1. WordPress
WordPress is one of the most used and respected web designer suites you can find. In fact, the company states that , ‘42% of the web is built on WordPress (and this website is among them). More bloggers, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies use WordPress than all other options combined’, which is a testament to how powerful buy usable it is. This is mainly due to a combination of easy-to-use design tools, a huge selection of style templates, and a low-cost entry-point.
WordPress has been an invaluable tool for website builders over the years. In fact, the company claims that 30 percent of the entire web uses the service to run its blogs, news outlets and other sites. This is mainly due to a combination of easy-to-use design tools, a huge selection of style templates, and a low-cost entry-point.
It might seem confusing, but there are two different versions of WordPress: WordPress.org and WordPress.com. The former is software you download to your Mac and which can then be used to create a site from scratch. Once you’re happy with the creation this is then uploaded to a hosting platform of your choosing. It’s more technical and does require a certain level of knowledge of HTML and the way DNS servers work.
With this in mind, WordPress.com is the place to go if you’re new to building. This all takes place online, you can start on a free tier, and the simple tools allow you to instantly assemble a working, multi-page, website with only the barest understanding of technical elements.
You can select from various templates that lay out the look and feel of the pages, then use simple forms to enter text and images. You can add new sections to a page via ‘blocks’ which are a quick and versatile way to tailor the site to your particular desires. WordPress does all the heavy lifting, and you’d be amazed at how quickly a fully functional site can be put together.
The free tier includes ads that generate money for WordPress and thus pay for the service, but there is a limit to how much you can tailor the site to your specific desires. It’s something that might suit someone who doesn’t know if they’re going to really need a website but want to try it out. Bloggers can also get started for free, and you can use affiliate links to gain some income. Opting for a subscription removes the ads, allows custom domain names and brings plenty of additional features to the table depending on the tier you choose. Prices range from $48/£36 per year (paid upfront) or $4/£3 per month for WordPress Personal and a Premium version for $96/£84 a year or $8/£7 a month, while there are editions for Business ($300/£240 annually), Commerce ($540/£432 annually) and an Enterprise edition that starts at $25,000 a year.
