How we test and review these website builders
1. Shortlisting website builder apps
To get a list of iPhone apps to test, we have searched for "website builder" on the App Store and selected the 10 first answers.
Note: This list is always changing, so the App Store search engine might return different apps by the time you read this article.
2. Exploring the website builder app for 1 hour
We install the app and register.
Then we learn how to use the app. Ideally, it should be intuitive.
At this stage, we create a page, input a title, a picture, and a short sample text.
We also check if the app offers enough features for the website we are going to build in the next step.
Last, we have a break and take note of the key buttons to access the main features of the app.
If we can't remember properly how to operate the app, we conclude that the principles of the user interface are difficult to memorize.
3. Building a presentation website for a small business for 1 hour
We have prepared the content for a 7-page website:
• Home page (x1),
• Product/Service page (x3),
• Access map page (x1),
• About me page (x1),
• Contact Us page (x1).
We copy-paste this content into the website builder under test, Edit the layout, then publish the website and look at it from various devices to see how good it looks and how well it is likely to get ranked in search engine result pages.
4. Evaluating the website builder app under test
We have defined 3 quality criteria related to the app, 2 criteria related to the generated website. The last criterium is our final overall judgment:
- Is the app free of major bugs?
- Does the app look like a website builder?
- Can one gradually learn how to use the app while using it?
Features
- Are all basic features (e.g. picture, text) available?
- Are there some advanced features?
- Is it possible to customize the look and feel of the output website?
- Can the website be edited from another kind of device (iPad, android, computer)?
Clarity
- Does the app help organizing ideas into indexable website content?
- Is there a work progress indicator?
- Is there any methodology, guide or milestone setup?
Design
- Is there any gap between the website preview in the builder app and the actual layout on the generated website?
- How good looks the generated website on a computer?
- How good looks the generated website on a mobile device?
Lightness
- Is there any bloatware on the generated website?
- Can search engines bots easily crawl the generated website?
- Is the webserver fast enough for a comfortable browsing experience?
Chance to complete
- Can a newbie reasonably expect to build a complete website?
- For which kind of users is this website builder suitable?
- For which kind of website is this website builder suitable?
What is the cost of building a website with an iPhone
We can divide the cost associated with a website into two categories: setup cost and running cost.
Setup cost is mainly related to content creation and editing. If you need some help from professionals (web designers, copywriters, photographers etc.) to help you setup your website, these costs can range from a couple of hundred dollars to a couple of thousand dollars.
Running costs are mainly attributed to website hosting services, which is often included in the price of the website builder app (A domain name of your own is an optional additional cost of this kind). If you make a website to promote an event you need to pay the website hosting until the event date. On the other hand, if you make a website to support your brick-and-mortar business, you will need to pay the running costs for your website as long as your business is running.
