All too often today the medias show offers for free websites. I like free things too but is it the best choice? I think it is a bit of a clickbait and most often you end up buying a domain anyway.
If you are totally new to the business I advise to find a program that offers a free trial with a free website but most importantly a training where you can learn how to make a website and 24/7 support.
If you are a master of website building and already know what it takes to get your website on Google search engine page one, you can use a free website. But I bet you know better by then.
So either way, newbie or advanced, a free website is only good for trying something out or if you want to produce a ton of websites without a real domain.
What are free websites – can you really own one?
Free websites are sites with so-called “subdomains”. These websites will never be your property and can be deleted by the provider any time he likes.
This is something no advertising will tell you but in fact, it is exactly like this. You’ll never be sure what happens to your free website and will never be able to take it with you and host it where you want.
It is tempting to get a free website and I myself, as you might have seen, give you the option to create two free sites. The difference of my product though, there is a training involved.
There are four big companies offering free websites for life. Three of them are hosting companies and one is a learning platform.
Wix websites, I’m sure you have heard of them. They offer a free wix.com website for life and when you get it they tell you how to build the website.
Wix websites are not WordPress websites and can only be operated at Wix. Another disadvantage is that all your SEO and marketing knowledge you have to collect your self.
Another one is Weebly, you get a weebly.com site. These too, are not WordPress sites and can only be hosted at Weebly.
Even after you purchase a domain and host on Weebly you can never change the host because they have their own website system.
Number three is Website.com. There you can build a free website but are limited to 10 articles. Same as the above, Website.com does have its own website building system.
What does make them a better service than number one and two, is that they actually teach you about the website marketing business and about SEO.
Last but not least you can go to SiteRubix. There you get two WordPress websites, free hosting and get access to a 7-day free trial of almost all services.
Siterubix.com websites are also subdomains but they get a first class hosting and you can take advantage of what I think is the best training available.
Now you see, there are lots of possibilities where you can make a free or paid website but places where you can learn the necessary skills are limited.
Where can you learn how to make a website?
In fact, there are quite a number of programs claiming to teach you the techniques of making a website. You can even collect the knowledge on the internet.
I made a great experience with one particular program, it is my favorite and only recommendation in this field. Find my link at the bottom of this post.
You have to know, there is so much to know about the website making and monetizing the business. Most of the programmes I reviewed only cover one or the other part of the complex skill set.
Another thing I can not highlight enough is to make sure you have a fast and 24/7 life support. Ther’s nothing worse than being stuck somewhere in the process and having to wait for help for hours or sometimes even days.
If you look out for website building training, make sure they provide these features.
- Explaining the importance of a good niche choice and training on how to find one.
- Getting started course (build the website step by step).
- Training on website structure and obligatory pages like the about me and privacy policy page.
- Training on what plugins are and how to use them, pros and cons.
- Training on menu, widgets creation and customizing.
- In-depth explanation and training of SEO techniques and keyword research.
- Training on how to use and about the impact of imagery and video.
- Education on creating great content and explaining the importance of it.
- Training on affiliate marketing.
- Training on email listing and the advantages of it.
- Explaining the importance and training on using social engagement.
- 24/7 live support, better also an active live chat.
- Possibility to interact with other students live or within comment forums.
You can see now, this is a long list. To make sure you get all this and more delivered is not easy. If only one of these listed criteria is missing you’ll have trouble achieving success as a website operator.
Of course, there are further tools necessary in the process of making a website great and getting traffic and these tools must also be addressed.
The keyword research tool, for example, is a tool you will need every day and is essential for getting your website ranked by Google. (See my Jaaxy review).
A good website hosting platform is also a tool that should be provided by an all in one website building program. To have easy access to your website and work on it as you learn is key to success.
If you need to jump around from program to program you lose time and the whole process is getting complicated and overwhelming.
A website host should offer the latest technology, best server attributes, and website security. Page loading speed is another criteria a good host should keep an eye on.
Did you know that comments and feedback on your website are an important aspect of your improvement? Ther are only very few programs providing these features.
My conclusion, free vs paid websites with a program where you can learn how to make a website.
I would look for a program that lets you build a website for free and gives the training to build it. A free sign-up for a limited time that lets you find out if the website operating job is something you want to invest your time and money.
I’d check the program for providing all the above-mentioned criteria and build a free website to see how everything works.
You can learn a lot without using a paid learning platform on websites like this one and many others but in the end, you need a lot more.
It is absolutely the easiest way to go if you have hosting, training, tools, community, and support in one place.
If you are interested in having a look at a program that provides all these features and much more please click on the green banner below.
If you want to get information on the price click here.
Thnks for your interest.
This rounds up the topic of today. I hope you have enjoyed the post and could find some useful information. Of course, these recommendations are backed by my personal experience of website building.
I might be a little spoiled by the program I work with but trust me, I would be happy to spoil you too 🙂
If you have questions, opinions or just like to tell me about your experience please leave a comment below. I and my readers are happy to see what you have to say.
I hope you have a great time, find a good start in the website-operating business and wish you all the best.
See you, Stefan 🙂 asuperaffiliate.com
I really liked this article.
I’ve seen the commercials for Wix but you have me intrigued by SiteRubix as well.
