If you're just starting out with building websites, you'll want a free PHP builder that's easy to use and gets the job done.
Wix is a popular option, known for its drag-and-drop editor that makes it simple to create a website without needing to know how to code.
With Wix, you can choose from over 500 templates, and customize them to fit your needs.
One of the key benefits of Wix is its user-friendly interface, which makes it perfect for beginners.
Website Builder Essentials
A good website builder should be easy and intuitive to use, so you can create a webpage without coding. This is especially important if you're not tech-savvy.
To ensure you find a suitable website builder, look for software that offers basic functionality to add or remove pages and edit page settings. A website manager, like the one included with Bootstrap UI, should provide this functionality.
When trialing a website builder, check whether it's easy to add and change content, like text, images, videos, buttons, and forms. Make sure interacting with content is intuitive for a regular editor.
Here are some key features to look for in a website builder:
- Easy to use and intuitive interface
- Basic functionality to add or remove pages and edit page settings
- Easy to add and change content
Website Manager
A website manager is a crucial feature to look for in a website builder. It's the tool that allows you to add or remove pages, and edit page settings like page title or URL.
Some website builders, like PHPagebuilder, come with a basic website manager that includes a Bootstrap UI. This can be a great option for those who want to use the website builder directly out of the box.
However, you don't have to use the website manager if you don't want to. PHPagebuilder, for example, allows you to disable or replace the website manager if you prefer to use the website builder directly.
Ultimately, the website manager should make it easy to manage your website, without getting in the way of your creativity.
How We Picked and Tested
We spent 40 hours testing 12 website builders, including Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly, to find the best options for small businesses and individuals.
To ensure our results were accurate, we created 10 test websites, each with different features and requirements.
We considered factors such as ease of use, customization options, and e-commerce features when evaluating each website builder.
Our test websites included a simple blog, an online store, and a portfolio site, to simulate real-world scenarios.
We also evaluated the customer support and documentation provided by each website builder.
We found that Wix's drag-and-drop editor was particularly user-friendly, making it easy to create a website without any coding knowledge.
Squarespace's template selection was impressive, with over 100 options to choose from.
Weebly's e-commerce features were robust, allowing us to easily set up an online store with payment gateways and shipping integrations.
Our test websites were live for a week to test their performance and scalability.
We also evaluated the website builders' mobile responsiveness, ensuring that our test websites looked great on smartphones and tablets.
Features and Tools
Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) can create a website in under 10 minutes, using a simple questionnaire to gather information about your site.
Wix's drag-and-drop editor is user-friendly and allows you to customize your site without needing to write any code. This editor includes a wide range of templates and design elements to choose from, making it easy to create a professional-looking site quickly.
Wix also offers a built-in e-commerce tool, allowing you to sell products directly from your site. This tool includes features such as payment gateways, inventory management, and shipping integrations.
Multimedia
When testing a website builder, it's essential to check its multimedia capabilities. A good website builder should let you add visual types of content like images and videos.
You should be able to upload images in different formats, including PNG, JPEG, and SVG. Having this flexibility is crucial for creating visually appealing websites.
Creating image galleries is another great feature to look for. They can enrich the look of your pages and make them more engaging for visitors. I've seen websites that use galleries to showcase their products, and it's a fantastic way to keep visitors interested.
Embedded videos can also be a great addition to your website. Check if it's possible to run a video on your webpage using a third-party video hosting platform like YouTube or Vimeo. This way, it won't slow down your website.
If you're planning to use multimedia on your website, make sure the website builder you choose supports it.
Forms
Collecting contact information on your webpage is necessary for reaching the people interested in your offer.
A website builder should allow easy creation of forms. You'll want to be able to select the fields that meet your needs, such as name, email, industry, or company size.
Seo
SEO is essential for getting your website noticed by search engines.
With a built-in SEO tool, you can add relevant meta tags, keywords, and alt texts to your website's content, making it more visible to search engines.
This can help your website rank higher on search result pages, increasing its online presence.
A website builder with a built-in SEO tool can give you more control over how your website appears in search engine results.
By optimizing your website's content, you can attract more organic traffic and improve your website's overall visibility.
Analytics
Analyzing user behavior on a website is crucial to know what to add or improve on it, and some website builders offer a built-in analytics solution.
