How to Build Your Own Website (Updated 2020)

Building your own website can seem like an appealing alternative to the costs of having a professional do it. There are some great tools out there, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, and some genuinely great ways entrepreneurs can establish a web presence at minimal cost. But what you don’t pay for now now can cost you later. While the immediate savings can be tempting, in the long run, creating a website yourself is not always the best value.

One of my goals is to facilitate the web design process for small businesses. This is why I offer consultation among my suite of core services. It gives me the opportunity to advise on the best options and tools available, whether a client is looking to build their own site or just trying to figure out where to begin.

I can help them avoid common mistakes and navigate potential pitfalls of popular web building tools. And there are a lot of them. This article is broken into two parts. In the first we’ll explore some of the tech and tools that enable the average person to tackle web design on their own. In the second, we’ll look at the various reasons why doing so can often create more problems than it solves, and why it may not be the best option for you. Let’s get started.

Overview

How to build your own site…

Isn’t technology swell. There are tons of great tools available for the intrepid self starter, from e-commerce venues like Etsy and Shopify to full fledged WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get), drag-and-drop site-builders like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace. However, as the saying goes, with great power comes great opportunity to shoot yourself in the foot (I may have modified that slightly). The following tips will help you navigate the treacherous waters of do-it-yourself web design while avoiding metaphorical foot shooting off. I’ve also included a list of the best DIY site-builders available.

1. Understand the Drawbacks

The next section discusses the drawbacks of DIY site design in more depth, so be sure to read on. Even if you’re determined to do it yourself, knowing the cons is just as important (if not more so) as being excited about the pros. Don’t just jump on board with the first web builder you find. Research your options, check out the different tools available, read reviews, and look at comparisons. Evaluating the goals and needs of your site, when looking at the capabilities of the tools or platform you’re considering using will help you avoid costly re-designs. Some of the drawbacks you should be aware of are:

It’s an investment of your time (if not money).

Even the easiest drag and drop editor will take some time to learn the ins and outs. You’ll also have to take the time to set up and manage all your pages. Many of the most user-friendly site-builders nowadays are also paid services so it’s increasingly difficult for the average consumer to find a truly free option that’s still accessible to beginners.

You’re on your own.

Technical support and a pre-built theme will only take you so far. Beyond that you’re responsible for creating and maintaining your site’s content including all copy and images as well as the content and marketing strategy associated with them. You can use free stock photos to an extent but getting high quality, professional looking images and videos of your products, staff, or services is a whole other issue. It should be noted that the aesthetics of a lot of modern themes rely heavily on beautiful, professional imagery to flesh out the website.

You’re also on your own concerning any creative decisions you make, including any cosmetic or structural modifications to your theme. You won’t have the benefit of a professional opinion. Some site-builders may offer design guidance as part of their technical support but you can’t count on that.

You’re committed.

This is discussed in more detail below. Most site-builders will lock you into their system, with proprietary tools, and yearly contracts. This is fine if they offer everything you need both now and in the future. If not however, migrating your website from their platform to another can be problematic if not impossible.

With convenience comes limitations.

By simplifying the complexities of web design, site builders often sacrifice features, or flexibility in order to offer a user friendly experience. Many of the best site-builders have become more sophisticated in their feature sets but there are always some limitations. You don’t always know what you’ve sacrificed for convenience until it’s too late.

2. Choose the Right Site-Builder

There are different approaches to entering the webspace and not all of them are right for you. While every business should have a website, if you’re just trying to turn a hobby into a side-venture, or have a nearly nonexistent budget, a full fledged website may not be possible or even necessary. Even “free” website builders may not be the most effective venue for what you’re offering. The aforementioned Etsy for instance, is a ready-made way for craftspeople to quickly open an e-commerce storefront and test the waters before committing to the time investment of creating and managing your own website. Likewise, Shopify is a platform created entirely for e-commerce outlets. Here are some important things to consider when choosing a site-builder:

Will you have access to the site code?

Even if you don’t understand code (HTML, PHP, CSS, Javascript…), being able to access it is still a valuable feature. It typically means your website will be far more customizable if need be. The additional ability to actually export the code means you have the option to migrate your site to another host in the future, if you prefer.

Are third party plugins available?

Apps from third party companies and social media outlets extend the features of your website beyond the site-builder’s own capabilities. These can be particularly helpful for more advanced features like a membership section or e-commerce solutions. Most site-builder platforms prefer to build and maintain their own apps, which isn’t a bad thing, but third party support can be a plus.

