Or, at least some of them, anyway. As a professional web designer, I know quite a bit about this topic. I figured I could at least answer some super common questions on this episode!
So first things first: if you’ve ever wanted to build your own website, you’ve probably seen ads for a variety of different website builders, or website CMS (content management systems). I know for example Wix and Squarespace have been doing a ton of advertising on social media over the last few years! Or, maybe you’ve had a friend or colleague talk about their website so you’ve been exposed to some of the different options that way.
It’s confusing if you aren’t techy! And let’s be honest, it can be confusing even if you are! So let me break it down as best as I can.
Of the website builders you are likely to be exposed to, there are two kinds: one that allows you to have your website hosted anywhere you like, and one that means you must purchase hosting from the company that created the CMS software.
Now let’s back up a moment: for those who don’t know what hosting is, that’s an important part of having a website. It’s sort of like buying space on the internet for your website to live. You can kind of think of it as buying a little ‘piece of land’ on the internet. In order to build a house, you need land, right? In order to build a website, you need hosting.
Getting back to the website building software options, I said there were two types – but what are the options? The first type, that allows you to host your website anywhere, is WordPress. Sure, there are a few more things in this category, but most of the others aren’t popular for small business, DIY websites, so let’s stick to WordPress.
If you want to build a website and if you do it with WordPress, you have complete freedom to host your website wherever you want. You aren’t tied to one hosting company, which means that if something happens to the host – and I’ve seen this happen many times over the years – you can move your website wherever you like.
The second type I just mentioned is where you’re kind of beholden to the company that created the website building software. This is pretty well all the other options: Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify (that last one is if you want an online store, so not for most of you!).
All of these options can work for you, but there are some pros and cons you will want to be aware of. To hear all about them, just hop onto this episode!
You can listen to the episode right here (just click the play button below), or search for ‘Life Beyond The Massage Table’ on your favourite podcast app! As you might have already heard me say, we’re now on Stitcher and Spotify too, so if you prefer those platforms, you’re good to listen.
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