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Website Builder Packages: Everything You Need to Know

Posted on April 15, 2019 by Hosting

The post Website Builder Packages: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog . The time has come to take the plunge and learn how to build a new website . You’ve already decided that using a website builder is the right choice for you— a web designer is too expensive, and you don’t have the skills to build it from scratch. Now you just need to decide on the best website builder package for you. What’s Included in Website Builder Packages? Website builder brands generally offer a number of different website builder plans that each package together different features, customization tools, website templates, and services. Since every plan is different, what’s included in a website builder package depends on the particular company you go with and plan you choose. There are some common features and services you can expect to find in the website builder packages you consider. Common Features Included in Basic Website Builder Plans Most website builder packages you encounter will include most, if not all of these basic plan features. They’re some of the most essential things to look for in a website builder plan. Web Templates Part of what makes creating a beautiful website with a website builder so easy is the option to start with a design template. The web design template provides a basic structure for you to start with so you don’t have to build anything from scratch—you make changes to what’s there already. Any good website builder package you consider should offer a number of templates for you to choose from. Drag-and-drop functionality Good website builders provide an intuitive website editor that allows you to move items around on the page easily with the drag and drop function. When you want to move a button or image a little to the left, simply click on it and drag it to where it should go. It makes turning the template you choose into the website you imagine a simple process. Ability to change colors and add original images In addition to moving elements on the page around, you also need to be able to change out the color scheme to your preferences and include images that are unique to your site. A good website builder should let you select your color and fill in spaces on the page with a simple click. And it should make loading and positioning your original photographs or illustrations an easy process as well. Some storage All the different elements of your website will take up some space. Each image and word requires some bit of storage, and bigger files like videos or audio will require more. Even the most basic website builder plans should provide some storage for you, although for free or cheap plans, it might not be much. Customer service Even for website builders that are easy to use and generally work well, you may come up against an issue where you need help from a human. Any website builder package worth considering—particularly any that comes at a cost—needs to include access to customer service staff you can reach out to when you need help. Educational resources Often it’s more convenient to find your own answers though, and website builder plans should also include a library of educational resources such as tutorials, articles, or videos that explain how to use the website builder and all the different features included. Premium Features Included in Some Website Builder Plans While for some people, a simple website builder that includes little more than the features above will work just fine, for a lot of website owners, especially for those making a business website who want to run an ecommerce store, you’ll need a website builder package that provides more advanced features. Here are some of the features included in premium website builder packages. Ad free With free website builder plans, the company often makes money by displaying ads on your website. You have limited control over what ad shows up where and must accept a website that looks more cluttered and  not as professional because of the cost of choosing that plan. One of the main benefits of paying for a better website builder package is getting that control back and knowing your website will be ad free (or only include ads that you profit from directly). Domain name Once you register a domain name , that will be the main address people will find you with on the web. Choosing the perfect domain name that’s memorable is important for any website to have. Some website builders may come with a free domain name included—either one that’s a subdomain of the website builder’s domain (e.g. something like websitebuildername.yourname.com), or a unique domain (yourname.com). There are branding and SEO (search engine optimization) benefits to having your own unique domain name. Website builder packages that don’t come with a domain name included in the cost may still make it easy for you to find and register one from within the platform. Web hosting Web hosting is a necessary expense for any website that wants to go live online. But it’s an expense you can save on if you go with a website builder package that includes it in the price. If you do go with a website builder plan that includes web hosting, make sure it comes from a web hosting provider that has a strong reputation in the industry for consistent uptime and speed.   