Here we list some of the best UK web hosting services for any need, from small business sites through to ecommerce stores and large companies with multiple sites. Each provider offers a range options for WordPress, Magento, Joomla or Drupal, VPS, dedicated servers and other types of website hosting.

We define a UK web hosting company as one with physical locations for their servers here as our top priority, as this benefits the page load speed for your visitors (and in turn can help your SEO). We also show preference for providers with offices and a business presence here.

To make this list of top website hosts, each must have a good reputation in terms of user reviews and industry scores for speed, reliability, range of features, value and customer service.

SiteGround Web Hosting Services

This company offers great value web hosting services that are crafted for top speed and unmatched security, as well as 24/7 fast and expert support. SiteGround are trusted by more than a million domains.

Founded in 2004 by a few university friends, SiteGround gradually but steadily turned into a leading web services provider. Today, the company has more than 400 employees, and is constantly growing.

3rd Floor,
11-12 St. James’s Square
London
SW1Y 4LB
UK
Tel: 44 (0)800 862 0379

Visit the Siteground Hosting website to learn more about their packages.

Smart Hosting UK

One of the best Web Hosting companies in the UK, offering unlimited hosting packages with SSD disks and 100% UK support. All their cPanel hosting plans include free SSL certificates, unlimited bandwidth, free backups, emails and databases. One of best UK web hosts, providing low cost shared, reseller & VPS cloud hosting plans.

Smart Hosting aims to offer small business customers through to large companies the best web hosting solutions in the UK today. Their no-contract pricing model ensures that you are getting one of the most cost-effective and flexible website host solutions in the UK.

Alta Vista
Hr. Warberry Rd.
Torquay
Devon
TQ1 1SD
Tel: 024 7590 2038
www.bestwebhosting.co.uk

Namesco web hosting UK

This company can help you with domain registration, web hosting and building a website from scratch with an easy to use content management system (CMS). Their packages come with free personalised email and friendly UK support 7 days a week.

Namesco have excellent customer review scores and provide professional online solutions for individuals, businesses, developers and resellers. Whether you’re a total beginner or you have years of website development experience, they have products and services designed for every level and need.

Acton House
Perdiswell Park
Worcester
Worcestershire
WR3 7GD
Tel: +44 (0)345 363 3630
www.names.co.uk

123 Reg Ltd

123 Reg aim to make it easy to take your business online and are one of the UK’s most leading domain registrars and hosts. You can access a range of products at affordable prices and great support for beginners through to more advanced users.

Their philosophy is simple – that the internet should be for the many not the few. They aim to make every 123 Reg product designed for the small business owner looking for an easy and hassle-free way to start their online enterprise.

The Shipping Building
Old Vinyl Factory
252 – 254 Blyth Road
Hayes
Middlesex
UB3 1HA
Tel: 0345 450 2310
Visit their site at www.123-reg.co.uk

Pickaweb Limited

Great value domain names, web hosting, virtual servers, reseller plans & dedicated servers. UK based with 24×7 support.

Pickaweb was created by founders Tony Messer & Pilar Torres Wahlberg back in 1999. As one of the UK’s first web hosting companies, they have grown to host tens of thousands of websites. Their aim is simple – to offer the service we would want ourselves – power, reliability & security that is backed up by a personal level of expert service around the clock – instant, expert support when you need it.

Monomark House
27 Old Gloucester Street
London
WC1N 3AX
UK
Tel: 0800 802 1588
www.pickaweb.co.uk

 
All of the UK web hosting companies above can provide you with fast and reliable services for your site. However, if we had to pick one from this list, then Siteground Hosting is highly recommended. This is due their good user reviews, range of low-cost options for small business through to ecommerce and large or multiple websites, and our experience of their excellent customer service.

They are also on the list of best ecommerce hosting companies at The Retail A to Z.

Further Reading:

Browse our pages of the top website design companies across England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland for services such as small business sites, ecommerce stores with WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento and more, or complex web development projects for large organisations.

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Here are some of the top running gear websites in the UK, where you can buy supplies and clothing online – for yourself or as great birthday or Christmas gifts for runners.

Find the best running shorts, shoes, tops, socks, drinks bottles and more.

