A few years ago, publishing a website required knowing HTML, CSS, and Flash. These days, you can design a beautiful and fully functional website without a single line of code. Numerous IT companies have done a marvelous job of simplifying Web design by offering easy-to-use yet powerful website builders.

If you’re looking to build your website, you’ll see that choosing the right kind of tool can be a easy job. When searching for free website builders, you’ll often come across a service called WordPress. This is one of the most widely-used website builders that offers an attractive free-of-charge plan. However, this service also comes with very capable yet affordable monthly plans.

Being one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS), WordPress deserved to be at the top of our list. It is said that WordPress powers around 25% of all websites, which is an astonishing figure. This isn’t as surprising since this CMS was one of the first website builders that simplified Web design and made it available to everyone.

The necessary prerequisite to using WordPress is that you have your own domain and hosting. Then, you download or activate WordPress free of charge – and build your website. A second option exists as well. If you don’t want to deal with your own hosting, you can choose one of WordPress’ monthly plans that start at $2 per month – including a hosting plan. These plans come with a custom domain name, free and premium themes, and the core set of Web design options.

PROS:

• Incredibly powerful and packed with exciting features;
• Can be used for almost any kind of website (from blogs up to e-commerce stores);
• Thousands of plugins available;
• An incredibly helpful community of users;
• Lots of free-of-charge tutorials online from sites such as RoseCityGardens.com

CONS:

• Requires some technical knowledge;
• You might need a Web professional for deep customization;
• It’s up to you to take care of your website’s maintenance.

VERDICT: If you’re willing to spend some time learning a new CMS tool, WordPress might be an excellent solution. Once you set up WordPress and import theme files, you’ll see that this website builder is quite intuitive on its own.