What Website Creator should I use?

This is just a quick outline of different website creators and what I think of them. I am adding links at the bottom that will let you know what others are saying also. I had not realized until I started writing this how many sites there are now for creating webpages! If I don't mention one that you would like to know more about go to the links below and most likely it will be there. Each list of top ten sites is different!  I am speaking here of my own experience, so I am leaving out any that I have not used.

When you make a website you need two main things. First you must have a Domain Name. Most of these sites will help you choose a domain name and it is free to use for one year. After that year there is a charge annually for the use of the name. Next you need a HOST or a place to put your website. When you sign up with these sites you are hosting your website on their server (a server is just a computer that puts things out on the internet). There is usually some sort of monthly charge for this service and there are different levels of price and benefits for using them. You will have to look at each site and compare the prices and value.

Know that when you create a website with one of these programs you are putting your files on their computer. It is good to make sure you know how to download an archive of your own files and have a sense of what access you have to them before paying money.

WORDPRESS - Wordpress is not mentioned in most lists as a website creator. I am not sure why. I have used it as a website creator. It may be that the learning curve for Wordpress is too steep and most people who are new to creating sites do not want to deal with it.

Wordpress is an open source web page tool. There are two ways to use it. You can sign up at Wordpress.com and create a site there which will be stored on their server OR you can download all of the code to create your own site on your own computer and then upload it to a server.

Strengths

• Wordpress can grow with you. It is challenging to use at first, but it is deep. You can keep learning and improving your website. Many of the easier ones are limited and if you learn new things you may not be able to do them on your site.
• There are tons of templates for Wordpress. Many of them are free and they have been designed by professionals, so they look polished. If you want to use a template that costs you pay one time and have the template to use.
• Because it is open source there are many people creating 'widgets' which are small programs that you can use on your site. For example there are widgets that will report the local weather, run a slideshow of pictures, or flash the current news. 

Weaknesses

• Wordpress has a steep learning curve. I didn't find it to difficult, but I  have heard others say that it is too frustrating.
• There are so many choices. Rather than 15-20 templates there are hundreds to choose from in Wordpress. There are also tons of widgets. You can spend your whole day just looking at templates and trying to make a decision. There is also an abundance of advice and support.
• If you want to be totally in control of fonts, colors and sizes you need to sign up to use CSS and pay a bit extra. 

SQUARESPACE - This is the website creator that I chose to use for my website. Take a look at it at http://imnot-ageek.com.

Strengths

• Squarespace offers some beautiful templates which can be personalized so that they do not look like each other. I liked that on the site I could see what others had done using the same template.
• It is fairly easy to use, although I did have one client who said she thought Wix was easier. 
• Excellent and responsive support.
• You have the ability to customize font size and color and other things that sometimes are not available in other builders
• Try one theme, without changing content switch to another theme to see how it looks!

Weaknesses

• Not as many templates as Wix, but the ones that are available are beautiful

http://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/wix-vs-weebly-vs-squarespace-vs-jimdo/

GODADDY

Strengths

• very easy to use
• lots of customers
• good phone support
• on the low cost side

Weaknesses

• core business is selling domains. Website creation secondary.
• frustration sometimes with resolving payment issues. 
• maybe not as up to date as other providers in this area.
• no free trial

WIX

Strengths

• one of the most popular website creation platforms
• easy to use
• lots of templates
• comprehensive support and active user forum
• You can try it for free

Weaknesses

• cannot change themes for the same website without rebuilding website

WEEBLY - I have actually not tried Weebly, so I do not feel like I should tell you its strengths and weaknesses. I am listing it here because it was rated high on most of the lists that review website builders. 







STRENGTHS

• best free builder
• easy to use
• switch templates without changing content

WEAKNESSES

• does not have all of the bells and whistles of some builders
• need to know code to do fine edits like font color

GOOGLE SITES

Strengths

• automatic save
• part of Google Drive
• always FREE

Weaknesses

• Ugly templates

All in all there are lots of choices out there. You can see that the samples I have collected here are all very different. That is not only because of the website maker, but also the purpose of the site. If you want a really professional site with things like shopping carts and analytics it might be worth paying someone who knows what they are doing. I know someone who will actually take a site done by a relative and redo it so that it is better.

If you want to do it yourself you can look over these choices and decide which works best for you. It all depends on what YOU think is easy, how you will be using your site and how much time you want to spend on it.

Take a look at these sites for more reviews and advice:

Robert Mening has done a thorough trial and review of 10 top website builders. He also has tutorials on their use.

https://websitesetup.org/best-website-builder-tools/

http://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/

http://www.sitebuilderreport.com/

http://website-creation-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://www.top10bestwebsitebuilders.com/

http://website-building-tools.no1reviews.com/

http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/best-website-builder-8133804

Here is a link to a site that has a wizard that will tell you the benefits and drawbacks of the different sites. You will still need to think about design. Look at their templates and see what matches what you want to do.

http://satoristudio.net/website-builders/#wizard

So you want to make a webpage?

