Screenshots: Build your website with one of these five free apps
Image 1 of 6
Introduction
Introduction
Without a web presence, your business–be it small, medium,rnor large–is missing out. But you probably already know that. What you may notrnknow is where to begin or even how to build the site you need. Most people newrnto the idea of a web presence assume they’ll have to dig into some cryptic codingrnlanguage to build their site. Fortunately, that’s not the case: There arernplenty of tools out there ready to do that job for you.
Before I get into the tools, I should mention that, yes,rnthere are lots of web services that will build a site for you. If you canrnconnect with a reputable developer or service, and you can afford it, thatrncould well be your best bet. However, if you can’t afford it, and you have therntime to build a site of your own, these five tools will do a great job ofrnhelping you to easily create a site for your business.
With one exception, these tools are skeleton frameworks thatrncan be hosted on your own server or on a third-party server. Some hostedrnservices even offer tools like Softaculous,rnwhich can install the framework with just a couple of clicks.
Note: This gallery is also available as an article.
Drupal
Drupal
Drupal is to contentrnmanagement what WordPress is to blogging. But don’t think you can only build arnCMS with Drupal. You can build both a back office and a front-facing store withrnthis single tool. Before you dive into Drupal, understand that it does take arnlittle bit more work than WordPress. It’s still an easy point-and-click tool.rnBut to get what you want out of it, you’ll need to put a bit more time andrnplanning into the process. The result will be a powerful one-two punch for yourrnbusiness.
Drupal
Drupal
What’s best about Drupal is that you’ll not only wind up withrna powerful, flexible web presence, your site will also include a highly useablerncontent management system that can help boost your workflow. Drupal is an openrnsource tool and is free to download, install, and use.
Joomla
Joomla
If you’re looking to add functionality, Joomla has anrnextension library with more than 8,000 entries, so you’re sure to find what yournneed. This tool does require a few more skills than does Drupal, but it’s stillrndo-able. Joomla is open source and is readily available to install for free.
XOOPS
XOOPS
XOOPS also offers the ability to expand the site, with thernhelp of installable modules. Out of the box, only three modules are ready torninstall (Private Messaging, User Profile, and Protector). If you want more,rnhead over to the XOOPS Module Repository and search for what you need. XOOPS is also open sourcernand free to download and install.
Bluefish
Bluefish
Bluefish also offers multi-threaded support, multi-documentrnsupport (it can open 500+ documents), powerful search, project support, arnsnippets sidebar, unlimited undo/redo, a spell checker, syntax highlighting andrnindenting, customizable programming language support, and much more. Bluefishrnis open source and available to install and use free of charge.
