How to Make Your Own Website Without a Host

Can I build a website without a host? Any website requires hosting to be accessible on the web. You can launch and customize a web project without picking a host right from the start, but you will certainly need it to store a website safely and to go live. Choosing a trusted host is a challenge for any Internet user, who lacks experience and knowledge in the niche. Newbies don’t have any other choice but to rely on commercials, forum tips, rumors and other sources of information, which are often not worth the trust. To feel on the safe side and to ensure reliable website functionality, it makes sense to select one of the most popular website builders. These platforms offer a rich spectrum of services, which encompass content management systems, hosting and visual editors that make it possible to create websites quickly and efficiently.

Use of Website Builders Without Hosting

Website builders are simple, user-friendly, convenient and hassle-free for all users. There is no need to use coding skills or complex integrations to connect a host here. These systems mostly come with built-in hosting, which eliminates the need to look for it elsewhere. When working with website builders, you don’t have to select hosting and upload website files, while the procedure of attaching a domain name is very simple and undemanding. What you should do to create a website is:

• Sign up for the selected platform;
• Pick a template;
• Customize website design;
• Add content;
• Publish a project.

Hosting is included into all plans by default. As a result, you get a chance to create an appealing and functional website without wasting your time and budget when choosing hosting and uploading the files of your site. You don’t have to take care of safe and timely system upload as well. These nuances are handled by the owners of the platform. Tech support is ready to answer each question and solve even minor problems when required.

Wix – The Best Website Builder Without Hosting

Wix – is the best website builder without hosting, which occupies a top position in the list of the most popular contemporary web design platforms. This is the all-in-one system with enhanced technologies and innovations letting newbies make websites from scratch literally in minutes. A powerful and versatile feature set makes it possible to come up with any website type from small blogs, professional portfolios, small business websites or eCommerce projects. Here are some core issues that let Wix stand out from the main competitors in the web building niche:

• Mobile-Friendly Templates. Wix currently offers more than 550 different templates sorted by categories, which are mobile-ready, free and customizable by default.
• eCommerce, Blogging and SEO. The website builder allows starting digital stores and blogs and it also ensures efficient project optimization and further promotion.
• Website Editing Options. Along with the Standard Editor meant for customizing complex projects, the website builder offers an advanced intuitive ADI tool geared towards the needs of non-techies.
• Integrations. To enhance your website functionality, you can browse a built-in Wix App Market. It offers multiple free and paid widgets/extensions that belong to various niches. These include calendars, online schedules, customer interaction tools, business, analytic and marketing add-ons etc.

The platform has a free version although it might work out only for small blogs to get started. This is because of the limited integrated functionality of the free subscription. To get access to advanced tools and features the system has in stock, it makes sense to upgrade to one of the paid plans. There are two types of premium plans to choose from here – Standard and Business/eCommerce. Their cost starts at $13/mo.

uKit – The Easiest Small Business Website Builder

uKit – is the easiest small business website builder and one of the cheapest web design platforms out there. It comes with a simple interface perfect for newbies and non-technicians, who have never dealt with the website building process before. At the same time, it is flexible enough to create sites of different types. uKit is the best bet for professional and striking portfolios, one-page or small business sites. In addition, it delivers some baseline eCommerce capabilities to start a simple online shop. Here is a brief overview of uKit distinctions:

• Responsive Design. uKit offers a collection of mobile-responsive templates, which are free and divided into niche categories with regard to their specialization.
• Blogging and eCommerce. The website builder delivers deep flexibility when it comes to blog and web store development.
• Integration Options. With uKit, you can choose and integrate multiple widgets and extensions into your web project, including the ones for media management, social networks, contact management, user interaction, marketing etc.
• AmoCRM and SendPulse Connection. Business owners may integrate AmoCRM and SendPulse widgets to their websites for more effective cooperation with customers and convenient adjustment of online notifications for site visitors.

To get strayed with a simple small business website or a portfolio, uKit Minimal plan is enough. It will cost you only $4.50 per month for unlimited pages and 24/7 customer support granted that you get a 2-year plan at once. If you want to launch a more feature-rich project, pick another option the system offers – all-in-all, there are 4 of them here. Whatever solution you will decide to go for, there is a 14-day trial to test it for free.

