Website building can be an intimidating prospect if you aren’t a web developer or lack the requisite coding skills. Luckily, you don’t need to falter anymore as there are numerous online tools and services to help you build a personalized website. These don’t need any technical know-how or prior experience. However, choosing between thousands of website builders can be overwhelming. Thus, here are some tips to choose the best from the lot.
Establish Your Objectives
Before you surf the internet to choose the best website builder, it is important to establish a framework and walk through your goals and objectives. Do you want to increase the sales on your e-commerce website or simply increase more foot traffic? Having defined goals can help you realize the exact features you may want. Other factors that may help you gain clarity are target audience, number of pages, third-party integrations, etc. It is also essential to consider if the service chosen will help your website support traffic as it grows.
Check the Level of Customization
This is the most important factor to help you shortlist a website builder. The best website builders give their users full control of the website’s design. Features like drag and drop functionality will make it easy to add and remove templates and plugins, plus you will be able to add text, images, and change colors and fonts without losing content or even exporting content to another website. While most website builders allow mobile-friendly templates, you may also want a service that helps you manage a mobile interface separately from the desktop. If you are familiar with the backend processes of website building, choose a service that gives you access to the backend through insert custom mode. Some of the website builders offering great customization features include Wix, Zyro, GoDaddy, Elementor, Gator, and Web.com.
Consider Third-party Integrations
This is yet another factor that can help you narrow down your list of best website builders. Third-party integrations allow the expansion of your website and attract more traffic. So, if you are a blogger who also has a bakery in town, you can have an online bakery menu and management integrated into your blogging website. Most websites offer free integrations up to a specific number. Some integrations can also be in the form of newsletters and or chat boxes. Others may include point of sale solutions, website performance analysis, and social media share buttons.
Evaluate the Customer Support
Top website builders have 24/7 online, phone, and email support. This ensures that the website builder is ready to troubleshoot problems without suspending the website temporarily. Some services offer a dedicated page or an FAQs video that you can use to rectify minor issues. They also have forums that allow you to connect with other users and discuss commonly-faced problems. Apart from this, website builders offer support through live-chat with little-to-no wait time for answers. Having responsive customer support is important as prolonging a minor glitch on a website can affect its performance, thereby impacting sales and traffic.
Gauge the Pricing Plans
Affordabilityis yet another, if not the most important, factor that must be considered. These allow flexible payment options like monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or annual payments. Look for website builders that offer a trial period. This allows you to get the gist of the services and features offered by them, helping you decide if you want to continue with the paid version. The best website builders will offer maximum features in their trial versions. Even if they don’t offer a free trial, look for services with a 15 or 30-day money-back guarantee clause.
