You want a website, but not really in the financial situation to have one built professionally? Solution = Build it yourself. While that may sound a bit daunting, there are plenty of tools available to make it a little easier.
CMS - Content Management System
A CMS gives you the freedom to manage your website publishing, unlike when we had to use static web pages. You can share templates between sections, set publishing dates, decide what you want published or not, and share resources around the website.
- clearFusionCMS - a highly optimized solution for content management. clearFusionCMS loads only what it needs as it needs it, giving a very small footprint and optimal performance.
- MODx - has a global network of MODX professionals and support team.
- Drupal - has a large community of users and developers who provide active community support. Drupal allows 3rd party contributed modules and themes.
- Wordpress - is blogging software which has morphed into a CMS. It has many 3rd party addons, but care should be taken when deciding which addons to use.
- Grav - a modern open source flat-file CMS. Grav is packed with features and tools, coupled with heaps of detailed documentation.
Image Editing
The web is very visual now, and it’s important to have the visuals on your website looking their best. There is nothing worse than blurry graphics, images that have been stretched or contorted. So if you are going to be running your own website, it’s important to have access to image editing software.
- Photoshop - edit and enhance photos, illustrations, and 3D artwork. Edit videos and design websites.
- Canva - quickly filter, resize or edit your photos for free. Canva has simple, straightforward tools, no complicated tools or confusing UI.
- Gimp - free software, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools needed for high quality image manipulation.
- Inkscape - https://inkscape.org/ - a professional vector graphics editor used by design professionals and hobbyists for creating a wide variety of graphics.
- Affinity - https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/ - built from the ground up with the workflow of creative professionals in mind.
Framework
Frameworks make constructing the layout for your website & define the global design of the website. Instead of being a pro at HTML/CSS coding, it lets you use the framework already there by calling in already written code.
- fusionCSS - a responsive, lightweight HTML, CSS, and JS framework in Material Design.
- Bootstrap - builds responsive, mobile-first projects with an open source toolkit for developing with HTML, CSS, and JS.
- Foundation - responsive front-end frameworks that make it easy to design beautiful responsive websites, apps and emails.
- Bulma - a free, open source CSS framework based on Flexbox.
- Materialize - responsive front-end framework based on Material Design.
Social Media Management
You’ve created your website, but now what? You can’t just leave it sitting there. Now is the time you have to start working your website, and social media management is an important facet of your marketing campaign. But there are so many social networks, you need management software to keep it all organized.
- Buffer - makes it easy for businesses and marketing teams to schedule posts, analyze performance, and manage all their accounts in one place.
- Hootsuite - supports social network integrations for scheduling, managing, and reporting on most social media platforms.
- TweetDeck - a social media dashboard application for management of Twitter accounts. Twitter lets you view multiple timelines in one easy interface.
- Sprout - integrates with social platforms and networks that matter to your business.
- Sociality - a social media management platform for agencies and brands.
