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How To Build A Website From Scratch

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Whenever you want to build a new website for your business there are only two options. First option is to choose a website builder platform that lets you customize a template to some extent, and the second option is to learn HTML & CSS at minimum if you want to build the entire website from scratch with full customizability. What if you want to build a custom website without the coding skills to achieve it? We have the exact tool you're looking for! However we'll first break down the first two options and then show you a tool that helps you build a custom website without coding in HTML & CSS.

Option A (Easy): Template

Website templates would be more than enough for most of the people looking to build their website either for personal or business purposes. Website builder platforms like Wordpress, Wix, Squarespace and so on make it very easy for the average user to design their website without any coding or even design skills, you simply drag in-n-drop components and fill them with content.

Pros of using website templates:

  • No need to hire a website developer
  • No coding or graphic design skills required
  • Fast and easy to build a website
  • Suitable for most types of websites
  • Cost & time effective

Cons of using website templates:

  • Limited custom design capabilities
  • Competitors are likely using the same template
  • Are over bloated with code that slow down the site
  • Difficult to integrate custom back-end applications

Option B (Difficult): HTML, CSS & Javascript

Coding the site yourself with HTML & CSS gives you the full freedom to build a website without hitting any limitations that come from templates. We don't mean this method is very difficult but we meant it in terms of relative difficulty to other options mentioned in this post.

However, its important to mention that HTML & CSS are just for styling and giving the website a foundation, so be prepared to learn Javascript, Python, SQL, Angular and many other languages depending on the functionality you're looking to implement into your website. Only choose this route if you really want to get the most out of a website whether for you or for businesses.

Pros of coding a website:

  • Full website design freedom
  • Endless customizations
  • Complete control over the website
  • Integrate custom applications

Cons of coding a website:

  • Large barrier-to-entry
  • Requires tons of time, effort and investment
  • MUST learn multiple coding languages
  • Website can easily break down if not built right
  • Constant maintenance

Option C (Intermediate): Webflow

If you're looking to build a custom website without dealing with the coding side of things, we recommend you go with Webflow. Its a no-code website design and development platform that lets you build custom websites from scratch on a visual canvas, in fact, we used it to build our site here at Compile Marketing and for our clients as well. Its also being used by well-known companies like Dell, Zendesk, Petal, and more companies that you can learn about from the case studies. So far the feedback from our clients and the web design community has been very positive on the platform.

Webflow does have a learning curve, however its much easier to learn than coding and it is very well documented on their website with high quality tutorials called Webflow University which makes the learning a breeze.

Pros of Webflow:

  • Full design customization capabilities without coding
  • Freedom to build any type of website without limitations
  • Runs on clean code for a much faster & secure website
  • Implement & prototype designs much quicker
  • Separate user interfaces for clients & developers
  • Powerful CMS for any type of dynamic content
  • Integrates with any third-party application
  • Integrated hosting by Webflow (no third-party hosting)
  • Advanced SEO controls

Cons of Webflow:

  • Steep learning curve (easier than coding)
  • eCommerce features not as developed as other platforms.
  • Not an All-In-One platform like WIX (requires third-party apps)
  • Could cost more due to third-party subscriptions
  • Limited to 100 static pages (for now)

Conclusion

Hopefully by now you have an idea what each side of the spectrum has to offer, ranging from the most basic templates for a quick and easy website build to having a tool that gives you customization way beyond what templates have to offer or choosing the most advanced method that gives you total control over your website.

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