The power to create stunning websites is now within reach to anyone with an idea. Skilled or not. Over the last couple of years we’ve seen an explosion of online tools built to help anyone leverage the power of a web developer and designer to create complete, admirable online presences. Although professional web developers can never be truly replaced, we see many more people filling in their capacity. Thanks to some very powerful free and paid tools on the web.
In addition to design and execution, one has to think about the technicalities and unpredictability of hosting, security threats and basic maintenance. Tasks that require work, research and experience. Thankfully, through the work of visionary business people and developers, we have a vast selection of online tools that help to manage the entire process. Freeing up time and energy to focus on what matters most, which is content and business.
Here are 10 of the most functional website builder tools you’ll find online to get your next project started.
1. Squarespace
If you’re planning to launch a large, content rich, e-commerce website and need a hands-free approach when it comes to managing high traffic. Then Squarespace is a great option. This impressive platform is packed with hundreds of actually beautiful and usable templates and a very intuitive set of editing tools that make building sites a breeze. The platform suits every format you can think of whether it’s a blog, static website or online shop. The features are powerful.
2. Webydo
Webydo is a powerhouse developed to put the power of creating functional websites into the hands of anyone whose focus is mainly on design. The platform completely removes the need to hire a developer by offering a plethora of tools to integrate advanced features such e-commerce capabilities, forms, galleries and a content management system.
Webydo especially targets freelance designers by offering built-in solutions to handle billing, hosting and white labeling, empowering them to run their freelance business from one centralized online platform. Its unique approach to the concept of What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) through an elegant and responsive working canvas is certain to steal any professional or beginner’s heart.
3. Startup Framework
As the name suggests, Startup Framework is built to help startup founders quickly launch small websites or landing pages for their new business or idea. It takes the hassle out of launching online and frees up more time for founders to focus on building the core of their business.
The product works by combining any selection of over 100 elegantly styled, pre-made HTML UI blocks that piece seamlessly together to build layouts and designs. It comes with 25 ready to go samples with forms, images and other elements to create the perfect online presence while allowing the user to dabble in little code if he or she so desires.
4. SmugMug
SmugMug is designed for photographers & videographers. Point blank. If you’re a professional or hobby photographer and need a lot more control over your websites than what Flickr would offer. Then SmugMug is for you.
Through their obsessive focus on photo and video content, they have created a product that is a photographer’s delight offering lots of options to present your best work, tools for managing your content and building designs best suited for that kind of media. They offer tons of storage space, customization options, e-commerce, integration with Adobe Lightroom and other photo editing software and is mobile friendly with a dedicated app.
5. Foliolink
Another photographer focused website builder. Foliolink focuses more on facilitating the business and product delivery aspects of a professional photography by offering client proofing tools and e-commerce for selling photography.
6. Weebly
You’ll love the minimal look and feel of Weebly. A simple, yet powerful website building tool that is packed with more features than you’ll immediately realize. With one of the simplest drag and drop layout builder tools on the market, any beginner will quickly get the hang of building a fully functional website.
7. Shopify
Shopify does one thing extremely well, which is helping you build an impressive online store without the hassle of building on your own or hiring a developer. It’s a complete out of the box solution if you already have products ready and waiting to be sold online.
The platform offers hundreds of themes, handles hosting, inventory, allows you to accept credit cards, social media and advertising integration, essentially everything you need to run an online store.
8. Wix
Wix has been around from as far back as I can remember and is one of the best free website builder platforms to get started quickly and easily.
9. Jimdo
Jimdo is another website builder worth trying and is most suitable for building e-commerce websites.
10. Edicy
In addition to all the cool features you’ll find in the other website builders I’ve mentioned, with Edicy you’ll have powerful features for building multilingual websites. The platform is built to handle the hundreds of diverse languages us humans use across the globe and it does it very well. Along with their rich set of tools you’ll have a very unique experience using their platform.
