Should I try site building software?
First of all, keep in mind that this information is only to provide a neutral comparison of different types of site building programs, and does promote any one method over any other, nor does it promote these services as being your best options to have a web site built.
Site building programs are pretty much what you would think; software, either online, on your PC or in your hosting package, that helps you create your web site. These basically work with a "drag 'n drop" method, meaning that you simply select elements you want in your page and drag them into position; the software automatically creates your sites' HTML code depending on what you select and where you place it on your page. This system, once you understand the user interface of the program, may be one of the faster ways to build a website, and many hosted systems offer premade templates (pre-designed websites) for their sitebuilding programs that you can simply add your own content into. Let's start by viewing a few types of site builder.
Online flash website builders
There are many online sites that let you build a website in Flash, for practically any type of site that you want to set up. The appeal of these are that you don't need any coding knowledge, don't need to hire a developer, and don't need to spend a lot of time putting your site together while getting a high quality Flash-based website. Most of these sites have templates that you can select from and use to design your site; all you basically need to do is add your own information and content into the program. Many of these systems require payments, either one time or recurring, and often your site needs to reside on their servers to remain active.
Although this offers a quick, professionally looking site, these programs seldom create site pages that are efficient or search optimized. Efficient, in this case, refers to how well the coding is written to help create a fast, smooth operation of the sites' pages. Pages may be "bloated" with unneeded code. Search optimized means that many onsite elements to help with search rankings are often overlooked, not included, or not beneficial to your site.
Following are the benefits and drawbacks of online flash site builders.
- · Quickly set up a professionally designed website with your own content.
- · No knowledge of coding is needed.
- · No designer/developer is needed, saving time and money.
- · Premade templates often available.
- · Often hosted by the company offering the service, avoiding the need to find hosting for your site.
- · Possibility your site won't be unique looking if templates are used.
- · May require your site to be hosted only with the service/company providing the site builder.
- · May require recurrent fees for hosting.
- · Coding often not well written, or beneficial for high search rankings.
Hosted website builders
Similair to flash hosted sites, there are other hosted sitebuilding systems that generate web sites primarily in standard HTML code, eliminating the animated elements that are present in Flash websites. Two of the most popular are Microsoft Office Live and Yahoo! Small Business, both offering premade templates that you can customize and add your own content into. These, and other like them, are popular bacause of the ease of use for people that are not familiar with HTML and still want a basic functional website. Different systems will offer a variety of prices for hosting, and will include many features, often including registering your domain name for you. They will also provide administration areas for your hosting account to help you manage your site, and your hosting account.
Following are the benefits and drawbacks of online website builders.
- · Quickly set up a basic website with your own content.
- · No knowledge of coding is needed.
- · No designer/developer is needed, saving time and money.
- · Premade templates often available.
- · Often hosted by the company offering the service, avoiding the need to find hosting for your site.
- · Possibility your site won't be unique looking if templates are used.
- · May require your site to be hosted only with the service/company providing the site builder.
- · May require recurrent fees for hosting and domain registration.
- · Coding often not well written or beneficial for high search rankings.
PC based website builders
Many people that want to use a sitebuilding program with more flexibility and customization options utilize programs that they can download and install on their own computers. These programs often act like online site builders, however the files created reside on your PC until you decide to upload them to your hosting account. Often, these sites can be hosted with almost any hosting company that supports the language the site is written in, which is not always the case with other site building systems which may be proprietary, meaning that they will only work with the hosting company that they were created on.
Like online systems, the programs have an interface that should be fairly easy for new users to understand, however they may take some getting used to, and may take time to learn everything that they are capable of. While the coding is sometimes considered not the most efficient, it is usually better than online systems.
Following are the benefits and drawbacks of PC based website builders.
- · Create web site pages without knowing coding.
- · No need for hosting while developing your site.
- · Some programs are free with good user support.
- · Generally easy to learn the basics to use them.
- · Software may not be compatible with all operating systems.
- · Some programs may be difficult to learn to use.