Though the market of website builders is immensely saturated, new Do-It-Yourself services continue appearing like mushrooms after the rain. This is partly due to the fact that having a website isn’t a whim, but a must these days. On the one hand, the abundance of website builders results in higher quality and lower prices (because of the competition), but on the other, it makes potential users scratch their heads about which website builder to choose. So, I’ve decided to make a list of web building platforms that bought my heart and trust in 2013. Enjoy my modest compilation and feel free to add your favorites in comments.
MotoCMS
MotoCMS website builder gets high scores mainly for its flexibility. You get full control over all site elements, starting from fonts, image properties, layout and finishing with complex widgets and URL configuration. Because it hits the sweet spot of ease-of-use and effectiveness, MotoCMS is popular equally with professionals and rookies.
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| MotoCMS Themes |
Unique features: rich collection of templates; support for multiple languages; custom fonts; SEO-friendly Flash-based themes; one-time payment (no recurring fees); professional assistance; lifetime updates.
Best for building eye-catching websites with a focus on design. Perfect for online portfolios, small businesses, real estate firms as well as mall and medium eCommerce websites (there are templates built exclusively for eCommerce).
Webydo
Webydo can be rightfully called the breakthrough of the year. This website builder is advertised as a new B2B solution in the web design and publishing market. Its target audience are professional designers looking for a code-free platform to create and publish websites for their clients independently, without having to involve coders.
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| Webydo |
Unique features: possibility to re-brand the platform (upload your own logos); inbuilt billing system (you can send payment requests via your Dashboard); ability to add multiple contributors (both Editors and Designers).
Best for creating online portfolios, ‘virtual business cards’, websites for small businesses offering online shopping capabilities (Ecwid widget).
Zoho Sites
Zoho Sites is another brilliant discovery of the last year. Many compare this platform with Google Sites for its rich feature-set and ease-of-use. Zoho Sites will perfectly fit the needs of a small/medium business owner looking to build a solid web representation of his/her firm. There’s a free, never-expiring package and a Pro subscription ($39/year).
Unique features: easy Google apps integration (AdSense, Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools etc.); drag-and-drop CRM form builder; included mobile version of a website; custom 404 Error pages.
Best for business-oriented websites and blogs.
Summary
The core advantage of online website builders is that they are completely code-free and operate like one-stop-shops: everything you need to design, publish and update your site is integrated into a single web service (templates, hosting, domain names, widgets and even third-party extensions). As a rule, website builders are very affordable, some even cost less than the average hosting plan for a standard website. The three aforementioned web services offer either free trial or free package, so you can check them out risk-free right after finishing this post. Feel free to share your experience with website builders in comments. Your feedback does matter :)!
Malcolm Thomas enjoys discovering new gadgets and DIY website builders. He runs http://mmthomasblog.com/ to help others build excellent websites with maximum ease.
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