Choosing a DIY Website Builder

If you need a website, nothing lets you flex your creative muscle more than a do it yourself (DIY) website builder.  The fact is, some people just like to be in control. They don’t want to leave the look and feel of their website up to someone else who might not “get it.” 

But at the same time, many worry that designing their own website requires a level of skill that they don’t possess. Don’t worry! Today’s website builders are user-friendly, intuitive, and easy-to-use. Anyone can log on and create a unique, professional-looking site within a matter of minutes, no coding experience necessary.

Also, building your own website is almost always better for your budget. Why? Because when you’re in control, you can have as many do-overs as you want – without extra fees.

Keep reading to learn more about how to choose a DIY Website Builder.

• Why DIY?
• How to Choose a Website Builder

Why DIY?

Creating a professional website used to be a serious task, but these days the process has gotten much easier. Here are just a few reasons we’re team DIY:

• Anyone can do it: And we mean anyone! You, your staff, probably even your 12-year-old. The best part about using a DIY website builder is that it requires absolutely no coding knowledge.  Most use an easy drag-and-drop format, allowing the user to simply choose the elements they’d like to include and drop them onto the page with a simple click of the mouse.
• Work on the go: Business owners are, well, busy. Using a website builder means you can log on and work on your pages no matter where you are, whether it’s sitting on the train or sitting at your child’s baseball game.  
• No design experience needed: You don’t need an art degree or experience in graphic design to create a beautiful website. Website builders include professionally-designed templates that make creating a unique look a total breeze. All of the elements are already there, right down to the color palette, so you don’t have to think about a thing.
• No wait time: Website designers are often booked out months in advance, so you just wait and wait and wait. But with a website builder, you can quickly have your own site up and running within a matter of hours.
• Maintenance is simple: In addition to making design simple, website builders also make the ongoing maintenance that comes with running a website easy to do. From design changes to routine updates, you can quickly hop on your computer and make it happen.

How to Choose a Website Builder

There are a lot of different platforms that claim to be the best DIY website builder on the market. But if you’re a small business owner, this is a lot to simply take on faith. You are entrusting your livelihood to how well these website builders work so that you can create a website that is responsive and professional.

The reality is that not all website builders do the same thing at the same level of expertise. Each type of website has specific needs and you should make sure that your DIY website builder can meet yours. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to look for when choosing a website builder.

Function

First, you need to determine exactly what you plan to use your website for in order to determine how well the platform you are interested in will function. The next thing you need to look for is what website builders can meet your needs. 

If you have no technical experience, you need to get a website builder that has a “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) style builder. You would typically want the ability to drag and drop the elements of your page into place or adjust the look with sliders.

If you are creating an online storefront, then you need a builder that can work well with eCommerce plugins such as WooCommerce.

You also need to look at getting an SSL certificate for your website so you can verify to visitors that they are communicating with your site securely.

Budget

You need to look at your budget and determine how much you can spend on an online presence. The good news is that many easy to customize website builders are free or cheap to start. But, if you want to move beyond the basic features, you will have to pay for them.

For example, some free builders will come loaded with specific themes and features, but there is a fee if you want to upgrade to a premium theme or add capabilities.

SEO Features

Another thing that many builders are now including is search engine optimization (SEO) features and plugins. These are meant to help you construct your website in such a way that it scores highly on Google’s search results pages (SERPs).

For example, you want your site to come up higher than those of your competitors. SEO features will help you achieve this by making sure that keywords are properly emphasized and your website is running at optimum levels to do well on the rankings. The data provided by these plugins can be essential to running a successful business online.

No Coding Required

Normally when you think about website design, you think about coding. You don’t have to anymore. For example, with InMotion’s WordPress Website Builder you can change your pages in mere seconds to see what you think looks best.

Not only that, you have the option to change colors, fonts, images, and the list goes on. Adding items to a page is as simple as selecting what you want to add, and moving it to where you want to add it.

It is good to have no coding required, but still able to make changes using traditional website coding if necessary.

Mobile-Friendly Website Builder

Today, less than 50% of the people using the Internet are doing so with a traditional computer. Instead, the majority are using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Web pages do not display on a mobile device in the same way that they do on a computer. To further complicate matters, each mobile device has its own resolution and dimensions that can make a proper display on one a real headache for the web designer. 

To accommodate this, web page builders must be responsive enough to adapt to the device that is viewing the page. You want to find a builder that can create mobile-friendly web pages, or you could wind up losing a huge market of potential customers.

Do They Offer Support?

Unfortunately, there may be times when you run into problems with your website. When this happens, you want a platform that will provide you with support so that you can fix the problem and move on.

To determine this, make sure that you look at the reviews for the website builder. Check out the negative comments as well as the positive ones and see what they have to say about the quality of the customer support. 

There are a lot of easy to use website builders on the market, including InMotion Hosting’s Website Builder. It includes all of the features mentioned in this guide including U.S.-based Support available 24/7/365 in case you ever need some help.

A DIY website builder is a perfect way to get your business online on your own terms. Are you ready to start building? Contact our friendly, professional service team to find out how you can get started today. Thank you for visiting our blog today, you can also visit the InMotion Hosting Support Center for tons of helpful guides.