Website Builder Options that Are Easy & Affordable
Easy Website Builder Options
Congratulations, you’ve launched your new business and now you are looking at website builder options that will be easy and affordable!
Whether you’re a small business, service professional, or solo entrepreneur, you need a website to make your presence known in the digital space. But you don’t know anything about web design, or the first thing about coding… so what do you do?
You can hire a professional or web agency to build your website for you… but if you’re just starting out you may not have the resources for that kind of investment. Luckily, there are plenty of affordable DIY website builder options that are relatively easy to us. And, you can DIY without any design or coding knowledge!
In this post out web experts will explain what website builders are, the pros and cons of using them, and a few of the top easy-to-use website builders you might want to consider.
What Are Website Builders
Building a website used to be a lot more complicated. Barrier to entry was high due to the skill and cost it involved. It’s no wonder that before the advent of easy-to-use DIY website builders, many small businesses still relied on the Yellow Pages and word-of-mouth to market their business.
No longer is this a problem!
Today’ easy website builder options allow anyone, regardless of design or coding experience, to build a simple website by using an intuitive drag and drop interface. Easy website builders are an affordable, easy-to-use solution for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs looking to carve out their own space on the web.
Sound too good to be true? Well, there are a few drawbacks of course.
DIY website builders are more limited than having a professionally designed custom website, but that’s to be expected. There are also extra costs that get left out of the marketing spiel.
While most website builders offer a free plan, there’s usually very few options to customize your theme, URL, or web pages. This means that you still must pay for a subscription or specific plugins to get the functionality you want (Moz). There’s no such thing as a free lunch, after all.
So, who should consider any of the website builder options, and what can you expect?
Why Use A DIY Website Builder
Website builders can be great for solo professionals or small businesses just starting out, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a catch. We’ll go into some of the pros of using a website builder, and some of the cons, so you can make the best choice when planning out your new website.
The Pros
- No Coding Required
This is probably the biggest selling point for website builders. With easy drag and drop templates, you don’t need to code to create a great looking site. Everything is designed to be visual and intuitive with an easy-to-use interface. - No Need For Design Skills
Lacking an aesthetic eye? No problem! Today’s website builder options often come with vast libraries of pre-designed templates that you can choose from. This makes designing a beautiful website as easy as a single click. Add in your own images and written information and you’re ready to go! - Affordable
Why DIY anything if not to save yourself money? DIY website builders offer a range of subscription plans with various features and benefits to fit your budget. Some can even be free for the most basic features – but you probably don’t want the free version if you want to look credible.
The Cons
- Poor SEO
The downside of not having to code anything in a website builder is that you have no control over the code. Google likes websites that are well organized and follow a certain hierarchy. Messy code is unfortunately common among website builders (Search Engine Journal), which can hamper your Google ranking, result in slow page load speeds, and damage your SEO. - Not Great For Professional Businesses
If you’re a larger business, using a website builder may cost you your credibility. Design options are limited, customization is minimal, and a cheap looking website can lose you business. If you have the resources, you’ll reap dividends by having a professional team build a custom website for you that can be scaled if necessary. - Often Flash Dependant
Most website builder options rely on Adobe Flash to add interactive graphics and visually pleasing elements to your website design. Unfortunately, most search engine crawlers can’t read flash (whomp whomp). This means your website may not be crawled, indexed, or appear in the SERPs. This is the kiss of death for your SEO and may hamper your business’s online visibility and growth.
4 Principles Of Good Website Design
While you’re evaluating the pros and cons of each website builder option, what other elements should you consider when planning your new website?
You don’t have to be a design whiz, but there are some design principles your new site should adhere to. With everything now online, it’s not enough to just have a website.
Whether your site is meant to inform, entertain, or drive sales you need to create an experience that’s memorable, engaging, attracts leads, and boosts conversions.
Here are the 4 elements of good website design according to HubSpot.