Email accounts If you send people emails from a Hotmail or AOL account, you look unprofessional. Gmail’s a step up, but it’s still not quite as impressive as sending an email from an address at your own domain name. Many premium website builder packages include the option to create email addresses at your domain name . Sometimes they’ll allow just a limited number, sometimes you can create as many as you want, which is a useful option for large and small business owners that want all employees to have a branded email address. eCommerce options Not all website owners will need eCommerce options, but if you hope to ever sell products through your website, then they’re essential. Some premium website builder packages specialize in eCommerce store features, providing shopping cart functionality, an easy checkout process, and a secure way to accept payments. If this is something you’ll need, it’s important to find a plan that supports it. Mobile friendly options Having a website that’s mobile friendly is no longer optional. A good portion of your visitors will view your website on a mobile device and, if it doesn’t look good or the functionality is lacking in that format, you’ll lose them. A bad mobile experience is also bad for SEO. A good website builder plan will include easy ways to create a website that’s mobile friendly, such as offering responsive website templates. Supports multiple websites Some website builder packages will allow you to use the builder to create multiple websites under the same plan. You’ll still need a separate domain for each, but you can do all the design work and monitoring in one place without paying extra. Ability to take your website with you Website builder plans typically use a subscription model, meaning that you’ll pay monthly or yearly for as long as you keep your website. If down the line you decide you want to switch to a different website builder, many plans won’t allow you to take what you’ve built with you. Some premium plans will let you export the website you have so you won’t have to start from scratch with a new plan. Unlimited pages For simple websites that don’t include many pages, a basic website builder plan that allows for one page or just a few will do the trick. But for more complicated websites that will include product pages, a blog, or lots of educational resources, you need the option to expand. Many premium website builder plans allow you to build websites with unlimited pages. High level of storage As previously mentioned, all website builders should provide some level of storage, but premium plans will often offer much more of it than basic plans. For any websites that will have a lot of pages, images, and media elements, having more storage will allow you to grow as you need without limitations. More bandwidth The amount of bandwidth your website builder plan includes will affect how fast and consistently your site loads for visitors. This is especially important for websites that get a high level of traffic or include media elements that require more bandwidth to load, like high resolution images and videos. Premium plans usually include higher bandwidth so you can count on faster load times for your visitors. Add-on apps Many website builder packages include access to an app store which offers a number of different apps you can add to your website builder to increase the functionality of your website. Add-on apps can provide new e-commerce website features, more advanced analytics, different ways to embed social media, and additional security options. Before settling on a particular website builder package, consider what add-on apps are available that may be useful for your website. SEO features With so many websites online, getting noticed is a challenge. Search engine optimization is important  because it’s  one of the best ways to make sure people can find your website when they’re searching for the kind of information and products you provide. While there’s a lot to doing SEO well, the right website builder package can make some of the initial steps easier with handy SEO features that enable on-site optimization, such as customizing your URLs, creating SEO-focused title tags , and adding image tags with target keywords. Mobile app If you want the ability to work