1) Create a Website Yourself with a Website Builder
The easiest way to create a website is by using a website builder, with our top recommendation being Wix (but do use our quiz for a personalized recommendation).
These are interactive, browser-based tools that will let you create a website using one of their off-the-shelf templates.
Just because the templates are ‘ready-made’ however it doesn’t mean you’ll be left with a cookie-cutter site. We built 12 websites to see how the top website builders compared, and were amazed at how professional-looking the templates turned out to be, especially Squarespace and Wix.
From our thorough testing, Wix emerged as the best website builder platform you can choose. We invited first-time users of website builders, plus more experienced users, to try various platforms, and feed back on how they found each one. We also appraised the features, plug-ins, apps and help & support available when forming our recommendations.
Still, Wix isn't the only game in town, and there are lots of other high quality website builders you can choose. We pick out some of the top brands, below:
How do website builders work?
Website builders give you the basic building blocks to begin constructing a site. Typically, you pick a template design for your website, to which you then add your own text and images to create a uniquely designed site for your blog, online store or business site. With most website builders you’ll be able to:
- Choose from a range of templates, which will help you build the site you want
- Edit the style and design language of these templates to match your business branding (or simply look great)
- Add tools and apps which will augment the usefulness of your website – these might be contact forms, appointment or reservation booking systems, or analytics software
The first step to creating a website is to pick a template. Rather than acting like restrictive training wheels, these templates form the rough outline of a site, which you're free to change as you see fit.
Website builders make editing your site straightforward, even for beginners, by using simple drag-and-drop editing tools, and easy to install apps and plugins. Most website builders use a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor, making them super easy to use. The clue is in the name – when you use the editor, what you see is, well, exactly what you’ll get when you publish your site.
This style of website creation differs from more technical website builders that rely more heavily on coding, for example. These require a level of technical expertise that very few possess. However, a WYSIWYG editor makes the process of building a site accessible to everyone, with clear, easily-navigable menus and straightforward controls.
In many ways, using a website builder is no more complex than using Microsoft PowerPoint. They also take care of the most complex parts of owning a site, such as domain hosting and HMTL coding.
After you’ve finished constructing your site (which shouldn't take long at all) you’ll be able to dip back in and change anything, at any time. This gives website builders a big advantage over using a web designer to create a site – you’re in complete control, all of the time, and you won’t have to be waiting around for them to make any updates you request.
It also means that you won’t need to keep paying an expensive retainer fee to the web designer, which can always increase if you need new features or a lengthy piece of maintenance. Instead, you’ll be paying a flat, predictable, and affordable fee which can be billed monthly, annually, or biennially.
2) Find a Website Designer
If you don't wish to take on the task of building a site yourself, then you can contact a design professional to do it for you. In fact, you can request free, non-committal quotes from highly rated web design agencies using our web design quote comparison tool – it only takes one minute to do – easy!
Web designers can be a fantastic choice for small or medium-sized businesses. You’ll get a completely unique website and you won’t lose any of your time building the site itself. It can also be handy to hire a web designer if you need bespoke features.
Instead of creating the site yourself from a template, you’ll brief the designer on exactly what you want your site to look like, and the features you need it to have. They’ll get on with creating draft versions of your site, while you can get on with running your business.
However, using a Facebook page in place of a proper website will make your business look a little amateurish and unprofessional. It also won’t give you access to features that are easy to implement on a website builder, and are highly valued by users. If you run a restaurant, for example, you won’t be able to add a food menu.
Moreover, being restricted to a Facebook page means that you won’t be able to build your brand, and you’re less likely to appear at the top of Google rankings when someone searches for businesses like yours.There are no benefits in the long or short term to be had from trying to create a website for free. You’ll lack advanced features, look amateurish and users will have a hard time even finding your site or Facebook page.
When building your own website or hiring a website designer are both affordable and quick options, there’s no reason not to have your own site.
How to Create a Website in 5 Simple Steps
The days of expert coding, setting up servers and IP addresses are, thankfully, gone. Website builders make creating a website so easy that even a complete beginner could build a website in minutes. In fact, the most complicated thing you’ll have to do is remember the password for your website builder account.
If you’ve been putting off creating a website because you think it’s too hard or too time-consuming, now’s the time to prove yourself pleasantly wrong. In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the steps along the way to creating your website.
Five Easy Steps to Create Your Own Website:
- Step 1: Choose The Best Website Builder
- Step 2: Choose a Website Template
- Step 3: Editing Your Website
- Step 4: Create a Domain
- Step 5: Publish Your Website
Step 1: Choose the best website builder
First things first: You can’t build a website without a website builder. Website builders are software programs designed to make the process of creating a website fast and easy. When using one, you'll be able to control the content and design of a website without contracting out to a high-priced web developer to hardcode the website.
Anyone can use a website builder: They're aimed at complete beginners. You won't need design skills or coding degree, just a laptop with an internet connection.
