There are a lot of different ways to build a website. Some people need to build a big e-commerce store for their business.
Meanwhile, some are building a portfolio to showcase their work. Thus, the best method of building a website differs from user to user.
If you keep reading, below, I will make recommendations on how to choose what's best for you!
There are three main ways of building a website.
- Using a Content Management System;
- Using a site builder;
- Having your website built from scratch.
Let's start with a content management system or CMS in short.
A content management system is a software dedicated to creating and managing content for a website, on a particular platform.
Instead of coding your own system from scratch, you will use an already created platform, which is much less time consuming and generally easier.
There are numerous amounts of CMS's out there like Joomla, Magento, Drupal, although the most popular is WordPress.
Wordpress powers approximately one-third of all the websites. That’s a huge number!
Content management systems are of moderate level of difficulty to manage.
Of course, it depends on which one you choose, because they all have different interfaces, and while one might be very easy to control, the other one is complicated.
Generally speaking, it doesn't take too long to understand the basic principle, although you should invest some time in learning how to master your chosen CMS.
Since I have already mentioned that WP powers one-third of all the websites alone, it's safe to say that it is the most common way of creating a website.
It can be used both for a personal blog and for a professional business site.
There is a common myth that open source platforms like WP are best suited for personal use websites. Although, major sites like The New Yorker, BBC America, or Sony Music were created on WordPress.
Meanwhile, Joomla powers the Harward and Guggenheim museums' websites. They are built on CMS's while getting millions of visitors every day.
If you are planning to have an online store, content management systems are also a great choice.
For example, WordPress has an open-source e-commerce plugin called WooCommerce, which is designed for precisely that purpose.
CMS's are very convenient since they are built for non-techies who want to create professional websites.
They have perfect integration of SEO, are easily managed, can be customized for mobile devices, and there are quite a lot of options you can monetize your website.
Usually, CMS's don't have online support, although they typically have a vast amount of useful materials in tutorials, articles, videos, and forums.
For example, WP has such a big community; there are even WP meetings organized in different cities.
If you wish to create a website with a CMS, you will only need to pay for hosting and domain.
For example, WordPress itself is free, and hosting plans can start as low as $0.99/month.
Domains, however, differ in prices, but with specific hosting plans, you can get a domain free of charge.
Site builders
Site Builders, compared to CMS's, are even more user-friendly.
It doesn't take a long time to figure them out, and you can have your site up and running in a matter of an hour.
Site builders are best used for smaller-scale projects, blogs, and personal websites.
They usually have a lot of predefined templates, and simple drag and drop functions.
It is easier to manage, but at the same time, it doesn't have as much customizability as CMS's have.
If you are trying to make a wedding invitation, want to have a portfolio showcasing your work, or feel like you want to start a small blog - the site builder is the perfect option.
It won't take too much of your time, for creating it and editing, while you will have a pretty and professional looking website.
There are a lot of site builders; if you want to check some of them out, I would recommend trying Zyro - it's a new intuitive site builder, with a grid interface for creating the website and a lot of cool tools like logo maker, a heat map and AI writer.
A big advantage for site builders is that some of them have 24/7 customer support.
If you run into any problems, you will have a support agent looking into your issue and either fixing it or guiding you through the process.
Site builders are generally free for the basic version, and most of them allow upgrading to premium plans with more resources for when your website starts growing.
The only thing you would need to purchase is the domain.
Creating a website from scratch
This is the most sophisticated option out of three and is mostly used for bigger-scale and unique projects.
If you wish to create a website from scratch, unless you are a programmer yourself, you will need to hire a web developer.
One should take into account that a website which was built from scratch should have a person constantly looking after it, for maintenance.
It means that either a developer could be hired to do that, or if you have some development knowledge and time, you can manage it yourself.
Nonetheless, the website will require some resources spent from time to time.
This option is very convenient for big companies, big online stores, or special projects that need a high level of customization.
It does not rely on any platform and doesn't have any predefined templates of themes meaning that you can do anything you wish or image.
Mostly, you would need to present your ideas to the web developer and web designer, and they could tell you what's possible to implement.
As for the price, it isn't very easy to say, as every website made from scratch, is different.
I would recommend asking a developer or a company for an estimate price. It can vary significantly from a few hundred to thousands.
Although, if you are doing it yourself, only resources you will need are your time and hosting & domain.
And that's it. I hope my recommendations have helped you to decide which way is best for building your website.
And I hope you enjoy the process. I know it can be challenging at first, but the end result is usually gratifying!
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