on and update your website on the go, look for a website builder package that includes a mobile app. When you can easily make updates to your website from your phone, that provides flexibility to get your website done faster and more efficiently, no matter where you’re working from. Automated backups Even if creating your website is quick and easy with a website builder, that doesn’t mean you want to risk having to start over from scratch due to losing everything. To keep your website safe and avoid having to re-do work, consider a package that includes automated website backups or offers the option as an affordable add-on. You won’t have to make a point of remembering manual backups, and you’ll always have easy access to the last version of your website if you need to restore it. Security features Websites get hacked. It’s an unfortunate risk of putting yourself out there on the web. That’s why it’s so important to secure your website from hackers right from the start. You can reduce your website’s vulnerability with the help of security features like an SSL certificate and security software. Some website builder packages will include security features as part of the cost, or as add-ons you can buy. Analytics Analytics give you a snapshot of how many people are visiting your website, how they find it, and how they interact with it once there. No matter what your website goals are, whether that be for a business or blog, following your website analytics is the best way to understand how well you’re achieving them and determine any changes you should make to do better. A good website builder package will provide access to analytics in your dashboard so it’s easy to check how your website is performing every time you log in. The Cost of Website Builder Packages As you’d expect, the more premium features a website builder package includes, the more you’ll be spending. Most basic affordable website builder plans start at around $4 a month and provide all the most essential features you need to build a simple website with just a few pages and elements. For a more complicated website that will require a lot of pages, an e-commerce store, or more media elements, you’ll want to consider a website builder package that offers more of the premium features you need. These fall somewhere in the $10-$50 a month range. Keep in mind that, in some cases, spending more on a website builder package can save you money by avoiding the cost of expenses you’d otherwise pay for separately. For example, no matter what, you’ll need to invest in web hosting for your website. If your website builder plan doesn’t include it, you’ll be paying separately for it. Carefully consider both the cost of the plan itself, and what you’ll be getting for that cost. How to Compare Website Builder Plans in 4 Simple Steps There are a lot of website builder plans out there. Trying to research them all to find the right one can be overwhelming. Here are a few tips to help you figure out how to hone in on the best one for you. 1. Figure out your priorities. You’ll have an easier time identifying the right plan for you if you start by defining what you need. Some of the features listed above will be necessities for you. Some will be nice-to-have, but not required. And others will be completely inconsequential to the website you plan to build. Figure out which features fall into which category so you start your search with a list of what you need and want. 2. Research different providers. Now go looking for website builders that offer the items on your list. You can easily rule out any plans that don’t provide your must-have features and compare the plans that offer your nice-to-have ones. 3. Consider a company’s different plans. For website builder companies that offer packages that cover all the bases you need, also take a minute to look at their higher-level plans. Even though you may not need all the features offered in their more expensive plans right away, you want to have room to grow. If you’ll need those premium features later, it’s good to know you can easily upgrade with the website builder you choose now to get them. 4. Make your choice. With your list and a little research into your options, you should be able to easily identify the website builder packages that come the closest to what you need for a price you can afford. Decide which of them is the best fit, and make your purchase. Start Building Your Website HostGator’s website builder offers users many of the features included in the list, including free website hosting from one of the most respected providers in the industry. If you want to get started with one of our website builder packages, sign up for our hosting services today. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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How Much Does a Website Cost?

