Are you considering the acquisition of software to create a website? Altosor Communication guides you in the selection of the best website creation tools.
Creating a website requires different tools to :
- Define the graphic charter of your website
- Create page templates based on this charter
- Write the editorial content of each of your pages in HTML format
- Link your pages to each other, to menus or to other websites
- Create, resize and set up the images illustrating your pages
- Create the functionalities offered to your site visitors (messaging, catalog, chat, online store, etc.)
- Manage these features via a remotely accessible back-office
There are three main families of website creation software.
In the first family are the self-hosted software, because everything happens remotely on the computer platform that hosts the website creation software. When you create your website with this type of tool, you only choose and assemble components stored on this platform.
Other software is classified in the CMS (for Content Management System) family. You will have to choose a host to install your website.
They also have the particularity of having an “Open Source” code. This means that you will not have to pay any fees to reuse the code included in the created website.
The third family includes solutions dedicated to online commerce. We have set them apart because these software packages are not limited to creating an online store: they also offer tools for managing inventory, sales and customers, as well as numerous online payment solutions.
In each of these families, you are sometimes offered the solution as a free website creation software, but behind this tempting promise is often hidden the fact that the most interesting options are still paid.
To help you make the right choice, Altosor Communication quickly presents the main software to create a website.
If you wish to obtain the assistance of one of our specialists, do not hesitate to contact us:
Software to create a self-hosted website
1. Wix
This software is accessible from your Internet browser, like a website. In other words: you don’t need to download it to your computer and you can access it from anywhere connected to the Internet.
To create your website, you will simply have to create your account, log in, choose a domain name (e.g. https://www.monsite.com) and finally choose a layout style from a whole library of templates.
Benefits:
- simplicity of implementation
- large selection of customizable website templates
- ease of creating pages or modifying existing ones
Disadvantages:
- need to pay for personalized assistance
- Wix ads in your pages (unless you take a paid subscription)
- subscription required to access advanced features
2. SiteW
Similar to Wix, the website creation software SiteW allows you to create a simple website for free, from templates. It is also accessible from a distance. You have a library of components that you can drag and drop into an editor to quickly create web pages.
Benefits:
- Easy to create by drag and drop
- Visual editor with choice of components
- Easy maintenance of your website over time
Disadvantages:
- Limited number of templates to choose the style of your site
- Need to opt for a paid subscription for e-commerce
- Limited free features
We can see, if the use of free software to create a website is tempting, it is not adapted to the creation of a website intended to make known a company.
Indeed, as soon as you want to go to the next level and offer other features such as internal messaging, newsletters or account management, you will have to add paid modules (not necessarily available in all solutions).
3. Weebly
Less known than the two previous softwares, Weebly owes its reputation to its specialization in the creation of e-commerce sites. From its platform, you will have at your disposal a large catalog of website models that can be customized to the image of your company.
Benefits:
- Includes an online image editor
- Offers video editing tools
- Allows you to quickly open a small online store
Disadvantages:
- Imposes ads in its free version
- Unclear pricing on their site
- Difficult to add “custom” features without the assistance of a technician
4. Zyro
Still in the family of self-hosted software, Zyro is known for the speed of loading pages created from this tool. The creation of a website (including an online store) is done very quickly, thanks to a very intuitive online interface.
Benefits:
- Very fast page creation via an intuitive editor
- Pages optimized for fast loading
- Responsive online support
Disadvantages:
- Library of templates still quite small
- Few plugins allowing technical extensions
Software to create a website by CMS
5. WordPress
In the family of content management systems (CMS), WordPress is by far the best known.
Unlike previous software, WordPress is not immediately accessible from a platform (unless you opt for WordPress hosting solutions).
You must first choose a host that offers WordPress (we can of course advise you on this) and initialize the software settings before creating your website. Rest assured, this is a very simple operation, as it is completely guided.
WordPress has an important back office from which you can progressively choose and install your site’s theme (the graphic template) as well as various plugins (additional programs) with which your site can offer new functionalities.
What makes the strength and the notoriety of WordPress (nearly 30% of the websites in the world use this software) is the almost unlimited quantity of its plugins.
Some are free (like WordPress), but others have premium versions that require the purchase of a license.
Benefits:
- Wide choice of site templates
- Impressive number of plugins to increase functionality
- Compatibility with almost all web hosts
- Strong possibilities of evolution for your website
- Complete online business with the WooCommerce plugin
Disadvantages:
- Requires technical knowledge in HTML, CSS, SEO
- High risk of making an “amateur” site without basic knowledge
- A lot of setup time to be done
- Imposes to respect the rules of computer security
Altosor Communication has specialists who know WordPress perfectly (our website is made with this tool) and can take care of taking over and modernizing yours.
