A professional website is an essential element of any business. In the era of the coronavirus pandemic, having one is especially important. Lockdowns are forcing potential customers to stay home and limiting business operations. Therefore, many business activities have moved online. Today, the global web is the easiest place to find potential customers.
According to a report by Divante, the value of the e-commerce market increased by over 30% in the first quarter of 2020. This figure perfectly illustrates the importance of online business activity.
For many entrepreneurs, having a good website is essential for survival. This isn't just true for those selling online. The coronavirus crisis has impacted virtually every industry, causing a drastic drop in revenue.
Can you afford to invest in your online presence in a difficult financial situation? Does a good website have to cost several thousand złoty? Can you create one yourself, even without experience in coding or graphic design? The answer to all these questions is "yes." Simply use a website builder to create your website.
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What are website builders?
Until recently, virtually all websites were created through coding. While simple graphical website creation programs existed, their quality left much to be desired. Projects created with them tended to look unprofessional. Furthermore, the functionality of these tools was limited.
A breakthrough in website design came with the advent of content management systems (CMS), primarily WordPress, the most popular of them today. It's estimated that up to 40% of websites were created using this solution! However, it's not a perfect solution. CMS systems were designed for easy editing of existing websites, not for creating them from scratch.
Therefore, they are not without their drawbacks. Firstly, creating a truly original and professional website with them still requires coding. Secondly, they require the use of numerous, often paid, plugins. These slow down the page and can negatively impact site security.
Website builders were created to address these issues. These tools are designed to help users design websites without coding. They are used by both professional web designers and home-based developers.
The former group values them for their flexibility and reduced workload. Thanks to wizards, there's no need to create mockups that are hand-coded by a web developer. The project is also a working website that can be published online with a single click.
For amateurs, a user-friendly interface is paramount. Most creators resemble solutions found in graphics programs. Learning to use these tools is therefore intuitive.
One such website builder is WebWave, developed in Warsaw. This tool has been chosen by over 320,000 users, making WebWave the largest Polish tool of its kind.
Build websites like blocks, i.e. working in the WebWave creator
To get started with WebWave, simply register on the website by entering your email address and creating a password. The program, as well as the websites you create with it, are available in the cloud. There's no need to install it on your hard drive.
After registering, you can choose whether to use a template or create a design from scratch. WebWave templates are divided into thematic categories. They are easy to edit and customize to your individual preferences. Each element can be moved, duplicated, or deleted. You can also customize its appearance.
As we've already mentioned, from a user's perspective, most website builders resemble graphic design programs. WebWave is no exception. When you launch the builder, you'll see a design area in the center of the screen.
On the left side is a list of elements. Here, you can choose from components such as text boxes, menus, images, galleries, and more. On the right side, you'll find the settings panel, which allows you to change element and page parameters. There's also a layers panel, which allows you to arrange elements on different levels, preventing them from merging and allowing for easier editing of individual elements.
Whether you use a template or create a page from scratch, working in the design window is similar. The difference is that with pre-made templates, you don't have to design the page layout yourself. Simply modify existing elements, for example, swapping out illustrations and text, or changing the color scheme or arrangement of elements.
Adapting the website to mobile devices
Over 50% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. Google has been prioritizing user experience when indexing websites for some time now. Therefore, adapting your website to the small screens of phones and tablets is essential.
WebWave makes this task easier. Thanks to its automatic RWD feature, the program automatically adjusts the size and layout of page elements to the screen size on which it will be displayed. You can also manually change the website's appearance in mobile modes.
Publishing the website on the Internet
To make your website accessible to internet users, simply click the "publish" button located in the top menu of the wizard.
The page will be published at a randomly generated address. You can easily change this address by connecting your own domain to the page.
Hosting and domain connection
Hosting, the service of storing a website on a server, is free with WebWave. If you created a website using the builder, it's already hosted on the servers.
Connecting a domain in the WebWave creator is easy. Simply access the Webmaster Panel, which is accessible after logging in to your account, and select the appropriate option from the menu. You can also connect a website created in WebWave to an existing domain purchased from a third-party provider.
SEO
The WebWave builder is also a website SEO tool . Here, you can add structured data, extended descriptions, and Robots.txt files, among other things. Those without extensive SEO experience can use the SEO analyzer. It suggests how to ensure individual pages appear as high as possible in search results. This allows even those with no previous SEO experience to begin their SEO journey. However, it's important to remember that with website builders, full website optimization isn't possible – for example, due to a lack of full access to the website's code. Content optimization and creating an appropriate link profile will therefore play a key role. It's also important to remember that self-hosting can be fully customized to your needs. However, we have little control over the parameters of the hosting integrated with WebWave.
