Right, so you have set up your business model and finished all the needed paperwork. What comes next? Creating a website that takes your business to the next level. This is a crucial step in ensuring business success. When creating a website for your business, there are options to consider: hire an expensive web designer, or make use of free resources to build your own website. Many choose to opt for the first route, only to be disappointed with the outcome. Not to mention the fact that they also end up losing money.
With a wide variety of free website builders available online everyone can be a website creator. Why not save yourself the possible disappointment and make use of these resources? Before we discuss a few of the best free website builders to choose from, let’s take a look at exactly what a website builder is and why it is a smart alternative.
Understanding a website builder
A website builder enables you to create a website without having any prior knowledge of coding and programming. By using drag-and-drop features, you are able to create a custom website in a matter of minutes. Website builders are easy to use and they offer a wide variety of customisable features. You are in control of the layout, the colour scheme, and the general feel of the website.
The biggest advantage of making use of a website builder is the fact that it saves you both time and money. But just like everything in life, there are certain downfalls to free website builders.
Firstly, you may not be able to use your own Uniform Resource Locator (URL) with a free builder. They will provide you with a free URL that includes your company name as well as their own. Instead of janesjams.com, you’ll have to settle for janesjams.wix.com. Overall, this type of URL does not come across as very professional.
Even though free website builders offer a variety of customisable features, as mentioned above, in many cases you are required to pay a fee to unlock them. These features could include things like e-commerce access, website analytics, plugins, add-ons, and domain-based email accounts. It could also be something as simple as not being able to use the colour or typefaces you want or being trapped with a site template that does not represent your brand.
At the end of the day, free website builders are not always 100% free.
Why choose paid-for packages?
There are many benefits to using paid-for packages such as the 1-grid website builder. Certain packages enable you to unlock certain features. Each package has its own price and advantages. Naturally choosing the more expensive option will enable you to have access to more features, like access to free stock images and the option to add e-commerce. Apart from features, make sure to choose a company that can give you web hosting, domain registration, and website security all in one package. If they offer all these benefits, it will definitely be worth the investment. Creating a website is easy, but with a paid package you can rest assured that the technical stuff is handled.
Below is a list of some of the top website builders available online in 2022:
- 1-grid
- Wix
- Shopify
- Squarespace
- Weebly
Hopefully, this post has provided some insight into the advantages and limitations of free website builders. Sure, using a free website builder can be perfect for your personal website or a personal blog, but if you’re serious about what you do, you’ll want to make sure your consumers know it. At the end of the day, if you want to appear professional, using a free website builder will not help you achieve that goal.
