Simbla: A Different Approach to A Website Builder

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I have tried and used many different types of website builders over the past few years. I’ve also talked to and worked with several business owners who have tried the different website builders that are available on the web.

One thing that is true of most of the website builders out there is that they can only take you so far. They all seem to fall short in some area. They might be easy to use to build gorgeous sites, but they are terrible for SEO. They may enable you to build beautiful websites, but they are difficult to use.

Simbla, a newer website builder, aims to solve all of those problems by being an all-inclusive package.

What is Simbla?

Simbla is a website builder that uses Bootstrap 3 to create HTML5 websites that look great, are easy to create, and that are great for SEO (search engine optimization). This is where competitors fall short. A lot of website builders don’t produce web standards compliant output, making it difficult for search engines to index or understand the content displayed on their sites.

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Simbla has a sitemap generator that creates a sitemap in XML, the standard format. You’ll use this in Webmaster Tools to have Google crawl your site. Simbla also uses the standard HTML metadata you would expect from a legitimate website, with titles and keywords. It also produces search engine-friendly URLs for your pages. There won’t be any strange extensions or page numbers for your website. You can also include Google Analytics tracking, just as you can on any other standard website.

Modes

There are two different modes for using Simbla. You’ll be able to choose from Easy Mode and Pro Mode. This makes it easy to get started if you don’t have much experience building a website, but gives you the unique opportunity to access full functionality as you improve your web development skills.

Easy Mode

Easy Mode is just how it sounds. You can use a drag and drop page builder to drag structural elements onto the page. Surprisingly, unlike most other builders that boast this technique, there are tons of flexible, useful modules that you can use to build any type of site you want. There is a huge variety of prebuilt sections to choose from. Each preview is pre-populated with dummy content, so you can see how it is supposed to look. Then, you simply click on each part of the module to replace images and text. I have really never seen this done so easily, smoothly, and quickly. You’d think there would be a lot of loading and lag time with this running in the browser. That isn’t the case. Simbla runs as smoothly as a lightweight desktop app.

Pro Mode

Pro mode is for when you’ve been around the block, and you want to have complete control over every single little detail of your site. You enable it by clicking the Pro button at the top of the screen, close to the center. You’ll receive a warning that you’re entering Pro Mode, and then after confirmation, your canvas area will change a little. The modules are more simplified and refined to framework elements.

Pro mode is more advanced and requires knowledge of website structure, including headers, dynamic content, and containers. Knowing how the structure works in Bootstrap is essential to building a site using Simbla’s Pro Mode.

The elements are still set up with drag and drop functionality, but you’ll have access to features that require a little experience. You can set up your own grid, giving you control over the structure of the site, but you’ll also be able to access and control elements you’d expect, such as text, carousels, videos, menus, forms, and more. You start with a blank canvas and bring your vision to life. This is unlike easy mode, where you drag pre-built elements onto the canvas and swap things out.

Pro Mode allows you to insert your own HTML, and you can create your own custom menus however you’d like.

Pro Mode is a little tougher to visualize, but you can always hit the preview button to see your work and how it looks so far.

Standout Features

Flexibility

I like that Simbla doesn’t paint you into a corner. When using Simbla I expected, even in Pro Mode, that when you drag out structural elements, you wouldn’t be able to reposition them. This couldn’t be more false. I inserted a header and a form, and then I realized it might be a good idea to have a container. I was easily able to drag the container to the canvas, and then I could reposition and drag elements within the canvas. I could easily nest anything within a container, and I could drag and drop any element I wanted.

Theme Maker

Imagine being able to edit the look of your site with one click. Essentially, that’s what you can do with Simbla’s Theme Maker.

You’ll find something that looks like a rounded color palette on the left side. When you click it, a full panel comes up with a list of already made themes. These themes contain fonts, colors, backgrounds, and more.

With each theme choice, you’ll find variations of A, B, C, and D. These are variations of that theme, broken down for each individual content section. This is great because you can change it with one simple click. You can even edit existing themes to tweak them to your liking.

You can also create your own themes. You can control headings, fonts, link colors, icon colors, buttons, and backgrounds. This enables you to customize the entire look and feel of your site without code. You can make backgrounds a solid color, or you can fill them with patterns. You can refine elements like text by choosing font weights, styles, colors, size, and leading. This provides the ultimate experience in flexibility and control.

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by James George via SitePoint