When it comes to creating a website, regardless of how involved you are in the actual building of the website, it's important to know what your different options are, what they mean for your website ownership experience, and how to pick what will work best for YOU. Plus, it's always handy to understand some of the industry lingo so you can communicate more easily with your friendly neighborhood web developer.
Before we can talk about the ways to build a website, I think it's important to first introduce and clarify the concept of web hosting. If you're already familiar you can jump to the next section.
What the heck is web hosting and why do I care?
Ok, so a web host is a company that provides... web hosting services. Circular definition aside, more clearly it's a company that provides a place for a website to "live" on the internet. When you hear people talk about "the cloud" they are actually referring to a group of computers owned by a web host that are connected to the internet and store all the data (aka "servers" because they store data and then "serve" it to the internet for people to access with their devices) related to a website or app. GreenGeeks, GoDaddy, and Squarespace are all well-known web hosts — you' may have even heard ads for some of them on your favorite podcast. Most web hosting has a monthly or annual cost, and many hosts also offer several options depending on your technical needs and budget.
All website owners will benefit from a foundational understanding of web hosting and what options are available to them. You will be able to make better decisions, avoid frustration, and extra work. I don't know about you, but sometimes new technology can be really exhausting when you do something one way only to discover you have to re-do everything because you need to go a different route. Give your future self a leg up and arm yourself with knowledge for a decision made from clarity and confidence.
Types of hosting:
- Self-Hosted (e.g. GreenGeeks, GoDaddy, AWS)
- Managed hosting (e.g. Squarespace, Wix, WordPress.com)
Before I talk about the two types, I'm going to break a rule I typically follow and apologize to you, reader. I'm sorry, I know this content is pretty dry and the names for the types of hosting are a little misleading. You might be asking yourself, "Self... does this self-hosted stuff mean I'm the web host?! And what the heck does that even mean?!" and you might be ready to run screaming from the impending technical info you were trying to avoid in the first place.
Don't worry, what you need to know is not as complicated as it seems. Take a moment to breathe and then stick with me. I promise I'll do my best to make it simple to understand and maybe even a little funny. If you need a break, bookmark this and come back to it when you've got the mental bandwidth.
Two Types of Web Host: Self-Hosted vs Managed Hosting
Let's imagine for a moment you are the parent of a child. First off, congratulations — Webby is such a cute name!
Now, there is a lot of love, but a lot of maintenance that goes into taking care of Webby. You have daily tasks like feeding, as well as longer term tasks like doctor visits. If you are the one who attends to Webby's daily and long-term needs you are more hands-on with helping maintain Webby's health. If Webby were a website, this would be considered Self-Hosted. Depending on how Webby is built, the owner/team will likely be responsible for maintaining security updates and troubleshooting/fixing issues with the web technologies used to build the site, managing e-mail addresses/spam filters, and other technical tasks (e.g. adding analytics tags to the site code).
If instead you hire a live-in nanny to help take care of Webby's ongoing needs, that would be more like Managed Hosting. Essentially, Managed Hosting puts a lot of the maintenance tasks of a website onto the web host which allows the website owner to avoid the more technical parts of maintaining a website, but for an additional cost. This can save time and brain space that could be used to focus on content creation, especially for small business owners with small teams, because many of the technical tasks are handled for you. Something that might be relatively complex to add to your website's code might instead be a very simple form you complete that then does all the technical magic for you.
What are the different ways to build a website?
Now that you have a general understanding of the two types of web hosting, let's dive into the three main ways to build a website, before we do a final comparison.
Click on the website type to view more information about it. Click the name a second time to hide the information again.
Site Builder
A Site Builder is exactly what the name implies — it is a tool that provides user-friendly ways to build and design a website. You could compare it to a salad bar, where ingredients are presented to you and you get to select the ones you want and arrange them on the plate however you wish.
These tools tend to have pre-made designs and page templates (e.g. a contact page with a form already built into it or a product listing page) to help you get started, and a drag-and-drop interaction for most things that can be moved/added to a web page. Some Site Builders have extensive options and tools available and require a monthly or annual subscription to a paid plan. There are some completely free Site Builders like Google Sites but the functionality is extremely limited and sometimes requires you display advertising for the web host on the site.