Running Gear from Amazon

If you’re looking for a running clothing or gear from a wide range of brands, then Amazon is a reliable choice for high quality products at the best possible prices. One of the benefits of this online retailer is that you also have a range of delivery options – ideal if you are looking for last minute gift ideas or need your kit in a hurry.

Amazon undoubtedly offers the widest range of running supplies for men and women, girls and boys, as well as the fastest delivery options in the UK.
Visit the Amazon Running section to browse.

wiggle
A wide range of running, cycling and swimming gear is available at wiggle.com. This specialist cycle, run, swim & triathlon shop offers free tracked shipping on orders over $50.

Wiggle started as an independent bike shop called Butler Cycles and was based in Portsmouth, Hampshire on the South Coast of England. It is now one of the most popular retailers in the UK for running, cycling, swimming and triathlon supplies.
www.wiggle.com

The Running Outlet
Buy running shoes and clothing for men & women. Top brands include Saucony, Adidas, Asics, Nike, Brooks, Hoka, Mizuno and New Balance. You can order products online or in store.

First opened in 2009 as an independent shop selling just a few specialist brands and based on a love of running. Today, the company aims to provide the best in customer experience and stocks a wide range of products. You can buy shorts, trainers, tops, watches, nutritional products and much more.

Their staff are runners of various levels of ability and very knowledgeable, so well placed to deal with answer questions about running equipment. They can also help with training advice, recovery from injuries or choosing the best products for your needs and goals.
www.therunningoutlet.co.uk

Sweatshop
One of the largest specialist running retailers in the UK. An online shop offering the latest running shoes, clothing and equipment from leading sport brands.

Set up by Chris Brasher, founder of the London marathon and an Olympic gold medal winner, Sweatshop was established in 1971. Chris is part of athletics history having helped pace Sir Roger Bannister to the first person to run a sub-four minute mile.

Sweatshop believe that all runners, from complete beginners to international athletes, should be able to access the best running equipment. They have one of the largest ranges of technical running shoes in the UK and train their staff to industry leading levels to help you find your perfect running shoe and kit.
www.sweatshop.com

Runners Need
Running specialists with 27 stores in the UK & Ireland. They supply Running Shoes, Clothing, Nutrition Products, Accessories & more from top sports brands.

Runners Need believe that it’s never too late to start running – their founder Chris Bould didn’t go on his first run until he was 26, joining Highgate Harriers in 1979.

Inspired by experiences in the USA, including racing in the New York City Marathon and visiting specialist running gear retailers there, he and his wife founded the first Runners Need store in Camden, London in 1982.
www.runnersneed.com

Go Outdoors
One of the leading UK chains of outdoor clothing and equipment. You can buy waterproof clothing and more outdoor equipment – much of which is ideal for runners – online and in one of their local shops.

This is a good value retailer that offers a price match guarantee, a click and collect service and free home delivery when you spend over £50. A supplier to looking at for kit when you need to run in the winter months.
www.gooutdoors.co.uk

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Based in the UK, Good Tech Guide is a global technology website for hardware and software reviews, company bios, trends, how to advice and more.

The content is geared towards both consumers and businesses, and what makes it different from some of the leading tech websites is that it doesn’t seek to cover all the latest news, gossip and gadgets. It’s more about broader, longer-term technology trends and leading product manufacturers and services providers, so the content has much greater shelf life.

Some of the popular topics covered by this top technology website include:

• Tech expert interviews with Q&A and professional bios
• Business technology, which can be found here discussing solutions to improve commercial performance
• Artificial intelligence developers, and opinion on its future impact
• Big data and analytics
• Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)
• Gadget and software reviews
• Cloud Computing and Web Hosting
• Data science and other emerging careers that are in demand for modern business
• The Internet of Things (IOT)

Good Tech Guide, which can be found at www.goodtechguide.com, is relatively new, having only launched properly in 2018, so could be a good one to watch in 2019 and beyond.

If you’re interested in the best technology websites that cover products and industry developments that are likely to have a major impact on all our lives, then this is a good site to keep your eye on.

The post Good Tech Guide Technology Website appeared first on County Web.

Here we look at options for the best and easiest website builder to use for business marketing, a personal blog or an online store. If you want to create your own website online with an easy to use, free or low cost system, then one of these top 10 site builders should work for you.

This article is suitable as a beginner’s guide upwards, and will initially help you through the ins and outs of commonly used terms that can help you get to grips with the world of web design and online website builders.

