Websites are a great way to showcase your products and solutions, promote your brand, and to provide your customers with an awesome experience too! Because that’s how people will find you on the internet, it becomes your visiting card and should be visually appealing and contain relevant information.The website builder you choose is key for its success, as each of them has their own templates, plugins, and features that you can use to make your website even more attractive. We handpicked 5 website builders for you to create a great website for your business, comparing their offers and resources, so you know exactly what to look for before choosing!
A website builder is a tool that allows you to create a website without any coding. There are two kinds available: online and offline. The first, and the most common one, doesn’t require previous experience thanks to the What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) mode, and is very common, as we’ll see later on.The offline, on the other hand, targets professional website designers who work editing the source code directly, like CSS, HTML, and others. The biggest advantage of this kind of website builder is the flexibility to choose forms, shapes, fonts, and other visual elements, so you can have an entirely customed website.Now that you know what a website builder is, let’s talk about what your website should look like to be considered a great one!
As we mentioned before, your website works as your visiting card for new customers and helps you to provide a great experience. But how can you build a website for your business that will make an excellent impression?
The first thing people will notice about your website is how it looks. The colors impact your users emotionally, the fonts emphasize and attract attention, and the images support your brand personality. All of these components influence users’ behaviors towards your brand. Of course, it should be linked to the branding guidelines.
Every page on your website must have a clear purpose: selling, offering valuable content, showcasing your expertise, and so on. It should always guide the user to accomplish a task and lead further in the sales funnel.
Be careful not to use heavy images and other elements that will make your website loading time too long. Most users will not wait longer than 2 seconds for a page to fully load.
Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices, as it’s a ranking factor for Google, and because many people look for services and information on their mobiles. If your website doesn’t offer friendly navigation on these devices, you’ll lose valuable market share.
A great website offers both great design and content! So, well-structured and organized content that’s easy to navigate, highlights the most important information and with blank spaces is essential for satisfying user experience.You should pay attention to all these factors when picking a template, or giving instructions to a web designer about what you want and expect from your website.
You’ve probably heard about Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, among others. We chose 5 website builders to help you choose the best one for your business!
By far, the most popular website builder in the world! It offers two options: a self-hosted (.org) and hosted (.com) website. With a self-hosted website, the owner has full access to all the site files and code, meaning a fully customizable solution.The .org solution requires basic coding knowledge and your own domain name. You can add all the necessary plugins, and make as many changes as you want, work on the source code, have a drag-and-drop website builder (Divi Builder). WordPress is an open-source and free website builder, so cost-free!The .com offers a wide range of pre-made themes for easy and quick launch, for free! You just need to choose the theme you like and add the content. All of them come with a variety of functions, such as social media, analytics, and contact forms, for example, so no need to worry about installing plugins.WordPress calls dibs on your website hosting by adding wordpress.com right after your domain, but with a Premium account, you can add an external theme and have your own domain.
In terms of user friendly, Wix is definitely among the top ones. With simple templates, easy-to-use interface, and very customizable for a hosted website. Similar to the hosted WordPress.com solution, with a Premium account you have a personal domain and more features.But even with the free offer, you have several themes and features, like professional galleries for portfolio, e-commerce, SEO tutorials, but at the cost of advertising on your website. You can even make specific editing for mobile visualization.
Squarespace is a good option and is popular for business purposes, as it offers plans with e-commerce that supports Stripe, PayPal, and Apple Pay integrations. But it’s the only one that doesn’t offer a free option, only a 14-day-free trial and prices starting at 12$/month.The templates are simple, beautiful, and responsive, with outstanding image quality. It also provides a free domain in the first year. Still, Squarespace doesn’t have an app store, so the customization is limited to the existent built-ins.
The biggest asset of Webflow is probably the possibility to add a Content Management Software (CMS) to your website, which also allows you to invite collaborators to feed content, without giving them access to the design editor. Another good point is that you can access Webflow API and add custom code blocks.This website builder provides integrations with Zapier and Mailchimp, for example. But if you really want to have an entirely customized website, you need to understand the basics of design. Or you can simply take one of the templates and add the functionalities your business needs.
Another website builder that provides drag and drop functionality, by adding sections to your website. Maybe it’s the least customizable of the 5, as you cannot add individual elements to a section, only toggle on or off the existing ones. They also offer an e-commerce built-in, charging 3% for a transaction, making it a bit salty.If what you are looking for is a DIY that will give you a website in no time, maybe that’s the one! Also, among its competitors, Weebly offers very low rates, starting from 6$/month, what makes it ideal for small businesses.
Build a website for your business has never been so easy, but you shouldn’t forget to set your plan very clear and have all your branding elements ready. It would also make it easier if you are hiring a web designer to create your website. To know more about choosing a web designer, check this article!Research which website builder offers the built-ins, elements, APIs, and other resources you’ll actually need. Check on your competitors for insights into what has been working, and what are the possible gaps that you could fulfill.Despite the website builder you choose, your website must be functional, visually appealing, and help you provide the best possible experience to your customers!Have you ever used any of the website builders of our list? Tell us which one is your favorite, and why!Stay up to date with all the best tips about startup and tech management! Follow us on social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), and check our Youtube channel!
