Building your own website is a headache â€" especially if you're unfamiliar with coding. Platforms like Tumblr make it easy to create your own website, for personal or professional uses, but a handful of other sites are also out there to help you lock down, personalize and publish your work.
Keep in mind that these aren't necessarily "template sites." The options below are end-to-end website-building platforms, similar to WordPress, and the templates they provide are specifically designed for their respective engines â€" so it's slightly different from other sites, like Theme-Forest, which only sell themes.
Did we miss any good ones? Tell us which platform(s) you use for your websites.
WiX, short for "Windows Installer XML," is an online toolkit for building and customizing your own site. To get started, you can choose between hundreds of templates â€" tailored for specific fields like business, music or design â€" and personalize your pick using the drag-and-drop feature. No coding skills required.
All websites have basic HTML5 capabilities. If you sign up for a free membership, the site provides you with free hosting as well.
"Surprisingly easy" â€" that's Weebly's tagline. The platform is similar to WiX in the themes and tools it provides. Before you begin building, you enter into the "Plan" stage, where you organize what information you're hoping to publish and decide which theme is most fitting. Then, it's off to customizing.
Basic membership is free. A "Starter" membership, which gives you the option to brand, is $4 per month; the all-features-included "Pro" membership is $8 per month.
(Not associated with Drake.)
Yola's mission is to get your website up and running within 30 minutes. Its drag-and-drop Sitebuilder is similar to WiX's. The site examples here, however, don't seem to be quite as professional-looking; but again, it's emphasis is speed, not design.
It's also pricier: You can choose between Bronze, Silver and Gold memberships, which respectively cost $4.95, $9.95 and $19.95/month.
For a bare-boned, no-nonsense "selfie" page, Flavors.me gets the job done.
Emphasis here on simple: There are only seven layouts to choose between with the free membership; the premium membership, which costs $20 per year, gives you 17 layout choices in addition to real-time traffic stats, a customized URL option and a built-in contact form.
Another no-coding-required portfolio builder. Carbonmade lets you select different layouts, adjust the font, color and footer images and upload a personal logo.
There are two subscription options: "Meh," which is free, and "Woohoo!," for $12 per month.
About.me is another simple, yet effective platform for branding yourself online. You can customize your page with photos, résumé, work samples and links to your social networking sites.
Squarespace has a minimalist, step-by-step layout for setting up your website. You can browse the site for themes by genre, like "businesses," "stores" or "restaurants," then sign up for a free trial. Once the trial runs out, you can update to a plan for $8 per month.
Bandcamp is ideal for musicians hoping to promote their work. The platform presents you with a customizable microsite, where you can upload albums or tracks, with the option of making them downloadable to listeners. Registration is free.
Image via iStockphoto, shirinosov
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