If you are looking for a great way to make your online presence known and promote your business online but don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for a web designer to do the job, here are three online website creator tools and solutions you can use to do the job for you.
We’ll take a look at these side by side so you can make the best decision for your website needs.
1. IM Creator.com
The free IM Creator.com has a simple interface which allows you to build your design from scratch or using one of their artistically-designed templates. What struck me about this online website builder is the highly polished and artistic designs offered.
You can also choose from one of many “types” of designs, including categories like “consultant,” “business,” “law,” and “5 minute site,” for very fast rendering.
These specialty templates work very well in specific businesses and cater to what the average consumer expects to see in these areas. They have a drag and drop editor on the site and the PRO version allows you to “resell” the IM Creator services under PLR (white label rights) if, for example, you work with small businesses who would be interested in these services.
IM Creator also has some extra bonuses you can use to enhance your site, such as business icons and category images.
Image source: imcreator.com
Though the creation tools are free, with a free account, you can only host your site in a directory under the i-m.mx domain, and you only have 50 megabytes of storage.
To download your site to use another host, or to use your own domain through IM Creator, you’ll need to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee which ranges from $5.95 to $9.95 a month, depending on what amount of time you pay for up front.
2. Wix
Wix.com is a great place to start to design your own website. The site allows you to choose from a variety of custom-designed templates — some tailored for specific types of businesses like Finance & Law, Advertising & Marketing, and Real Estate & Property — which look very professional and have a dynamic look.
Packages start at “free” (for hosting on a subdomain) and go up to $29.90 per month with VIP support service. With a Wix site, you can’t download your files and use another host — the pages won’t work elsewhere — so Wix serves as your sole hosting option.
Wix offers an “unlimited” package which includes 10 GB of space, unlimited bandwidth, Google analytics, the use of your own domain, and other tools for $12.42/month (currently on special for $6.21/month). You can design your site using the template you choose and add to it as you go.
The unlimited version does not allow a shopping cart, so to do that, you will need to move up to the $16.17 package (currently marked down to $8.08 a month) which also offers 20GB of space. Wix also is “mobile friendly” and you can create a mobile version of your site easily when you create your main website.
Image source: wix.com
3. SquareSpace
Squarespace.com is another company which lets you build a highly professional-looking website right on its site. The company has an easy-to-use editor which allows you to create multiple versions of your site which show up perfectly in a myriad of devices.
Some small businesses have found it convenient that SquareSpace offers blogging capabilities within the site design so you can easily incorporate your blog and your existing social media presences into your site. If you want, you can even import content from Tumblr, WordPress, and Blogger, if you already have an active blog.
Pricing starts at $8 for a personal site, but for a business, you will need the $16/mo. professional package or the $24/mo. business plan, both which include an integrated shopping cart. The business package offers unlimited products in your e-commerce store.
The site seems easy to navigate and allows you to custom-design your own site using one of the many templates offered. SquareSpace.com offers a free 14-day trial to get started.
Image source: squarespace.com
In Closing…
When comparing these three sites, it’s hard to judge which is best, as they all offer a variety of high-quality images and templates, affordable pricing, and mobile compatibility.
You might want to start with IMCreator.com, however, since it is totally free and may give you a chance to see what you like before committing to a monthly premium. It also offers a business opportunity to start your own “web design business” under a white label.
Browse all three sites and see what works for you. These are all great tools which can do wonders in increasing your brand awareness on the web, and promoting the things you want to get noticed in a professional way. Remember, you only have one chance to make that first impression.
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