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Doesn’t it cost money to build a website?

The first question i asked myself when i was looking to build a business online was how do i build my own website for free…at these beginning stages of learning i thought that the only way you could create a website was if you knew how to code, and being an ex performer with limited technical skills meant i was going to have to pay upward of at least £500 to £3000 just to get a web presence.

Luckily there are now so many tools that allow you to build a website for free that even your gran could do it….that said each and every platform does require you to learn how to use it so it is not all that easy if you require a custom looking site.

My First Look

My first port of call was to go and find something that a friend had told me about called “Joomla”..I’m going to stop you right there and say that if you haven’t had any experience in web design then this is definitely not for you as when i first checked it out it took me a whole week to decide that this system was seriously not what i should be taking my first steps into web design with.

The Easy to use Platforms

Moonfruit

There are so many easy to use platforms out there now to create your own website (and for FREE) that nowadays it is more about using the one that is right for you. My first website creator i used, that to this day provides me with a space to create websites for clients quickly and easily is Moonfruit.com. Now it does have a lot of negative press from coders and technical wizards but in order to get yourself online quickly and easily i have to say that this program is pretty great and if you also have a gift for graphic design then you can truly make some stunning looking sites. What’s more they offer a free service with use of there own moonfruit.com domain name and if you like it you can always use your own domain so no-one ever knows its a moonfruit site…yes yes i hear people saying that because it works on flash that the search engines don’t register it as well as other platforms but that is just not true..i have had numerous sites appear on first pages of google. Ok so they have to be in a local niche/target but for the small business it is a great way to build a website for free and gain a presence online.

Just click the link below to check out moonfruit

Wix

Again like Moonfruit, wix is a drag and drop platform that lets you create websites for free with the expectation that you will upgrade at a later date. Like moonfruit you get a number of templates and have the ability to create a great looking site with no coding skills needed. I only delved into wix a little bit and if im honest found the CMS system of moonfruit a little easier to learn but like anything you have to put in the time to learn how to use these things.

Weebly

Another free website building platform is Weebly and i could go on and on about the differences between all three of these platforms but if im honest it really does come down to personal choice. Weebly offers the same as the two above and is one of the most popular ones with users. The only way to find out what is right for you is to check them out yourself and try them for a while.

Conclusion

These are just a handful of platforms out there that are a great way to answer the question “how do i build my own website for free?” but i would suggest that these are my favourites from my own personal view. Of course I havn’t mentioned WordPress yet but you can see my thoughts on WordPress here. I believe that all three have what is known as “White label” products meaning that you can create websites for other people under your own business and make a profit from selling websites. Who knows..you might end up setting up your own web design company like i did using one of the companies above.

Please feel free to add your comments below and if there are any platforms you think are better i’d love to know!

Pete.