When it comes to building a website, just the idea is daunting to most people, especially if they are not programmers or designers. Fortunately, there are software tools available to help you build your website even if you are not proficient in a coding language. Here are seven, plus my favorite!

Coding? Help!

Not everyone wants to be a coder, designer or programmer. All those lines of code give most of them a headache. Instead, they like to see the streamlined images and grammatically correct content that spits out on the other end. If you are a novice, there are tools to assist with building a simple website that don’t require a PhD in web design.

These website builder tools come equipped to provide the latest in HTML coding as well as the latest advances in web design. Depending on the purpose of your site, the design that fits with your business vision, and whether you are going to add e-commerce or not, there are a variety of options. Some of the options below are what I’ve used in the past and some I’ve never used, but have heard about from other users. The last one is my favorite and I use it for all my own sites and for all my customer sites too.

Seven Useful Web Builder Tools

1. Weebly.com – This site builder is easy to use for website creators with no experience. It provides a responsive design across devices so you are only creating one site. The drop-and-drag feature makes it quick and seamless to add content, change themes and get an e-commerce store up and running on your site. There are free and paid options. The more functions you want or need, the more it will cost you.

2. Squarespace.com – Also a popular site building tool, it offers a free trial but is paid software. Like Weebly, it provides responsive design templates and is adaptable for a variety of use. You can create a blog, full website, online store and more. Works for both novices and programmers.

3. Wix.com – This software tool, like Squarespace, is an HTML5-based tool. You can create stunning websites in very little time. Choose the type of website you want to create and then begin customizing and designing it. Several options are available in the free version, but more flexibility is allowed with the paid one.

4. Homestead.com – This is a paid service that ranges from less than $10 a month to $60. You are provided with toll-free support. You can set up and customize your site quickly. There are thousands of templates to choose from. A shopping cart on your site will cost you extra, though.

5. Yola.com – This site-building tool is easy to use. Great for those new to site building with no coding experience. You’ll like the graphics tools but probably not the storage. To get unlimited storage, you’ll need the gold membership which is about $17 per month.

6. GoDaddy.com – Just about everyone has heard of this tool. You can choose from about 300 themes, and hosting features are also available. Use it to create blogs, websites, and e-commerce stores.

7. Webflow.com – This software builder comes with hosting, design tools and content management system all in one. And, you don’t need to know a word of code to do it.

8. WordPress.org – This option requires a separate hosting account, but honestly, it’s not hard to turn on WordPress once you have your hosting account. After that, it’s the same process as any of the other builders on the list. You create an account, choose a template (called themes) and start building.

WordPress is free to plug into your hosting account and you can usually find hosting accounts for less than $5 per month. There are tons of options to use with WordPress also. You can find a free option for everything you might need or want to do with your site.

Then, there are always paid options too, which will get you better support or features than the free options. It’s the same thing as with these other options, you can do a lot with free, but can do even more with paid.

What I love about using the WordPress software is that it is so customizable! Most of these other builders just don’t have the same kind of flexibility.

Need help getting that first website up and running? Try something from the list, or hire me to set up your site the way you want it to look and with the functionality that you need.