How to Create a Professional Website with an iPad?
Some time ago we got an email from one of our readers, asking if it is possible to create a website using an iPad or tablet. In this article I will show you how easy you can create a website with your iPad, iPhone or other mobile device. This tutorial is great for beginners and users who don’t know programming.
Creating a website with an iPad has some limitations, but there are still plenty of options that you can use for building a professional website:
- Using a website builder APP
- Using a browser based Site Builder
- Using WordPress or other Responsive CMS
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Use a Website Builder APP to Create Your Website
There are plenty of website building apps in the iTunes store, so it won’t be a problem to find one. The question is which one to use? Which app is good for building a professional website? I found out that the app offered by Weebly is decent.
Weebly is a drag-and-drop site builder, which enables users to create a business site, blog or online shop. Weebly is very easy to use; it is perfect for beginners who don’t have any coding skills. The great thing about Weebly is that you can try it out for free.
Now let’s see how to get started with Weebly App. Go to the app store and search for the app, than install it to your iPad. Access the app and create a free account on Weebly to get access to their website builder. Once your account is ready, choose a theme that you like best. There are hundreds of high quality templates you can choose from. You can edit each part of these templates, so to reduce your effort, choose a design that has the layout you are looking for.
Now you can edit the text, change images, add new elements such as titles, paragraphs, maps, slideshows, videos, forms, buttons and much more, just tapping your iPad.
Once you are done editing your site, you can publish it to a sub-domain and you can view it online in Safari or other browser you have on your iPad.
Although you can try out the site builder app for free and also can publish your website, the free version is very limited in features. To create a professional website, you will need to upgrade to a premium plan, which starts at $8 monthly and includes a free domain for a year. This might be a good deal, but I have better option for you. Just keep reading!
Use a Browser Based Site Builder to Create Your Website
In this case, you don’t need to install anything to your iPad. You just need the Safari or other web browser and you are good to go.
For creating your website with an iPad or iPhone (or other smart phone), I highly recommend using the website builder offered by HostGator. This site builder is browser-based, so you don’t need to install anything to your device. The drag and drop functionality of this builder allows you to customize the layout, edit the content, change the design as you like. You can choose from thousands of templates.
The site builder offered by HostGator is easy to use, does not require you to know HTML or other programming, just with the tap of your fingers you will be able to create and publish a professional website in minutes.
This site builder has the option to create a blog as well to add products to your page, using the eCommerce functionality.
Currently HostGator is running a promotion, offering their hosting plan, which includes the site builder as well, for only $3 per month when subscribing for at least 12 months. The disadvantage is that you cannot try out the site builder for free; however HostGator offers a 45 day money back guarantee. If you don’t like their website builder or service you can ask for a refund.
Why is HostGator’s site builder a better choice than Weebly? Besides the fact that it costs less, you will also have the option to host not only one website. In fact there is no limit on how many websites you can create and publish with HostGator. On top of that, you will be able to create websites with other tools such as WordPress, Joomla or Drupal, read further to find out how.
Use WordPress on Your iPad to Make a Website
WordPress is the most popular content management system that is powering over 75 million websites world-wide. You can use other systems as well to build your site using your iPad, but I choose to present you WordPress, because it is the simplest and is more user-friendly, while the others are more developer oriented.
The advantage of using WordPress to build your website is that you can create basically any type of site with it. Furthermore, WordPress is an open source software and is free to use. Building your site with a site builder software might be easier, but its functionality is limited, counter to WordPress.
While the site builder does not allow you to have access to the website code, with WordPress you can edit, customize and extend the functionality.
How can you build a website with WordPress on your iPad? First, I suggest checking out our tutorial on how to create a website with WordPress. The process of building a website on your iPad is very similar.
With WordPress, you don’t need to install any app to your device however you have this option as well. Whatever option you choose, you need to purchase a hosting plan that support WordPress and allows you to automatically install it to your website. You can also try out WordPress for free on WordPress.com, by creating an account there.
The WordPress App is available for IOS and Android, but unfortunately does not permit you to set up your website, it only allows to manage and publish new content. To set up your site, you will need a hosting account and you will have to purchase this using a web browser such as Safari.
Here are 3 web hosting companies that I recommend for self-hosted WordPress sites:
| Company | Price From | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
 |
$2.75 / mo |
|
2 |
 |
$3.95 / mo |
|
3 |
 |
$3.99 / mo |
Once you have your web hosting account ready, login to the control panel. You will receive all these information by email from the hosting provider you choose. You will also get a free domain name if you choose one of the above mentioned providers.
- HostGator: is a reliable web hosting provider for hosting small as well large WordPress websites. They also offer a site-builder with their hosting account. So choosing HostGator is a great solution to try out both: building your site with a builder or with WordPress.
