Website builders have come a long way over the years. Site Builders can help you create your website quickly with little or no coding knowledge. Allowing you can create your site without the cost, hassle or technical skills that you would have required to know in the past.
With a website builder, it is not only possible but pretty simple to get yourself a great-looking website by using an online website builder!
The tools and layouts provided by website builders, such as Wix, Webs or Squarespace, allows you to create a website that both looks awesome. But one that functions flawlessly and attracts customers to your business like never before.
Not sure which site builder to choose? We have this covered with our website builder reviews – allowing you to create your perfect website online today!
What is a Website Builder?
You may be familiar with what a website builder can do, but what is a website builder?
Website builders are not a new concept; they have been around in various forms for years. Those of you that have built sites in the past, may be familiar with the desktop WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors such a Microsoft FrontPage or the still ever popular Adobe Dreamweaver.
WYSIWYG editors allowed you to do is put together a website with little technical ability other than what you might use to create a Word document. Unlike coding the site from scratch, you didn’t need to learn HTML code, or even have any previous experience building websites.
The best website builders provide you with everything to get your website up and running online. You can select and create layouts from predesigned templates, change the colours, styles and fonts along with adding images videos and more.
Many website builder services will provide an all in one solution. Providing domain registration, the hosting of the website, email services and even SSL certificates as part of the package. Whatever you are looking for on your page, with most modern website builders you name it, a website builder can do it.
Why are Website Builders so popular?
In recent years, more companies are offering website builders either bundled with web hosting plans or as a separate product. As the quality and ease of creating a professional-looking website using these products has improved so has the uptake of people opting to use them to build their websites.
- Website Builders are quick and easy to Use: As we touched on earlier using a website builder, you can create a website within hours with little or no coding skills with minimal cost.
- Responsive Design: Having a website that works on all devices (PC, Mobile and Tablet) is a must for any modern website. Website builders provide you with templates that ensure that your website is pixel perfect on all devices.
- Control Over What You Create: Unlike some designers that I’ve seen in the past, you have control over what you create. So if you need to update a part of your site, you can do so without needing to go through hoops to get changes made.
What Kind of Sites Can You Create With Website Builders?
The types of websites that you can build with website builders are almost endless. The neat thing about website builders you can create nearly any kind of website. So whether you are looking to create a small business website, portfolios, online store, restaurant or website, there are website builders out there to help you to create your dream website.
What are the Limitations of Website Builders?
The truth is there are always going to be limitations and tradeoffs to any website builder that you choose. Do you want a tool that is quick and easy to use? Do you want to sell products through your website? Alternatively, Do you want more control or advanced features?
Website builders are, by nature going to be limited by the tools available on the platform. So understanding what you want to achieve before signing up to a service is important. If you are creating a small website, possibly providing information on products or services that you provide, then the drag-and-drop style website builders would be best suited (Wix, Squarespace, Weebly).
If you plan to sell online, then looking at an eCommerce site builder such as Shopify or Bigcommerce will be the way to go.
You’re not restricted to just web-based services though. If you are looking for more customisation than what many of the website builder services can offer then considering a WordPress with a page builder plugin such as Elementor, Divi, Pagebuilder or Beaver Builder. WordPress will require a web hosting service; however, this option will always be the least restrictive method.
Can you move your website?
Admittingly, moving your website away from a service is probably one of the most significant limitations of a site builder service. You will have limited access to the workings of your site.
Also, the site layout will often be owned by the service provider so you will need to give your website a new look when porting to your new service provider. Moving your site will often mean copy and pasting text and images from your old provider to the new.
Which Site Builder is Best For SEO?
This question is one I often see come up.
Firstly, let me quickly explain what SEO is, to those that may not know. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. Its a way of ensuring your website has the best chance of getting seen in the search engine results for a particular search term (e.g. Best Website Builders). A well-optimised webpage well will have a better chance of being seen higher in the search results. Naturally, there is more that goes into SEO than this; however, it gives you an idea of what SEO is.
