We often get asked how we made WebsiteBuilders.com, here is an overview of what services and tools we use.
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Website Building Platform
So how was one of the most awesome sites on the web created? WebsiteBuilders.com was made using WordPress, a highly customizable and powerful CMS. Seeing as we use it, we have written an article on why you would consider using WordPress instead of a website builder. As a platform, WordPress (known as WP) offers undeniably some of the most useful tools out of all platforms with countless options. Some of them being:
- 1000s of easy-to-use website themes to choose from
- Swarm of custom plugins, requiring little to no programming knowledge
- Content management system
- Simplified security
Take a peak – this is what the Dashboard of a fully functional WordPress based website looks like. Ignore some of the mess on the right, but do pay attention to the Dashboard options on the left bar:
One does not need to be a seasoned website builder in order to master the simplistic features of WordPress. With more than 25% of the internet’s websites running on WordPress, it is safe to say your data is in good hands. Along the lines of history, websites were required to be hard coded from scratch, making it extremely difficult for non-technologists to even get close to achieving a professional look. As of 2003, when WordPress was created, website building has progressively become easier ever since.
Why Do We Use WordPress?
WebsiteBuilders.com was built on the popular platform due to its ease of use and familiarity. Moreover, some members of our team have been in the industry for over two decades. Uniquely enough, the WebsiteBuilders team is made up of various generations, hence why WordPress as a classic old timer was a brilliant choice. Collectively as a platform, updates over the years have been seamless and have truly kept in contention with builders like Wix or Weebly.
Aside from the multi-era compatibility with our team, WordPress is also widely supported by the vast majority of hosts. Coupled with hosting providers’ convenient support for top choice website builders, this can save you significant amounts of money and tiresome hassle.
Due to the nature of WordPress’ open source nature, the room for expansion is astonishing, especially when paired with simplicity. Aside from our technologists, many of our writers often use WordPress directly to publish their own articles and posts, making it a wonderfully fruitful working environment for us all.
Website Hosting
Comparatively, the current hosting we use and highly recommend is Linode. Linode is a well rounded, established hosting provider based all over the United States, founded in 2003. Linode offers a diverse range of VPS hosting services, custom deals are not unusual. Along with a wide array of options as a customer, there are tons of upgrades at no extra cost. Due to extremely fast servers and very little downtime, their services are second to none, not to mention a brilliant support team available via:
- Live Chat 24/7
- E-Mail 24/7
- Phone 24/7
Widely endorsed by their clients, Linode has been praised for outstanding customer support ever since their launch. Regardless of expertise within our in-house team, quality of support is always a priority. Meanwhile, Linode is primarily used by those with intermediate technical knowledge, they provide a great variety of choices for those new to the web space. Linode’s infrastructural malleability is a grand advantage, as opposed to outdated and limited hosting providers out there.
Furthermore, we have also used WP Engine in the past and loved their staging server that allows you to easily test changes before making them live, but we moved to Linode as their servers are faster and more economical. Notably, another reliable hosting service we’ve used in the past is Traffic Planet – prior to switching to Linode.
Is Linode the Best Hosting Service?
There is no best hosting service. Sure, we work with and closely review a handful of reliable providers, although the best option largely depends on your website. At the time of selecting a hosting service for WebsiteBuilders.com, Linode was simply one of the best compatible choices. Moreover, server location played a huge part for our website, hence why the flexibility of Linode in this area proved useful.
Some of Linode’s additional useful features can be seen here:
Not all upgrades and extra features are free, however, the cost comes with compensation in the form of quality. A great example is NodeBalancer – a useful integration designed to assist with a varying workload, using a cloud-based routing system. Most features of Linode are API compatible, making it seamless to integrate.
Site Security & Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Last but not least, it’s security. As a general trend, lack of effort towards website security and the use of a quality CDN, overall vulnerability across networks can be seen correspondingly. We use and highly recommend Sucuri, who protect our website and speed up page load times through their CDN. Sucuri specializes in and protects websites from hackers, malware, DDoS attacks, and blacklists.
Sucuri stands out for us due to ease of communication and transparency as a service prioritizing security. In the event of selecting a security service provider, transparency should top the list of priorities alongside features and perks. As a third-party, Sucuri has looked after WebsiteBuilders.com not only professionally but in form of an awesome support team.
Here is a sneak peek of what you can expect from Sucuri when it comes to the security of your web-baby:
Is Security Vital or Should I Save Money?
Sounds ridiculous right? Who would want to hack your personal blog? Inasmuch as you don’t expect it, when your website gains noticeable and relevant traction, you aren’t the only one to notice. Cybercrime is a serious issue, with generally poor awareness across webmaster network – possibly the most underrated issue of up-and-coming online businesses. With the support of easy-access services like Sucuri, a significant chunk of the risk is eliminated.
Taking into account the safety and security of your website and personal/subscriber’s information, it’s a miniature price to pay for peace of mind!
Have any questions? Send us a message!