Are you looking for the right platform to show off your design skills? With a large number of options to choose from, finding the right platform can feel like an overwhelming task. In this article, we will seek to point you in the right direction with several popular options.
Adobe
There are many Adobe products that developers and designers can use to create a website. Two of the biggest names are Adobe Muse and Dreamweaver. However, both products differ. Muse was made for designers. If coding is not your strong suit, then you are more likely to use Muse for your website. The only drawback of Muse is that your code will be bloated. Your website will be filled with unnecessary code and you won’t be able to do anything about it.
If you are developer than you will appreciate Dreamweaver more. With Dreamweaver, you have to remember that it is not something that you can start using immediately. It takes time to learn how everything works and before you can understand how Dreamweaver works, you will have to have a basic knowledge of CSS and HTML. Once again, the difference between Muse and Dreamweaver is that one is meant for developers and one is geared toward designers.
Joomla
Joomla is the second most popular CMS in the world. For beginner developers I also recommend going with a CMS because you will have everything that you need. For example, if you were to use a platform such as Dreamweaver, then the SEO is all up to you. With Joomla you can search in the extensions directory and you will be able to find plugins such as SEO Boss that provide awesome tools and configuration settings to enhance your search engine presence.
Learning the Joomla platform can be done in minutes. Setting up your site can be done in minutes as well. All that you will need to do is install a free or paid Joomla template. A few core features of Joomla include content management, user management, and media manager. If you need an open source platform than Joomla is a great option that allows for easy edits.
Wix
Wix is another website that allows designers to be designers. With Wix you are totally free to go under the hood and make necessary changes to your website. Wix customers are given 500+ templates to find the best look for their business. Their templates can easily be altered with the simple Wix drag and drop feature.
You will find that the Wix editor is not complicated. Along with hundreds of site designs, website owners will be given hundreds of apps in the Wix App Market. You will also be able to animate text and other elements. The only knock to Wix that you should watch out for is the price and also Wix has a bad rap when it comes to offering effective search engine optimization.
Webydo
Webydo is a website builder and CMS for designers. Webydo is similar to Muse because you will be able to design your website using their drag and drop function without implementing any code. Their design features include online store design, visual blog design, parallax animations, unlimited web & custom fonts, SEO-oriented design workflow, and the ability to add custom code such as HTML, CSS, & JS.
One of the greatest features of Webydo is Responsive Breakpoints. This feature helps you to adjust your website to any screen. You will be able to manage all versions of your site from a single dashboard. Webydo is a growing platform with over 200,000 designers. However, it is not for everyone. Their large number of options might be overwhelming for designers. Also, Webydo is expensive compared to some other options on the list. Prices range from $75/mo to $400 depending on your needs.