Do they offer the features you’ll need?

Make sure the site-builder meets the current and (to the best of your knowledge) future needs of your website. Do you need e-commerce? Will you be blogging? Will your site have a forum? A member’s section? Different site-builders have different strengths and weaknesses.

Is their technical support helpful/responsive?

Reading reviews should give you some insight into this. Always check out customer feedback and professional reviews from multiple sites. Try reaching out to the company you’re considering to discuss features and see how willing/responsive they are. Often the best tech support is offered with the premium packages.

Do they require long term contractual commitments?

Most site-builders show you a monthly price but are actually billed by the full year. Committing to an extended contract means your site is married to the  platform and its features (or lack of) for the duration of the agreement. Some site-builders may give you the option to export your site or its content. This won’t mean your site is completely portable across platforms but it’s a helpful feature to have if you ever do need to migrate elsewhere.

What will it cost?

The term “free” can be a little misleading. It’s sometimes used to lure prospects in, with hidden, after the fact sign-up fees required in order to actually launch your site or access features and support. Most of the better site-builders are more transparent about their pricing but allusions of value associated with DIY solutions are often misleading. Regardless of which approach you take, unless you don’t mind ads or other third party branding encroaching onto your site (and you should if you want to look professional), you’re still going to be paying some type of hosting or membership fees.

3. Select the Best Theme or Template

Consider your business model, your products and services, your content, copy and images. Decide what features you’ll need. Based on your requirements choose a template/theme with layout options closely aligned with your goals. Drag and drop builders typically offer decent flexibility, but the less you have to wrangle the theme to conform to your wishes, the cleaner your site and the more efficient your code will be.

Most DIY platforms organize templates by industry which can be helpful. The best site-builders have professionally designed templates, lending brand credibility to your company as long as you preserve the creative integrity of the original design.

Also, keep in mind that some site-builders will not allow you to switch themes once you’ve committed to a design (The Wix support forums, for instance, are filled with people confused and frustrated over not being able to change their theme).

4. Plan Ahead

This seems kind of obvious but it’s worth mentioning. In light of a lot of the previous cautions and considerations, going into the process with your eyes open can save you time, hassle, and money down the road. Consider the points I’ve already mentioned. Plan your site design and consider your marketing strategy. Lastly consider, not only the current, but also future needs of your business. See Nowhere to Go for more info on why anticipating the future is critical. Good branding and web design begins by asking seemingly obvious questions about the nature and goals of your company. We do this because the answers aren’t as obvious as you might think. Assumptions are the unseen enemy of good design.

The Best Site-Builders

This is by no means a comprehensive list of do-it-yourself website creators. But I’ve browsed through dozens of “best of” site-builder lists and reviews to compile the following short-list of the top ones to consider. For more information on each, Website Builder Expert has some fairly comprehensive reviews and Site Builder Report is a great resource. The ones listed here are the best bets for the needs of an average site. There are dozens of site-builders out there including some that specialize in certain areas like the e-commerce platforms offered by Shopify and BigCommerce. If your site has unique functional considerations be sure to do some research.

Beginner:

Wix

Wix is one of the oldest, and overall best site-builders available. It has a huge selection of templates, a rounded feature set, third party app market, and is relatively easy to use. Wix themes can be a bit more dated than Squarespace’s in various ways. They offer more granular control over the layout but this can create problems for beginners. A more in-depth review

Squarespace

Squarespace is one of the sleekest looking builders out there, with some of the best, most beautiful themes available. It’s approach to customization is a little more restrictive but this approach may be less overwhelming and may provide better results for beginners. It offers third party apps (“integrations”) similar to Wix’s app market. Overall it’s comparable to Wix in many regards and the two are often compared. A more in-depth review.

Weebly

Weebly has been around for a while as a stand-alone service or offered with many hosting companies. It provides similar features to Wix and Squarespace but tends to rank lower in direct comparisons. A recent rebrand seems to be pushing its brand more towards its flashier competition but it may still lack some of their features. A more in-depth review.

