DIY website for a real business? Isn't that just a clear sign of lack of commitment to your business venture? Not really. It's not every business that can afford or even needs a professionally designed website at the very early stages of their journey. Learning how to create your website on your own doesn't make you cheap or less serious about doing business. It actually makes you resourceful. But before you make the decision to go DIY, you need to understand how website design platforms work and which one is best for your particular scenario.
Wordpress
Are you a blogger, an aspiring influencer or want to start media related business? There's no better online place than Wordpress to host you. There are thousands of different themes, some of which paid and others free, you can choose from to create a stunning website. Editing most of these themes doesn't require any coding. For some tweaks you may need a bit of HTML, but not necessarily. Basically, if you didn't sleep in your tech classes in school, you'll be able to cope with everything. And if you didn't have any tech classes in school, there are plenty of online courses, business workshops and even YouTube videos you can use to learn how to create a professionally looking website on Wordpress. One of the most discusses benefits of the platform is that you can use a variety of plugins to get more and more different functions. Websites built with Wordpress are also relatively easy to optimise for the search engines.
Wix
A couple of years ago everyone thought of Wix as an absolutely amateurish platform for website design. It was frowned upon and people who used it for business were laughed at by others with more technical knowledge or those who could afford a professional web design. However, things have massively changed in the course of 2 years. Wix has improved all of its functionalities and now offers a lot of useful tools to its users. Its main advantage to Wordpress is the ability to drag and drop every item on the screen while you are looking at it. All you need is an eye for the detail and a bit of a creative mind. Working with Wix is pretty much self-explanatory, but there are also learning resources to help with the platform and practical workshops where you can create a fully-functional website for your business in a couple of hours, guided by a specialist. Wix is perfect for coaches and consultants, photographers, public figures, charity organisations, events planning agencies and other small businesses. You can add eCommerce functions as well, to sell your products or services and accept online payments.
Shopify
Starting a dropshipping business or an online retail? Go for Shopify. It's a great and easy-to-use eCommerce platform that helps you execute a seamless selling process. The UI is sleek and modern. As with the other platforms we already discussed, Shopify does not require you to have any coding knowledge or technical experience. You just need to know how to use a computer and if you are a little unsure of how to do certain things, watch a YouTube video or sign up for a quick online course on the topic. The focus on this platform falls directly on your shop and the products in it. It integrates perfectly with Facebook pages and you can import your products directly to your business page, giving a different auditory a chance to notice what you offer.
Etsy
Etsy is a little bit different than the rest of the platforms above. It is an online market place mainly for crafted goods and handmade gifts, where you can create your own shop. The problem with Etsy is that the optimisation of your shop may be a little bit of a pain. SEO for an Etsy shop is not the same as the standard SEO most websites need. In January 2019, the new platform my team and I created, Teach Me How to Biz, will hold an event where we will cover starting and optimising an Etsy shop for solopreneurs and crafty people.
In the meantime, Teach Me How to Biz is holding practical workshops on website design with Wix and Wordpress. These will take place on 8th December, 2018 in London. You can get more details on the website and secure your place because tickets are limited. There are a few discounted spots left.
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