- BlueHost: is the best for those users who want to create a larger website. At BlueHost you have the option to upgrade your hosting account to a larger, more powerful plan if you outgrow your current plan. Here you can also opt for managed WordPress hosting.
- InMotion: is another great solution for hosting small to large WordPress sites. Their support is also great, trained to help users with their WordPress issues.
In the control panel, you will have to look for the WordPress icon and install the software to your domain. This is a very simple task: just set the name for your site, choose admin login info (this will be used to edit your site), and tap the installation button. The installation process is automated, so you don’t have to do anything else.
Once the installation is ready, you can go to your website and access the WordPress admin dashboard. You have to do this in a web browser, while this is not an application. The link will look like this: yoursite.com/wp-admin, sure you need to replace the domain name with your own domain.
The WordPress admin dashboard is responsive, so it will look great on your iPad and on your iPhone too. I recommend using an iPad while configuring your site, just because the screen is bigger.
Now you can customize your WordPress site from your iPad:
- Change the design in Appearance > Themes menu
- Install the plugins you need in Plugins > Add New menu
- Setup the link structure of your site in Settings > Permalinks menu
- Add new posts or pages in Posts > Add New or Pages > Add New
- Manage media files, especially pictures in Media > Library menu
The standard WordPress installation does not have a page builder feature, but you can find several free as well paid WordPress page builders online, that can be installed to your website:
- BoldGrid – a great WordPress page builder, available for free with all shared plans at InMotionHosting
- WP Bakery – is a very popular page builder that costs $46 and works with almost any theme
- Awesome Builder – is another great drag and drop premium page builder for WordPress that costs $28
Why should you consider WordPress for your website? Unlike site builder apps, WordPress can be also edited on a desktop computer. For instance, if you choose to build your website from your iPad using an app, later on you won’t be able to edit it on a desktop computer, unless the app allows that (in most of the cases it doesn’t). While website builders are easier to use, they are very limited compared to WordPress. It is true that with a site builder you can customize every design element of the website, but the functionality cannot be extended. With WordPress you don’t have any limitation regarding the functionality or design of your website.
To further develop a WordPress site you might need some knowledge of PHP, HTML and CSS programming, but with the use of the plugins you can do basically anything, without touching the code.
Just to give you some examples that WordPress can offer but a site builder cannot: social network type website, forum type site, property or car listings site, classified ads, etc.
Conclusion – Which Method Should You Use for Building Your Website with an iPad?
If you are looking for a quick and cheap solution to make a website with your iPad, I recommend using a website builder. This will give you all the features that are needed to get started with a presentation website for a business.
However if you want something long-term and you think that in the feature you will want to further improve your website, I suggest going with WordPress.
Finally, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. If you have any experience building websites with iPad or iPhone or other smart-phone, please share with us. Also if you have any questions or need help figuring out which option to choose, please don’t hesitate to ask for help below in the comments.
David Cross
David is the chief editor at WebHostingMedia right from the beginning. He has a great passion for building and managing websites and creating helpful content. He is also interested in programming - currently learning python.
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Thank you, this was very insightful !
What’s the difference between self hosted and hosted WordPress site.
Hi! In this article you can find the answer to your question.
In short, self-hosted is where you buy web hosting from a company and install WordPress to your site by yourself or using a 1-click installation tool.
Hosted WordPress site is when you buy hosting from WordPress.com directly. This might have certain limitations in terms of plugin and theme usage.
Thanks so much for this helpful information. I’ve been using the free Weebly for a nonprofit organization website and now am creating my own personal site. I was trying to do it on my iPad with the browser-based Weebly and having problems. After reading your article, I switched to the Weebly app and find editing the site easier than when I was using my laptop. Weebly has been great to use, and the community responses have been helpful whenever I’ve had problems. I highly recommend the site for beginners.
Thank you for the knowledge base, I think it has tremendous value. Can I ask, politely, if I may offer some minor editing to the text/content?
Hi. I have been building an ecommerce store on my iPad using woocommerce and Storefront. I have watched a few tutorials (not specially for iPads), followed all the steps but can’t seem to get the checkout to work. Are there known limitations for this using an iPad?
As far as I know, there are no limitations on WooCommerce that restricts the checkout from an iPad. In fact, WooCommerce is great for creating shops that are mobile compatible. I’m managing couple WooCommerce sites and customers mostly order from their phone or tablets (including iPad).
What theme are you using? Maybe your theme is causing this problem. I can’t think of any other source of issue that might limit you checking out with your iPad.
If I start to build a WordPress website on my laptop will I be able to continue working on it on my IPad? Reason I ask is I am going away for a week soon after I start building and would rather not take my laptop with me if I can help it.
Hi Anne! Yes you will be able to edit your WordPress website from your iPad or even from your iPhone or other smartphone. WordPress is mobile compatible, so you will be able to work on it from anywhere. Good luck!