Shopify

Shopify caters specifically to e-commerce. It’s more of a fully tailored solution for those looking to set up a store online. It’s similar to other big site-builders but with a full emphasis on creating, maintaining, and marketing your e-commerce storefront. This includes themes, 3rd part plugins and email marketing tools. It’s an excellent choice if you’re brand is built around selling products. A more in-depth review

Intermediate:

Webflow

Webflow is one of the best, most powerful WYSIWYG drag-and-drop editors around. You can use prefab templates (some for free), or start from a blank slate. Webflow is aimed a bit more towards designers than the average consumer and may prove more difficult for beginners. The comprehensive level of control will be more daunting to some and there are still some limitations with its capabilities. Overall it’s a great alternative to the more beginner friendly site-builders for those who want more control and aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and put in the time to learn. A more in-depth review

WordPress

Less of a traditional “site-builder”, WordPress is an open source (content management system) that offers complete freedom and control over your site while still affording the helpful framework of themes and plugins where needed. There are drawbacks however. The software itself is free to use but premium plugins and themes can add to the overall and ongoing costs. There’s a steeper learning curve, some ongoing maintenance, and premium addon costs, but if you’re interested in creating your site with WordPress I’d recommend a premium page-builder like Elementor, or using a solid, SEO friendly framework like Genesis from Studio Press.

Why You Probably Shouldn’t…

There are a lot of shiny gadgets and services marketed at the do-it-yourselfer that make the complex world of web design and online marketing seem so simple you’d wonder why you would ever need a professional to do these things. In this case I’d prefer the term “suspiciously simple”. Because they’re eager to sell you on their service, site-builders and those that advocate them tend to gloss over the complexity of proper web design, cheapening the entire industry in the process. A professional designer is far more than a conduit between you and web technology. While website builders indirectly portray them as an outdated middle man, there are good reasons why their skills are highly relevant to your needs and the success of your company’s website.

You really do get what you pay for. When deciding whether or not to hire a professional to design your website, consider the following:

1. You’re Not a Designer

And that’s okay, you’re an (insert what you do here). But if I asked you to explain what Affordance is, or Common Fate, what would you say? What about Exposure Effect? A good thing? Maybe. How about The Rule of Thirds or Constraint? Who knows, right? Designers, designers know. Not only are these fairly common industry terms but they’re ones that could potentially impact the quality and effectiveness of your site. That isn’t to say that just because you don’t know what the heck the Biophilia Effect is that you don’t have good creative instincts, it’s just that designers are better equipped to make informed decisions every step of the way.

Font treatments, color pairings, element arrangement, and spacing all incrementally contribute or detract from the quality of the site. Design is a fluid process of intuitive creativity. It’s an ongoing series of incremental decisions that culminate in something functional and beautiful, or…uh, not so much. Web designers draw on years of experience, training, and instinct during the course of this process. Even small seemingly unimportant details are informed by the depth of their profession.

Every specialized field represents a unique skill set and area of expertise, and web design is no different. You might be a creative person but there’s a wealth of specialized knowledge involved in creating and organizing the myriad of content (copy, graphics, images…) that comprise a website, into an attractive, effective user experience. If you’re not a designer, there’s a good chance your website will betray that fact.

Even if you’re working with an expertly designed template, every alteration to it becomes a creative risk. I’ve seen beautiful templates simply obliterated by cringeworthy design choices of well meaning people who just didn’t know better. On the other hand, using a cookie cutter solution and not customizing it extensively means your company site looks almost identical to someone else. The generic anonymity of themes can be harmful to brand credibility. So too can a poorly customized one. Either way as a non-designer, creating your own website can be a perilous endeavor (that sounds a bit dramatic but you get the point).

2. You’re Not a Developer

Beyond the cosmetic, there’s also an almost overwhelming amount of web conventions, best practices, and technology to keep track of. UX (User Experience) design for instance, SEO, Conversion Centered Design, inbound links, and so on. A website-builder will help you get a site up quickly, but don’t assume that it has your back when it comes the more strategic aspects of the design and marketing process.

Not knowing design/web conventions, technology, and best practices can hold your site back. There’s a difference between functionality and effectiveness. Anyone can swing a sword but not everyone can do it without chopping off their toes (In this metaphor the sword is your website and your business is your toes.).

Site-builders do most of the heavy lifting in terms of coding your site, and the good ones know it’s in their interest to incorporate solid design conventions where possible, but there are still trade-offs. The code produced by site-builder software, for instance, is often redundant and bloated which can effect page load speed, and consequently, your site’s ranking on SERP’s (Search engine results pages). This is something you’re most likely not going to be aware of unless you’re a web designer. And that’s just one of many. There’s also your sitemap and link structure, your content strategy and conversion funnel. Even button text can impact your success.