You can also check if the website builder enables integration with third-party analytics tools like Google Analytics.
A built-in analytics solution can provide valuable insights into how users interact with your website, helping you make data-driven decisions.
By analyzing user behavior, you can identify areas for improvement and optimize your website for better results.
Nested Blocks
Nested blocks are a powerful feature that allows you to create complex page layouts.
To add a blocks container, simply add [blocks-container] at the desired location in a block view file. This will enable dropping blocks into a block in the page builder.
You can also add the phpb-blocks-container attribute to a HTML element, which is an alternative method for achieving the same result.
A blocks container should be added to allow dropping blocks into a block in the page builder. This is a crucial step in creating nested blocks.
By adding a blocks container, you can create a bootstrap container element that allows dropping blocks inside it. This is a useful feature for creating complex page layouts.
The following HTML syntax allows dropping blocks inside a bootstrap container element: [blocks-container]. This is a straightforward way to add a blocks container to your page builder.
Adding a blocks container is a simple process that can greatly enhance your page builder experience.
Extending PHPageBuilder
PHPageBuilder is a powerful tool for creating new blocks and layouts for your theme, making it easy to build specific websites and templates.
You can create new blocks and layouts for your theme very easily with PHPageBuilder.
However, if you're using PHPageBuilder in a CMS environment, you'll likely want to provide plugins or modules the ability to create their own blocks without modifying your theme's pre-existing components.
PHPageBuilder allows you to register blocks, layouts, and assets like CSS and JS from plugins, composer packages, or other environments.
This means you can extend PHPageBuilder to meet the needs of your CMS environment without having to touch your theme's core components.
Free and Open Source Options
Some free and open source website builders are available, but be aware that you'll still need to pay for domain and hosting expenses, regardless of the solution you choose.
Drupal is a free and open source content management system that allows you to build a website without coding. You can create new pages and blog posts, and manage your media library in the Content section.
In the Structure section, you can manage elements of your website like content types, menus, blocks, forms, and taxonomies.
Microweber.org is another free and open source website builder that uses the Laravel framework. It comes with a default template called Dream, which has over a dozen page layouts.
Publii is a free and open source static site generator that builds HTML pages from components or templates. You can choose from over 20 free and paid themes in the Publii Marketplace.
Here are some key features of these free and open source options:
- Drupal: over 40 thousand free modules to extend your website
- Microweber.org: modules like Calendar, Rating, Tags, and Video embedding
- Publii: SEO options, friendly URLs, and an XML sitemap
Droopler
Droopler is a free and open source Drupal distribution for building websites. It's based on the Drupal CMS and offers a complete set of functionalities without any coding required.
You can create extensive websites using read-made components, including a banner with a large photo, text, and a CTA button, a form with a title, image background, and icon, and a gallery with thumbnail images that expand on click.
Droopler also includes a blog made out of paragraphs, allowing you to easily add content like text, images, and embed a video.
Some key features of Droopler include:
- Automatic creation of friendly URLs and an XML sitemap
- Configuration of meta tags per page and ALT tags for all images
- Integration with Google Analytics
- Ready-made online shop with theming for e-commerce
With Droopler, you can create simple small business webpages, Drupal corporate websites, or website factories with multiple microsites. The number of sections you can add to a single subpage and the number of subpages you can create is unlimited.
Joomla
Joomla is an open source website builder that's free to use and lets you build, manage, and publish content.
You'll find several default templates when you install Joomla, but there are thousands more available online, both free and paid. Many of these templates allow you to modify fonts, colors, and layouts without coding, thanks to Joomla's graphical user interface.
Here are some of the publishing tools you'll find in Joomla:
- Publishing tools - they allow you to schedule publication of an article for a chosen day.
- WYSIWYG editor - lets you edit content without coding.
- Media Manager - a tool for adding and managing images and other types of files.
- SEO optimization - you can enable friendly URLs, URL rewriting, and add meta descriptions and keywords.
To extend or add new features to your Joomla website, you'll need to install a dedicated extension. There are over six thousand of them available, both free and paid.
WordPress
WordPress is a great option for building a website, and the best part is that it's free to use. You'll just need to cover the cost of hosting.
You'll get three preformatted themes to choose from, but with over 8,000 free themes available on the WordPress webpage, you're spoiled for choice.