If you’d prefer though you can jump straight to:

• Best Website Builder for Small Business
• Good Solution for Creative Designers
• Top eCommerce Website Builder

We’ll introduce 10 of the best website builders chosen for their dominance in the market or independent slants / ethos’, and briefly illustrate their respective emphases, strengths and weaknesses in order to help you choose the best one for your needs.  The list includes: WordPress (we look at both WordPress.com and WordPress.org), Shopify, SquareSpace, Wix, GoDaddy, SimpleSite, and Weebly. We also give a brief mention to Magento and Drupal for advanced users / web development professionals.

But first:

Why Use Online Site Builders?

It is common for people looking to build a professional or personal online presence to want to learn how to create a website.  Indeed, if you are reading this you are very likely to be one of those people!  Whether you are a tech-savvy business owner or new to web design, if you are considering whether to build your own website there has never been a better time to do it independently.

Often unknown to people new to the ins and outs of online tech is the fact that as well as hiring someone else to build a website for you it is actually possible to make one yourself.

Yes, you!

To do this you will want to use an online website builder.

The are many Website builders that fulfil a wide range functions as well as creating your ‘shop front’, offering tips, support and advice, design options and templates, specialist functions and opportunities.  These are all geared toward helping people build websites that look as smart, professional and efficient as if they hadn’t taken the DIY approach!

How to Choose the Best Website Builder for Your Needs

Website Builders will offer the different templates, widgets and functions to differing degrees according to their packages or ‘quid pro quo’ arrangements.  For example, some website builders will offer a generous free package but want to run their own adverts on your site.  You might or might not mind this but this is a good example of the type of decision you will need to make when you choose your Website Builder.

It is unusual and often difficult to move lock, stock and barrel from one to another.  It is far more likely that you would need to start your site again from scratch which might interfere with the number of visitors that you have to your site (‘traffic’ in internet speak) and the work you have put in to building your identity and brand.  Some Website Builders also offer you a website address for free while others ask that you buy it from an external provider first.  Your website address is called a ‘domain name’.  If it is free this will almost certainly be because the website builder has their domain name included so it might read, ‘yourwebsite.webbuildername.com’; which is totally acceptable for a personal site or blog.

Many people do this, especially when they are just starting out.  If you do need to buy your own domain name first, the people you would buy it from are called ‘domain name providers’.  You can go to a specialist domain name provider such as 123reg.com or you can buy one from most of companies on our list of website builders below.

Once there, type in the web address that you would like to see if it is in use or not already.  If it is available the domain provider will let you know and tell you how much it might cost to buy.

Feel free to shop around a bit – it is a competitive market and its worth seeing who has offers on.  Once you have bought the domain name you will typically own it for a year and it will be automatically renewed every year.  If you decide you don’t like it or want it then after a year let them know (so you are not automatically charged) and it will be put back in the pot for someone else.  Your domain name is where all your visitors will find your site and, as you can imagine, is an incredibly important part of your online presence.

Finally, website builders may or may not offer you an ‘insights’ or ‘analytics’ function.  Insights / Analytics refer to an inbuilt statistical analyses function showing you who is visiting your site, from where, when.  This analysis of your visitors (aka ‘traffic’) can be incredibly helpful when considering whether anyone is seeing your site, how long they may be staying for, what pages are performing best or worst and if traffic is hitting certain peaks and troughs.

Some website builders offer basic analytics functions for free and others will incorporate this into subscription packages.  Again, it is up to you to choose you want from your website builder.

So now you know the terminology you will want to look around at different website builders!  It is important to know which website builder offers you the best value, efficiency and presence for what you want to do online which is where our reviews come in: we want to help you make good decisions.

Top 10 Website Builders

So here is our list of the top 10 website builders, starting with the most popular worldwide…

WordPress

WordPress comes as both WordPress.org and WordPress.com.  They both have distinct differences in what they offer as website builders. First,

WordPress.org

WordPress.org is slightly different to WordPress.com in that your website is not hosted (stored) for you.  Rather, you are in full control of your website and have a company external to WordPress to host it for you.

You need to start with installing WordPress on your hosting, which makes setting up a website slightly more involved to start with. However, if you want to build a small business website that can grow and evolve over time, you’ll appreciate the flexibility later. Many web hosting companies, such as Siteground, make setting up WordPress very easy, with step by step guides.