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Hosting

The post How Much Does a Website Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog . How much does a website cost? Is there a general range I should expect to pay for a new website? If you’re just getting started online, then you’ve probably turned these questions over in your head. They’re very important questions to answer. Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward answer for either of them. It all depends on the goals of your site, the type of site you’re building, and the method you’re going to take to build out your website. As a general rule of thumb the more hands-on you’re going to be throughout the process the lower the cost will be. So, using a website builder or a CMS will be much cheaper than hiring a professional website designer. Below we’ll examine how much a website costs to build, as well as the factors that will influence the overall cost. Website Cost Considerations The price of your website will depend on a lot of different factors. Both pre-existing factors, as well as the type of site you’re going to build. Here are a few of the main considerations that will influence the overall price. 1. Your Choice of Domain and Hosting Every website needs a domain name and hosting. Your domain name is what people will type into the address bar to access your site. While your hosting is where all of your website’s files will be stored. You can purchase these together or separately. 2. The Platform That Powers Your Site You’re going to have a lot of different options when it comes to building out your site. You can use a website builder, choose a CMS like WordPress , or even hire a professional to build your site for you. With WordPress, you can rely on free themes and plugins to reduce your overall cost, while with a website builder you’ll typically pay a monthly fee. Hiring a web developer will be the most expensive option. We’ll cover this in more detail below. 3. The Type of Website You’re Building The type of website you’re building will greatly influence the overall cost. For example, if you’re building a simple personal blog, then your expenses will be very low. But, if you’re building out a complex eCommerce store, then you should expect higher website build costs. Generally, the more complex and feature-rich your website, the higher the cost will be. But, this cost can be offset by doing most of the design tasks yourself, or using the right website builder software or CMS. Essential Website Expenses: Domains and Hosting Costs The overall cost of building your site will be greatly influenced by factors above, like the type of site you’re building, and what software or platform will form the foundation for your site. But, there are two essential expenses to building a website that you won’t be able to avoid: your domain name and hosting. Here’s how the cost of these two elements breaks down. 1. Domain Name Costs Your domain name is probably one of the first things you’ll purchase. Your domain name is the URL that people will type into their website browser to actually view your site. We won’t get into choosing your domain name here. But here are a few great resources for choosing the perfect domain name: How You Can Choose the Best Domain Name for Your Blog The 7 Best Domain Name Suggestion Tools Is My Domain Name Available? Every domain isn’t created equal. Most domains will run you around $9 to $15 per year. However, the costs can run up into the hundreds or thousands, if you’re absolutely set on a certain domain. Here are a few factors that will influence the overall cost of your domain : The Top-Level Domain The top-level domain is the .com or .org that follows your domain. The top-level domain or domain name extension you choose will influence the overall cost of your domain. There are dozens of different top-level domains to choose from. But, the most common are .com, .org, .net, and .co. You’re probably best off choosing .com if it’s available. A lot of other domain name extensions are experimental, or country-specific, but sticking with common and widely recognized extensions is probably your best bet. Going for more abstract and creative domain name extensions will probably add a higher fee to your domain name purchase. The Type of Domain Purchasing a brand new domain will definitely be the cheapest option for acquiring a domain. But, there are other options available if you’re absolutely set on a domain. Here are two common methods for acquiring a domain besides purchasing it through a registrar : Reach out to the current site owner. If you do a domain search on HostGator Domains and see that the domain is already taken, then you might be able to get in touch with the owner and place a bid. This will usually be a more expensive route. You should expect to pay at least a couple hundred dollars, maybe more. Purchase your domain through a marketplace. There are sites like Sedo that list domain names that people already own. These domains are pretty pricey, but if you have the budget, this allows you to buy a domain outright, or make an offer. Once you’ve settled on your domain name it’s time to buy it. If you’re looking for the best deal, then you’ll probably want to buy your domain name right here at HostGator. Just type in your desired domain name, see if it’s available, and complete the purchase. If your domain is available, then your desired extension will influence the yearly price. You can simplify your life even further by purchasing your domain name and hosting together. 2. Website Hosting Costs Choosing the right web host for your website is a decision you’ll want to take seriously. The right web host will make it easy for you to build your website, as well as improve site performance, keep your site secure, and a lot more. When it comes to web hosting, you’re going to have a lot of different hosting options to choose from. For example, you’ve got shared hosting, WordPress hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting. On top of that, you have different hosting plans within each type of hosting. The hosting package you choose will greatly influence how much your site costs to build. Generally, hosting packages will range from $10/month to $150+/mo. That’s just a very basic estimation. Shared hosting will typically be the cheapest plan, but as your website requires more server resources to function, then you’ll need to upgrade to a more expensive plan. However, as your website grows, both in size and traffic levels, you’ll hopefully be making more money