- Engaging Content
Compelling stories that capture your audience and deliver your brand message are key to standing out from the crowd. Don’t cut corners on your content! Take the time to ensure your messaging is clear, memorable, and valuable to your audience. - Consistent Branding & Design
Your website is the launchpad for all your digital marketing efforts, so make sure your website design and branding is attractive and consistent throughout. Think about your choice of fonts, colors, layout, and imagery. Use them consistently for a cohesive feel just as you would in the rest of your marketing efforts. - Organized Website Structure
Your website’s navigation should be logically organized and intuitive for users. Nothing will drive people away faster than a cluttered website that’s frustrating to navigate and difficult to use. Creating a good user experience will not only positively affect your conversion rate, it is also a high priority for Google. - Optimize For SEO
All websites, no matter the business, should be SEO optimized. This is essential for getting crawled by search engines and showing up in the SERPs for key words, phrases, and content your business specializes in.
5 Easy Website Builder Options
Feeling some trepidation about website builders? Or, are you ready to dive right in armed with your new knowledge of design principles? We’ll go over 5 of the most popular affordable website builder options, along with some of the key features of each.
WordPress.org
This one probably comes as no surprise since WordPress is one of the biggest website builders out there. A word to the wise… do not confuse WordPress.org with WordPress.com. The latter is a different platform that offers less control and much more limited features as part of their free plan.
KEY FEATURES
- Free to use, just pay for hosting
- Lots of template options
- Thousands of plugins, both paid and unpaid, for added functionality
- Scaleable – code you can edit for improving your website as your business grows (great for SEO!)
WooCommerce
WooCommerce integrates with WordPress to offer another self-hosted website builder option. While you need to do more of the technical maintenance yourself, this allows you greater control over your ecommerce business in comparison to other ecommerce builders like Shopify.
KEY FEATURES
- Add unlimited amount of inventory, images, galleries, and products to your online store.
- Integrated with WordPress and it’s all-star SEO plugins
- Self-hosted platform that requires more technical knowledge
- Full control allows for more SEO optimized coding
Shopify
Shopify has made a name for itself in the world of website builder options, especially for ecommerce. Shopify takes the technical side out of creating an online store and replaces it with easy-to-use, beginner-friendly tools. However, if you offer a lot of products with many variations, you might run into issues.
KEY FEATURES
- All-in-one e-commerce platform
- Allows you to register domains to a single dashboard
- Offers built-in tools to manage online orders and customer actions
- Handles all technical elements for you (hosting, security, caching, SEO, etc.)
Squarespace
Squarespace is easy to use and easy on the eyes. With an intuitive user-interface, and many attractive themes to choose from, it’s a great option for professional websites as well as small ecommerce stores.
KEY FEATURES
- Hundreds of contemporary templates to help you look professional from the start
- Features for ecommerce as well as service and appointment bookings
- Integrated marketing tools that connect you to customers
- All-in-one builder includes hosting, security, etc.
Wix
Wix dominated for a long time in the world of easy website builders. Their interface is intuitive and allows users to quickly create attractive websites. However, like other all-in-one website builders on this list, this ease of use comes at the cost of control over your website’s code and severely lacks in SEO.
KEY FEATURES
- Easy-to-use platform for building a modern looking website
- Ecommerce websites can take advantage of built-in features like dropship integration
- Handles all hosting, security, and technical elements for you
Now What?
We hope this run-down gave you an idea of what to expect from the easy website builder options out there, and how to choose the best one for your business needs.
If you want to learn more about your next steps, read our article that breaks down how to build your own website step-by-step. If you need help resisting the allure of inexpensive website builders, read this article where we explain the true cost of a cheap website.
Does the idea of website DIY give you stress hives? Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it alone! Our team of dedicated experts at 1st On The List can help you choose the best platform for your needs!
Contact or call us toll-free 1-888-262-6687 to set up a consultation or send us an email.