Once you have your web hosting purchased and ready, and WordPress installed, you have access to thousands of free website templates (known as themes) and plugins – useful tools that add extra functions to your site of you want them.

People choose WordPress because there are none of the restrictions associated with other, more easy to use website builders – creative freedom is yours!

You can choose: what hosting plan you want and with whom; your domain name; design ideas; what plugins you want, how you want the site to look/sound – everything is open to your ideas.  This is inevitably more involved than WordPress.com and other systems on the list but for many this is worth it for the amount of creative freedoms you have to create the exact website for you.

There is a reason that over 30% of the websites on the entire Internet are powered by WordPress – it’s amazing and it’s free – you only pay for the web hosting, which starts from as little as about £5 (or $7) per month. This will include your email addresses, the site builder and other useful tools, and plenty of space for your text, images and other content that you want to put online.

Create a WordPress Site with Siteground Hosting

Pros of WordPress.org:

• It is 100% free to use after you have sorted your domain name and found your host
• You can customise it as much as you need to
• Despite being more complicated than some other site builders, it is still pretty easy to use
• You completely own the website and all the data
• You can make money from placing ads on your site if you want to
• As WordPress is the world’s most popular website builder, there are hundreds of thousands of design and development professionals who are experienced in using it – just in case you ever want a little help down the line to take it to the next level.

Cons of WordPress.org:

• You have to pay for someone to host your site and you will have to buy and register your own domain name
• It is not aimed at those who are complete beginners to using websites, although there is plenty of free help and advice
• The maintenance of your site is up to you. Updates and back-ups are your responsibility, although many hosting company help to automate most of this and make it easy
• You may need to hire someone to make more sophisticated installations and designs if you are not tech-savvy
• The learning curve is greater than with some of the other site builders on our list.

WordPress.org – Best Website Builder for Small Business & Overall

WordPress.org is our #1 recommendation as the best website builder if you are looking for long-term, future-proof solution. It offers all you need as a small business website builder, but can grow with you and scale up to be just as good for any size company. There’s a reason why well-known brands such as Sony, BBC America, Disney, TechCrunch and thousands more use WordPress.

Create a WordPress Site with Siteground Hosting

 
For a more simple solution – WordPress.com:

WordPress.com offers a space in which to create your own website in a managed way.  It is easy to access and you can start building a website straight away for free.  They will host (store) your site for you and let you choose a domain name.  They offer hundreds of templates to help design and organise your site, different functions and plugins and can be used for many different types of website.  It is extremely popular and successful due to its accessibility and ease-of-use.

The pros of WordPress.com as a website builder are that:

• It is really easy to use and looks great.
• Unlike many other website builders it has a free version you can use.
• It has a section you can use to blog on for free – which is great for exposure for your products.
• It offers ‘site portability’, which many other website builders do not. This means that you can pack up and move the website you have built on WordPress.com to a different site builder if you change your mind.  Typically, website builders use their own specifications (coding) which means you have to stay with them or, if you go elsewhere, you will need to build a new site from scratch with new templates and design features.  This is not necessarily a problem however, if you choose a website builder that you think will suit your needs for the long term.
• It has hundreds of templates and features to design and customise your site with – for free.
• It has a free insights section for you to check on who is – or isn’t – visiting your site.

Cons of WordPress.com as a website builder are:

• If you want to use your own domain name you do have to pay for this.
• There are no image editing tools for your photos.
• Your free site will have ads on it put there by WordPress.
• Free sites have ‘wordpress’ in the domain (website) name title.
• It is comparatively awkward to set up initially – there are quite a few different pages to get through and it can feel a little daunting for a newbie.

Our Rating for WordPress: 4.5/5   Great accessibility and free options but the .org version can be a little tricky for newbies in the initial setting-up phase. 

Squarespace – a Great Site Solution for Creative Designers

Squarespace is an advanced, visually strong site builder with an excellent standard of professional-looking, mobile phone friendly templates and 24/7 support.

Pros of Squarespace:

• Incredibly sharp, professional looking templates.
• Excellent style editor which lets you access some serious image editing tools. This gives you an extra element of creative control over how your site looks and feels to customers.
• Grows with your business.
• You can connect your own domain name.
• You can blog.
• Transfers brilliantly to all display screen sizes, from tablets to mobile phones.
• Not as expensive as other ecommerce sites.

