These days, having a professional website is a bare minimum for small businesses. With more and more customers preferring the option to shop online where possible, and users increasingly using Google and other search engines to look businesses up before deciding whether or not to do business with them, it’s difficult to be successful in the modern world without at least a basic business website.
If you’re just getting started with your new business, you may have considered the idea of hiring a website developer but decided that it’s just not in your current startup budget. There’s no denying that while paying a professional is likely to get you superior results, it can come at a price that many small startups simply can’t afford.
That’s where website building tools come in. These DIY, professional website building tools can be used by anybody to put together a website that works for their business. They are easy to learn and you don’t need to have any coding knowledge to use them. But if you’ve decided to take the DIY website platform route, the next step is choosing the right one for you. Here are some of the best options.
Wix
If you want something that’s easy and simple to use, look no further than Wix. This website platform is designed with beginners in mind and the easy-to-use, intuitive drag-and-drop design tool makes it easier than ever for you to customize your site and have it looking exactly how you had envisioned it. You can create a website for your business in hours and there are many step-by-step guides and tutorials to help you achieve the look you want and get online quickly. Wix is also one of the top free website builders for small businesses.
WordPress
WordPress is one of the most popular website platforms out there, and for good reason. You can use WordPress as a complete novice with a range of pre-made themes and templates that you can customize to suit your business, or you can pay a developer to design a professional website for you in WordPress. This makes it an excellent choice for anybody who wants to take the DIY route now but is open to having a developer update the site in the future when the budget allows for it, as there’s no need to worry about changing platforms.
Squarespace
Squarespace is very simple to use as a platform that delivers stunning, professional results. It comes with a range of pre-made, professional templates that are easy to customize. You can change far more than just the colors with an easy-to-use ‘blocks’ system that allows you to add anything that you like to your site from social media feeds to videos, menus, and much more. And, it has really strong SEO features, making it a great choice for anybody who’s serious about ranking high in Google results.
Shopify
If you're planning to sell online, Shopify is an eCommerce specialist website building platform that will be ideal for you. It is one of the most popular and most well-known website building platforms for online stores and comes with a huge range of professional themes and templates that can be completely customized to make your online shop stand out. It provides an all-in-one, managed solution and comes with one of the best libraries of apps, plugins, and integrations allowing you to make your site do pretty much anything that you’d like it to.
Weebly
Weebly is one of the best website building platforms for small businesses that are just starting out. You can get started for free, making it an excellent choice for anybody who wants to get their new business online for as little as possible. It provides you with a simple online presence and incorporates all the basic features that you’ll need, including photographs, business contact information, an about us page, and more. The simple to use drag-and-drop builder makes it easier than ever to customize your site and there is a range of pre-designed layouts to choose from; you could be online within a few hours. However, bear in mind that since Weebly is one of the cheapest options out there, you do get what you pay for and there is no free premium domain name, so you will need to pay extra to remove the Weebly subdomain from your website address.
If you need to get online quickly and want a simple business website that you can make yourself, there are tons of different website building platforms to choose from. Whether you want a simple, informative site where customers can learn more about what you do or are setting up a larger online store, finding the right platform for you doesn’t need to be difficult.
Before you begin, make a list of the ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice to haves’ from a website platform, then research the different options to determine the best choice for you.
