Did you know that building a website no longer requires extensive coding knowledge? Website technology has come such a long way and now there is unlimited access to a surplus of website building sites! Although the choice can be intimidating, we have narrowed it down to these three website building sites for you to choose from. If you are wondering, how do I choose? There are obviously pros and cons of all of them, but hopefully we can help you figure it out!
Let’s start with Wordpress...
Wordpress began as a blogging platform and it’s unique from Wix and Squarespace in the way that you have full access to your own website and content. One important thing to note is that WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two different things! WordPress.com is a hosted website platform (similar to Squarespace or Wix), while WordPress.org is self hosted platform. A fun analogy I read online states it like this, “When you own a home, you could tear down a wall or build a nice porch, but you’re also on the hook for all maintenance and upgrades. Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, and Wordpress.com all offer the convenience of renting from a diligent landlord, but you have less control over how your site looks and functions.” It does include basic themes and plugins, but it’s not a drag and drop platform. Wordpress primarily uses plugins which are similar to an app. This is how Wordpress adds features to your website such as: eCommerce, forms, and video integration. In my personal experience, I have found Wordpress to be more complicated by offering a more abstract website editing experience than Wix or Squarespace. However, it’s important to note that Wordpress is the most popular CMS (content management system) in the world.
Overall, the biggest draw to using Wordpress is the ability to code it to do nearly anything! The biggest deterrent however, is feeling overwhelmed and lacking an understanding of what plugins you need to get started.
Next up is Squarespace!
Squarespace was created to make website design simple, easy, and accessible. Their templates are beautiful, modern, and simplistic. They host websites specifically for e-commerce, small businesses, and design/art portfolios. If that sounds like you, this is probably your place! Squarespace is the closest you will get to a professionally designed website without hiring a coding expert or a developer. Their interface is so simple, you could easily have a website up and running in an hour. Another plus of Squarespace is there is no need to know HTML. The visual editor immediately reflects what your site will look like as you make edits and changes.
Last, but not least is Wix...
Wix is my personal favorite, but let me tell you why! Unlike the others, Wix allows you to have the option of starting from a BLANK slate and gives you unlimited drag and drop customization everywhere on your site! On the flip-side, if starting from a blank slate sounds daunting, Wix also offers tons of templates for you to choose from. If having creative control is important to you, Wix should probably be your top choice. One downside to having full creative control, can be consistency. Without a template, it can require attention to detail in order to keep you site looking consistent. It’s also important to note that you also can’t switch your template once your site is live.
Overall, you can’t go wrong with any of these website builders! It’s important to do your own individual research and to find out what features are most important to you! Or... you could let us do the work for you! Here at The Burnette Agency we handle branding, websites, logo development, marketing, and more. If you are interested in finding out more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out! We’d love to hear from you! You can reach The Burnette Agency by email at info@theburnetteagency.com or give us a call at 404-850-2081.