Cons of Squarespace:

• It is not immediately clear how, once you have opened your site, you are meant to make it. User-friendly and intuitive it is not: perseverance and time is needed!
• You can only get a free domain name from them if you are on an annual subscription service.
• The prevalence of choices when editing style and template options can be overwhelming to those new to site building.
• What you see on the website is what you will get on your phone – you cannot make a separate version that is more mobile-user friendly.
• Tagging on other ecommerce or social media platforms is limited, although improving.
• Staying connected with your audience has traditionally been a limiting factor in using Squarespace.
• The slick, cool elegance of the templates this website builder creates may not be to everyone’s taste.
• There is no free option. Monthly subscriptions start at £10 a month.

Visit Squarespace to learn more.

We rate this as: 3.5/5  Websites look so beautiful when they are done!  But building them takes much more time and effort than other website builders do and the limited stock of template designs means it won’t be to everyone’s taste.  This is not necessarily one for the uninitiated or those looking for a fun, chatty vibe.

Wix

Wix is an incredibly popular website builder offering free and paid packages within which to make your presence known in style.

Pros of using Wix:

• Excellent beginners guide to web building: easy to navigate and organise from the off.
• Good looking templates and design features.
• Free package available.
• Very flexible in creative content.
• Lots of access to widgets and add-ons like Apps you can install from newsletters to reservation bookings, Spotify and SoundCloud.
• Offers a ‘smart assistant’ to help with basic business tasks.
• Has a basic backup system that saves key points that can be restored at any time.
• Can be monetised.
• There is an ecommerce package that you can buy if you are looking for an online store. This is around £8/mth and does not contain transaction fees.
• Excellent for smaller websites.
• It has what it has called Artifical Design Intelligence (ADI). This is uniquely exciting – you answer some basic questions about what you want a website for and then click on a big GO button that then… designs your site for you.  This is pretty impressive stuff!

Cons to using Wix:

• Free package does not include a domain name.
• A blog only comes as an add-on you will need to pay for.
• Free and cheapest cost packages contain ads put there by Wix.
• Not so great for bigger websites as navigating can become tricky.
• No built-in insight features.
• You are stuck with the initial template you chose – you can add to it but you cannot change it.

Visit Wix to learn more.

Our rating: 4/5  On the surface it is impressive.  The wide-range in offerings and options are astounding: it is flashy, easy to use for beginners, there is the ADI function and there is a free package available.  However, staples like an in-built blog or insights access are lacking which can be a put-off for those wanting to create noise around their site and/or build a brand presence.  Those who need to create larger business websites could find it cumbersome and restricting.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is an industry long-timer and known as a solid go-to for building your own website.  The website creation side of operations has been recently rebuilt and is now called GoDaddy GoCentral.  However, the GoCentral element of the name is not really used so you can still look for it using their long term moniker of GoDaddy Website Builder.

Pros to GoDaddy:

• Simple, clear building instructions.
• Easy to use.
• 24/7 customer support.
• Free for a month so you can ‘try before you buy’.
• Website designs transfer well to mobile phones.
• Unlimited storage for data which is useful for bigger sites.
• Great control over your website settings from your mobile phone.

Cons to GoDaddy:

• They do not have a free package but just offer a trial.
• Domain names need to be bought.
• The cheapest package doesn’t include the mobile store.
• Shops need to be bought as part of their store package.
• Unless you buy their add-ons the staple offerings are rather limited.
• Focuses on being a ‘solid’, predictable product rather than fun and imaginative.
• Relies on regular upselling too much making the user experience more challenging than with other companies.
• No image editing tools.
• No control over what your mobile site looks like.
• No insights tool.

Visit GoDaddy GoCentral to learn more.

Our Rating for GoDaddy GoCentral: 3/5  It is solid and easy to use but limited in its offerings.  Relies too much on upselling and add-on features in an increasingly generous and vibrant competitive market.

SimpleSite

SimpleSite is a small, boutique website builder that was originally created to rival the big players and democratise the website building market.  The mission behind it was to be friendly and accessible and enable anyone to produce a good looking website in minutes.  This sounds great to us, but is it any good?

