In today’s digital age, having an online presence is crucial for any business. Hence, a website with an attractive colour scheme, and a good layout of the page, similar to a store with beautiful product displays is key to attracting the attention of customers. It also serves as the hub where customers, clients, and potential partners engage with your brand. AI website builders are becoming popular due to their ability to simplify the often complex and overdue process of creating a website. These tools use machine learning and data analysis to automate various aspects of a website.
In the following sections, we delve into the world of website building. We explore a couple of AI website builders, discuss the factors to consider when choosing one and share our evaluation using a case study. Our aim is to assist you in making an informed choice that aligns with your specific web development needs.
Table of contents
Evolution of Website builders
Website builders have been evolving rapidly. Early tools required knowledge of HTML, CSS, command line tools, and programming languages. Later versions provided themes, with which a user could easily set up a website and start maintaining visual interfaces. As the e-commerce applications boomed, specialized tools such as various extensions to popular WordPress platform or independent tools which mask all the technical knowledge became popular. Since the launch of ChatGPT on Nov 30, 2022, several tools have become available that use AI to generate SEO content and relevant images. As a result, anyone with basic knowledge of language can blog, as the AI tools generate professional quality content at the desired language level.
Understanding AI Website Building
AI website builders represent the latest approach to web development. Therefore, understanding their basics is necessary to harness their full potential.
What Are AI Website Builders?
AI website builders utilize machine learning and artificial intelligence to automate and enhance various aspects of web development. These tools are designed to streamline the website creation process. Consequently, individuals and businesses who may not have the technical expertise of professional web developers and expert communication skills for blogging can create and manage websites.
Key elements of AI website building tools include:
- Automated Design: AI can generate website layouts, choose colour schemes, and suggest design elements based on user preferences, industry standards, and trending design practices.
- Content Generation: AI-powered tools can assist in content creation such as Generating text, suggesting headlines, and even optimizing content for search engines.
- User Experience Enhancement: AI helps improve the overall user experience by suggesting user-friendly navigation, responsive designs, and features that boost website performance.
- Maintenance and Updates: AI can automate routine maintenance tasks, such as software updates, security checks, and bug fixes, ensuring the website remains in optimal condition.
Benefits of Using AI in Web Development
The use of AI in web development offers a myriad of benefits that make it an attractive choice for businesses and individuals looking to establish a robust online presence
- Efficiency: AI-driven website builders significantly speed up the development process, allowing websites to go live in a fraction of the time it would take through traditional methods.
- Cost-Effectiveness: By automating various tasks, AI can reduce the labour costs associated with web development. As a result, businesses with limited budgets can afford it.
- Consistency: AI ensures consistency in design, content, and user experience, which is crucial for building a trustworthy brand image.
- Customization: While AI can automate many aspects, it also allows for customization, enabling businesses to tailor their websites to their unique needs.
Common Features of AI Website Builders
AI website builders typically come with a range of features that empower users to create and manage their websites effectively:
- Content Suggestions: AI-powered content generators that assist with tasks such as writing, editing, and optimizing website content.
- SEO: AI algorithms that recommend SEO strategies and help improve the website’s visibility in search engine results.
- Drag-and-Drop Interfaces: These tools have user-friendly interfaces. Hence, easier customization and arrangement of website elements is possible.
- Templates and Themes: Users can choose from a library of pre-designed templates and themes to suit their brand.
- Data Analytics: The tools also provide insights into website performance, user behaviour, and areas for improvement.
Example AI website builders
When it comes to AI website building tools, the market is brimming with innovative solutions that can help you create stunning websites with ease. Here, we’ll take a closer look at a couple of options available.
Durable AI
Durable AI is a recent tool to enter the market of AI website builders. Above all, it claims to be the world’s fastest website builder. Let’s take a look at its main features.
Key Features
- No Code Required: You can build and manage your website without the need for coding knowledge, as no code is required.
- Integrated Marketing: For marketing purposes, the platform offers integrated tools such as AI copywriting, SEO, analytics, and CRM.
- Instant Website Generation: The system allows for the instant generation of websites with elements such as content, images, and a contact form.
- Analytics: Analytics tools are available to help you access metrics related to visitor behaviour and engagement.
Creating a website
The industry category, location and Business name are the only three responses required to create a website. Hence, it is simplicity at its best. A screen grab of the user interface is given below.
10Web
10Web started off as a WordPress plugin company and transformed itself into an AI website builder. It can create full-fledged websites within minutes. In addition, the tool automatically generates your website’s layout, copy, images, and other design elements. The unique feature of the tool is that it uses WordPress as the base content management system and allows you to customise with Elementor Pro editor. Additionally, 10Web can easily convert websites from Wix, and Squarespace.
