Thinking of Building a Website? The Top 3 Platforms for Beginners

It feels like just about everyone has a website nowadays, and rightly so. For businesses, they’re a complete no-brainer, especially the small and medium varieties. Gone are the days of sites being optional. A business without a website may as well not exist in the eyes of some prospective customers, and it’s a missed opportunity in terms of market penetration.

Websites aren’t just for businesses either. You might want an online presence to share things with friends and family or have a side hustle in mind. Websites aren’t the only options in these cases, but they’re the ideal complement to social accounts and other online activities.

There are plenty of people out there that are more than happy to help put a website together for you – for a price. However, while custom design and unique code can get expensive, such investments can be overkill for people and businesses alike. There are tools and services out there that can make putting together an excellent site a breeze.

Crucially, you don’t have to sacrifice visuals or functionality when you make your own site, even if you’ve never done so before. Sure, it won’t be completely unique, as you’ll be relying heavily on templates and plugins. However, emulating successful sites doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Most web designers reuse items all the time!

You could have a site for yourself, your business, or anything else that comes to mind up and running in just a few hours if you take the time to familiarize yourself with these great platforms.

1. WordPress

WordPress isn’t the most straightforward tool on this list, but we’ve chosen to start with the resource that can provide the best return on investment. Thanks to templates and page builders, you can get a great-looking WordPress website off the ground quickly for any purpose.

However, what makes WordPress stand out is its unlimited potential. You might just want to create one website and never even think about another. However, building sites can become addictive, and the sky’s the limit on this platform. Many agree – an estimated 40% of all websites rely on the power of WordPress.

You can genuinely use WordPress for just about anything, and it lends itself particularly well to information-driven sites. From simple sites that reach their goals with just a single page to massive publications like BBC America and The New Yorker, WordPress can make it happen.

2. Wix

While WordPress is packed with potential, it does involve a fairly steep learning curve. Of the hours spent getting a site online, the first couple will often be spent getting to grips with the basics of the platform.

For those that want to skip that curve and get straight to the design stage, Wix is the ideal choice. Even if you’ve never thought about building a site before, you’ve probably heard of the brand, as they’re never shy about marketing their admittedly outstanding site-building solution.

Sites are hosted by the company itself, cutting costs in the process, and there are hundreds of templates to choose from. The Wix ecosystem isn’t as open as the WordPress equivalent, so there aren’t as many different themes, widgets, and tools here. However, they’re all designed to work perfectly with each other, which beginner designers love to hear.

There are over 350,000 sites on the platform, and it’s so beginner-friendly that it’s virtually impossible to create anything but great-looking, functional sites.

3. HubSpot CMS

If you have even a passing interest in online marketing, there’s every chance you’re familiar with the HubSpot brand. Most people are aware of their various customer acquisition and management tools, but comparatively few know that they also boast their own content management system.

Now, the HubSpot CMS isn’t for everyone. It involves a similar learning curve to WordPress but in a relatively closed system. However, if the goal of your website is for it to be seen by as many people as possible, there’s a lot to explore.

What HubSpot does incredibly well is ensuring that every tool and service they offer operates seamlessly with everything else. So if you use their marketing tools, CRM system, or anything else, their website builder is fantastic. It integrates with your marketing data and other tools to give your site the best possible chance of being found.

Bonus Builder for Online Stores – Shopify

If you want to sell online with an online store, your site deserves a specialist setup, and they don’t get any better than Shopify. Of course, it’s possible to add stores onto sites on other platforms – there’s the famous WordPress and WooCommerce combo, for example. However, if online sales are the priority, Shopify can be the answer.

Like each of these platforms, you’ll need minimal technical expertise to get online, if any. They also take care of many hurdles amateur site builders face, such as hosting and domains.

While eCommerce is front and center, there’s no need to compromise on other areas of the site. For example, your Shopify site can display blog posts, capture email addresses and integrate with social media.

Summing Up  

Most designers won’t appreciate us saying it, but you don’t have to spend a fortune for a functional, visually impressive web presence. As long as you can find a couple of spare hours to get things going, you’ll have something to be proud of, no matter the purpose.

WordPress is the ideal choice if you want site-building without limits and you’re happy to put in the work. If you’re more concerned with getting a site online quickly and with minimal fuss, Wix is well worth a closer look.

For more sales and with business growth in mind, HubSpot CRM fits the bill, and if you’re all about selling products to a potentially global audience, our bonus pick Shopify won’t disappoint.

There are hundreds of ways to build a site. Some people still prefer to code their websites from scratch. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, especially in pursuit of unique results. However, if building a site is one of many tasks on the to-do list and time is of the essence, the options outlined above make life more straightforward than you might have ever considered.

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