SITE123 – A Free Website Builder Without Hosting

SITE123 – is a free website builder without hosting, which stands out from the crowd due to its impressive simplicity and intuitive web design approach. This is what makes the system applicable for the development of all types of web projects for personal and business use without any coding proficiency at all. The website builder can be equally used by non-techies and website creation experts as the system covers a broad range of users’ web design needs. Let’s enlist the main SITE123 advantages now:

• Widget Integration. The system grants access to multiple integrable widgets (Booking, Online Forms, Galleries, Social Widgets, Live Chat etc.) that can notably enhance your project design and performance.
• Multilingual Support. The website builder comes with multilingual support, which allows launching web projects in different languages of your choice.
• Brand Promotion Features. SITE 123 allows using its Logo Maker tool and Online Form Builder to ensure effective brand promotion and customer attraction.
• Niche Templates. The software offers dozens of themes available in its catalog, which are free, responsive and industry-specific by default.

The website builder is also known for its cost-effective pricing policy. There is a free plan here that lets everyone test the system’s integrated functionality. To proceed to the development of feature-rich projects, you’ll need to upgrade to one of SITE123 premium plans. Their cost starts at $10.80/mo.

Squarespace – A Powerful Web Building Solution

Squarespace – is a powerful web building solution, which provides deep functionality required to start all types of websites. The system is used to launch blogs, digital stores, portfolios, small business projects, restaurant and cafe websites. No coding knowledge is needed to create the projects, which makes the platform a worthy solution for beginners. The website builder ensures a creative and intuitive web design approach, making it possible to choose from dozens of quality templates available in stock. The major Squarespace merits involve:

• eCommerce Engine. The website builder boasts a powerful eCommerce engine, which delivers niche templates, extensions, tools and features required to start professional small and medium digital stores.
• Acuity Scheduling Platform. This is an advanced business tool, which lets you launch and manage business projects by applying a set of specialized niche features.
• Social Widget Connection. The system allows integrating social widgets (SoundCloud, Yelp, Tumblr, Instagram, Behance, Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, Dribbble, Google+, Linkedin, Pinterest, Dropbox, etc.) into any website to share business-related info via these accounts.
• Multilingual Support. With Squarespace, you can create several language versions of your website due to the multilingual support it offers.

Squarespace offers a free 14-day trial, which allows testing its features before upgrading to premium plans. As soon as you are ready to manage your web project and go live with it, you’ll be able to pick one of 4 subscriptions. Their price starts at $12/mo.

Weebly – Free Online Website Builder (no hosting required)

Weebly – is a free online website builder, which does not require hosting choice as it comes as the all-in-one solution. This means that it provides domain name and hosting by default along with flexible design customization tools. The website builder has got a powerful eCommerce focus after its acquisition by Square platform. This allows starting small-to-large online stores. Some of the most impressive Weebly features are listed below:

• Business-Specific Features. The platform grants access to multiple business and eCommerce features (CSV product import/export, integrated shopping cart, payment and shipping options, advanced product management tools, search filter option etc.) that help boost your website performance.
• Powerful Integrations. Weebly lets you choose and integrate applications and widgets (maps, image collections, search boxes, slideshows, media files and what not) that come up to your project specialization and can enhance its functionality.
• Weebly Promote Tool. The tool includes a set of business tools and designs to start effective email marketing campaigns (bulletins, event and product presentation, promo newsletters etc.).
• Video Hosting. Weebly makes it possible to upload and publish videos at your website in two ways – via YouTube integration and by means of adding files directly to your Weebly platform.

Weebly charges affordable fees for its services. There is a free plan, which never expires and can be used to explore the functionality of the platform. For those users, who plan to go live with their web projects, there are several subscriptions to choose from. Their cost starts at $6/mo.

Web.com – Web Hosting with Website Builder

Web.com – is a web hosting with website builder available as an all-in-one solution. The system allows starting and managing personal and business projects of diverse complexity and with no coding knowledge required. It works best for small company websites, personal blogs and online stores. Additionally, it offers integrated marketing and promotion solutions, which ensures quality development and customization of your project. Hosting is included into all plans by default yet the system also acts as a full-service host with numerous built-in tools. To find out what the software has to offer, let’s have a look at its special features and characteristics now:

• Powerful Host. Web.com has distinguished itself as a powerful full-service host, offering a set of integrated tools, namely PHP and SSL support, versatile hosting solutions, automatic backups, cPanel access etc.
• eCommerce. With Web.com, you can set up, customize and promote all types of digital stores to offer products/services for sale, making use of built-in eCommerce tools and features.
• Photo/Video Gallery. To enhance your website design and visual presentation, the website builder grants access to its built-in collection of images, which currently encompasses over 2 millions of free stock photos. YouTube/Vimeo video embedding is also available here.
• Block-Based Structure. The software comes with a collection of free customizable themes, which are block-based, thus letting you arrange content blocks in any required order.

