The right website builder software can make all the difference in the world in successful internet marketing or when building websites for other reasons. With templates and other features that automate many processes and eliminate the need to work with code, they put creating good websites into the reach of virtually anyone with a computer. However, to save money and time, one needs to first carefully select the right website builder software, and they will soon be on the road to creating great websites.
What website builder software is not
Keep in mind that the function of website builder software is to streamline the process of creating the site but not the content. Many companies selling this type of software will promise it can create a site in almost no time at all. While this is possible after a little experience, remember that this does not include the content for the site. Creating content takes the most time but having the right software will make organizing it in a professional way online a million times easier.
Costs
While it is often true you get what you pay for, there is no reason to pay too much to create a website. In fact, the very popular WordPress software is free, although many people pay for themes and plugins to give it more functionality. Be wary of services that promise and charge a lot or have ongoing fees. Remember that site builders are just tools to make putting the site together easier. A few hundred dollars or less should be enough to get all the functionality needed to create good sites in the easiest way possible.
The basics of what to look for
At the most basic level, there are two areas that any website builder software needs to cover: site creation and SEO.
Site creation is everything needed to build the site and includes the following:
Templates: For most people, apart from those very skilled in art sense and coding, creating a site starts with a template. A good template will save a lot of trial and error and greatly speed up the process. The software used should have a wide array of templates to choose from.
Editing: Since building a website is first about adding content, good software should make it possible to add text, pictures, videos and whatever else is needed quickly and easily. Software typically has a WYSIWYG editor. With these, what one sees in the editor will look almost exactly the same as what the final output looks like.
Ease and flexibility: Website builder software needs to offer an easy way to create menus and other features on the site that will make it look better and ease in navigation. At the same time, it needs to have the flexibility for more advanced webmasters to edit specific lines of code as desired.
Affiliates and linking: Software that is designed for those who want to monetize their websites will incorporate affiliate programs such as Amazon into the software to make these programs easy to set up. Every software needs to offer quick options for internal linking to allow webmasters to better organize their sites and optimize them for the search engines.
SEO optimization
For most, the best website does not mean much without visitors, and good website builder software with help with SEO (search engine optimization). Features such as analyzing a website for junk code, keyword density, proper meta tags and other factors than can effect on site SEO should be included in website creator software.
Recommended website builder software
WordPress is an extremely popular website builder and is free. Although it is PHP, which some find a bit trickier than basic HTML, it is relatively easy to learn. Being so popular, there are many forums dedicated to it. Best of all, it can be expanded with themes and in other ways.
Although the free WordPress software is fine for a basic site, its real value comes from the many plugins people have made for it. These plugins will help with everything from adding affiliate products to optimizing for SEO. Many of these plugins are free or very reasonably priced.
The other investment WordPress users make is in themes. These will give a site a whole new look, add new functionality and some even will aid in processes to include ad placement and SEO. One of the best themes out there for those looking to monetize their site with Adsense is ClickBump Engine
Another big advantage of WordPress is that it is web based. This enables webmasters to login from anywhere without having to install any software.
XSitePro
However, WordPress is not always the best solution. With HTML, there are certain advantages. For example, the entire site will always be backed up on the computer it is uploaded from, and databases are not required. Most people find it easier to see, access and edit code. There are many software programs for HTML sites to include Dreamweaver.
For software that is easy to use, offers a lot of flexibility and contains SEO tools, XSitePro is probably the best. It contains many templates, is very user friendly, includes FTP and has various SEO tools to check a site for proper optimization. Other cool features include a built in graphic design tools for headers and other graphics as well as many tools that make adding affiliate products and the like much easier. Purchased for a one-time fee, it also has free updates and tech support.
There is a lot of website builder software out there so there is sure to be something for everyone. Whatever is chosen, make sure it has all the basic features and eliminate the need to purchase and learn more than one software.
Dreamweaver
Those who are willing to go through a higher learning curve but would like the best long-term solution should consider Dreamweaver. It costs more and takes longer to master, but it offers maximum flexibility and greater ease in editing once it has been mastered.