6. Joomla
Direct competitor of WordPress, the Joomla software is also a CMS with graphic models (themes) and a large library of complementary programs (plugins) that can meet all needs, even if the number of these plugins is much less important than WordPress.
If you have computer skills, you may prefer to use Joomla. Its free basic features are more complete, but they are less intuitive to use.
In other words, you will be able to offer more personalized services directly on Joomla before having to switch to a paid version.
However, it will take you more time to understand and master the implementation of these basic functions.
Benefits:
- Offers more complete tools in their free version
- Allows you to use multiple templates simultaneously for one website
- Best suited to “computer people” who are already somewhat experienced
Disadvantages:
- More complex to handle
- Less extensive template and plugin library than for WordPress
- Fewer forums and online help (smaller community)
Software to create an e-commerce website
7. Shopify
This platform is dedicated to online commerce. It could have been classified as self-hosted software because everything happens on Shopify’s servers.
We have classified it as an e-commerce platform because it is much more complete than a simple e-commerce website.
First, it is “multichannel”, which means that your products can be offered for sale simultaneously on your online store, but also on other sales platforms (eg: Cdiscount) and even on social networks (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram …).
It is very quick to set up: you create your account, you choose your website template, you set up all the legal and banking information of your company and all you have to do is add one by one the products in your store.
You can even start Dropshipping: you sell imported products from an international platform (e.g. AliExpress), your customer pays you and the delivery of the product is directly sent to your customer by the manufacturer.
Benefits:
- Many models of online sales sites
- Your entire site is managed and monitored from the Shopify platform
- Communication tools for mailing to your customers
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage space
- Many sales channels
Disadvantages:
- Free version too limited
- Limited possibilities for customization of features
- Difficulties in optimizing the referencing of its products
- Few features to create content outside of product pages
Altosor Communication is at your disposal to inform you and help you create your online sales site with Shopify :
8. Prestashop
If you want to have more control to customize your online store and all the management of your customers, products, stock and online marketing, then you will need a slightly more technical tool that allows you to add your own code.
Prestashop is indeed a little more complex than its competitor Shopify, but offers more freedom in its use. For example, you will be able to more easily create a multilingual store with different products and content for each targeted country, while managing multiple currencies according to these countries.
Benefits:
- Very complete technical solution
- Suitable for multilingual and multicurrency stores
- Over one million members in the community
- Your website can be easily resold thanks to the reputation of the tool
- More freedom in the detailed design of your features
Disadvantages:
- Software for creating e-commerce site complex to develop
- Requires more time and skills for maintenance
- Higher rates than Shopify
Altosor Communication knows the PrestaShop platform well and can help you in your e-commerce website creation project.
9. Wizishop
Less known than the two previous platforms, Wizishop represents an interesting alternative to start an e-commerce activity. Everything happens in the cloud on the Wizishop site. Again, you choose a template, enter your products and your website is quickly set up.
New: the company says it uses artificial intelligence to help optimize the SEO of your product listings.
Benefits:
- The servers of Wizishop are located in France
- Online assistance helps you design your website
- The management interface of your store is easy to use
- All the follow-up tools for your store are grouped together on Wizishop
Disadvantages:
- You will have to pay significantly more when you change your plan
- Difficult to add something other than product pages (blogs, forums, …)
- No opening of the code to create your own features
10. SquareSpace
To finish this (non-exhaustive) list of e-commerce platforms, SquareSpace allows you to quickly start a small online store while benefiting from interesting modern features (animated images, video, visual effects…).
SquareSpace also allows you to take inventory of your products and manage your stock online remotely, or even create your own labels. The solution offers all the necessary tools to develop a purely online sales activity.
Benefits:
- Very modern and customizable page templates
- Numerous delivery options, sales methods, online payment
- Easy to use software
- Numerous complementary modules (but not free of charge)
Disadvantages:
- You have to go for the most expensive packages to get enough features
- Technical skills needed to manage video animation
- A lot of configuration to be done to manage each module
If you have taken the time to read our explanations on these website creation softwares, you will have understood that you will have to invest a lot of your time before having a correctly configured and well referenced online store.
Even if you choose an “out of the box” solution, you will have to manage it, understand how it works, know how to make it more visible in order to increase your sales.
Altosor Communication puts these skills at your disposal. Entrust us with the design of your website (whether it is for a simple showcase site or for an online store) and you will be able to free up your time to devote to the growth of your business.
Do not hesitate to contact us for a quote: