Build your site: Site Builder vs CMS vs HTML

I studied a difference between Site Builder, Content Management System, and WYSIWYG/HTML Editor to choose the right tool to create my website with. I've learned following:

A content management system (CMS) is a computer application that allows publishing, editing, modifying, organizing, deleting, and maintaining content from a central interface. (Wikipedia)

A site builder is a special kind of content management system (CMS). It was designed to administer smaller websites and the user doesn’t require any special skills, such as installing a CMS, applying a template or creating a database.

WYSIWYG is an abbreviation for what you see is what you get.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language used to create web pages.(Wikipedia)

Site Builder vs CMS

CMS’s are powerful, but you have to learn how to use them. Website builders are less powerful but easier to use because they have visual page editors that allow to drag-and-drop elements around your website. On the other hand, CMS’s give more flexibility and it can power anything from a personal blog to a full-blown corporate website. Another difference is that for CMS you have to find a web host with both MySQL and PHP support. Site builders usually have their own hosting. Because of that, with CMS you can download your site and move it to another web-host, while with site builders you can’t download your website and you have to use their hosting forever. 

CMS vs HTML

Creating a website with HTML requires numerous lines of code, tags and parameters. Although a CMS still uses HTML, its software interface is user-friendly and requires little additional training or technical knowledge. CMS lets the users to create, publish and edit website content without having to code in HTML. CMS offers themes and plugins that allow users to make changes to their entire website simply by loading a new theme. Similar changes without CMS will require lots of changes in HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). At the same time, HTML gives users unparalleled control over the design of a website. One other benefit of HTML is that it has much better SEO for small business potential. It is possible to fully optimize a website from scratch so it can better perform in search engine rankings.

Making a decision

I'm familiar with HTML, but didn't have lots of practice, so I feel uncertain, but at the same time, I have a great desire to become more sophisticated at HTML. It will take time for me to build the site I want with the help of the HTML and my amount of experience with it. Having enough time, I'd pick HTML editor, but I have to consider the fact that I'm taking three 3-credit classes this semester and I have a 3 year old to take care of 24/7. It seems, my time is a bit limited. Based on that criteria, I'd pick something with medium time and difficulty specifications. 

I took a Websitebuilder expert quiz to get personal recommendation for site builders. Based on the options that I picked, Wix is the best website builders for me to build my business website. Wix was recommended because it has a big selection of professional, business focused templates and an intuitive and easy to use drag & drop user interface. I checked how it works and here is what I've eventually decided:

My plan is to try building a web side using HTML editor at first and if it doesn't work(It doesn't look and function the way I want by the time I need it) then I'll use Wix. With Wix it seems the creation will take a couple hours and the site will be done if I have all the images and content ready by hand. Wix is the second choice for several reasons. First it won't give me desired HTML experience. Second, it won't give me desired freedom. With Wix website I feel restricted and If anything happens with them or our relationship I won't have my website, it will be gone forever, because it is not actually my website but theirs and they lent it to me. I prefer having my own website that I can customize and play around, move if I decide to change hosting. I don't need big corporate site. I need a small site to represent single entrepreneur who does window cleaning. 

Image source and more 

P.S. I already have Bluehost, so I will not be making a special blog post about choosing a hosting company. 
The website I'm working on is http://kcswindowcleaningandsunscreens.com/

Affiliate Marketing vs Drop Shipping

Let me start with some definitions and links to good articles I read. 
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people's (or company's) products. You find a product you like, promote it to others, and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make. (smartpassiveincome.com) 

Amazon is a good example of an affiliate marketing. Blogging is another one.
Check out blogging topics that can bring you money. 

If you want to earn money by doing an affiliate marketing, check out 7 steps to Setting-up an Affiliate Site 
Make Money Online with Affiliate Programs 
1. Decide on 2–3 topics you are about so you have staying power.
2. Domain name: buy a domain name that reflects what you are doing. 
3. Hosting: Choose a host that will handle your requirements.
4. Email service: e.g. AWeber.
5. Patience—don’t monetize right away, build content, choose relevant products, and test.
6. Find your voice—be yourself, have an editorial calendar, use freedback.com
to set up a forum, reprint some e-zine articles.
7. Where to find affiliate programs—search on Google.

Drop shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer, another retailer, or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer. (wiki)

After reading and studying all of the materials and googling some additional information I created a list of pros and cons for both alternatives. 

Affiliate Marketing vs Drop Shipping

Drop shipping

Pros

1. You don’t have to manage inventory or product fulfillment. 

2. Gives you great flexibility in terms of product range - promote a dozen or promote a thousand. 

Cons

1. The amount of work required to start a dropshipped online store is definitely more than the effort required to be an affiliate marketer.

2. You are responsible for customer support. You'll have to deal with customers not getting their shipment on time, or getting a product that is defective or broken.

3. Fees to sign up or every time you drop ship a product

Affiliate Marketing

Pros

1. The entire sales process is completely hands off. There is no product fulfillment or customer support to worry about. 

Cons

1. You don’t directly collect any money. You get your monthly commission from the affiliate business based on your sales made from your referrals.

2. The amount of profit is limited by the commission you get. You can't set up your own price. 

Brokers, Manufactures, and Wholesalers

To be successful in ecommerce you need to have a good product. To sell a good product you need to find a good supplier. How to Find a Wholesale Distributor? 

A short list from the article:
1. Understand your industry's distribution channels.
Choose between Manufacturer, Importer / Exclusive Distributor, Wholesaler / Regional Distributor, and  Jobbers, "wagon peddlers". 
2. Try the manufacturer first.
3. Have a productive first contact with a wholesale supplier.
Check out their  minimum order requirements and their wholesale unit prices. 
4. Try searching for wholesalers on Google.
5. Look for wholesale lots on eBay.
6. Check major B2B marketplaces.
7. Join industry groups, forums, and other professional networks.
8. Subscribe to all of your industry's trade publications.
9. Attend a trade show.
10. Don't be afraid to make a mistake.

When you have a list of alternative suppliers here are some steps to  quantify and compare. 
1) choose the criteria
2) determine how to rate each alternative
3) determine how to weight the criteria
4) rank alternatives to help in the decision.

Here is an example of how to do it. 

I've evaluated Alibaba and LA Wholesale to practice quantifying and comparing. 
I really liked it. Using a spreadsheet made the process easier for me. 
The main lesson that I've learned from the discussion group is that business decisions are very subjective and based on previous experience more than we'd expect. 

Web business: Step 1

I really love B250 class. And I want to write down all the steps we will cover, so I could come back to them in the future and remember the process. During the first week we were supposed to come with an idea for our web business. I knew about it before the class and I came up with an idea before I took this class, but still I find the materials from this lesson very useful. Here is what I've learned about:

Business Model and Idea Generation

IDEA. Every business starts with an idea. For some people coming up with an idea is hard, for others ideas pop up in their mind constantly. If you straggle with a good idea, here is a great web site that can help you with Brainstorming Business Ideas

DEMAND&COMPETITION. When you sort through your ideas, it is crucial to check for the demand and competition. To have a glimpse you can use Google KeyWord Planner. There are thousands of videos on youtube explaining how to use this great tool. Explore. 

HEART. It is important to like what you do, so keep this in mind. It is one of 3 pointers for Choosing an Business to Start  

B-MODEL. When you know what you wants to sell, you need to pick a business model to follow. If you new to business here is a great site that thoroughly explains Business Models on the Web   

P.S. Check out Russell Brunson and his Secret Magic Box, a great example of an inline business model, for inspiration. 

The website I'm working on is http://kcswindowcleaningandsunscreens.com/residential-window-cleaning.html