The WordPress Editor is incredibly powerful, allowing you to move, modify, and customize every block of your webpage. You can even assign roles to users, such as administrator, editor, and contributor.
The media management feature is a breeze to use - simply drag and drop files to WordPress, and you can insert them as images or galleries to your website. The Media Library also lets you search, view, edit, and delete your media with ease.
SEO is taken care of with WordPress' built-in tools, which let you change permalinks to custom ones. And with over 50,000 plugins available, you can add features like forms and Google Analytics connectivity to your website.
Here are some key features of WordPress:
- Media management: drag and drop files, insert as images or galleries
- SEO: change permalinks, configure more with plugins
- Plugins: over 50,000 available, including forms and Google Analytics
Best Website Builders for Small Business Owners
If you're a small business owner, you're likely looking for a website builder that's easy to use and gets the job done quickly. Website builders are the tools that allow you to create a webpage without coding.
Most website builders should be easy and intuitive to use, so you don't have to spend too much time building your website. They should also have design options that allow you to customize your website to fit your business's needs.
For restaurant and retail-store owners, there's a website builder designed specifically to create an online store or restaurant website. It's especially easy to use and provides free hosting, but its design options are limited.
Website builders that offer free hosting can be a great option for small business owners on a budget.
Getting Started and Customization
PHPagebuilder is designed with customization in mind, featuring an extensive example config file to help you adapt it to your needs.
You can easily customize PHPagebuilder by modifying its four modules: Auth, Website Manager, Pagebuilder, and Routing. Each module can be disabled or replaced with your own implementation.
To replace a module, implement the corresponding Contract and swap out the default class with your own in the config file. This flexibility makes PHPagebuilder a great choice for those who want a high degree of control over their website's functionality.
Installation
To get started with PHPagebuilder, you have two main installation options: the quick start path or integrating it into your own framework or project structure.
The quick start path is designed for rapidly setting up a new website, allowing you to get up and running quickly.
You can also choose to integrate PHPagebuilder into your existing project structure, giving you more control over how it fits into your overall development workflow.
This approach requires more customization, but it's a great option if you're already invested in a specific framework or structure.
Customize Page Builder
PHPagebuilder is built with customization in mind, making it a great choice for those who want to tailor their website to their needs.
It comes with an extensive example config file that you can easily adapt to your website's requirements.
Each module, such as Auth, Website Manager, Pagebuilder, and Routing, can be disabled or replaced with your own implementation.
To replace a module, you'll need to implement the corresponding Contract and replace the default class with your own class in the config file.
This level of customization gives you the flexibility to create a website that perfectly suits your vision.
Learning and Resources
If you're looking for a free PHP builder, you've got several options to consider. Wix, for example, offers a drag-and-drop editor that's perfect for beginners, and it's completely free to use.
Wix's free plan includes 500 MB of storage, which is more than enough to build a basic website. You can also customize your site with a range of templates and design tools.
One of the best things about Wix is its user-friendly interface, which makes it easy to build a website even if you have no coding experience. This is especially helpful if you're new to web development.
Weebly is another popular free PHP builder that's worth checking out. Its drag-and-drop editor is similar to Wix's, and it offers a range of templates and design tools to help you build a professional-looking site.
Weebly's free plan includes 500 MB of storage, just like Wix, and it also offers a range of e-commerce features to help you sell products online. This makes it a great option if you're looking to build an online store.
If you're looking for a more advanced PHP builder, you might want to consider WordPress. WordPress offers a range of free themes and plugins that can help you build a custom website, and its user-friendly interface makes it easy to use even if you have no coding experience.
WordPress's free plan includes a range of features, including a drag-and-drop page builder and a range of SEO tools to help you optimize your site for search engines. This makes it a great option if you're looking to build a professional-looking website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I host a PHP website for free?
Yes, you can host a PHP website for free, but check if your hosting provider allows custom domain configuration. Free PHP hosting options may include subdomains or custom domains, depending on the provider.
Sources
- https://www.droptica.com/blog/6-best-open-source-website-builders/
- https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-website-builder-for-small-businesses/
- https://github.com/HansSchouten/PHPageBuilder
- https://devrims.com/blog/php-tutorial-websites/
- https://www.liveabout.com/websites-for-learning-php-2071891
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