Website builder

Website builders are tools that allow the construction of websites without manual code editing. They fall into two categories: on-line proprietary tools provided by web hosting companies, typically intended for users to build their private site; and software which runs on a computer, creating pages off-line and which can then publish these pages on any host. (The latter are often considered to be "website design software" rather than "website builders".)

Summary

Website builders are tools that allow the construction of websites without manual code editing. They fall into two categories: on-line proprietary tools provided by web hosting companies, typically intended for users to build their private site; and software which runs on a computer, creating pages off-line and which can then publish these pages on any host. (The latter are often considered to be "website design software" rather than "website builders".) The majority of people who use website builders do so to make business websites.

History

The first websites were created in the early 1990s. These sites were hand written in a HTML.

Later software was written to help design web pages and by 1998 Dreamweaver had been established as the industry leader; however some have criticized the quality of the code produced by such software as being overblown and reliant on tables. As the industry moved towards W3C standards, Dreamweaver and others were criticized for not being compliant. Compliance has improved over time, but many professionals still prefer to write optimized markup by hand.

Open source tools were typically developed to the standards, and made fewer exceptions for the then dominant Internet Explorer's deviations from the standards. The W3C started Amaya in 1996 to showcase Web technologies in a fully featured Web client. This was to provide a framework that integrated lots of W3C technologies in a single, consistent environment. Amaya started as an HTML and CSS editor and now supports XML, XHTML, MathML, and SVG.

On- and off-line

On-line website builders typically require customers to sign up with the web hosting company. Some companies provide examples of what a fully functional website made with their website builder looks like. The range of services varies anywhere between creating basic personal web pages or social network content (Widgets) to making complete business/e-commerce websites, either template based or - on the more flexible platforms - totally design free.

The main advantage of an online website builder is that it is quick and easy to use, and does not require any experience. Often a website can be built and be up and running live on the Internet quickly. Technical support is usually provided, as are how to video and help files. This makes online website builders ideal for the beginner.

Sites are generally created using either HTML or Adobe Flash. HTML is a standard format supported by all browsers. Flash has a growing popularity, mainly since it has overcome some limitations such as not being seen by web crawlers such as Google and Yahoo, and thus being indexed. Flash is more resource intensive than HTML. HTML tools are divided into those that allow editing of the source code and those who only have a WYSIWYG mode.

Off-line web builders cater to professional web designers who need to create pages for more than one client or web host. Modern off-line web builders are usually both WYSIWYG and allow direct editing of source code and cascading style sheets (CSS) styling. They generally require at least a basic understanding of HTML and CSS code. They are more flexible than on-line builders, but may be expensive to buy. There are some open source web builders which may be downloaded free of charge.

Online website builders

• WebMaker_CMS
• Yola
• uCoz
• Jimdo
• Moonfruit
• Squarespace
• Weebly
• Doomby
• BaseKit
• WebHornet
• Webs
• Wix
• MyEgoo
• Cif2.net
• BaseKit

Website builder comparison

	Yola	uCoz	Jimdo	Moonfruit	Weebly	Doomby	Webnode	Webs	Wix	Webpin	WebHornet
Platform	HTML	HTML	HTML	HTML	HTML	HTML	HTML	HTML	Flash	HTML	HTML
Disk Space	1Gb	400Mb	500Mb	20Mb	Unlimited	10Mb	100Mb	40Mb	2.5GB	50Mb	1GB
Max upload file size	15Mb	15Mb	5Mb	20Mb	5Mb	10Mb	8Mb	40Mb	15MB	20Mb	20MB
Custom domains	Non-free	Yes	Non-free	Non-free	Non-free	Non-free	Non-free	Non-free	Free	Non-free	Free
Number of Templates	100	258	77	94	100	71	16 X	300+	300+	300+	40
User management	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Backups	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Non-free	No	Yes	No	Yes
Bandwidth	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	1Gb	Unlimited	Unlimited	1Gb	100Mb	Unlimited	Unlimited	30 GB
Template builder	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Template editor	Non-free	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Password protection	Yes	Yes	1 page	Non-free	Non-free	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Blog	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Forum	widget	Yes	No	Yes	widget	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Email forms	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Photo Albums	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	400 Photo	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Comments	Disqus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Site News	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
FTP	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Non-free	No	No	No
File catalog	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Article catalog	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Site catalog	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Statistic	Partial	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Non-free
Polls	No	Yes	No	No	widget	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Online games	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Tests	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
FAQ	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Chat	widget	Yes	No	widget	No	No	No	No	No	widget	widget
Guestbook	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
E-shop	Partial	Non-free	5 items limit	No	Yes	Non-free	Non-free	5 items limit	Non-free	Yes	Yes
Site search	Google	Yes	No	Google	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Google
Portfolio	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Widgets	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Force Ad : Front End	No	Partial	Partial	No	No Ads	Partial	No Ads	Banners	Partial	Partial	No
User Ad	Yes	Yes	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Yes	Yes	Non-free	Yes
Number of pages	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	15	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	8	50	Unlimited	Unlimited
Websites per account	5	Unlimited	1	1	2	1	Unlimited	1	Unlimited	1	1
OpenID	No	uID	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Meta tags	Yes	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Custom logo	Yes	Yes	Non-free	Partial	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
RSS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
RSS import	No	Yes	No	widget	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Email	Non-free	No	Non-free	Non-free	No	No	Non-free	Non-free	Non-free	Non-free	No
Cost	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free	Non-free
Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Yes	Yes	Non-free	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mobile Site	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Gadgets	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Site map	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
PHP	No	Non-free	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Newsletter	No	Yes	Non-free	No	No	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Multi-language support	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No

See also

• HTML editor
• Comparison of HTML editors
• Web design