Do you know the difference between HTML and CSS? Do you know how to put these concepts to use to build your own website?
If not, don’t worry. You are definitely in the majority.
Website creation used to belong to a small minority of the population. If you wanted a website, you would have to hire someone to build it from top to bottom and you would probably have to rely on them for any updates or changes. It got very expensive, very quickly.
But now, thanks to some enterprising minds, anyone can build an attractive, working website to meet their needs for a minimal cost.
If you are looking to build a website for your business, portfolio, Little League team, or family reunion, read through our analysis of five of the top website building platforms: Wix, Wordpress, Weebly, SquareSpace, and SimpleSite.
Wix, created in 2006, is a simple, easy-to-use option for anyone with fingers and computer access. Easily customized features, multiple payment plans, and a high-quality support team make this a popular option for many website builders.
Pros
Ease of use: Wix uses a “drag and drop” format, which allows users to select and apply features with a single click. This format allows you to see exactly how your web page will look when it’s live, which makes it great for non-coders.
Support: Wix offers a high-quality support team — along with tutorials, articles, forums — to give assistance when you need it. Since most of your site is built by the company, it will be less buggy, you’ll encounter little to no hacking, and Wix will fix any issues that occur.
Price: Users can choose to use a free plan or one of five paid premium plans. Even if you choose a premium plan, you’ll probably only pay $50-$300 for your website every year.
Extras: Wix offers users free, royalty-free stock photos to use as background or website images. It also offers ecommerce, blogging, and photo gallery capabilities, along with apps for specialized needs.
Cons
Flexibility: What makes Wix easy to use is also one of its biggest drawbacks. Everything is hosted and owned by Wix, so you can’t move your website to another builder or hosting site. You can take the content you created, but the structure stays.
SEO: Wix sites have jumbled coding and URLs because of its drag and drop format, so most search engines won’t rank your website very high.
Wordpress has been the leading website builder for many years. This platform lets users adjust their site’s coding and add plugins to get the appearance and features they want. Wordpress offers the most flexibility of these five options, but is it the best one to use?
Pros
Flexibility: Wordpress operates on an open source platform, meaning users can adjust and add to the coding used to build their websites. This gives you the freedom to do as much as you want with your website, as long as you know how to code it.
Ownership: Everything you bring to your Wordpress site is yours already, so you can easily move it to a new site or rebrand using the same website.
Extras: Wordpress has a nearly unlimited number of plugins to use for your website needs. It also offers blogging, ecommerce, slideshow, and video capabilities. Wordpress offers SEO plugins to increase your keyword effectiveness.
Cons
Ease of use: The open source feature is also Wordpress’ biggest drawback. If you want to get the most from your website, you’ll need to have coding knowledge or hire someone who does. You can use plugins, but the vast number of options and poor quality of most will be an obstacle.
Support: Wordpress offers a community forum of tutorials and articles, but little company support. You can find a lot of help through the forum, but there is such an overload of information, you may have trouble finding something that works.
Cost: Wordpress also has a free option, but it doesn’t offer as much flexibility as the paid options. Even with the paid plans, you will have to get a hosting service, purchase your own domain name, and pay for better themes. If you have to hire a developer for your coding, you can easily end up paying hundreds or thousands for your site.
Weebly was created by a group of Penn State students who wanted to offer an easy option for students who needed portfolios. Now, this website platform offers an easy-to-use option for portfolios, businesses, and blogs.
Pros
Ease of use: Weebly also uses a drag and drop format. Much like Wix, you can see what you’re doing with your website and how it looks as you build it. This platform requires no coding knowledge to use.
Support: Users can get Weebly support through email, phone, and live chat. Its support is helpful and responsive for any issues.
Price: Weebly offers four plans — Free, Starter, Pro, and Business. Each allows you to keep your website running indefinitely and offers access to their website building tools. Depending on your plan, you can use Weebly for $96-$300 a year.
Extras: Users have access to royalty-free images, themes, and integrations for blogging, ecommerce, pictures, videos, and more. Only paid plans are indexed by search engines, but Weebly sites can be highly ranked if the right SEO tactics are used.
Cons
Flexibility: Just like Wix, Weebly websites are tethered to the platform. If you decide to move platforms, you’ll only be able to take your images and text.
Scalability: On the free and starter plans, Weebly limits the number of pages you can create for your website. If you want more than five or ten pages, you’ll have to pay more.
If you have a small business, art/design portfolio, or ecommerce company, this option may be the one for you. This platforms offers a variety of options for those looking for a modern, design-focused website.
Pros
Ease of use: SquareSpace is another drag-and-drop platform. Like Wix and Weebly, this option allows users to build and adjust their website’s appearance without any previous coding knowledge.
Support: Though support is only offered by email or live chat, SquareSpace offers 24/7 customer service. Instead of waiting for business hours, like most platforms, you can get help right when you need it.
Extras: Get blogging, ecommerce, theme, and code editing options through SquareSpace.
Cons
Price: Unlike most platforms, there is no free plan for SquareSpace, though there is a free two-week trial available. The six plans — Personal, Business, Basic, Advanced, Basic Commerce, and Advanced Commerce — range from $144-$480 a year.
SEO: SquareSpace offers some basic and advanced marketing options, such as share buttons, but their SEO capabilities are lacking. Getting the right marketing tools to work can be tricky.
Design: This platform offers amazing visuals for your website, if you have the right images. If your website isn’t filled with spectacular images, this probably isn’t the platform for you.
Though SimpleSite is not as well-known as Wordpress or Wix, it has been around since 2003. You can get your website up and running in five minutes, but the editor and theme options are outdated. If you’re looking to create a simple, non-professional website, this could be a good option.
Pros
Ease of use: Both websites and online stores are incredibly easy to create through SimpleSite. If you don’t have time to make a stellar website or you have limited computer skills, this is a great option.
Scalability: Using the Pro plan, you can have as many videos, pages, and images you want. With the Basic and Pro plans, you can have five items in your ecommerce store. The eCommerce plan offers unlimited items.
Cons
Design: SimpleSite only offers basic, outdated templates, which do not present a professional or impressive look for your website.
Support: Customer support is only available through email and you may wait up to two days for a reply. If you get stuck, you’re on your own.
Price: Though SimpleSite offers a free two-week trial for its three plans — Basic, Pro, and eCommerce — it is more pricey than most platforms, especially for its limited options. You can use the free Basic plan or pay $120-$300 per year.
In short, here’s the best way to choose:
If you can code or are willing to pay a lot for someone who can, use Wordpress to get a great website you can move and adjust.
If you want a simple, quick website that doesn’t need to look professional, use SimpleSite.
If your website is design- and image-focused, choose SquareSpace.
If you don’t need many pages for your portfolio or blog, Weebly is the way to go.
If you want an impressive, high-functioning website and you don’t plan on moving to another platform, choose Wix.