Just because site-builders allow you to ignore the more technical aspects of your site doesn’t mean you should. Understanding the inner workings of web technology and how it impacts the performance of your site is valuable knowledge. This principle also applies to any other aspect, from the design of the site to its marketing strategy. The bottom line is, if you’re going alone, you’re leaving a lot up to chance, including the success and competitiveness of your website.

3. Your Site’s Only as Good as its Content

Even if you’re confident in your creative skills, assured of the site-builder’s technical capabilities, and comfortable with your online marketing strategy, there’s still another very critical element to consider. Not including strategy, there are three base components that go into the design of every website; the design (how it looks), the code (how it works), and the content (how it sells). Site-builders take care of the code and give you an assist on design, but one thing they sure can’t do is write compelling copy. But hey, two out of three isn’t bad right? Sort of.

There’s a saying in design: Content is King. Code and design aren’t exactly peasants; all three are vital, and rely on the others, but it’s content that brings home the bacon. You like bacon right? A site can be well laid out and functional but if the copy is weak, your images are poor quality, and your brand is on life support, then it’s not really going to matter how nice your site looks and runs. It won’t convert.

At the outset of the design process, professionally written, keyword rich, audience friendly copywriting is almost always lacking. The brand is usually a bit fragmented as well. The logo is dated, there are several different versions of it, and images are often low resolution, poorly lit, or lack compelling composition. It should be noted that some site-builders have libraries of free stock images, and their are many resources online but they can be limited.

A content audit is an essential first step of the web design process. Being content-self-aware, understanding the gaps, and knowing your limitations is important to formulating an effective content strategy.

4. Current Value vs. Future Cost

Speaking of self evaluation…Being honest and realistic about your creative and technical capabilities, your time, goals, and budget is the best way to avoid future headaches. Assumptions about your strategy and content are easy to make and it’s tempting to jump on board with a site-builder the minute you decide you need a website. But like I said it earlier: What doesn’t cost you now, can still cost you later.

Professional web design can seem expensive, but the question isn’t how much the designer’s time is worth, but how much yours is. Because you’re most likely be spending quite a lot of it. Can you spare enough of it to do the job right? Remember you’re banking your company’s online success on it.

Researching site-builders, learning a particular one, and setting up your website all take up your valuable time, to say nothing of content creation and refinement. And that’s just your time up front. If you hit a wall down the road you may still end up calling a professional to troubleshoot your site, or even design you a new one if you decide you’re in over your head.

Time is money, so it’s costing you either way, but if you’re designing your own site you’re paying for a product created by an amateur.

5. Nowhere To Go

And what if you do decide you need professional help? It can be more costly to discover this after the fact than before. Even if you don’t mind the idea of hiring a professional to fine tune some things later on, the capabilities (or lack thereof) of the site-builder you’re using can have a a huge impact on how costly those revisions will be, or whether they’re even possible at all.

One of the biggest drawbacks of site-builders are their hermetic eco-systems. In many cases the themes, code, and hosting for your site is entirely confined to the their proprietary platform (If not owned by the site-builder outright). Features and site capabilities are also dictated by them. Third party apps can supplement a site-builder’s own limitations but they still exercise control over which plugins they choose to support. Even if you like the company you’re with at the moment, the fact that the site you’ve invested so much time creating is at someone else’s mercy should give you pause.

In many cases you don’t even retain any real ownership of “your” site. You’re kind of just renting it. If your business outgrows the features they offer and you decide to move to another host or CMS, you’ll probably have to leave your current site behind (This is why being able to export your site code is a big deal). If you’re serious about your site and its future, this is an unsettling prospect.

Some site-builders are more lenient than others. WordPress for instance, is an endlessly flexible platform and as previously mentioned, some site-builders will allow you to export code. Still, the possibility of having to start again from scratch should be reason enough to think long and hard about whether or not the value of a site-builder is worth the potential cost.

Conclusion

Depending on the needs of your site, your ambition in the online space, your budget, and willingness to get your hands dirty, it is possible to create and manage your own site with the help of a site-builder. Never take the process or decision for granted, however. There are a lot of things tp consider, potential issues that can arise and problems you can create for yourself if you’re not careful.

There is a lot that goes into proper web design. Easily more than meets the eye. It’s important to understand the value of professional web design services and why seemingly less expensive do-it-yourself builders can be more of a superficial substitute than a legitimate replacement in many regards.

If you’re interested in learning more about the web design process, or where to begin with your own website or brand, give me a shout. As a small business advocate, I enjoy the consultancy process and would love to sit down and discuss your project.