Nearly every website builder will allow you to optimise your website for search engines and will be built in by design. For most users, this will be everything that they need to optimise their website. Naturally, some of the more advanced features will come at a higher cost.
Can I use My Existing Domain Name & Email?
If you have registered your domain previously elsewhere then you most site builder services will allow you to transfer your domain to them. Another option and my personal preference is to register your domain with a registrar such as Names.co.uk providing you with full control of your domain name.
There is no best option here, its just a matter of personal preference and how much control you want over your domain name. Registering or move your domain to the site builder will make things easier if you are not confident in managing the domain name yourself.
When it comes to emails, most site builders will provide you with your very own email address (e.g. info@yourcompany.com) – providing a much more professional image of both you and your company.
Most providers will provide integration with G-Suite, allowing you to easily access your business email anywhere by going to Gmail.com or your phone’s Mail app.
Ongoing support
Even though you will be building the website yourself. Undoubtedly at some point, you’ll need a helping hand along the way.
Support can be particularly crucial if you are a novice user or generally new to building your website. Rest assured, though. You’ll typically find your platform of choice will offer plenty of help and support along the way.
Thankfully, most website builders provide you with guidance from start to finish. Either in the form of tutorials & videos explaining how to modify your template or site.
If you do run into issues along the way, you’ll find that most web builders offer quality customer support too, that is available through live chat, email or in several cases phone support should the need arise.
Free vs Paid Site Builder Plans, Which is Better?
If you are on a limited budget, many site builders offer a free option for their services.
With a free service, they may limit you on the number of resources, such as (bandwidth and webspace). Or how many free templates you can use and or some of the pro-features you can take advantage of on a free version. For many users, the free version provides everything they need to create an excellent website that does everything they need.
Another disadvantage to some of the free options is you may not be able to use your domain name without upgrading to a premium (paid) plan. Using a subdomain (e.g. username.wixsite.com/sitename) may be fine for a personal site, but anyone wanting to create a professional image around their brand will need to use their domain name.
Paid options generally start relatively low. So for professional websites, a better option would be to start with an entry-level plan. It is always possible to upgrade if there is a feature that you want to take advantage of at a later date.
Choosing the right building tool for you
You should hopefully now have a better understanding of what you can achieve with a website builder. Picking the best website builder to suit you will depend on what you want from your new website.
If you are relatively new to website design, then ideally you will be looking for a site builder with plenty of quality predesigned templates to work from.
A site builder that provide a good range of templates will allow you to add in your content then make any tweaks and tailor the template to fit in with the style of your business.
If you are looking to use a little more creative license and avoid cookie-cutter designs, opting for a service that offers higher levels of customisation and flexibility. A site builder that gives you more control over all elements of your website.
If you are planning on starting a eCommerce website then opting for a site builder designed for selling online will be your best option. Not only will it provide you with the all the tools to get your website up and running. But also the tools you need to market and promote your products online or other market places such as eBay & Amazon.
Whatever platform you chose you will want a platform that makes it easy to add new content to your site. Fresh content is a great way to improve your search rankings and drive web traffic, but also provides information to your customers that they may be looking for. So its important that you have tools available and how quickly you can edit, add and update content.
Conclusion
Whatever the type of website you are looking to create you should be able to find a site builder that can help your acheive your goal. We would alos love to hear your feedback. If you have tried one in the past but now on the hunt for something different, let us know why. Happy building and good luck finding the right service for you.
| Features |  Names.co.uk Site Builder |  123-Reg Site Builder |  UK2.Net Site Builder |  Weebly Site Builder |  Wix Site Builder |
| Number of Pages | Up to 5 | Unlimited | Up to 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Web Space | Unlimited | Unlimited | 250 MB | Unlimited | 2000 MB |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | 100 GB | Unlimited | 6 GB |
| Displays Branding | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Price | £6.99 Monthly | £6.99 Monthly | £4.95 Monthly | £9.00 Montly | £6.00 Monthly |
| Visit/ | Visit/ | Visit/ | Visit/ | Visit/ | |