Is it possible to create a website without any programming or technical skills? Will my website made without any skills be perfect? Will it be good enough to be used as my business website?
The truth is most people over-complicate the process of building a website.
In this article, we will look at how you can easily create your own website without any technical skills.
But wouldn't it be even better if the IKEA bookcase came pre-assembled and pre-decorated, and all you need to do is just replace it with your own decorations.
Luckily, you can get a pre-designed, pre-populated website. All you have to do is just replace it with your own content and voilà, your website is done!
Welcome to the world of website builders.
A website builder is an online based tool for creating and managing websites. While there are many different website builders in the market, they all essentially do the same thing – make the process of building a website easy for beginners.
If you want to learn more about website builders and how to choose one that is right for you, check out our article What to look for in a Website Builder.
Website builders let you create a website without any technical knowledge or be a talented creative designer. Website builders are designed for the non-tech person in mind.
Many people who build their own websites swear by WordPress. WordPress is powerful and extremely flexible. WordPress can be relatively easy to use after you've become familiar with the interface and the different plugins that can be added to your website.
But for someone who's not technologically savvy, WordPress has a steep learning curve and requires a certain level of technical skills. For example, in order to use WordPress on your website, you will need to sign up for web hosting services as well as setup WordPress on your website. Also, many WordPress themes and plugins customizations often require you to tweak some codes - code-tweaking differs between themes and plugins - you will need to be comfortable with working with all types of codes.
If the setup, management and maintenance of a WordPress website is too much for you to handle, website builders are the better, easier solution.
Website builders are designed to help the non-technical users create a good looking website. In fact, you don't even have to be good with design.
A domain name is the first thing you need when starting a website – in order for your website to be accessible on the Internet, you will need to give it a web address (or a domain name).
A domain name is the address that you type into a web browser address bar to get to a website. An example of a domain name is www.YouTube.com.
A domain name gives your credibility. Not many people would want to do business with a company that does not have its own domain name. Unfortunately, domain name registrations are not free. For example, a .com domain name costs around $10 to $20 per year.
If you are planning on using a website builder, it's a good idea to get a domain name from the website builder because many website builders include a free 1-year domain name as part of their service packages. In addition, your domain is already connected to your website, everything is set up for you and ready to go.
All website builders offer you collections of great looking design templates.
Wix has over 500 designs covering a broad range of industries. Their templates come with pre-populated designs so you can just swap in your content to get started really quickly.
Although Squarespace doesn't have that many templates, all of their designs look really professional and polished. It's a classic case of quality over quantity. Your website will look as if you paid someone thousands of dollars to custom design for you.
Weebly doesn't have as many templates as Wix and their designs are not as updated as Squarespace's. But when it comes to user-friendliness, Weebly is hands down one of the easier to use website builder available.
Website.com doesn't have as many templates as Wix. But it comes with a large selection of built-in features, gadgets and applications. Also, they throw in a free domain name and email services for the lifetime of your site builder account (many other website builders only give you a 1-year free domain name). In addition, many of Website.com's templates come pre-populated with industry-specific text content, giving you inspiration, in case you are not sure what to write on your website.
If you are planning on adding a product catalog or a simple online store on your website, you will find that most website builder will let you do so easily.
However, if you need something a bit more complex (ie. more payment and shipping integrations), then you need to checkout one of the ecommerce-focused website builders such as Jimdo, BigCommerce and Shopify.
Jimdo is an e-commerce oriented website builder. It offers strong e-commerce tools for online stores. You can configure and customize product display, tax settings, item availability, shipping costs, payment options, cancellation and return policies and more.
Shopify is the king of eCommerce website builders. Although it doesn't allow you to create a regular website, it's hands down the best way to build a full-function online store. You will need to overcome the initial learning curve, but once you do, you will definitely agree you've created the best online store you can. Shopify also lets you integrate your online shop on your Facebook page and a WordPress website.
BigCommerce is another solid choice for an eCommerce website builder. It's a little pricey and new beginners may find their collection of features overwhelming. Also, BigCommerce's collection of template is very limited, especially when compared to its biggest competitor, Shopify.
It is a terrible feeling, staring at a white blank page and not knowing where to start.
But building websites is easy. Website builders makes it easy for you. You don't need to stress about technical matters or the design of your website – they have it all taken care of – all you need to do is login online, choose a design template and drag-and-drop your website together.
No programming or technical skills required. Nothing to download or install. What you will have, is a good looking website – published.