Web.com is not a free system. You won’t find any free plans or trials here. The pricing policy, however, is flexible and not quite standard for website builders. The software offers several premium plans for different types of web projects. The cost generally starts at $4.95/mo billed annually. A highlight of the system is the opportunity to get a discount rate for the first billing cycle. New subscribers can upgrade to any subscription at discounted prices, which start at $1.95/mo. The discounts are visible during the first month of use only.

IM Creator – No-Hosting Website Builder

IM Creator – is a no-hosting website builder, which comes with a handy drag-and-drop editor, abundance of templates, design customizations tools, integrations and website promotion features. The use of the system does not require hosting choice as there is already a built-in hosting there. IM Creator works best for entrepreneurs, vcreatives, artists and students. It also has a special free offer for non-commercial websites. Among the features that make IM Creator stand out from the crowd, it makes sense to mention the following:

• Multilingual Support. The system allows creating websites in different languages with regard to your business or personal needs.
• Useful Integrations. IM Creator is known for its extensive collection of add-ons, plugins and widgets meant for commercial and non-commercial use (Google event schedule list, live chat, PDF viewer, OpenTable reservation form, SoundCloud audio player, Facebook comments and many more).
• Blogging and eCommerce. With the software, everyone can create, customize, manage and then promote blogs and small-medium digital stores due to the built-in engines available in stock.
• Responsive Designs. IM Creator is proud of its powerful collection of free responsive designs, which look great on all mobile/desktop devices and can be customized with regard to users’ needs and objectives.

IM Creator is a free website builder for everyone, who intends to use the software for non-profit website creation. These may be creatives, students, artists etc. Other users have an opportunity to pick one of premium subscriptions. The cost starts at $8/mo. The software also has a set of White Label plans, the price of which starts at $350 per year.

Zyro – AI Web-Building Tool

Zyro – is a powerful AI web-building tool, which offers advanced functionality and high end tools to create, customize, manage and promote commercial and non-commercial web projects. The system is known for its innovative Artificial Intelligence tool, integrated eCommerce platform, marketing and business management solutions. Its use does not require any programming proficiency, being a great software for beginners and web design pros. The list of Zyro features and special characteristics currently includes:

• AI Tools. The website builder has high end AI features that let you get the most out of your website performance. These include AI Writer that automatically generates SEO-friendly content, AI Heat Map, Slogan Generator, Business Name Generator etc.
• Google Maps Embedding. The system allows embedding Google Maps widget into your website to display the physical location of your business and to make it more understandable for customers.
• Image/Video/Logo Integration. The system lets you integrate images, videos and logos to create appealing visual presentations that enhance your company popularity and contribute to its promotion.
• CTA Buttons. If you wish to drive user attention and to encourage them to do some actions on your website, integrating CTA buttons with Zyro is a great idea.

Zyro offers moderate pricing. There is no free trial or plan here, but you can pick a premium subscription that absolutely complies with your needs. There are several plans here, the cost of which starts at $2.90/mo. The software also has a 30-day money-back guarantee, if you are not satisfied with the terms of the selected plan for some reason.

Webnode – Free-to-Use Website Builder

Webnode – is a free-to-use website builder, which works best for professionals, but it also allows other user categories to create and publish full-featured websites. If you plan to use the software, keep in mind that it takes some time and effort to get used to it. The platform is a nice pick for business and eCommerce projects, but launching other types of websites is possible here as well. Available in multiple languages, Webnode allows users from different countries set up websites with regard to their requirements. Webnode feature set is quite extensive, but the major highlights of the system are as follows:

• eCommerce/Blogging. Webnode makes it possible to create, customize and update blogs and digital stores, using the extensive range of built-in features.
• Handy Integrations. The website builder grants access to add-ons and extensions available in stock, such as tracking and marketing tools, Google Analytics, AdSense and more.
• Multilingual Support. If you intend to use a website for international purposes to deal with foreign customers/partners, Webnode lets you do that due to its multilingual support (currently, the system is available in 24 language versions).
• Collaboration Solutions. With Webnode, you will be able to deal with your team members as the system unveils multiple collaboration opportunities (you can invite other users to join and edit the project, assign special roles to each of them etc.).