Analytics
Analyzing website traffic helps optimize content and functionality. Google Analytics is the most commonly used tool for analysis . This versatile tool provides a wealth of information about user behavior. Websites created in WebWave can be easily integrated with this program.
Extensions and add-ons
Google Analytics is not the only tool that can be connected to a website built in the WebWave builder.
We have dozens of different applications to choose from. These include mailing systems, Google Maps, and systems for collecting payments directly on the website.
Adding your own code
Although working with WebWave doesn't require knowledge of HTML or CSS, you can easily add your own code snippets in the wizard. This allows you to expand the capabilities of your website and add additional functionality.
Contract work
WebWave has several features designed for client collaboration. These include the ability to add comments to a website's design , automatically send invoices to clients, and share a CMS panel.
Advantages of the WebWave wizard
Creating websites with WebWave doesn't require writing a single line of code. Even beginners can create a website.
- You will create a design with single-pixel accuracy
Any page element can be placed anywhere.
WebWave allows you not only to build a website, but also to publish it on the Internet, connect a domain, and position it.
WebWave Limitations
Although WebWave is a fairly universal tool, it won't work in every situation. Like any solution, it has its limitations.
The lack of customer relationship management features may prove problematic for users who want to create a large online store with a large user base.
- Need to learn the user interface
While creating pages in WebWave isn't very complicated, learning the user interface can take a while.
- No possibility to create a forum
WebWave lacks the ability to create a discussion forum for site users. The ability to add an external commenting system compensates for this.
- Inability to implement complex projects
WebWave is primarily suited for creating company business cards, portfolios, blogs, sales pages, and simple online stores. It's not suitable for creating complex sales platforms, social media portals, or online gaming sites.
How much is it?
Creating a professional website by an agency or freelancer costs at least several thousand złoty. This is the price for a simple online business card. More complex projects, such as online stores, will be correspondingly more expensive.
The price also depends on many other factors, including the experience and reputation of the contractor and the project completion date.
On top of that, you have to factor in domain and hosting fees, which amount to at least several hundred zlotys per year. And don't forget about website update fees.
Website builders allow for significant cost reductions. With WebWave, creating a functioning website and hosting are free. The Premium package, which allows you to connect your own domain to your website and effectively optimize SEO, costs 30 PLN net per month. This also includes the cost of the domain. If you choose the .pl extension, it's free for the first year. After that, you pay 99 PLN per year, with a fixed-price guarantee.
Summary
WebWave is an alternative to coding and the somewhat difficult-to-use WordPress system. Working with this builder requires no experience, and all features directly related to website design are available without restrictions and for free.
Jan ChmielowskiThis post was written by Jan Chmielowski, a Content Designer at WebWave . He's interested in design and new technologies. Besides marketing, he's passionate about music and cooking.
Frequently asked questions about WebWave
WebWave is a Polish website builder that allows you to create a professional, fully functional website from scratch or using ready-made templates, without the need to know any programming or coding languages.
The platform features a true drag-and-drop interface, which works more like graphics programs (like Photoshop or Canva) than traditional block-based creators. This gives the user complete freedom – every element (text, graphics, buttons) can be freely positioned with pixel-precision.
Yes. The tool allows you to manually adjust the appearance of your website to suit different screen sizes. The creator has full control over how the website will look and behave on computer monitors, tablets, and smartphones.
No. WebWave is a comprehensive cloud-based solution (SaaS). As part of your chosen subscription plan, the platform provides reliable hosting, a free SSL security certificate, and makes it easy to register and connect your own internet address (domain).
The builder is very search engine friendly. It offers a built-in SEO panel that allows you to independently edit the most important elements that influence your Google ranking: meta tags (Title and Description), friendly URLs, headings (H1-H6), and ALT attributes for images.
Designed with freelancers and marketing agencies in mind, the White Label feature allows clients to access the CMS (Customized Management System) under their own logo and agency address, completely concealing the fact that the website was built using the WebWave engine.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- In the era of growing importance of e-commerce, a professional website is crucial for the survival of a company, and thanks to website builders, you can create one yourself and at a low cost.
- Website builders are intuitive tools that allow you to quickly and easily design professional websites without the need for coding.
- Working in the cloud-based WebWave creator involves intuitive editing of ready-made templates or creating your own layouts using the drag-and-drop method, without the need to install software.
- WebWave offers automatic and manual RWD functionality, allowing you to easily adapt your website to mobile devices, ensuring better positioning in Google.
- WebWave enables precise website creation without coding and comprehensive management, however, due to the lack of CRM and advanced features, it is not suitable for building extensive social media platforms or complex stores.
- Using the WebWave creator significantly reduces the costs of running an online business by offering free website creation and hosting, while professional agency services cost at least several thousand zlotys.
