Which Free Website Builder Program is for Me?

by Melanie Citron

When you are building a website, you need to consider “why” you are building it and you need to consider your level of knowledge when it comes to websites.  After all, you need to choose the right free website builder program and there are many from which to choose.  The cream of the crop is Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress so let’s take a look at those.

Your Level of Knowledge

Let’s start with your level of knowledge.  Do you know code?  Do want the flexibility that comes with using code to build a site?  If so, then Drupal might be the best choice for you.  This website builder offers a tremendous amount of flexibility and is set up a lot like a developer platform, although it is lacking in the design aspect.

If you don’t have a lot of knowledge of code, but still want a lot of flexibility, then maybe Joomla is the right choice.  You can make a website with a fantastic design and you can change the code to some extent.  However, you will still have to take the time to learn the program.

Now, if you don’t have any knowledge of code, you don’t have a lot of time, and you want to get a good-looking website up and running fast, then WordPress is the website builder for you.  It is much more user-friendly than Drupal and Joomla, yet has some built-in ability for site customization.

Your Needs

What do you want to accomplish with your website?  If you are looking at a high performance e-commerce site, then you will probably be better off with a website builder such as Drupal or Joomla.  However, if you are looking for more basic e-commerce or an informational site, then WordPress will fit the bill.

WordPress is being developed constantly and is slowly becoming a stronger contender in the e-commerce market.  It is also the best when it comes to high ranking on the search engines due to its built-in RSS feeds.

Also, while WordPress isn’t for the code-adept, this website builder still offers a fair amount of flexibility when it comes to website customization due to the free plugins it offers.  This means that you can create a very functional website the easy way.

The Final Word

When it comes down to it, only you can decide which website builder will work the best for your needs.  However, unless you are technically savvy, you may find that WordPress is the best choice for you.  You will have a web presence of which to be proud and enough flexibility to do an incredible amount of customization.

About the author: Melanie Citron is a freelance author who wants the web to be open to everyone. She regularly researches and writes about great free or low cost resources to help all have a great presence on the web. See more of her writing at BuildMySiteforFree.com.

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About the Author

Tom Harris

Tom Harris was writing about Wordpress before Wordpress existed forever seeking the ultimate tool to explode online business. Tom has been on the net since its inception at Universities and has been a proponent of “user friendly” technology all his life. He now covers the intersection of business and technology from the gulf coast of Louisiana. Previously, Harris was the tech reporter for several local daily newspapers in New York state, Pittsburgh and London. He is an avid fan of technology and its affect on society, business and politics around the world.