Want a website, but don’t know which platform to use or where to start? Well, it’s a natural dilemma many aspiring site owners go through. But once you lay out your needs–blog versus website, basic account versus premium version, and the like–it’s not so hard to whittle your selection down to a few viable contenders.
Whether you want a basic blog or a full-blown website, The Daily Muse maps out your options:
The straightforward blogging platform is commonly used to share quick posts containing photos or videos, but it’s great for more wordy content. Whether you choose from an array of free themes, or pay for a premium theme, you can customize the blog to your liking.
Your blog will be accessible through yourusername.tumblr.com, which is free, but, with a few extra steps you can purchase a domain from a third-party (usually $10-20 per year) and have a URL without “.tumblr†tacked on at the end. It’s your choice!
If you’re looking for that in-between online destination–more than a blog, but not quite a full-blown site–than Weebly is more your speed. Within a “handy drag-and-drop interface,†it offers more features and greater customization than microblogging platform Tumblr.
Your free Weebly site will be published at yoursite.weebly.com, but for $40 or less each year you can have it living at your own dot-com address. Upgrade to a pro account for around $5 a year, giving you a few extra features, premium support services, and the option to remove the Weebly credit in your site footer, which shows up on all free sites.