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How to choose the best website builder for your business
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I found a great place online that let's you build and host your own website for free. You can sign
up for an account at this link:
https://www.webstarts.com/?aff=ps123
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You can personally build a website for your business without needing to learn how to program or
train as a website designer. Fortunately, you don't need to despair if you don't have several
hundred dollars to spend on developing a website as there are many programs and online
resources available that will cost you a minimal amount to get up and running.
The dilemma is that there are so many programs including the cheap, the free and the expensive -
that it has become difficult to choose which option to use to build your own business website.
1) Free Website Builders
You may be wondering where on earth you can get a website builder for free? The answer is
simple; from a website host. Many or indeed most website hosting companies will give you access
to a free website builder as a free resource along with the hosting package.
Unfortunately, as in life generally, things you get for free tend to come with some disadvantages.
In the first place, in most cases the free programs have limitations - one of which is likely to be that
you are only permitted to build a few pages. If you want any more, you often have to upgrade to a
paid version of the website builder.
Next, most of these programs while quite easy to use tend to produce very basic websites which
may not be anywhere near the standard of your competitors professionally constructed websites.
Apart from these factors, web hosts website builders tend to in my opinion lack flexibility so that as
your business grows and you want to add features such as polls or forms to gather information or
add a video or sound media or even adverts, you may find these features are lacking and
impossible to add.
Lastly, how about if you want to move your website to a new host - Sorry, a website hosts website
builder is likely to be so knitted into the system it is impossible to move. You may need to start
from scratch on a new website host.
2) Software Based Website Builders
In this scenario, you simply purchase your website builder from a company and download the
software or you pop into a shop and buy it as a CD or DVD package. Then you follow the
instructions and carry out a simple installation. Next, you allow the built in wizard software to lead
you through various choices such as which design template and features to use etc., add your
2. content and then upload your website onto your webspace on the Internet.
To successfully apply this method you will need a bit more technical knowledge than the other
options as you will need to ensure that the package you have is compatible with your computer,
select compatible website hosting and make sure you understand how to transfer files from your
software and computer to your website hosting package.
Some of the downloadable packages come with free trials so you may be able to test the software
and see if the designs are good enough and the processes are easy enough for you to work with.
Most of the time these software programs are much more advanced and provide better, more
modern resources than the free hosted packages. One major advantage is that in most cases, you
only need to pay once so your only further expense is your monthly website hosting.
Another advantage is that since the software is on your computer you can load your website to
any web host you want and therefore can move to a new host easily and quickly whenever you
want to.
3) Internet Hosted Website Builders
Online website builders are hosted on the Internet by a dedicated website builder provider
company. They can be much easier to use as you don't have to download or install the software.
Rather, once you pay your fee (in most cases monthly) you are given a user name and password
with which you access your web space any time you want to modify your website.
Often these programs have a free trial period as well. In some cases hosting is free unless you
want extra services such as a dedicated website domain or more features.
Another advantage is that unlike the software packages, you benefit from any upgrades and extra
features are added on automatically.
These programs tend to be quite easy and rapid to use and full featured. They often come with a
demonstration or wizard to walk you through the whole process of creating your website.
Factors you should consider when choosing a website builder:
Clear instructions - You should either be provided with clear Step-by-Step Instructions or a video
which shows you exactly what to do and how to build your website.
Designs - Before you pay make sure you check the quality of the templates they provide or if they
showcase their clients go and have a look at their actual websites.
Resources - What kind of resources are they providing you? Think forward. What do you think you
may need to add to your website in future - video, music, flash animation, adverts, forms, polls,
downloads? Find out if the service or software provides these resources
3. Support - What kind of support facilities are provided? How do you contact them if you get stuck or
your site is down? Don't wait till you have a problem, find out before you sign up or buy.
Domain / Website Hosting - Will these facilities allow you to buy your own domain name or transfer
it to other website hosting if and when you need to.
E-Commerce - Will these services allow you to turn your website into a shop when and if you need
to. Will they accept PayPal or do they provide a shopping cart. What about security if you want
people to pay you online? Are secure facilities available to you?
Free Trial - Can you start with a free trial - look for at least a 30 day website trial before you start
so you can test the services thoroughly.
Ease of use - Don't persist with a website builder that is proving difficult to use or does not work
properly during your free trial. Your website builder should be easy to use and understand. If it is
not, you will most likely get more and more frustrated as time goes by and stop updating your site
when you ought to be updating it regularly.
Payments - Make sure you read their terms and conditions properly. How often do you have to pay
and how much? Which facilities cost extra. Note that over time, a hosted solution could possibly
cost you more in the long term than a professionally built website . If you are on a hosted website
builder solution, check how much you would need to pay for hosting only at a dedicated website
host.
Optimisation - Are you being offered any optimisation, website marketing facilities or website traffic
building facilities - if so make sure these are for free or determine whether and how much you are
willing to pay for them.
Finally, take a good look at the services and facilities your website builder is offering you in light of
your business model and services. If you think a website builder will provide you with value for
money or really help you save money in the short term then using one could really help you build
your business.
The best website builder to choose will depend on whether you are technically advanced or a
novice when it comes to computers. Other considerations are which features you need, future
goals and how speedily you require your website to be built. If you take all these factors into
consideration, you will be able to build the best possible website for your business.
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