Introduction: Why You Need a Simple Online Website Builder for Your Startup
Creating a professional website is crucial for any startup or small business today. With more and more commerce and engagement happening online, having an effective online presence can make or break your new venture. However, building a custom website from scratch can be challenging for resource-strapped startups. Between lacking the coding skills, time, and budget, crafting an impressive site seems out of reach for many early-stage founders.
That's where an easy-to-use online website builder like Unicorn Platform comes in. These drag-and-drop editors allow you to create a polished, customizable site without technical expertise. With pre-made templates, intuitive editing, and built-in tools, you can launch a professional startup website in hours instead of weeks.
This article will cover the key benefits of using an online website builder for your new business. You'll learn how to select the right builder for your needs, walk through a step-by-step guide to building your site, and get tips to optimize and promote your new online presence. Whether you want to create a simple landing page, multi-page website, or full-fledged web presence, read on to see how easy it is to do it yourself with the right website builder.
Choosing the Right Online Website Builder for Startups
With the growing popularity of online website builders, there are now many options to choose from. But not all solutions are created equal, especially when it comes to the unique needs of startups. When selecting a website builder, here are some important criteria to look for:
Key Website Builder Features for Startups
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Responsiveness - Your site must adapt seamlessly to mobile devices. Look for builders with responsive design and mobile site editing.
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Customization - Choose a builder that offers wide design flexibility with colors, fonts, themes, and layouts to match your brand.
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Drag-and-drop editor - For non-technical users, a visual editor with no coding required is essential.
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SEO optimization - On-page SEO tools help improve search visibility and organic traffic.
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Integrations - Form, payment, chat, calendar integrations add functionality to capture leads and sales.
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Startup templates - Premade templates and components tailored specifically for startups save tons of time.
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Affordable pricing - Make sure the builder has packages scaled for early-stage companies and lower traffic websites.
Top Website Builders Compared
Here's an overview of how some top website builder options stack up across key criteria for startups:
| Website Builder | Price | Ease of Use | Mobile Friendly | Customization | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | $14-$40/month | Medium | Yes | High | General websites |
| Squarespace | $12-$40/month | Medium | Yes | Medium | Creative sites |
| Weebly | $6-$38/month | Easy | Yes | Medium | Beginners |
| Webflow | $16-$36/month | Hard | Yes | High | Designers |
| Unicorn Platform | Free-$29/month | Easy | Yes | High | Startups |
Unicorn Platform stands out with its simple yet powerful online website builder tailored specifically for startups and SaaS companies. The easy-to-use drag and drop editor makes it fast and straightforward for non-technical users to build their sites. Premade templates and components help you create effective landing pages, online stores, blogs, and more. And the free plan option allows you to launch a site at no cost initially.
For bootstrapped startups with limited resources, Unicorn Platform's free website builder can be a game changer. You get full access to all features and templates to build a professional site at zero cost. Paid upgrades unlock more bandwidth, storage, and premium integrations as you scale. But the free plan is often sufficient for early-stage startups looking to establish their initial web presence.
Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Startup Website
Ready to get started creating your startup's new website? Here's a walkthrough of the key steps involved:
Signing Up and Choosing a Template
Getting started with Unicorn Platform takes just minutes. Simply sign up for a free account, confirm your email, and you can start building. Browse the template marketplace to find a premade design suited for your industry. Templates optimized for startups, services businesses, agencies, and online stores make it easy to get a head start. Select your template with one click to customize it for your brand.
Using the Online Editor to Customize Your Site
Unicorn Platform's user-friendly editor makes it simple for even non-technical users to tweak the template's design. Use the drag and drop interface to add, edit, and arrange text, images, videos, buttons, and other elements on your pages. Change colors, fonts, and layouts to create a look and feel that matches your startup. Drop in ready-made components like testimonials, contact forms, and pop-ups to enhance your site and capture visitor information.
The editor allows full control over your site design without touching code. Adjust column layouts, padding, animations and interactions to create a truly custom site. Advanced users can even add custom CSS and HTML for maximum flexibility.
Adding Content, Images, and Media
Now it's time to add and organize your startup's content. Insert text sections for paragraphs, headings, lists, and more. Upload images and videos from your computer to incorporate visual assets. Take advantage of stock photos included with Unicorn to find free, quality images. Create individual pages for your site sections like "About Us", "Services", "Contact", etc. Use the menu builder to easily customize your navigation links.
Craft compelling content that engages your ideal customers. Well-written copy not only attracts more visitors, but also improves SEO and conversion rates. Focus on addressing your audience's needs and pains.
Integrating Tools and Launching Your Website
Connect your custom domain to your site in a few clicks, and enable free SSL encryption for security. Integrate third-party tools like analytics, live chat, appointments, and payments to activate deeper functionality. Configure SEO settings like page titles and metadata to improve search visibility. Preview your site across devices, and when you're ready, officially publish your live startup website!
With Unicorn's seamless integrations, you can add ecommerce, email marketing, analytics, calendars, and more to your site. Expand capabilities without a developer.
Optimizing and Promoting Your New Startup Website
You've built your startup website quickly and easily online. Now it's time to optimize it for speed and visibility, and get the word out to your audience.
Tips for Website Speed and Performance
Make sure your site loads fast for visitors by:
- Enabling caching and compression to reduce file sizes
- Scaling down image dimensions and compressing photos
- Using a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute assets globally
- Minimizing plugins and limiting animations when possible
- Checking PageSpeed Insights and making optimizations
Unicorn Platform has built-in speed optimization and CDN to help.
Improving Your Startup's Site SEO
Drive organic traffic to your new site by optimizing it for search engines:
- Do keyword research and place keywords strategically in page copy
- Craft unique meta descriptions for every page
- Use alt text and tags for images to improve indexing
- Build backlinks by guest posting on industry websites
- Create and submit XML sitemaps to search engines
- Monitor organic metrics like rankings and traffic in Google Analytics
Focus on creating high quality content that answers search queries to drive SEO value. Optimize pages for targeted keywords.
Promoting and Marketing Your Startup Website
Get the word out about your new online presence by:
- Sharing your website on social media channels
- Sending announcement emails to your mailing lists and contacts
- Running targeted ads to website visitors and lookalike audiences
- Publishing blog content and guest posting to drive backlinks
- Participating in relevant forums and online communities
Leverage social media, email, influencers, and more to promote your new site. Content marketing and PR can help attract organic visitors.
Conclusion and Summary - Build Your Startup's Website Easily
Creating an effective startup website is crucial for your business success, but can be daunting without coding expertise. That's where user-friendly online website builders like Unicorn Platform come in. With its intuitive drag-and-drop editor, pre-made templates, and startup-focused features, you can easily launch a polished, professional site to support your venture.
Just follow the step-by-step process of signing up, selecting a template, customizing your design, adding content, and integrating tools. Before you know it, your startup's new user-friendly website will be live online. Then be sure to optimize for conversions, traffic, and search visibility.
With a custom online presence, you can better convey your startup's unique value, attract and engage your audience, and ultimately gain a competitive edge. So don't wait any longer - use an easy online website builder to turn your big ideas into a reality with a website tailored for startups. Get started and build your digital home base today!