Webnode pricing policy is quite reasonable and affordable to everyone. A free plan lets you get acquainted with the system and to see what it has to offer. As soon as you are ready to set up full-featured projects here, you will avail an opportunity to upgrade to one of the premium plans. The cost starts at $3.90 per month.

GoDaddy – Web Builder + Marketing Tools

GoDaddy – is a web builder that additionally offers advanced marketing tools and high end hosting solutions. The platform is one of the most recognizable and one of the oldest hosts available in the web design market. The software mainly focuses on business website development yet it is also possible to set up and host other types of quality web projects with it. If you are interested in GoDaddy features, take your time to review the major advantages and tools below:

• Hosting Solutions. Along with website building platform, GoDaddy offers advanced hosting solutions. Everyone can pick a suitable hosting plan here to safely store web projects.
• InSight Score. The software has a built-in InSight Score tool that provides up-to-date data on website performance, statistics, social media presence, outreach and other crucial factors.
• Integrations. GoDaddy does not have an app market, but it allows using its built-in integrations available in stock (Reviews on Zillow, OpenTable for making restaurant reservations, ChowNow for making online food orders, IDX/MLS real estate listings, Posts from Instagram Business Profile and more).
• Private Pages. If your website requires pages that should be visible for registered subscribers only, you can use the Private Pages feature for this purpose.

GoDaddy has a free 7-day trial to test the available features. As soon as the trial comes to its end, you’ll have an opportunity to upgrade to one of the premium plans. All of them come with free domain registration. The cost of subscriptions starts at $6.99 per month.

Starting a Website Without a Host: Pros and Cons

It’s up to you to decide whether to set up a website with or without a hosting provider. However, if you have serious and long-lasting aspirations and need a full-featured website, then having a trusted host is not a whim, but a necessity. You can pick a third-party hosting provider or use one of the most popular website builders that come with built-in hosting. This eliminates the need to waste your time, effort and budget choosing a functional host out there. Let’s review the pros and cons of starting a website without a built-in hosting now.

Pros:

• Security Protection. If you pick a web design platform with built-in hosting, your website becomes more protected from hacker attacks and unauthorized third-party access.
• Budget Economy. The cost of hosting as well as that of domain name is often included in the price of premium subscriptions.
• Diversity of Plans. Many website builders, for example, offer versatile plans that come with diverse hosting terms and packages users may choose from.
• Free Perks. When you pick a platform with hosting, you additionally get lots of free perks like free email accounts, domains, discounts, SSL Certificates etc.
• Better Performance. Built-in hosting solutions contribute to your website performance and ensure higher project parameters, including bandwidth, page load speed etc.
• Expert Support. You get professional customer support, if you face any hosting- or platform-related problems.

Cons:

• Safety Issues. There are multiple third-party hosting providers you can choose from based on your actual needs and services/terms offered, but not all of them are 100% secure and reliable.
• Extra Budget Allocation. It’s up to you to allocate your funds with regard to your financial opportunities, but many third-party hosts charge high fees for their services.
• Functionality Nuances. Some website builders may come with limited functionality and you will have to be twice attentive when picking a plan to go for to get the required range of hosting-related features.

Bottom Line

The benefits of website builders reviewed in the article are clear. They make it possible to spend a minimum amount of time to develop a project and get excellent results. Demerits are apparent as well: the website builders somewhat lack functionality. There are enough features to create a small website, but if you aim at developing a large portal or marketplace, you will face the lack of tools to make your vision a reality. Website builders listed above are great solutions for small business websites, promo websites and small online stores. Websites created with uKit, IM Creator, Zyro and Webnode have a business look. It is impossible to spoil their design, because the visual editor limits the prevailing amount of actions. SITE123 stands out from the crowd due to its simplicity and intuitive web design approach. Squarespace lets everyone launch quality small business websites without any coding proficiency. Weebly, in its turn, has a distinctive eCommerce focus, which allows starting small and medium digital stores. Web.com and GoDaddy are platforms that offer website builders and hosting solutions at a time. This is convenient for users looking for all-in-one software. Wix offers more opportunities to develop various types of projects. At the same time, such creativity freedom may result in unappealing and awkward web page designs. When choosing Wix, you should get ready to spend more time setting up your website and making it functional.