Series Post #5: How to Choose the Right Site Builder

Last week, I introduced the concept of website builders: what they are and my top three.

Today, we’re going to use our case study to learn a good strategy for choosing the right site builder for your niche blog.

Case Study

If you’ve been keeping up with this series, you’ll remember our book blogger friend. They’ve decided to create a niche blog for reviewing YA Fabtasy books about mermaids.

In order to choose the perfect site builder for their niche blog, our friend puts WordPress, Wix, and Weebly to the test.

Step 1: What’s your budget?

Next week, we’ll be talking about how to choose the right plan for your niche blog or site so stay tuned.

Site builders offer different plans for different budgets and needs.

Our book blogger friend knows they want to spend as little money upfront as possible. So they go with a free plan from one of the site builders I mentioned in the previous post: WordPress, Wix, and Weebly.

Step 2: Do you need a domain?

A domain is analagous to your home address. Instead of a physical address, your domain is your site’s address. For example, my domain is haleyclarkwrites.com and Nike’s domain is nike.com.

Just like you have to pay for your physical home, you have to pay for your website’s online home.

You might also consider a subdomain. For example, my site as a subdomain would be haleyclarkwrites.wordpress.com.

Think of a subdomain as a house a company gives you for free in exchange for advertising their company name all over your exterior. The site builders above will give you a site for free but you advertise their services through ads on your site and through the subdomain name itself.

There are a few pros and cons to using subdomains.

A major pro is that subdomains cost you nothing, which means you can create your site without spending a dime. A major com is that your domain will include the name of your site builder.

Our book blogger friend wants to start their site with no money upfront. So they decide to go with a subdomain instead of a paid domain.

Lucky for our book blogger friend, WordPress, Wix, and Weebly free plans each come with a built-in subdomain.

Step 3: What’s your skill level?

Site builders range in difficulty. Some require in-depth knowledge of website design. Others are extremely beginner-friendly and were created with the amateur site designer in mind.

Since our book blogger friend is brand new to site builders, they want a builder that is foolproof to use.

Unfortunately, that means WordPress is out.

WordPress users have to build a site from the bottom up. Since our book blogger friend wants to get their site up and running ASAP, they decide to narrow their search between Wix and Weebly.

Wix and Weebly offer drag-and-drop features that are ideal for beginners.

While Weebly is a little more foolproof in that it offer pre-designated spots to drag-and-drop features, the creators of Wix send you training videos to help make the process easier.

Our book blogger friend moves on to the final step to find a winner.

Step 4: How many pages?

Some niche sites need multiple pages while others can get away with a single page.

Do you want to include an About page? Do you offer courses, books, or products that would benefit from a Services/Products page? Do you want your blog to be separate from your home page?

If the answer to any of those questions is yes, you need a site builder that allows multiple pages.

Our book blogger friend only needs a single page for blog posts and reviews. However, they want to build trust with their audience. So our friend wants an About page on which they can share their interests, hobbies, and personality.

Wix and Weebly both offer the ability to include multiple pages with their free plan.

However, Wix users only get one page for free before they have to pay for additional pages. Weebly has no such limit and allows users to create as many pages as they need or want.

With these four steps, our book blogger friend finally decides that Weebly is the best site builder for their niche blog because it:

• offers a free plan
• offers a free subdomain
• offers a foolproof drag-and-drop feature
• offers unlimited pages at no extra cost

So there you have it! Four simple steps to help you narrow in on the best website builder for your niche site needs. Leave a comment and let me know what steps you took to choose your site builder.

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Want More?

Series Post #4: What is a Site Builder?

Series Post #3: Is Your Niche Profitable?

Series Post #2: Are You Qualified to Write in your Niche?

Series Post #1: How to Create your Niche as a Writer

Series: How to Earn Passive Income with Affiliate Links as a Writer