I've Been Building Websites
Since You Needed Notepad to Do It.
The Short Version
I'm Craig. I've earned a living online since 2004. Not “I had a blog once” — I mean actually paying my bills by building, running, and monetizing websites for over two decades.
I started building websites in the mid-'90s, back when the toolchain was literally Notepad, a prayer, and whatever Netscape Navigator decided to render that day. From there I went through every era of web development: Microsoft FrontPage (yes, really), Adobe GoLive (RIP), Dreamweaver, hand-coded PHP, WordPress before plugins existed, and now the current explosion of drag-and-drop builders and AI tools that can spit out a landing page in 30 seconds.
I've been in the news. I've built sites that got real traffic from real people. I've made every mistake you can make — picked the wrong platform, overpaid for hosting, built beautiful sites that nobody visited, and built ugly ones that made money. All of that experience is baked into every recommendation on this site.
The Tools I've Survived
Notepad + Raw HTML
Tables for layout. Animated GIFs. Marquee tags. We all have regrets.
Microsoft FrontPage
WYSIWYG editing felt like magic. The code it generated was... not magic.
Adobe GoLive & Dreamweaver
Finally felt like a "real" web designer. CSS was still optional, somehow.
WordPress, PHP, & Making a Living
Quit the day job. Started earning online full-time. Never looked back.
Wix, Squarespace, Shopify
Drag-and-drop went mainstream. Suddenly everyone could build a website.
AI Builders, No-Code, Everything
90+ builders exist. Most people have no idea which one to pick. That's why this site exists.
Why I Built This
Here's what frustrated me: every “best website builder” article is written by someone who clearly has never built a real website. They regurgitate feature lists, slap 5 stars on whoever pays the biggest affiliate commission, and call it a review.
I've actually used these tools on real projects with real deadlines and real clients. I know which builders are great for beginners but fall apart when you need custom code. I know which “free” plans actually work and which ones are just bait. I know which platforms have support teams that actually respond after 10 PM on a Sunday when your site goes down.
How Web Design is the resource I wished existed when I was figuring all of this out the hard way. Honest takes, real experience, specific recommendations based on your situation — not mine, and not the affiliate program's.
What You Get From Me
Honest Reviews
I tell you what sucks just as loudly as what's great. Every platform has weaknesses. I've hit most of them personally.
Verified Data
Pricing tables show the date they were checked against the vendor's own pricing page. No scraped data. No “as of 2019” fine print.
Specific Recommendations
“Best overall” is useless. I tell you the best for your budget, skill level, and project type.
Real Track Record
20+ years of earning a living online. Featured in the news. This isn't a side project — it's my career.
How My Reviews Work
I start from real experience and the vendor's own docs
Every review draws on 20+ years of building sites plus each product's published features, limits, and pricing.
When I build something, I show it
Some reviews include a hands-on build with screenshots. If a review says it was tested, the screenshots are on the page. If they aren't, it wasn't a hands-on test, and I won't claim it was.
I check the price tag
Builder pricing changes constantly and the “starting at” number is almost never what you actually pay. I break down the real cost.
I tell you the truth
Clear pros, clear cons, and a specific recommendation for who this builder is — and isn't — for. No filler paragraphs, no hedging.
How I Make Money
Some links on How Web Design are affiliate links. When you click one and sign up for a service, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never influences my rankings or recommendations — I've been doing this long enough to know that trust is worth more than any single commission check. You can read the full Advertiser Disclosure for details.