Creating Your First Website: Which One To Choose? (+ Pros & Cons)
Today, there are four different ways to create your website:
• professional web-studio;
• CMS;
• website builder;
• independent website development.
Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a closer look at them to find the best one for your needs!
Even though studios are considered the most expensive way to develop a site, there are some exceptions. For example, by contacting Weblium online web design studio you will get your modern unique website for $250, hosting, domain name, and SSL-certificate included!
Ordering a website from a web studio
What is it: a good web-studio is a cohesive team of developers: designers, programmers, optimizers who create websites and develop software solutions that meet different needs.
For whom/for what it is more suitable: for the development of complex, most individualized web solutions.
Pros:
• high-quality approach to work (each employee is engaged in his task, respectively, every detail is thought out);
• uniqueness (most often, your website looks exactly like you wanted it to be);
• full functional solution (ordering a site from the studio, you will be provided with a huge list of additional options that will facilitate the process of working with it;
• easy management (professional studios create sites based on modern management systems (CMS). They are easy to use, so you don’t need to hire an extra employee for that;
• promotion (most web studios provide a wide range of services: website promotion, contextual advertising, creating a mobile application and more. Your business will grow, the number of customers will increase, as well as your revenue.
Cons:
• the services of web-studios are more expensive than the work of the freelancers. Studios have a detailed approach to creating a site, they have many stages of interaction, and the price is included in the cost of work;
• the time it takes to complete a project is longer – due to the above-mentioned detailed approach and the need to ensure that the results are perfect.
But you have to know that there are studios that don’t have such shortcomings! Do you want to get a decent website with amazing bonuses done for just $250 within 5 days? Then order a website from Weblium online studio now!
Using CMS to create a website
What is it: CMS is a set of software tools for managing web content that allows you to not only create a website or web application but also to support its operation, update content and interact with users.
For whom/for what it is more suitable: any CMS can create very complex solutions, such as online stores or large corporate sites with deeply nested navigation.
Pros:
• free access (also, there are many ready-made website templates on the web to choose from);
• convenient content management;
• a lot of ready-made solutions (there are a lot of modules, plug-ins, add-ons for various tasks available on the Web (from sliders for images to SEO-optimization and user support systems).
Cons:
• the vulnerability of the site (even sites made with the help of website builders have sometimes better protection from hacker attacks than those sites that are managed by WordPress and other CMS);
• the need of having special knowledge (website development with the help of CMS requires basic knowledge for creating layout and programming (mainly in PHP);
• difficulties with the website transfer (there may be some difficulties with the transfer of a website made with the help of CMS: you will have to perform the entire installation procedure again);
• costs of additional content (additional modules and site extensions for CMS can cost a lot of money, much more than if you were using website builder);
• large website = high costs (usually, the development of a large complex project with the help of CMS is more expensive than developing the website yourself).
Using a website builder to make a website
What is it: website builder is an online software solution that allows you to easily make a website using various modules, without having any design, web development and related skills.
For whom/for what it is more suitable: it is a perfect solution for those who want to make a simple site themselves and to launch it as soon as possible.
Note: it is nearly impossible to create a complex corporate website or a huge multi-functional online store with the help of an average site builder.
Pros:
• low prices (almost all site builders are initially free, and usually, the cost of additional services is quite low);
• fast website creation;
• ease of use: you can do everything you need using an intuitive visual editor just in a few mouse clicks.
Cons:
• hidden costs (hosting, a second-level domain, business email, etc.);
• page load time (usually, a website made with the help of a site builder takes more time to load than a similar site made using the CMS or created from a scratch);
• lack of SEO functions (even though all website builders claim that they offer flexible SEO settings, it is nearly impossible to create a full-fledged SEO site using an average website builder, since you can’t make changes to the program code).
Developing a website from scratch
What is it: creating a website from scratch gives you a lot of freedom and leaves a lot of space for your imagination. But it is also the most time-consuming process that requires having certain skills, not only knowing the programming languages themselves, but also an understanding of the website architecture, rules of website functioning, design trends and tricks and much more.
At the same time, when creating a website from scratch, you get a unique and personalized solution.
For whom/for what is more suitable: developing a website from scratch allows you to create projects of any complexity and according to your vision.
Pros:
• freedom of choice (you can create everything you need to effectively solve your business problems);
• extensive promotion opportunities (unlike CMS and website builders, it is much easier to promote a website that you have created from scratch);
• individual design (only making a website from scratch you will be able to create a product that will look and work just like you wanted it to).
Cons:
• high prices;
• need of having special skills (coding, website architecture, algorithms and data structures, business processes and much more, which entails the need to hire freelancers or a web studio);
• time costs.
Summary
Choosing one of these methods depends on different factors:
- If you want to save time and you have a limited budget, and you need to create a website for one specific task (for example, conducting an advertising campaign for certain groups of products, getting customers acquainted with a new service, or presenting a little-known product), then, most likely, it is better to use website builder.
- If you are facing more complex tasks, for example:
• making a multi-page website with a nested structure (portfolio, services, blogs, etc.);
• promote the site on Google search;
• receiving information from your visitors, etc.,
and, at the same time, if you are limited by budget, the site flexibility and the time of its creation doesn’t really matter to you, then it is a good idea to create a website from scratch, or to use a free CMS.
- In case you are faced with a large-scale task, for example:
• launching an advertising campaign with a set of attractive landing pages;
• creation of an effective online store;
• a complex dynamic site with many substructures;
• use of various components on the site, such as a user’s personal account, payment services, analysis, and data collection, etc.,
and, at the same time, you need to promote your site on search so as not to spend big money on advertising, as well as have huge sales, then, you need to contact a professional web-studio.