I love to create a website to help people get answer faster than other website’s
Let my website or blog has bee created on a android smartphon. Can I place google advertishments on my web pages?
Sure, you can place Google AdSense on your website if you have an account with them and your website’s content is good.
If you don’t have an AdSense account yet, just sign up with them, submit your website’s URL and wait for approval. If you have a good website with really good content, you can get approved in just few days.
Also, you need traffic to your website in order to make money with Google AdSense. Now, that is the more challenging part…
I highly recommend Media.net for monetizing your website. They are a very good Google AdSense alternative.
I have my website with Simdif chosen many years ago because I could build on my iPad. Although they are updating I feel I have out grown them . I need to do email marketing and at the moment they don’t have the facility to do that.
I have played around with others in the last week I love the look of Squarespace but you can’t do the website completely on the iPad.
I’ve also tried WordPress.com which I like but now can’t decide wether to go with the .com or .org version .
I’m not amazingly techy!!!! But learning fast.
Hey Christine!We use and recommend WordPress.org – you have a lot more flexibility with WordPress.org than with a website builder or with WordPress.com
It is true that you will need a web hosting service for a self-hosted WordPress website, but once you have your website up and running, you don’t need to tweak around too much. Time to time, you will have to upgrade plugins or the WordPress core, but that can be done with a press of a button.
WordPress can also be integrated with most email marketing services, so if you want to use this feature, you will be able to do it easily.
With WordPress you can extend the functionality of your website at any given time. You need a forum, custom contact, online store, custom landing pages, sales funnels or anything else? No problem! With WordPress you can do all of them, unlike with most other platforms.
I’m looking for something like the old front page where I don’t have to use a template to build the site. Any suggestions? I’ll be using an iPad Pro and would like it to be able to be edited from a computer or android if need be. I can’t find any templates that he likes. He runs a recycling business and wants it completely customized. I built mine years ago in front page without a template. I no longer own a computer so the tablet is what I’ll be using to build his site. He wants it’s similar just to what it is now but be updated more with a phone text hyperlink pics etc. simple site. Also wants a new domain name to be his name.net since .com is taken. Also want a hosting device that helps or makes it easier to submit it to all the search engines and is social media friendly. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance!!!!
Hi Jane, I recommend to try out Weebly. You can create a free account and upgrade to a paid plan if you like.
They have lots of ready-made templates, which can be customized as you wish. I’m sure they offer some good themes that will suit a recycling business.
Weebly includes hosting, and you can add your own domain name to their platform. Weebly is 100% compatible with iPad also with android, thanks to their app.
If the COM and NET domain extensions are taken, try to come up with a brand name. It does not have to make sense or to have keyword in it, just a random word that can represent this business.
Thank you very much for the advice!
When I started making sites – back in the 90’s, for myself and clients. I used available programs at the time including FrontPage, Dreamweaver and straight HTML. At that time it was very easy to designate a sub domain, by simply adding to primaries with a .com/subdomain name. Currently, I need to transfer at least one domain name that will host multiple divisions – if at all possible this needs to be done using my iPad (at least to begin with). The domain needs to be home to multiple divisions, with different individuals updating it often. They should work from their own subdomains – so far I’ve been unable to do this, or even establish if it’s possible or not with Weebly and others – is there something I’m missing? It would be overly time consuming, expensive and confusion as all relate to the primary domain – even if they’re acting affiliates. Do you believe WordPress is the answer, or would some of the newer apps allow me to accomplish this, ASAP?
Thanks, appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge, hope it’s working out for you – we’d be interested in a full description and image to link back. These pages relate almost exclusively to the music/entertainment industries for Independent Artists and contain no questionable images or language.
Hi, I have a site on MacHighway which I built using Sandvox, which I thought was easy to use from my macbook. Sandvox is going out or is gone and I’ve also just bought an IPad Pro which I’m hoping to use to rebuild and manage my site from, as it happens my laptop is also on its last leg so time for upgrades all around. My site is mainly to keep others that help us from time to time to know what were up too and so there aren’t things i’m Selling, just links to reports, pictures and stuff. Any suggestions for an app that I can build and maintain my site that I can also upload to MacHighway from my iPad?
Whether you use HostGator’s Gator Builder or Weebly, you will be able to build and manage your website using iPad Pro or even other tablets.
I presently have a free weebly website and would like to upgrade to their business plan. It won’t let me as I am on a mobile device. ( my iPad). Not a big deal as I can sign up for this plan on weebly but need to make sure I can do everything from my iPad. It’s all I have right now.
It does not matter which plan you use, you will be able to edit your website from an iPad. I recommend getting in touch with Weebly support, to be extra sure about this.
Hostgator does not support iPad.