Pros to SimpleSite:

• It is easy to use – you really can create a website within minutes.
• There is a free package and a free trial.
• It is really well optimised for mobile devices like phones and tablets.
• It has been made to be suitable for anyone, whether you are creating a place to talk about a hobby or a serious business.
• You can have a mini shop as they have integrated PayPal to sell up to five products with the free package.

Cons to SimpleSite:

• The website building experience is really standardised and so not very ‘fun’.
• The democratised nature of the site means that all the websites look very similar to each other. There is not much ‘playing around’ or individualisation to be done.
• Paid plans cost more than the bigger website builders’ now offer.
• Support is only by email.
• You have to buy a domain name or use theirs with a paid package.

Visit SimpleSite to learn more

Our Rating: 3.5/5  It is a lovely initiative and genuinely builds good sites in minutes.  If you want a really small website, are really new to website building and want to sell a couple of things without the cost of a full-on shop this could be the place for you.  For bigger or more confident types though one of the bigger players may fulfil your creative needs more.

Weebly

A huge player on the market, Weebly is a ridiculously simple website builder to use, offers huge variety and is adaptable to the needs of both newbies and the tech savvy.

Pros of using Weebly:

• So simple. Probably the easiest of the big builders if we’re honest, you can literally watch your website take shape before your eyes.
• Looks great on mobile devices.
• Lots of variety and templates to choose from making the process interesting and fun.
• The diversity makes you feel that you have ownership over how your site looks and feels to customers.
• While the site is immediately available to non-techies it is unique amongst website builders in that it also lets you use your own code to tweak and personalise if you want to. This makes it accessible to everyone without compromising on its flexibility.
• The themes are plentiful, really rather cool and if you change your mind you can swap templates after you have set up your site.
• They prioritise improving their user-friendliness over new tech. This enhances their credentials as being a democratic, approachable place to have your site.  They want to please new, non-tech people.
• Has a function that sends emails from you for you.
• Integrated with social media for extra reach.
• Inbuilt insights function helps you learn how to grow your business.
• Decent ecommerce function for a small shop.

Cons to Weebly:

• It is still a website builder so you are still limited to their ideas of what your site should look like.
• The blogging feature is rough around the edges.
• There is no free package to choose from.
• If you are very techie this might run out of steam for you as it does focus on being newbie friendly.
• It has been accused of compromising sophistication for popularity.
• If having a shop online is your main priority this may seem a little limited compared to other options like Shopify.

Visit Weebly to learn more.

Our Rating for Weebly: 4/5  An excellent all-rounder that doesn’t compromise quality or accessibility for aspiration.  Some small glitches and no free package, but all-in-all, a truly brilliant platform for new and savvy techies alike.

Shopify – Top eCommerce Website Builder

Shopify is an ‘ecommerce platform’ – somewhere you can build a shop online and sell your products or services.  Shopify will host and manage your site so you can just do the fun stuff and not worry about updates or techy behind-the-scenes stuff.  You can choose from high quality themes and designs to create your ‘storefront’ that have been professionally designed to help transform browsers into buyers.  You want an online shop that is easy for you to set up and looks impressive and professional to customers?  Shopify is the place.

Pros of Shopify:

• It is pleasingly intuitive to use from the off for the least tech-savvy of newbies.
• There are over 100 high quality storefront designs for you to choose from.
• The web hosting, setting up of payment, taking of and responding to orders, and product organisation is all done on Shopify.
• You can have a free domain name from them.
• It has a two-week free trial.
• It is easy to scale up as your business grows.
• You can hook-up your own domain name if you want to avoid having ‘shopify’ in your website address.
• It is mobile-phone friendly.
• 24/7 support.

Cons of Shopify:

• It is not free. There is a monthly cost for hosting the site, dealing with the technicalities of having an online store and payment processing.  This starts at around £26/mth for a month-by-month subscription but varies according to which payment plan you want.  There is also a transaction fee for each payment received and obviously the cost of buying and registering your domain name, if that’s what you choose to do.
• Templates can feel limiting if you want total creative freedom.

Visit Shopify to learn more.

Our rating for Shopify is 4.5/5:  Wonderfully accessible and friendly to anyone who wishes to set up a shop online but it has a couple of cheeky payment add-ons as well as the monthly subscription fee.  It is no good for anyone who doesn’t want a shop though!

