How to create a website free?
By: Locatmane Cars
Tags: Website Traffic, Website Development, Website, Website Design

Create your website with an online editor

Let’s start with the simplest solution: online website builders like wix or webly or even blogspot. To put it simply, this is an all-inclusive package: design, site design tool, hosting, domain name, email addresses and technical support are generally included in the service. All complicated technical aspects are taken care of by the publisher.

But do not think that this kind of solution is only interesting for beginners. It just depends on the project. Why make it complicated when it can be simple ? Almost all online website builders offer a free basic version that allows you to test the product and decide if the paid version is worth it.

Prices generally start at around € 10 / month. But all the essential functions are included. If you don’t absolutely need an email account, you can even get away with it for a little less.

*** Benefits :

Very easy to use

Support included

No software to install

No technical knowledge required

*** Disadvantages:

Not always possible to add functions a posteriori (depends on the site editor)

Overall less flexibility, because we depend on a supplier

Not suitable for very complex projects that require a database

Create your website with a CMS

CMS, or Content Management System, are much more complex. In principle, they work like an online editor, but in reality, they are much more complicated to use.

With an online editor, you can not only insert content, such as text and images very easily, but also design the entire site. A traditional CMS is much more limited in this regard and the appearance of the site depends above all on the predefined template you choose.

The most famous CMS is WordPress. The principle: we install a template (called a “theme”) and play with the options to adapt the design. If something doesn’t completely meet your expectations, you will need to do some development (yourself or a professional).

Hosting, domain name, e-mail, installation and support depend above all on your budget and your skills. If you do everything solo, you will be able to create a site for a relatively low price.

A major advantage, especially at WordPress: the thousands of plug-ins available. These extensions are used to provide the site with features that are not offered by default. For example, the WooCommerce plugin allows you to add a complete online store to your site. As WordPress is designed by default for one language only, installing a plugin like WPML will publish a translated version of the site. Yoast’s SEO plugin is also very popular. It allows you to configure all the parameters in order to optimize the site for search engines.

*** Benefits :

Free choice of host

Very good for multilingual sites

Virtually no technical limitation imposed by the service

Possibility to add plug-ins to enrich the site

*** Disadvantages:

No global assistance

Creative freedom depends on the theme used

Paid plugins can drive up costs

Much more complicated than an online website editor

(Make) develop your site

The main discipline: open a text editor and get started. If you need absolute freedom, you’ll have to get your hands dirty. Of course, this is a long-term job, which is often overwhelming (and frustrating) for newbies.

Learning on sites like Tuto.fr, Codecademy and W3Schools is a good start. Their tutorials are accessible for beginners and gradually familiarize you with the subject. But there is a long way to go to go live.

Cannot set a budget globally, as it depends on your project. It costs a lot more to hire someone to develop your website. The $ 10 per month for an online website builder (with domain name and email addresses included) is cheaper than the hourly rate of any web designer or agency.

Popular editors are Atom, Coda 2 (for Mac only), and Brackets. They all allow development in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, etc.