There are loads of website builders out there, and at Tech.Co, we've meticulously reviewed the top performers, judging them on features, ease of use, help and support options, and more. Squarespace is one of the best, thanks to its vast suite of useful templates, and Shopify is a strong contender too with excellent ecommerce features. but our top-rated website builder overall is Wix, with a 4.8/5 overall score and a test-high features score (also 4.8/5).
When using a website builder, you'll be able to control the content and design of a website without contracting out to a high-priced web developer to hardcode the website.
Step 2: Select a website template
We’re going to be using Wix as an example here, as it's our top choice. While it might not be exactly the same with every website builder, the experience isn’t that different.
Pick the type of site
You’ll be asked to choose what your website is going to be for – will it host an online store, are you going to run a blog, is it going to be for a restaurant or a business? There’s also an “other” option which will take you straight through to the template editor – more on that later.
You’ll then be presented with a filtered list based on the selection you’ve just made. Some of the categories are filtered even further – if you pick “Restaurants & Food,” for example, the templates are then filtered by what type of business: Catering & Chef, Cafe & Baker, Bar & Club, etc.
Once you’ve picked your template – and don’t worry, they’re all pretty darn good – you can go straight into editing your site.
Template-free option
If you don’t fancy any of these templates, though, you can always pick a blank one – although it will be a bit more work.
If you're wondering why you haven’t even picked a name for your website yet, fear not, we’ll come to that later.
Need a great new website quickly?
Wix has all the tools you need to build a fantastic new website in less than a day and for significantly less than a web developer.
Try Wix
Step 3: Edit your website
So now you've picked your template, we're onto the actual website-development-y part of the process. The template will be pre-loaded with stock words and images which you can chop and change to your liking.
Want to see just how easy it can be?Click on the image below to see a website editor in action!
Adding images
Uploading an image is as easy as it is when uploading one to Facebook or Twitter. If you don’t have any to include, most website builders give users access to stock image galleries as well.
Editing text
Changing the text is, again, pretty straightforward – all you have to do is click on the bit of text you’d like to change and you’ll be able to type straight into the text box. You can also adjust the size and style of each bit of text, but it’s worth remembering that each font will generally be consistent with the template, so making radical changes might make it look a bit odd.
Drag and drop
Most website builders use a grid-based, drag-and-drop system for page editing. This makes it straightforward to keep each element on your page in line and when you want to add a new text box, image, or any other type of element, you’ll be able to see, at a glance, how to fit it onto your page.
If you're looking for granular levels of control, Squarespace's Fluid Engine lets you customize the design of your site down to the pixel – making it a great choice for businesses with a very specific vision in mind.
Extra tools and functions
You’ll also be able to add elements beyond text boxes and images with Wix and other website builders. These might include, for example, restaurant menus, contact forms, or social media feeds.
Again, you’ll be able to drop these onto the page and line them up using the gridlines. You might find that some apps and functionality are reserved for paid-for plans but typically this is for ecommerce functions such as stock tracking and shipping costs.
Step 4: Create a domain
When we talk about a website’s domain, we’re basically talking about the website’s address. For example, Tech.Co is the name of our website, and the domain is https://tech.co.
You’ll typically want your website’s domain to correspond with the name of your business, blog or whatever purpose you’re running it for – just so you don’t confuse people. Try writing up a list of possibilities and pick the best.
Most website builders will give you a free domain to get started with – but they’ll often have the name of the website builder shoehorned in. My imaginatively named cupcake restaurant, Cupcakes, would have the domain https://tomfogden.wixsite.com/cupcakes. It’s not exactly catchy, and you probably wouldn’t want to have your Wix username at the front of it.
In order to remove this paraphernalia from your domain name – yep, you guessed – you’ll have to pay. Fortunately, with most website builders, including Wix, this comes as part of the cheapest plan.
Should you already be the proud owner of a domain, you’ll be pleased to know that you can connect a pre-existing domain to the website builder. You’ll find the option to do this on the site settings page.
While you can connect an existing domain with Wix, this feature isn’t universal for website builders, so it’s worth investigating beforehand. Don’t get started with a website builder only to find out later there’s an additional fee for connecting an existing domain, or that it’s not possible at all.
Step 5: Publish your website
That’s it, with all your content loaded up and the design perfected, a registered domain and a completed sign-up for the perfect payment plan – you’re ready to publish.
Before you do, though, it’s probably worth getting someone you trust to take a look over the site, as an errant spelling mistake might be the difference between a sale, a booking or a commission!
The fun isn’t over, though. You’ll be able to – and you should – go in and update your website in case anything changes, or you just fancy changing some of the content. This will keep your site looking and feeling fresh for anyone who visits.
How Much It Costs to Create a Website
Most website builders will let you create and run a simple website for between $2-20 per month, but you might want a larger website or greater functionality. More advanced sites will cost another $5- 30 per month, but this will vary depending on your individual business' needs.
If you’re just starting out though, it’s always worth investigating whether the website builder package you’re after offers a free trial or a free version. What free versions are good for is giving you a bit of leeway to get your site right before publishing it — otherwise, you might worry you’re throwing money down the drain.
Take a look at our guide to the cheapest website builders.