For advanced users / web development professionals:

Drupal is often considered the most robust, powerful website builder and content management system, with security and flexibility as key strengths. It’s been used by the likes of the White House…

Magento is the more powerful ecommerce platform, favoured by large online stores with huge inventories and complex variables and customisation requirements.

These 2 solutions deserve a mention for those who are (or who plan to hire) professional web developers, but are not easy to use software solutions for the masses.

Summary

And that’s our top 10 website builders!  In conclusion, for ease of use and accessibility, Wix and Weebly offer the most with the latter nudging ahead with being open to coders as well as non-coders and more flexibility overall.  GoDaddy are argued to lack an innovative focus, upselling and advertising add-ons that, if you shop around, competitors offer as standard.

Almost in opposition to GoDaddy’s big, brassy presence, SimpleSite was created to democratise the web building process and create a platform that was open to everyone, novice and skilled techie alike.  This is lovely but arguably unnecessary in today’s more competitive market.  However, the websites it makes are quick, easy and you get a lot in the free package deal.

WordPress.org could be criticised for being slightly cumbersome when initially setting up, but once finished, the sites can be professional, clean and powerful. WordPress.com makes things easier for beginners, but loses some of the freedom and flexibility of the .org version.

This is rightly the most popular website builder in the world, and if you have seen a site (or can imagine one) that is perfect for you, you can build it with WordPress.

SquareSpace is your quieter and cooler neighbour.  It is user-friendly, but creates enigmatic and elegant boutique sites for more creative types that want sharp visuals.  For ecommerce?  While SimpleSite has the option to sell up to five items on its free package, and other sites have shop functions you can add-on to your template, if you want a proper shop it is all about Shopify.

As all-rounders though, Wix and Weebly are the big, fun, super-friendly cousins helping you to create sites that are varied, exciting, easy to get going and want, really, for very little.

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If you are looking for the best luxury cars and dealerships in the UK, look no further than the Tesla Motors website to find the ultimate in performance, technology, green credentials and design.

Having shot from relative obscurity back in 2003 to become one of the most talked about car companies in the world, Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors has consistently pushed the agenda when it comes to fully electric vehicles. The launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008 captured the attention of the automotive press with its blistering performance redefining the idea of what an electric car could be.

In the last few years however, the company has grown from a relative outsider creating proof-of-concept sports cars, to become a genuine competitor to the high end German, Japanese and American luxury automotive brands. This change began as the Roadster ended production in 2012, when Tesla introduced a new vehicle, the Model S luxury sedan, shortly followed in 2015 with a crossover SUV, the Model X, based on the same platform.

While inheriting the Roadster’s experimental DNA, these models are much more squarely aimed at the traditional luxury sedan/SUV market, pitched to take market share from competitors such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series, Jaguar XJ and luxury 4x4s such as the Range Rover, Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7.

To enter this space, Tesla has had to combine the unique use of technology, stunning performance and arresting looks which made the Roadster famous with the comfort and utility of the luxury vehicles with which it seeks to compete. To achieve this has required innovation in several distinct areas.

Design and build

While the newer model Teslas don’t quite share the same head-turning looks as the 2008 Roadster, the company has not shied away from bold design decisions.

Key features of the S and X include expansive use of glass, particularly in the enormous single piece windshields and panoramic roofs, and streamlined bodies which eschew softly rounded curves in favour of angular, defined lines. This is reflected in the distinctive “face” of the two models, where the traditional grille required by combustion engines for cooling has been replaced with a simpler flat panel, immediatley distinguishing the Tesla from other cars on the road.

The overall effect is supported by innovative details such as automatic door handles which pop out when the driver approaches, or the Model X’s Falcon doors which fold up and out to provide easy access to the rear cabin, even in tight parking spots. Optional extras pitched at the luxury market include smart air suspension, additional carbon fibre trim and components such as spoilers to subtly enhance the exterior look.

The result is a pair of vehicles which look futuristic enough to differentiate themselves from their petrol powered counterparts without seeming brash, ostentatious or overbearing.

Comfort and quality

One of the benefits of an all electric car is the interior space gained by the lack of a transmission tunnel. This gives Tesla a particular edge in the luxury sector, where front and rear legroom is all-important. The sense of space in both the Model S and X is further enhanced by the extensive use of glass mentioned above, and the minimalist dashboard centred around a large 17” touchscreen display.

