How To Choose The Best Website Builder
Building a website from scratch can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to the process. Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever to create your own website, even without technical skills or programming knowledge. This doesn’t mean you need to hire someone to teach you coding or bring in a professional web designer. Instead, all you need to do is choose a website builder platform. These platforms provide all the tools and templates you need to create a professional-looking site with minimal effort, allowing you to focus on customising your content and layout to suit your vision.
What is a Website Builder?
A website builder is either a downloadable software package or an online platform that allows you to create web pages without the need to manually edit code. Accessing it online tends to be the more popular choice due to its relatively low cost and user-friendly interface. Choosing a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor is often the best approach, as it allows you to visualise every aspect of your page and see exactly how it will look once published. This makes the design process straightforward, especially for those without coding experience, and ensures a professional finish.
Recommended Website Builders
These are some of the top website builders:
What Kind of Website Do You Want?
There are many reasons why someone from the UK might want their own website. Are you looking to start a travel or fashion blog? Perhaps you need a website to announce details for a special event, like a wedding, family reunion, or bar mitzvah. Or maybe you run a small business and want a site to advertise your services or sell products directly to customers. A website builder can help you achieve all these goals at affordable prices—and sometimes even for free! They are user-friendly, so you don’t need any coding or design experience to create an attractive website that meets your needs.
Some AI website builders are particularly suited for eCommerce ventures, offering features such as secure shopping certificates, inventory management, and support for various payment methods. Others are better for blogs and event sites. Starting with an online website maker means you won’t have to reinvent the wheel; you’ll have access to templates and tools specifically designed for your needs. Just make sure the website builder you choose is suitable for the type of site you want to create.
Free or Paid Subscriptions. Which is Better?
Price is always an important consideration when choosing a website builder, and you’ll find that prices can vary significantly. Each pricing tier comes with its own features, with free website builders generally offering fewer tools than more expensive premium plans. If you’re based in the UK, it’s worth testing what each package includes: how user-friendly the interface is, whether they offer 24/7 support, and how customisable the templates are. An additional modern feature to consider is AI. Best AI website builder’s and AI website generators are powerful tools which let you generate entire websites with a single prompt.
With free website builders, the choice of domain names and design templates is usually limited. Premium packages, on the other hand, often provide marketing tools that can help boost your site’s visibility and attract organic traffic. In the UK, using a free website builder may not be ideal if you’re aiming to optimise your site for search engines, as it only offers a subdomain with the builder’s brand in the address—something to keep in mind for long-term branding.
When using a free version, your site will generally display ads from the website builder. In some cases, these ads are subtle, but in others, they may be distracting for visitors, taking focus away from your content. Free plans also make it difficult to monetise your site, as they typically don’t allow you to add your own advertising code. Look for AI website builder free plans and AI site builder’s to enjoy powerful web builder tools.
Another factor to consider when deciding whether to pay for a subscription is how long you expect your website to be relevant. For a business website, which is likely to be a long-term asset, paying for a subscription that offers more data, bandwidth, and an ad-free experience can be worthwhile and you should opt for a premium AI site builder. However, if you’re creating a temporary site for a one-off event, like a wedding or a 50th birthday, a 30-day free trial or a free website maker may be sufficient, as the site will only need to be live for a few months.
Do-it-Yourself Platform Advantages
DIY online tools are a great solution for those on a tight budget or who prefer not to invest heavily in building your own website.
Some DIY website builders, like Wix, offer an impressive range of professional design templates tailored for every area of business. Many of these templates are free of charge and easy to customise, and they’re not limited to business use—you’ll also find templates for blogs, wedding websites, portfolios, and more. Using these templates as a foundation, you can edit your website’s design whenever you like, from any computer. With a simple drag-and-drop editor, you can create a fully customised, professional-looking website that feels unique to your brand.
What’s more, your website will be automatically submitted to major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Yandex, and Bing, helping you attract organic traffic. Most DIY website builders also include straightforward SEO tools that allow you to add and edit meta titles, descriptions, and keywords with ease—simply type them in and save.
Overall, DIY online tools can save you a great deal of money and effort, as you won’t need to pay for website design or coding. If you’re based in the UK and looking for an affordable way to establish a strong online presence, DIY tools are a practical option.
Mobile Optimisation
Many website builders and AI website makers provide website templates that not only look great on a computer screen but are also optimised for mobile. This is crucial, as many people today browse the web from their smartphones or tablets. Have you ever tried viewing a website on your phone, only to find the text so tiny that you need to zoom in to read anything? Or attempted to make a purchase but found it difficult to navigate because your fingers couldn’t easily select options or complete payment? This is an example of a site that’s not optimised for mobile, and it often leads to lost sales and frustrated users.
A mobile-friendly website, however, is easy to read and navigate for visitors using a smartphone or tablet. By using a AI website builder with built-in mobile optimisation, you won’t need to do anything extra to make your site mobile-friendly—it’s handled automatically for you. That’s a major advantage of using a website builder, ensuring your site is accessible and user-friendly across all devices without any additional effort on your part.
Conclusion
With such a wide range of site-building tools and platforms available today, choosing the right one for your website can feel overwhelming. Each website builder offers its own set of features, pricing plans, and unique benefits, making it challenging to know which will best suit your needs.
The best approach to finding the right tool is to take some time to read in-depth reviews, which will give you insights into each platform’s strengths and any potential limitations. Compare not only the prices but also the range of services included in each package—some builders may offer excellent eCommerce capabilities, while others may focus on blog creation or portfolio design. By carefully considering both cost and features, you can make a well-informed decision, ensuring you choose a platform that aligns with your goals and budget.
This way, you’ll be confident that you’re investing in a site-building tool that meets your needs and supports your website’s success, whether you’re building a business site, personal blog, or online shop.