to cover the additional hosting costs. If this is your first website, then a basic shared hosting package will probably be the best type of hosting for your needs. Shared hosting is beginner-friendly, easy to set up, is very cheap, and gives you enough server resources to get you through the initial stages of growing your site. Did we mention it’s cheap? Yes. Here at HostGator, you can pick up the cheapest shared hosting plan for less than $3 a month! Website Design Costs: DIY vs. Professional Services With your domain name and hosting secured it’s time to look at the other big factor that’ll influence the cost of building your website. This section is highly variable, as you’ll soon learn. But, as a general rule of thumb, the more work you’ll willing to do yourself, the cheaper designing your website will be. Here’s a look at the two different routes to building your website: 1. DIY Website Building Costs When building your website yourself you’re going to have a few different options to explore. Unless you know how to code ( or want to learn ), you’ll primarily be relying on a website builder or a CMS like WordPress to build out your site. Here’s a cost breakdown of each of these two routes to site creation. Cost of Using a Website Builder Website builders make it incredibly easy to build out your site. These tools are created for complete beginners meaning it won’t take any coding knowledge to build out your site. The general process will be as follows: you select a template, make changes via a drag and drop interface, add your content, then publish your site. There are dozens of different website builders that exist online today, including one here at HostGator. By using a builder like the Gator Website Builder you’ll help to keep costs low while building out a beautiful and functional website. Cost of Using WordPress to Build Out Your Site Another common option is using WordPress to build out your site. WordPress is a free CMS, so there won’t be any upfront costs required to build your site. All you need to do is install WordPress on your site, which you can do from within cPanel . Then, you’ll customize your site by choosing a theme, and add more features to your site via the vast plugin library. The costs for using WordPress to build your site are highly variable. For example, you can get away with building a WordPress site entirely for free by relying on free themes and plugins. Or, you can spend $100+ on a premium theme, along with premium plugins that range from $10-50+ per month. It all depends on your theme and plugin selection. 2. Professional Website Design Costs Getting your website built by a professional will be the most expensive option by far. The price for a professional website build will vary greatly. The overall cost depends on the type of site you want to be built and who you’re using to build out your website. Here’s a general average cost breakdown for professional web design services: Basic small business site – $1000 – $7500+ Larger business site – $10,000 – $25k+ eCommerce site – $5000 – $20k+ Freelance hire – $500 – $5000+ These are very rough estimates. Generally, if you’re going to hire a developer via a site like Upwork then your costs will be cheaper than if you’re hiring a web design agency to build out your site. It’ll also be cheaper to have a developer customize an existing theme than create a brand new WordPress theme from scratch. On the other hand, if you hire a web design agency , they’ll be able to bring their expertise from creating hundreds of sites and apply that knowledge to your site. They may also bring additional expertise a freelance developer may not have, like UX, SEO, and PPC. How Much Does a Website Cost? The Verdict Hopefully, you have a better idea of the answer to the question: how much does a website cost? As you can see there are ways you can build a website for basically nothing, while other website builds will run up into the thousands of dollars. If you’re looking for the cheapest way to get a website online, then consider using some of the resources here at HostGator . For a domain name and the cheapest shared hosting plan, you’re looking at roughly a $15 upfront investment. Then, you can use WordPress or the bundled website builder. If you’re going to be hiring a professional to build out your website then expect to pay a lot more. The overall cost will depend on the designer or design firm you’re using, along with what you’re asking them to do. For example, doing WordPress theme customizations will be cheaper than building out a 100-page eCommerce site. There is no clear cut cost for the price you’ll pay to build out your website. But, this is kind of a good thing. It means that you can build a website, no matter your budget or existing technical skills. You can create your new website yourself, or you can hire a professional to take care of everything for you. Overall, it’s up to you how much your website costs to build. Whether you have a low or high budget, you’ll be able to find the right combination of tools to help launch your dream website. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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Automatic Downloader/Uploader and Poster to WordPress?

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Hosting

I need an automatic file downloader from specific resource and auto upload to server and also post to wordpress. How much would this cost? … | Read the rest of http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1718413&goto=newpost Continue reading →

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Anyone had experience with OVH for domain transfer/registration?

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Hosting

Hi, I have a few foreign domains and OVH is less than half the cost of NameCheap. I have never used them for hosting or domain registratio… | Read the rest of http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1694268&goto=newpost Continue reading →

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Cost of Data Breaches and Cybercrime Will Top $2 Trillion by 2019

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Hosting

By 2019 the cost of cybercrime and data breaches will rise to $2.1 trillion dollars, according to a new study released by Juniper Research on Tuesday. Most of these breaches come from existing infrastructure. The Future of Cybercrime & Security: Financial and Corporate Threats & Mitigation report by Juniper estimates… Continue reading →

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