The coolest thing just happened. All day I have been planning on writing this blog post about creating your own website. I have been looking into iWeb and some other things and I decided to take a break and look at my Facebook. There was a message from my friend Sandy from Alaska!!  She needs help creating a web page for the Salmon Filet business that she and her husband run. So, now I have a REAL reason to research and write!  I love that!!

Sandy says that she does not want to put lots of time and money into a website, but needs one that will "mainly be just a place for people who hear word of mouth and want to be sure we are a real company to be trusted. Suspect all we will need to do is have up some pictures, contact and company information and a paypal link. (Maybe also a guestbook and "hit counter".)"

I was just at the Austin Women's Entrepreneurial Luncheon and the advice given there was to hire someone to design your site. The successful women that spoke to us said that a well designed website is worth every penny. It should be a content management system so that you can update and change it yourself after the design is done.  I am sure that this is great advice for most new businesses. A designer is an artist and it can make a huge difference in the impression that people have of your business.

However, I know there are lots of reasons for designing your own and it is easier than ever, so I am going to do a quick review of some website software and online possibilities and I hope it will answer that question and maybe more.

BACKGROUND

a server

Knowing just a little about how webpages work will help you with the decision of how you want to make one. A web page is just a bunch of files, including pictures that are on a SERVER.

A server is just a computer, like the one you have, but it probably has more memory and some software to make it act differently than yours.

When you make a webpage you usually work on your own computer to create the website and then when it is done put it on the server so that other people can see it. As long as it is on your own computer other people cannot see it at all. A webpage has a URL, or address that lets you know where to find it called a Domain Name.

So there are three things that you need to have a working webpage:
1. A program on your computer to help you design the page.
2. A server to put the webpage on so that other people can see it.
3. A Domain Name or address for the page.

Luckily NOW there are lots of ways that you can make your own webpage without having to have your own server or even your own domain name. The sites that I share about below all offer FREE versions, but if you want to put your own Domain Name onto the page there is a way to pay a little bit and do it.

 Wix.com says that you can create a website with no programming, just drag and drop! There are lots of templates to choose from and examples of what others have done. All you have to do is to go to this page and choose "START NOW" and you can make your page. You can use Wix for free or pay for a Premium website. A premium website includes your own Domain Name, good support services and premier hosting. Even with the free site your site will be hosted on their servers. Your Domain Name will be at www.wix.com/(your choice of name).
Sample site:  http://www.wix.com/janic55/Imnotageek


Google Sites was not as easy as wix.com for me. You go to http://sites.google.com and sign in and then you choose CREATE SITE. You can choose among the templates that they provide. After that there are LOTS of choices. I found that I was frustrated with how to do certain things. It was not clear to me and when I clicked on things they took me to unexpected places. I think that taking some time I will be able to make a page looking about what I want it to look like, but it will take more time than I want to spend right now. Here is a link to the little I was able to accomplish on this page. I am sure it could be much better.
https://sites.google.com/site/sample2imnotageek/

Wordpress is what many new pages on the internet are made with. There are two versions of Wordpress. One is Wordpress.org and it is the open source code so that you can create your own Wordpress site. I am sure that this is the best way to go, but it was intimidating to me. I went to Wordpress.org and downloaded the files and then I was sort of stuck. For this version you need to have your own hosting space, so that after you create the page on your computer you can upload it to the web somewhere.

For a recent project I decided to use Wordpress.com. It is the version of Wordpress that is connected to webspace. You can create a page here for FREE. It will be named http://(your choice).wordpress.com and will be kept on the Wordpress.com server. If you want to use your own Domain Name you can pay a little and Wordpress can use that name instead of the name with wordpress.com. They can actually sell you the Domain Name. Wordpress.com has templates that you can choose and then guides you through changing those templates so that they look how you want them to. Here is an example of a site using Wordpress.com http://austinmennonite.org

There are other softwares for creating websites and even a free one (Kompozer) that I know of, but I am not going to take more time or space talking about them now. I just want to end with a little advice.

1. Think FIRST about what you want your page to look like and what you want to have on your page. Collect all of the graphics first.

2. Make sure that you put the most important information RIGHT on the front page because often people do not click beyond that and may miss what is really important to you.

3. Try things and then preview to see if you like them. NOTHING is permanent. If you don't like something you can change it. Some times I don't know what something does when I click on it, so I will click on it to see. If it changes something I don't like I know I can go back and fix it, but I have learned.

Finally, remember the advice from the beginning: A good website is worth paying for. Especially if you are in business your website should communicate with people so that they want your product. It is worth hiring a designer to create a page that will work for you.