As a professional web developer, I never had much use for a website builder, but I know that most people don’t know how to build a website from scratch, so I decided to look into some of the options since I have so many questions. about them from my readers.
The idea behind website builders is to simplify the process of designing a professional website. However, after reviewing some of the options out there, I’ll say that only a few really deliver on this promise. Bad website builders tend to be difficult to use or the websites they create look very unprofessional and outdated.
The Choice: Website Builder or Web Designer?
One of the most common questions I get is whether to try to use a website builder or hire a web designer/developer. The answer to this question depends on your situation, of course. If you have a really unique project and you have the money to back it up, then of course a good web designer will be your best bet. However, the cost of a truly custom website from a skilled professional can easily run into several thousand dollars. For some people, that cost is justified, but for most it is not.
The advantage of a good website builder is that you can get a professional looking website at a much lower cost. The downsides are that you will have to sacrifice a bit in terms of customization and you will also have to do a bit of work yourself.
Should you use a website builder for your site?
Website builders are a good option for those on a lower budget, who still want a professional looking website. This makes them a good choice for:
- Small Businesses
- Writers
- Photographers
- Artists
- etc.
If you want to promote your business or skills through a website without breaking the bank, a good website builder will give you what you need.
How do you choose the best website builder?
To give a full review of each website builder, I did what you’d expect:
I built a website using each of the website builders.
I then monitored these websites (and continue to monitor them) for the following:
- Template Options
Templates are the basic foundation for your website design. You choose a template and then from there you can further customize things. The easiest way to create a website is to choose a template that is as close as possible to how you want your website to look, since customization is the part that takes time.
Because finding one good template to start with, so important to make things easy and make your site look the way you want, the number of quality template options is a very important factor in choosing a website builder.
- Easy customization
This is the actual “website builder” we’re looking at here. No matter how good the template you choose is, you will definitely need to do at least some customization to make your site look the way you want it to. Therefore, an intuitive and easy-to-use website builder is a must. You want something that offers the ability to make the changes you want, and doesn’t require you to spend hours learning how to do it.
- Uptime
Website uptime is a measure of how often your website is available to everyone on the internet. Ideally, we should try 100%. Websites are loaded from what is basically a big computer called a server, and since it’s a computer it occasionally needs to be rebooted, updated, etc. to keep it working fine. Due to this maintenance, 100% uptime is unrealistic, but somewhere in the 99% or higher range is. Basically, what we’re looking for here are the red flags that the site is down for extended periods of time.
- Loading speed
Your website loading speed is how fast your site opens to a visitor. We’ve all been to websites that take forever to open, and it’s pretty frustrating. The faster your site loads, the better, but as long as load times aren’t very long, this shouldn’t be a big concern for most people.
- Customer Service
No matter which website builder you choose, you’ll probably have some questions at some point, whether it’s how to change something on your site, update your billing information, or something else. stuff. Inevitably you will have to contact customer service at some point. When you need assistance, it’s important that you arrive in a timely manner with a helpful response, so this is important.
- Cost
All of the website builders I review here are significantly cheaper than hiring a web designer, but there are still a range of price points.In some cases, you can get something for paying a little more, but I’ve also found that some of the worst services charge pretty high prices compared to their more highly rated competitors.
A note about the cost of Website Builders:
If you’re looking for a website builder, I’m sure you’ve seen the promises of low (or free) prices. Unfortunately, unsurprisingly, you usually get what you pay for with website builders. The free ones are usually really bad (for example, your website will look terrible) or they’re not free at all.
How can they say they’re free if they’re not?
Well, signing up for an account is free, but if you want to do almost anything else, you’ll need to pay:
- Custom domain? $20 per year
- More than 5 pages? $10 per month
- Create a store? $20 per month
- Personalized email address? $15 per month
I take all of these things into account when I review each website builder, so you can find the actual cost to build a working website, not just the promotional price they use to get you in the door.
The Results
My detailed review of each website builder is below, but let’s start with the summary of the results:
WEBSITE BUILDER PRICE TEMPLATE PERSONALIZATION UPTIME SPEED CUSTOMER SERVICE OVERALL RATING1. Wix$9.25/monthexcellentexcellent99.9%very fastgood10/102. SiteBuilder$9.98/movement very goodexcellent99.9%very fastgood9.5/103. Weebly$12.00/mogooddifficult to use99.9%very fastgood8/104. SquareSpace$18.00/move goodvery good99.9%fastgood9/105. Amazingly$16.00/molimitedlimited99.1%goodgood7/106. Jimdo$7.95/motion limitedlimited97.2%goodpoor4/107. Yola$8.33/outdatedvery limited99.9%goodpoor3/10
Wix.com
PROs
-You can create a free account, choose a template and customize it before you pay anything.
-The most intuitive and easy-to-use website builder I’ve tried.
-Besides With Builder Instead of the usual drag and drop websites, you also have the option of entering some basic data for your site (general information about yourself or your business) and having your site pre-configured, making it easy to get started. .
-Has a great selection of modern templates. Just about every type of site imaginable is covered, from a variety of small businesses to artists, photographers, writers, and more.
-Video backgrounds and other modern features are a nice perk.
-Customer service had the fastest response of the website builders I tested.
-SSL included (important if you plan to request credit card information on your site)
CONS
– Email accounts cost about $4 per month, which can add up if you need email accounts for multiple people.
– If you want to create an online store you will need to buy a more expensive package ($17 per month).
– At $10 per month for the “Combo” package (which should be enough for most people), it’s not the cheapest option.