Key Features
- AI Website Builder: AI-driven website builder can automatically create stunning website designs based on your requirements such as preferences, industry standards, and trending design elements.
- SEO: The platform includes SEO optimization features that help boost your website’s visibility on search engines.
- Hosting and Performance: 10Web provides hosting services optimized for WordPress websites, ensuring fast loading times and robust security. As a result, users do not need to worry about maintenance issues.
- Image Optimization: AI is used to compress and optimize images, reducing page load times and improving user experience.
- 1-Click Automated Migration: The builder allows you to migrate from sites such as WordPress, Wix etc to this platform. Therefore, It’ll save you a lot of time as you’ll have a wholly optimized replica of your website without any technical hassle.
Creating a website
The initial step is to specify the nature of the website i.e., a blog website or online store. For the latter, you’ll be required to input the store’s name and provide a description of the store’s identity. The figure below shows a screen grab of it. You also need to specify a minimum three products and their categories, and specify the tone of the website as either formal or informal.
Case study
In order to assess these tools, I tried with a real-life task of creating a website home page for a travel agency as a case study.
Task
The name of the website is Freedom Wanderer. It is a travel booking website. The home page should have a very good visual appeal. In addition, the site needs to be SEO and present user-friendly experience on all devices.
The home page should have the following sections at the minimum.
- Hero panel
- Services
- Testimonials
Solutions
The following sections provide sample screen grabs from the output produced by AI website builders. In order to see the full home page generated, please see a short video.
Durable AI
Prompt
- Industry: Travel
- Location: Bangalore
- Business name: Freedom Wanderer
Output assessment
Durable AI took 20 seconds to produce the page, Image quality is very good. The hero area of the shows high-quality photos. The website is very minimalist and conveys more information through high-quality photos rather than text which makes the user browse through the website easily.
10Web
Prompt
- Type of site: Online Store
- What type of store: Store
- Enter the name of the store: FreedomWanderer
- Description of the store: Embark on a journey of self-discovery and adventure with Freedom Wanderer, your guide to exploring the world’s wonders while embracing the freedom of travel.
- Products and Categories:
- Varanasi – Religious places
- Nandi Hills – Trekking
- Goa -Beaches
- The tone of voice in the content: Informal
Output assessment
The tool took less than 1 minute to produce the home page. The page is well organised with Header, About us, Services, Testimonials, New arrivals, FAQ and Footer sections. It is nice to see travel related images. The Hero area section had nice image and good SEO content. Therefore, I liked it very much. However, there were no images of beaches, which was one of the product categories specified.
Evaluation of generated homepages
Parameters | Durable AI | 10Web |
---|---|---|
Hero Area | Good | Very good |
Services | Good | Very good |
Testimonials | Very good | Good |
Responsiveness | Very good | Very good |
Overall | Good | Very good |
Both website builder tools produced attractive home pages with SEO content. There were high-quality photos in the Hero area and other sections. Overall, 10Web performed better than Durable AI.
Factors to Consider When Choosing an AI Website Builder
Choosing the right AI website builder is a critical decision that can significantly impact your web development journey. To make an informed choice, it’s important to assess several key factors such as specific needs, ease of use, customization, and pricing.
In defining your specific needs, consider the type of website, the necessity for advanced features, the requirement for content creation and design support, as well as your professional role or business size. For assessing the tool’s ease of use, consider its design and content placement features, navigation intuitiveness, and the availability of supportive resources like tutorials and customer support. Consider customization options, including template variety for branding, design element adjustments for a unique style, and compatibility with third-party plugins or extensions to extend website functionality. Lastly, check the pricing by examining the structure, availability of free trials or guarantees, and potential additional costs like hosting, domain registration, or premium templates.
By thoroughly evaluating the above factors, you can make an informed decision when selecting an AI website builder that best suits your project, technical skill level, and budget. Ultimately, the right choice will empower you to create an impressive online presence
Conclusion
AI website-building tools are becoming popular due to their ability to simplify the often complex and time-consuming process of creating a website. The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of Durable AI is its integration with CRM and simple prompts as input for informational sites. The USP of 10Web is its ability to handle informational and e-commerce sites and one-click migration from WordPress website operations. It’s evident that each tool offers unique strengths and serves different purposes within the realm of web development and design.
It is better to experiment with different AI website-building tools to find the ones that align best with your specific needs and preferences. Furthermore, It is also important to stay updated with the latest advancements in AI-driven web development.
Which are the other AI website builders that you have experienced? Share your views.
Good work
Thank you. Do share the blog post with your friends.