Common Site Builders: Wix, SquareSpace, SitePad, Weebly, Google Sites
Reasons you might like a Site Builder:
- Cost to build is low, many free options
- Usually fast and easy to get a live website up
- User-friendly ways to update the site with limited technical knowledge
- Access to customer support when on managed hosting
Reasons you might want to consider something else:
- Cost to maintain is medium to high (unless using a limited free service or self-hosted)
- May have required Site Builder branding (usually when free)
- May have limited functionality
Content Management System (CMS)
A Content Management System, or CMS, provides a default, and usually complex, structure that you can then add content (words, images, etc) to the site to make it your own. Think of it like an empty house you just moved into. You didn't have to build the structure or wire it for electricity, but now it's up to you to fill it with furniture and add any design elements (artwork, accent wall) to make it your home.
A CMS can be quite cost-effective for an enterprising person with plenty of time to learn the system and build everything out. Most commonly used CMS are actually free to download and update, you only have to have web hosting that can handle the specific CMS (you have to check with each individual web host to confirm). You don't have to be a full-on developer to add advanced functionality to your site as most CMS have "plugins" made by other users that can extend how the CMS works. Additionally, some plugins are not free and still others can cause security holes! It's important to weigh your level of tolerance with troubleshooting technical issues on your own if you're considering a CMS.
Common Content Management Systems: Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, SharePoint
Reasons you might like a CMS:
- Cost to build is low-to-medium depending on size of site and whether you build the site yourself or hire a web developer
- Cost to maintain the site is low-to-medium depending on who is maintaining the site and how often changes/updates need to be implemented
- You're familiar with the CMS and comfortable with the extra technical demands
Reasons you might want to consider something else:
- Intermediate technical understanding needed to build and manage on your own
- Time and effort to add new functionality (e.g. contact management, email) can take longer or isn't possible without installing a (sometimes not free) "plugin"
- Possible exposure to security risks due to "plugin" use
- Access to customer support isn't included and most help is written by other users; have to be comfortable with solo troubleshooting, researching, and sometimes even fixing code
Hand-coded site
A custom, hand-coded website means that it is created from a blank page and written from the ground up by a web developer.
Common examples of this type: One-page websites/landing pages, Students learning web development
Reasons you might like hand-coded site:
- Your site is extremely simple (e.g. less than 10 pages, basic text and images only, and the content rarely changes)
- You are learning web development
- You have been contracted to create a very unique website that can't be built with the other two build options
Reasons you might want to consider something else:
- Cost-prohibitive for most sites, and unnecessary complication for majority of projects
- Higher likelihood of security issues, especially if advanced functionality like contact lists and sending emails is desired
- If you are not a web developer that already has their own hosting, whether you plan to create a site where content is updated daily, yearly, or never, either of the other two options will result in a quicker launch of a site that is easier to maintain.
Comparing the two types of hosting
Some definitions you should have before reading the comparison below:
- Domain — also referred to as a Top-Level Domain (TLD), and usually ends with something like .com, .org, or .net (but there are a ton of new options out there these days)
- Subdomain — a location attached to a domain, such as "love.alldaydesign.com"
- URL — a direct link to a site page/file, and includes https://
I've provided a quick outline of key information about each type of hosting to help you compare:
Self-Hosted | Managed Hosting |
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That's great and all, but how do I actually pick one?!
Which one you choose comes down to what I like to call the [Satisfaction Triangle?]. Whether the purpose of your site is to share a simple blog, promote and manage your coaching business, or sell your handmade products to the world, it's important to consider these aspects in order to set yourself up for success and sustainability. The three points are time/effort, cost, and function. [add graphic]
Unlike other shape metaphors, it's not about looking for areas of balance and compromise, but about clarity around your boundaries and how much effort you wish to expend, and in which areas, throughout the life of the website.
Assume time will always be double what you think, do not pick a solution at your max limit of any of these areas unless you have flexibility, because technology can sometimes frustrate exponentially.