I had no idea it was connected to such training. Well written! Thank you!
Hi Eric, thanks for the comment.
The Wix commercials are on youtube all the time I know. They sound like making a website is the easiest thing.
The technical part of making a website is easy for a fact, at Wealthy Affiliate it takes only some 2 minutes.
What the hard part is, they don’t talk in the commercial, the getting seen and found on the internet, getting traffic.
SiteRubix being part of Wealthy Affiliate is only one part of a big all in one service that lets you learn every skill needed to get successful in the internet business.
And as most often, an all in one package is much cheaper than buying every component by itself.
Have a gert day, Stefan 🙂
Well written,
WA is not only a school but a great community they help each other develop,
nice to meet you in the wa!
Have a nice day!!
Thanks, Danny for commenting.
To work with WA is totally relaxing due to being in touch with thousands of like-minded people from all over the world.
A thousand minds focusing on one topic can bring up much more value than just one teacher.
All the best to you, see you, Stefan 🙂
Building a website is not easy and you need to learn a lot.
In the same time, you also need to spend lots of time building your organic traffic.
Paying to learn something new is something worth it and I totally agree with you. This is a great post which gives a bigger impact to a beginner.
I will share your post. Keep it up. Cheers!
Regards
Jaden
Hi Jaden, and thanks for the comment.
At WA they got it on the spot, earning while learning. Also the moto learning while doing is a great approach.
Once we are done with the training our websites are up and running. Some are already generating money some have to improve what they learned.
It is like in every business if you want to be ahead of the competition you need to be up to date.
The best way to be in this position is to choose a training platform that is helping over a million people already.
Have a great day, see you, Stefan 🙂
Great post, I like the writing style, it’s great.
I’ve never tried Wix or Weebly, I don’t think they’re any good.
They all advertise how making a website is super easy, it is not, I’ve tried Godaddy with their builder long time ago, I don’t like the experience.
WordPress is definitely the best solution, I would also recommend Webflow, but this one is a little special.
Hi, Calvin and thanks for commenting.
I tried Wix and can not say that they are not any good but I think it is quite confusing, at least in the beginning.
They use a drag and drop system for the website building process and each field gives a small training the first time you click on it.
The problem and also the reason why I didn’t finish my website is because they fill all of the templates with pre-created text and pics what forces you to change everything before publishing.
I prefer working with WordPress sites, here you start with an empty page and add what you like.
I also like WordPress sites because they are the most flexible sites to work with.
I’m still convinced starting with a free SiteRubix site is the best practice and offers the best insight on building a business online.
Have a great time, see you, Stefan 🙂
A well written easy to follow article on “learn how to make a website”.
Using one of a selection of hosting platforms and promoting the advantages of Site Rubix in Wealthy Affiliate.
I really appreciated the list of attributes to look out for when choosing a web hosting platform.
A very informative article which I am bookmarking for future reference
Thank you.
Hi, Judy and thanks for visiting. I really appreciate your comment look forward to hearing from you again.
I thought creating this list can be very helpful for website building beginners.
There are so many things we have to consider and learn. A newbie has normally no idea what is involved in the website making process.
I wish you all the best, see you, Stefan 🙂
Hi Stefan thank you for a great article, I really enjoyed reading it.
It’s great to start out with a free website however I believe if someone is serious about building a real online business then they will need to invest some money at some point.
I am familiar with your recommendation Wealthy Affiliate and I can say it is a great platform that provides the 3 things needed for online success, Education, Website and Expert Help.
I have bookmarked your site and will be visiting often to read more of your interesting articles… keep up the good work!
Hi Moni, thanks for commenting.
You are right, to start for free is a great option. But for sure, any training program teaching how to start an online business has to ask for at least some kind of fee.
It would be a bad example for the students if they did it all for free.
WA offers the biggest amount of services in the industry for the money and it also keeps the promise that when doing the training right you will be prepared for earning a lot of money.
I’m glad you like my articles, I try my best outing topics relevant to the niche and to the readers.
Have a great time, see you, Stefan 🙂
Hi Stefan,
I’ve considered building a website using other platforms than Wealthy Affiliate.
What I realized is the tools you get, the support, the training, and much more is a steal for the price! It’s an All-in-one package for those who are serious about starting a long-lasting Online Business.
I’ve actually tried other free services out there, but the value you get is nothing compared to WA.
Maybe I am a little biased, but it’s free to get started, so what do you have to lose right?
Thanks for sharing!
– Eric
Hi Eric, nice to see you back.
You got the point there, the price for what we get from Wealthy Affiliate is way under average. No upsells but updates all the time.
Have you heard, they plan to upgrade the whole dashboard in the next few weeks. It will be great and even easier to navigate through the almost endless number of features.
I think so too, it’s always worth a try due to signing up without using a credit card.
All the best to you, see you, Stefan 🙂
Good information, Steff.
I didn’t know about some of the other programs.
Sounds like Wealthy Affiliate is definitely the way to go.
Hi Frank, thanks for the comment.
Oh you know, there are a lot more programs available out there but I didn’t want to mention them all.
The best one is important to know and that is as you say, Wealthy Affiliate.
All the best, see you, Stefan 🙂