A domain name is the bit of the URL (the long address in your browser’s search bar) that identifies a web page — in this case your website. You can register them separately at sites like GoDaddy and Namecheap, but website builders offer to do it for you when you sign up with them. Most provide it for free (at least initially), while a handful charge a few extra bucks.
Strikingly offers a good variety of template options that are well-designed and modern. The website builder doesn’t make it as easy as some of the others to customize things, but it’s fairly good. The real downside is the price. At $16/mo it is the most expensive option (they have an $8/mo package but it is really limited), and with some other website builders offering a better product for a cheaper price, Strikingly is not the best choice.
Hey Xylvia, The website builders that we suggested above aren't built specifically to stream videos for a price (sort of like Netflix). However, that's not to say it's not possible with a few simple workarounds. What you can do is set up a membership access only area (Wix and Weebly has this feature). You'll have to manually insert a payment button of some sort (such as using PayPal). Once your customer pays you, you can then email them links to pages that are "locked" behind the membership gateway, so they can access the videos. It's a bit manual and not as smooth as multi-billion dollar companies like Netflix, but it will work in concept. Alternatively, take a look at Sentry Login, which is a membership widget that works with Wix, Squarespace and Weebly. With Sentry, I think you can unlock a membership area once your customer pays. So it connects the payment system with the membership access system for you, which streamlines the process so you don't have to manually grant access to pages. Another thing you should consider is how big are the videos you want to upload. While you can upload pretty large movie / video files into the website builders, there are certain reasonable limits. For instance, if you're going to have 1,000 people viewing your HD movie that's 3 GB large all at the same time, that might be problematic. A workaround might be to get your own hosting solution for such large videos, then embed the videos into your membership only pages. It goes without saying that make sure you have distribution rights for the movies! But I'm not a lawyer, so best to consult proper advice in that regards! Jeremy
Even if your site’s primary purpose is not to function as a blog, you may find yourself requiring one at some point (Be sure to read the how to start a blog guide for a complete overview), either to keep your visitors updated or to use as a marketing tool. SEO, for example, is something that requires the creation of content to get your website noticed by search engines. Most website builders have built-in content management systems that allow you to write and edit blog posts in your browser. These systems make it easy to create rich content on the fly.
Use Fiverr.com: Fiverr.com is a site that matches you with all kinds of service providers who are willing to do projects, including logos, for just $5. If you use the $5 option you will have to wait a couple of weeks to get your logo. For around $20, you can generally get it that same week. If you find a designer with a portfolio you like, this is easily the best option for the money.
More-advanced options found in some builders let you process credit card payments and add your own cart and checkout pages. The more-powerful site builders include product promotions, email marketing, and inventory and shipping tools. Some let you sell digital downloads, while others don't; see the table above to find out which do. Only a couple of these builders let you put ads on your site, though most of them allow some degree of custom HTML code insertion.
Apart from submitting your site to the search engine, you may also want to consider promoting it in other ways, such as the usual way people did things before the creation of the Internet: advertisements in the newspapers, word-of-mouth, etc. There are even companies on the Internet, like PRWeb, that can help you create press releases, which may get your site noticed by news sites and blogs. As mentioned in my article on More Tips on Google Search Engine Results Placement, you can also advertise in the various search engines. Although I only mentioned Google in that article, since that was the topic of that discussion, you can also advertise in other search engines like Bing and Yahoo!. This has the potential of putting your advertisement near the top of the search engine results page, and possibly even on other websites.
Nice Article bro. I was just wondering if you have any idea on how to make my own Email address on my own website without using Gmail. My webhost provided me 5 email services and I don't have any idea how to make it work. I'm just using an FTP named FileZilla to access and edit my website. I'm also just a student and willing to learn more about these things. Thank you!
Hello I am trying to start a website where I blog and do reviews of products that are of course not my own, just for giving information. I also plan to try and find advertising sponsorship so I can earn some income through my site at the same time, as well as I want to sell a few things I have created myself on the same site. I have zero knowledge of how to build my own site, no skill when it comes to coding or even what it is, and am new to all of this but still want to do so. What should I do and who do I use as the website builder? I want one that does a lot for you easily, but to blog and add my own photos for reviews. To have the ability to accept advertising on my site for revenue, and ability to sell my own items and accept PayPal or another common trusted credit card or online pay service for payment. Please can you give me a detailed answer or advice exactly what company to use? I am not so much concerned with monthly cost as I am with upfront year being paid at once, that’s a lot of money at once for me. Please help?
The list on the top of this page was compiled after an extensive review process. All of the good and bad components of each website builder were considered and used to create a grade system on a scale of ten. We even included a star rating system so that users can share their assessments with us and our readers. Although Wix has our most favorable score, it is not necessarily suited to every user (check Weebly also). We encourage you to read up and determine which one best suits your needs.
Hey, Jeremy, thanks for an informative article. I'm planing to start my own blog but choosing the right hosting provider gets me a bit confused... I'm still a beginner at this, so would prefer something that would offer a free plan, at least for testing purposes. A (very!) user friendly interface is obviously a must... Could you please share some hosting companies that match my requests or at least point me in the right direction where to find them? Many thanks.
Weebly has been around longer than just about another website builder, but unfortunately they have not been able to keep up with their more modern competitors. The template designs look older, and the website builder is more difficult to figure out. It’s not a bad choice if you have a particular reason for choosing it, but otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it.
One of the most common questions I get is whether to try to use a website builder or hire a web designer/developer. The answer to this question depends on your situation of course. If you have a really unique project and you have the money to support it then by all means a good web designer will be your best bet. However, the cost for a truly customized website from a knowledgeable professional can easy run into the multiple thousands of dollars. For some people that cost is justified, but for most it is not.
