Nobody likes making decisions. 😩
Whether it’s what to wear on Wednesday morning, how you should invest your money, or what platform to use for building your website, there’s a lot at stake when choosing one thing over another. Hey, even I was in the weeds trying to figure out what platform would be best for my business and struggling with all of the different programs I came across like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and Showit! I’m sure you know the feeling: You spend days or even weeks weighing the pros and cons of each platform and ultimately, you choose one – only to wonder if you picked the best option. 🤦🏾♀️
If you're a business, your website is the front door to your business. It's the place where people go to learn about what you offer and how you can help them solve their problems.
When it comes to choosing a website design platform for your small business, there are many options and the list keeps growing. Most of them are either free or very affordable. But not all of them are as easy to use as others.
Here are some tips for picking a website design platform for your business:
👉🏾Identify Your Needs
Before choosing a website design platform, you need to identify what your needs are and how you want to use the site. For example, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use interface that allows users to create their own content and blog posts, then Squarespace may be ideal for your business. If you need more control over how things look, including fonts and colors, then WordPress might be better suited for your needs
👉🏾Think About How You’ll Use It
Once you’ve identified what kind of platform will work best for your needs, think about how you’ll use it. For example, if most of your customers come from social media networks like Facebook or Twitter, then having an integrated social media feed is important so they can easily share posts with their friends and followers on these sites without leaving your site and going somewhere else first (as well as making it easier for them.
Below I’ve listed the Pros & Cons of each platform, because I think it helps to see what exactly makes them different from one another and what is right for your business depending on your needs, your business, your priorities & your future growth!
01. WordPress
PROs
- Virtually limitless options of Plugins .
- Great SEO capabilities
- Can be completely custom
- Lower Cost for hosting (complete ownership of your website)
- Best Blogging Platform
- Great ecommerce plugin (Woocommerce)
CONs
Hard to customize without page builder plugins
It can take a little while to get the hang of using WordPress backend.
Domain and Hosting are Not Included
Plugins have to be up to date so that the website don’t crash
WordPress is best for you if ...
You are willing to invest in your website, and want a completely custom design without code using page builders with unlimited number of plugins.
WordPress may not be for you if ...
You have a limited budget and can’t afford big monthly fees, you want complete design control, and an easy to use backend and platform for updating.
02. Squarespace
PROs
Drag & Drop
E-Commerce Built In
Domain and Hosting Included
Great Support Team
- Lots of awesome modern themes
Requires very little maintenance
Lower Monthly cost
CONs
Customization is limited
Can’t customize mobile view, usually requires a bit of custom code
Not many features like WordPress plugins
SEO capabilities can be limited
Not made for large e-commerce sites
Squarespace is best for you if ...
You have a Smaller product-based business and/or are okay with using a template, care more about functionality and less about design & customization.
Squarespace may not be for you if ...
You want more design control to look/feel custom, you have a lot of products in your store, Or if you want to grow your blog.
03. Wix (specifically Editor X)
PROs
- Drag & drop
- Has mobile and tablet customize options
- Allows selling on social media (eCommerce premium plan)
- Quick to create & launch
- Has hosting, email, analytics built-in
- Advanced design platform
- Good Support
- Good SEO capabilities
CONs
- Speed – Wix sites load slowly which can affect your website ranking on Google search
- Can get expensive with ecommerce pro plans
- Can’t export blog or subscribers
- Must use Editor X instead of regular Wix to get more design control
Wix is best for you if ...
You want a quick and easy to learn platform and your website launched quickly, with all the necessary capabilities and use Editor X.
Wix may not be for you if ...
You want more complex functionalities, have a lot of products to sell or want a more powerful SEO blog platform like WordPress.
04. Shopify
PROs
- Easy to setup shop
- Easy to use platform
- Great E-Commerce capabilities
- Great for larger shops
- Unlimited add-on apps
- Linkable to sell on social media
CONs
- Custom design is limited
- Few templates & code needed for more customisation
- Higher cost plans
- Blog is limited
Shopify is best for you if ...
You want an easy to use ecommerce platform, analytics and have a higher quantity of products to manage.
Shopify may not be for you if ...
You care more about design, have less products and want more design control.
05. Showit
PROs
- Drag & Drop
- Customizable Mobile & Desktop
- Great Support Community
- WordPress Blog Platform with plugins
- Good SEO capabilities
CONs
- No E-Commerce or website analytics built-in
- Non responsive (if you view the website on a smaller laptop, everything would just get smaller, instead of rearranging the elements.)
- Domain hosted separately
Showit is best for you if ...
You want a fully custom website with complete design control, easy to update, and the power to grow your WordPress blog.
Showit may not be for you if ...
You need an E-Commerce website or someone who may not care as much about full customisation.
What I personally recommend
I would recommend Editor X for smaller businesses that are just starting out because it’s an advanced website builder that has everything all in one for businesses that want a quick ecommerce website launch, with lots of design capabilities and an easy to use platform.
However, if you prioritise function over design, and care more about having a purely e-commerce based website with a large number of products, then Shopify is best for you.
WordPress is the website platform I use the most when creating websites for my clients. Here’s why: As a professional web designer nad web developer, it’s important for me to have complete freedom when designing websites and ability to add plugins and custom codes whenever necessary. My clients get the most value out of their website when it’s completely unique to their brand and optimized for their specific goals and needs.
At the same time, if you’re a photographer, a designer like me and just need a website that showcases your work and lists your services, you really cannot compare the creative freedom you get when using Showit compared to the other website builders. It kind of reminds me of Adobe Illustrator or Canva – you have a blank space where you can do whatever you want and add functionalities to it, without needing to know any code. Although, they don’t have built in ecommerce plugin, it does allow you to use third party plugins, like Shopify Lite.
There are so many more website design platforms out there that I haven’t yet played with. Ultimately, the quality of your content and design will outweigh most of the pros and cons discussed in this post. Let me know in the comments, what website design platform do you prefer? How did it help your business to grow?
