Most people would agree that creating a professional website requires a lot of coding or money. However, you don’t need both with the emergence of website builders. In fact, with the help of these tools, you can now create your professional website without having to spend a single dime. In this post, I will share some of the most efficient website builders you can use to create your dream site – for free!
1. WordPress.com
WordPress.com is the number one platform for creating websites. It powers 25% of all websites or over 80 million blogs worldwide. I like WordPress because 1. it’s highly customizable, and 2. it offers plenty of valuable features like options to choose a personalized theme and the ability to increase the website’s functionality using plugins.
WordPress also offers a comment section and a feedback form, which greatly helps when you want more reader engagement. WordPress allows me to browse other people’s blogs and grow my network as I comment on other posts. WordPress is free, but you can always change your domain name for a price, so it doesn’t read “yourbusinessname.wordpress.com.”
2. Blogger
Blogger, like WordPress, is another popular blogging site that can be used to create a professional website. When I first started a blog back in high school, I used Blogger. With Blogger, you can easily customize your website using widgets and shortcodes.
Unlike other websites, Blogger is hosted by Google, so you get your own space on the internet inside Google’s servers (so there is no need to pay for your hosting). If you want a custom domain (without a blogspot.com after your site name), you only have to go to Settings and add a custom domain function under the blog address.
If you want to earn cash, you can also monetize your website in Blogger using Google Ad sense. You may think this is easy, but it requires a lot of knowledge in internet marketing. Blogger is best used for niche-focused websites and people who want to try their hands at blogging.
3. Tumblr
Tumblr is known for its ability to post multimedia content on its platform. It is a great place to start a personal blog or create your online portfolio. It is also known as the website for artsy and creative posters. For the people with creative jobs – illustrator, graphic designer, photographer. And I must say it is the trendiest looking blogging site of all. You can use Tumblr to host a media-rich website with content you and your followers love.
The best part about Tumblr is that when you like other websites, they will appear in your dashboard, and you can re-blog them or share it with the community. This feature not only helps promote other good websites, but you also get exposure to the community.
4. Weebly
If you are an artist and want a professional website that looks awesome, Weebly is your platform. Weebly offers aesthetically pleasing responsive designs that work well on laptops and hand-held devices. An average person who doesn’t have much understanding of coding can build a beautiful website on Weebly. I created my website here in less than 30 minutes.
Weebly is one of the best e-commerce website builders for small business owners. Aside from DIY web building features, Weebly also offers the option to download the website code to keep the formatting if you choose to move to a different platform.
5. Wix
Like Weebly, Wix is another free website builder that can be used to create neat-looking websites without the need to learn to code. The themes on Wix are all responsive and look great on various devices. Despite being a free site builder, Wix themes don’t look cheap and outdated. It is one of the few site builders that offer a perfect looking website for free.
Recommended for self-employed artists and entrepreneurs, Wix is a great site builder for musicians, artists, and writers who want to showcase their talent and share it with the world. You can create beautiful portfolios that will undoubtedly resonate with potential clients and customers. And the best part – all this can be done for free!
