Coding – A Thing of The Past
In the past, by past I’m talking over 15 years ago, if you wanted a website building be it personal or business, you’d have to do it yourself or hire a professional to assist you. Web development and design used to be looked on as a skill that only talented and technically adept people can create. Sure, some people attempted website builds, failed and hired professionals and some were quite happy with their work of art and therefore stuck with it. That wouldn’t really fly these days though, primarily as websites are so quick and easy to make and you can find web development services so cheap from countries like India etc that it really makes no sense to have a poor, below par web-build.
In the past, if you wanted a website, you had to learn to code or become competent in web design software like Frontpage or DreamWeaver. That is true to some extent, even now but with the influx of WordPress sites and its plugins, cheap easily customisable HTML templates and the plethora of online website builders it’s made traditional design and development a thing of the past – unless you want something high end. Sure, it’s not a completely dead industry but it’s most definitely got a whole lot easier.
So what at the options? Well, in terms of coding, it’s the same as it’s always been. Learn HTML/CSS for your front end and learn a back end code set like PHP if you want to do something a bit more robust. You can also learn the likes of jQuery if you want something other than a run of the mill flat site. This is how it’s always been and I don’t envisage it changing in the near future – however, if you want something that is unique or acts in a different way to everyone elses website, you’re going to need to hire a professional or build something yourself.
The Influx of Web Builders
This for the most part has been made immediately easier with the introduction and influx of online website builders. If you’re not familiar with these they’re basically web based software offerings that allow you to drag and drop elements onto a canvas (webpage) in order to build your site. For example, if you wanted a menu at the top of your site, you could drag a menu element. If you wanted a block of text, you’d drag a blog of text. If you wanted an image, you’d choose an image and insert it – and so on and so forth. The advent of this software has meant that even people with no technical background or fundamental design skills can create beautiful, functional websites that are often better than the very websites you’d end up paying a professional design house to create for you.
On top of that the design choices are there in abundance. Whichever industry you’re in you’ll be able to find a template which suits your niche to a tee and can quickly and easily customize the build to look unique with your own photos, logo, text and content in general.
Whilst creating your website using a website builder is often an easier and cheaper way of creating a site than learning to code or hiring a development house there are costs which can soon add up over the course of a few years. Companies that offer website creation tools need to profit somehow and somewhere and they do this by charging a monthly fee in order to host (or maintain) your website. The wording and terminology differ from site to site but it’s effectively the same thing. It’s important you research these costs beforehand because if you don’t you could spend weeks and weeks building your perfect website only to be hit in the pocket financially when you come to want to publish your hard work!
The Better Options
Whilst there are a lot of shylocks out there in this industry there are also some fantastic options that are both technically sound and extremely cost effective. One of my favourite online website builders (and I’ve used a lot) is PrestoWebsite, closely followed by Wix and Moonfruit. In truth, if you’ve used one you’ve used them all. Whilst the templates and interfaces differ it’s all essentially drag and drop. You will not be able to import websites between providers though so be sure you’re choosing the provider you’re going to stick with before putting in the time and effort to create your site or you’ll be disappointed later.
Finally, take a look around at the various providers as some offer you a free domain name to use with your project rather than having to have it on a subdomain like yoursite.moonfruit.com – If you’re in business and you want to look professional, do not use a sub domain of someone else’s, spend the £10 to get your own domain or even get one for free – it will pay off in the long run!
