of sites. However, it does require a bit more technical knowledge compared to other builders.
Pros
- Open-source platform with thousands of free themes and plugins
- Highly customizable and flexible for advanced users
- Scales to handle very high traffic loads
Cons
- Hosting, updates, and security require more effort to manage
- Steeper learning curve for beginners compared to other builders
Pricing
The WordPress software is free to download and use. You need web hosting (starts around $5/month) and a domain name to launch a site. Premium themes and plugins cost extra. Managed WordPress hosting plans that handle updates and security start around $25/month.
Note: If you are looking for guidance on managing a WordPress site? We’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to properly run, manage, and maintain a WordPress website in 2024.
Wix
Wix is one of the most popular and full-featured drag-and-drop website builders. It makes it very easy for anyone to create a website.
Pros
- Intuitive drag-and-drop editor
- 500+ designer-made templates
- Good SEO and marketing tools built-in
Cons
- Some design customization limitations
- Restricted to the Wix ecosystem
Pricing
Wix pricing starts with a free plan. Paid plans range from $14 – $49 per month based on features needed. Get a custom Wix domain or connect your own.
Squarespace
Squarespace is praised for its beautiful templates and powerful e-commerce capabilities. It makes it easy to create a high-end website.
Pros
- Award-winning modern templates
- Easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder
- Advanced design features like animations
Cons
- On the pricier side
- Some limitations noted for more complex sites
Pricing
Squarespace plans range from $12 – $40 per month. Top tier plan required for advanced features. Use Squarespace domain or connect your own.
Weebly
Weebly offers an extremely easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder. It’s great for beginners looking for a straightforward solution.
Pros
- Intuitive visual interface
- Very affordable pricing
- Tight integration with Google services
Cons
- Design customization is limited
- Not ideal for complex sites
Pricing
Weebly plans range from free to $12+ per month. At a minimum, you need the $6/month Connect plan to use your own domain.
Shopify
Shopify is tailored specifically for e-commerce websites and selling products/services online. It simplifies setting up a store.
Pros
- Everything needed for e-commerce built-in
- Secure payments, taxes, and shipping handled
- Mobile-optimized storefronts
Cons
- Transaction fees on top of monthly cost
- Features mostly geared toward online stores
Pricing
Shopify pricing starts at $29/month for basic stores. 2.0-2.9% transaction fees apply. Addons and higher tiers are available.
Getting Started With Your Website Builder
Once signed up for a website builder, here are some tips to begin creating your site:
- 1. Choose the closest template
Pick a pre-made template design that requires the least modifications to match your vision. This minimizes work.
- 2. Customize the style
Make the theme your own by tweaking colors, fonts, layout, and other stylistic changes to fit your brand.
- 3. Set up your pages
Create essential pages like Home, About, Contact, and Blog at minimum. Add eCommerce, services, and case studies pages as needed.
- 4. Populate the content
Craft compelling written and visual content for each page, outlining your offerings, story, and value proposition.
- 5. Integrate multimedia
Incorporate videos, graphics, GIFs, and images throughout the site to engage visitors.
- 6. Insert a blog
Add a news or blog section to publish helpful articles to grow traffic and demonstrate expertise.
- 7. Build site navigation
Set up your main site navigation to ensure visitors can easily browse and find pages.
- 8. Connect your domain
For a professional brand presence, connect your domain name rather than using the default from the website builder.
- 9. Configure SEO settings
Ensure your site content is indexed by search engines by setting meta titles, descriptions, XML sitemaps, and more through the platform’s SEO tools.
- 10. Publish and promote
Go live with your finished site! Then focus on promotion through SEO, social media, email marketing, and other channels to drive visitors.
Maintaining and Hosting Your Website
Launching your site is just the first milestone. For optimal performance, security, and longevity you need to maintain and host it properly:
Regularly back up your site
Create regular automated site backups locally and to cloud storage in case data gets lost or corrupted.
Monitor site analytics
Use Google Analytics to monitor traffic, acquisition channels, behavior flow, conversions, and other insights.
Install security updates
Always keep the website builder platform, templates, and any plugins/extensions updated to the latest versions for fixes.
Optimize site speed
Compress images, enable caching, minimize HTTP requests, and use a CDN to maximize site performance.
Create fresh content
Continually add new blog posts, articles, videos, guides, and other content to engage visitors.
Promote your site
Utilize paid and organic tactics like social media, email, SEO, and advertising to promote your site and drive recurring visitors.
Consider managed hosting
For resource-intensive sites, upgraded hosting plans from website builders provide better security, speeds, and support.
Learn advanced customization
If desired, learn how to edit code and leverage developer tools for even deeper customization over time.
Plan a redesign
Revisit your site design every 2-3 years and overhaul it as needed to keep it looking modern and appealing.
With consistent care and optimization, the website you build can successfully represent your brand online for years to come.
If that feels like a lot to take care of, don’t worry here’s an easier option…
Hire An Agency
Properly maintaining your website over time is crucial, but can be challenging because you still have to learn a lot of technical skills like designing, SEO writing, etc (for high quality). Consider hiring a digital agency like Digital Arcane to handle ongoing management and optimization.
Our team of experts can help with tasks like:
- Monitoring site performance and analytics
- Publishing fresh SEO-optimized content regularly
- Ensuring speed and security through updates
- Executing design and UX enhancements
- Promoting your site through marketing channels
Finally,
As we’ve explored, website builders provide an accessible way for virtually anyone to create a professional-grade website tailored specifically to their needs. No coding expertise is required!
With their user-friendly drag-and-drop site builders, eye-catching templates, built-in features, and bundled hosting, platforms like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace empower beginners and businesses to establish an effective online presence.
By handling the heavy lifting of development and hosting, website builders allow you to focus on creating compelling content, reaching customers, and executing strategy.
While learning some web skills is still valuable, leveraging an easy-to-use website builder lets you get your website live faster and affordably. Do your research to choose the ideal platform for your specific goals and budget.