With no combustion engine, engine noise is virtually absent, and Tesla have built upon this with sophisticated soundproofing to reduce ambient road noise, resulting in the quietest cabin of any luxury vehicle on the market.

Storage space is another crucial element in luxury vehicles, and in both the Model S and X this is increased by Tesla’s patented “Frunk” – the lack of an engine allowing the front bay to be used as an extra trunk.

Luxury car buyers expect a wealth of optional extras to further enhance and personalise their vehicle, and Tesla addresses this with a catalogue of refinements to the fit, finish and materials, as well as innovative improvements such as a HEPA air filtration system,

dynamic LED turning lights, a power liftgate, lighted door handles and interior accent lighting.

Performance and automation

Whilst supercar performance is not expected of a luxury sedan, least of all an SUV, the popularity of tuning firms such as AMG boosting the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Jaguar Land Rover’s own SVO division producing an explosively powerful Range Rover Sport SVR shows that there’s certainly demand for a luxury car with a bit extra under the bonnet.

Tesla’s defining difference, the all-electric powertrain, means that both the S and X models easily surpass the competition in terms of performance. The low centre of gravity afforded by the heavy battery packs mounted deep in the cars’ middle sections gives much improved handling, and the lack of a gearing system deliver maximum torque even at low speed.

This gives the top spec versions of both the Model S and X astounding acceleration, with 0-60mph times of under 3 seconds – more comparable to a high-end Ferrari or even the legendary Bugatti Veyron.

At more sensible speeds, where Tesla are really leading the market is in the development of a variety of “self driving” features, which allow the driver to cede control of basic tasks to the vehicle’s on board computer.

The Model S and Model X each feature Autopilot, which allows automatic steering, traffic-aware cruise control, automatic lane changing, detection of parking space and automated parallel parking, and even a “Summon” feature, launched from a mobile phone app, which enables the car to start up remotely and drive itself a short distance, for example from a parking space to the driver’s front door.

Economy and environmental impact

Even the luxury market is not immune to the constantly rising cost of oil, with running costs on petrol or diesel vehicles increasing year on year. In addition, the environmental cost of the traditional combustion engine has become ever more apparent, and even the best efforts at improving engine efficiency and cleanliness cannot fully obviate these issues.

Tesla’s vehicles, running solely on electricity, address both of these issues. The calculated cost of running a Model S versus a comparable sedan from Mercedes-Benz or Jaguar is up to four times lower over an average yearly mileage of 15,000. Further easing the burden, Tesla offers Model S or X owners free lifetime charging at its rapidly growing network of high speed Supercharger stations, which can give an 80% charge, or 200+ miles of range, in as little as 40 minutes.

The future

The most recent announcement from Tesla has been the upcoming Model 3, set to launch in 2017, a mid-luxury car aimed at the $35,000 bracket for the base model. Not much information has been forthcoming so far, but it would seem to be pitched to compete with the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4 and similar models.

The new model would extend Tesla’s share of the luxury car market, indeed, establish it more as a luxury brand than a niche technology company. In response however, several established manufacturers have hinted at all-electric models of their own, with BMW rumoured to be planning an electric 3 Series to launch in 2020.

It would seem then that Tesla’s strategy to bring electric vehicle technology to the luxury car market is an ongoing project, with the Model S and X amply covering the higher and, and the inbound Model 3 expanding that reach. The response from its competitors is yet to be seen clearly, but as ever, it looks like Tesla is driving the agenda.

So, where can you buy a Tesla in the UK? You can find the latest on their showrooms on the Tesla UK website, but here is a list of local Tesla luxury car dealers in England and Scotland:

Tesla Luxury Car Dealerships

Birmingham-Digbeth
149-159 High Street
Digbeth
Birmingham
West Midlands
B12 0JU

Leeds – Victoria Quarter
42 Queen Victoria Street
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS1 6AZ

London – Oxford Street
449 Oxford Street
London
W1C 2PS

Manchester – South
396 Wellington Road North
Stockport
Greater Manchester
SK4 5AE

Edinburgh – Multrees Walk
8 Multrees Walk
Edinburgh
Scotland
EH1 3DQ

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