What Is A Website Builder? What You Need To Know

The normal way to create a website is by writing computer programs, i.e., instructions directly understood by a computer. The most common programming languages for building websites are hypertext markup language (HTML) for the webpage elements and cascading style sheets (CSS) for style, i.e., colors, layouts, and fonts.

However, most people don’t have programming skills. Programmers are in high demand, so hiring a good one means paying significantly. Website builders are a viable alternative for individuals and businesses with tight budgets.

What Is A Website Builder?

It is a platform that lets you create a website without programming expertise. Instead, you'd use a visual drag-and-drop interface to build your website. It's a perfect solution for individuals and businesses wanting to quickly create a website without spending too much time or money.

There are two main types of website builders: offline and online. The offline version is the type you download on your computer and can use without an internet connection (but you’d need the connection to publish the site). An online version is web-based, so you need an active internet connection to use it; here, you’re editing the website directly on the web-building platform’s servers instead of your own personal computer.

How Do Website Builders Work?

The companies that create website builders have one goal; to handle the complex, technical aspects of making websites while you handle the less complex, design-focused aspects.

Most website builders offer a drag-and-drop interface. You can drag and drop modules into your webpage as if you’re building a photo collage, and the builder automatically converts the modules into code. Once you’re satisfied with how the webpage looks, you can publish it on the web immediately.

Web builders are called WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) programs because what you see on the builder is exactly how your site will be published.

Common Features Of Website Builders

Drag-and-Drop Interface

Most website builders offer a visual interface where you can drag and drop components into your custom web page. The component could be a photo, video, text, quote, etc., and you can place it exactly where you want on the website. The builder automatically converts all components into code, so when you publish your site, you'll see it exactly how it was on the builder.

Templates

It’s difficult to create a professional and good-looking website from scratch. Hence, web builders offer ready-made templates put together by professional designers. You can choose a template and edit it to fit your tastes. Following a template makes building an appealing website easier compared to creating it from a blank state.

Hosting

Websites don’t exist in thin air. They are hosted on servers (computers) connected to the internet. Most website builders are also hosting companies, and you pay a monthly or annual fee to host your site on their servers. This way, your site will be accessible at all times.

Domains

Using a custom domain name for your website is always advisable because it makes the site look more professional and helps boost its search engine rankings. Many website builders allow you to purchase a domain name and connect it to your website. If yours doesn’t, you can always purchase the domain on another platform and connect it to your web builder by editing the name servers.

Mobile Optimization

According to Statista, 58% of global website traffic comes from mobile devices. This figure implies that any website not optimized for mobile displays will lose a lot of traffic. The good news is that most web builders optimize your website automatically for mobile devices, so you shouldn’t worry about losing traffic. You can further edit the mobile view according to your tastes.

Business Email

Many website builders allow you to create custom emails attached to your domain name. Custom emails make your business look more professional to customers. You’ll usually have to pay extra for this feature.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engines are the number one source of unpaid traffic for any website. It’s essential to optimize your website to rank high on search engines by using keywords, alternative tags for images, good content structure, inbound links, etc. Many website builders offer tools to help you optimize your website to rank higher on search engines like Google and Bing.

Analytics

It’s essential to monitor your website traffic and user behavior. Website builders provide dedicated dashboards to monitor important metrics such as the number of page views, unique visitors, search engine referrals, social media referrals, etc.

Do I Need A Website Builder?

If you don’t have programming skills but need to build a website, you have two options: hire a programmer to build it for you or use a drag-and-drop website builder. The latter is the more convenient and affordable option.

Even if you have programming expertise, it’s not always worth it to invest a lot of time into creating a simple website when you can do that with less effort using a drag-and-drop builder.

Examples of Website Builders

• Wix

• Web.com

• Weebly

• Squarespace

• Shopify

• Strikingly

• Webflow

• Webnode

• Jimdo

• BigCommerce

Conclusion

A website builder is an ideal solution for individuals and businesses that want to create websites quickly and affordably. A web builder's monthly or annual subscriptions are much cheaper than hiring a professional web programmer. Still, some people need help even when using website builders; you can contact Big Valley Media today to see how we can help you.