Wix Overview Video
Wix Overview
Overall this was my favorite website builder, and the main reasons were how easy it was to use along with having the most modern selection of templates. If you want to change something on your site, just click on it and you will get options to edit text, drag and drop, change background images, etc. There are also helpful tutorials that appear within the builder, so if you’re struggling to figure something out, there’s help right there, which means you won’t have to contact customer support for every little thing.
Personally, I think it’s worth a few extra bucks a month for more modern looking templates and the simpler website builder, but if you’re looking for the cheapest option, this isn’t it.
Better If…
You Value a modern-looking, easy-to-build website. The easiest website builder at a reasonable price.
Get the best deal at Wix.com
Check out my easy to build Wix sample site
SiteBuilder.com
PROs
-Wide variety of template options.
-The website builder is easy to use. Drag and drop most things onto the page with ease.
-At $4.99 per month, it’s the cheapest website builder I’ve reviewed.
Cons/p>
-The website templates look a bit generic, like I’ve seen several other sites with the same template. Not as outdated as some of the other website builders, but not as modern as Wix and SquareSpace.
-Online store is $19 per month.
Site Builder Video Overview
SiteBuilder.com Overview
I had heard of most other website builders that I checked before, but SiteBuilder was new to me.That lack of name recognition coupled with its lower price made me expect poor performance, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a full-featured website builder with a decent template selection. If you just want to build some sort of website and aren’t too picky about design, this might be the website builder for you.
Best If…
You’re particularly price sensitive and don’t mind having a somewhat generic looking site.
Visit SiteBuilder.com
Check out my sample site built quickly from Site Builder
SquareSpace.com
PROs
-Nice selection of very modern and elegant templates .
-The website builder is designed slightly differently than most others, but is still intuitive and easy to use.
-SSL included (important if you plan to ask for credit card information on their site)
Cons
-$14 per month is on the high end.
SquareSpace Video Overview
SquareSpace Overview
Overall, SquareSpace is a creator of e high-quality websites that comes with a variety of modern templates to choose from. The builder interface takes a few minutes to get used to, but once you do, it’s intuitive and easy to use. The only real drawback is the price. You won’t be disappointed in your website design, but you can create an equally great site with Wix for less. I basically see SquareSpace as a more expensive version of Wix.
Best if…
There is a particular SquareSpace template that you like and are willing to pay more for it than for a similar template from Wix.
See SquareSpace.com
Check out the site I made with SquareSpace
Weebly . com
PROs
-$8 per month is a reasonable price.
-Good selection of fairly modern templates .
Cons
-Templates are more of a blank slate than other website builders, which means there’s more work to do. If you have some basic technical skills then this could really be a pro.
-Web builder is not very intuitive if you don’t have website design experience.
Weebly Video Overview
Weebly Overview
Weebly has been around longer than any other website builder, but unfortunately not they have done. been able to keep up with its more modern competitors. The template designs look older and the website builder is harder to understand. Not a bad choice if you have a particular reason for choosing it, but otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it.
Better if…
You’re a bit more technically inclined and/or don’t mind taking some time to learn how to use the website builder. Not recommended for beginners.
See Weebly.com
See the site I created with Weebly
Strikingly
Strikingly offers a good variety of template options that are well designed and modern. The website builder doesn’t make it as easy as some of the others to customize things, but it’s pretty good. The real drawback is the price. At $16/mo it’s the most expensive option (they have a $8/mo package but it’s really limited), and with some other website builders offering a better product for a cheaper price, Strikingly isn’t the best option.
GoDaddy Website Builder
GoDaddy is relatively new to the website builder market, although they have been selling domain names and web hosting since some time ago. The template options are pretty poor and the website builder is hard to understand, and even when he does, it’s not easy to customize your site. Overall, it seems like GoDaddy just wanted to bring a website building product to market and didn’t really put in the time to get it right.
Jimdo
The biggest drawback of Jimdo is that they only offer 17 templates. Don’t like any of those templates? Too much. That’s too limited a selection compared to any other website builder here. The price is pretty good, but it’s all about getting what you pay for.
Yola
Yola has been around for a long time and hasn’t aged well in absolute. There are a variety of template options, but they all look very old and not well designed. The only positive is that it’s relatively cheap, and plugins like email are pretty cheap too. However, in my opinion, you won’t be happy with how your site looks or works, and I think paying a few extra bucks to get a high-quality site from one of the other website builders is definitely worth it.
Conclusion
I came into this test not knowing exactly what to expect. As a web designer, I assumed that website builders would be quite limited and difficult to use.While some of the website builders definitely agreed with me, I was surprised at how good some of the best are.
If you’re someone who doesn’t have the skills or time to build your site, or If you don’t want (or need) to pay for a completely custom design from a professional website builder, then a good website builder is a perfect way to get a professional looking website up and running in minimal time. For those who just want a blog, I recommend using WordPress, which I show you how to do in my guide on how to start a blog using WordPress, but for a full-fledged website, the top-ranked options on this page are all good options.
Which Website Builder Is Right For You?
My overall favorite was Wix, mainly because of the high quality of their templates and their easy to use website. wear. builder. I would definitely recommend everyone at least give Wix a try as they allow you to build your site for free (no credit card required) before you decide if it’s right for you.
If the $10/mo for Wix are more than you can afford, so SiteBuilder offers a good product for just $5/mo, though the template quality isn’t up to Wix standards.
Weebly and SquareSpace are also solid options that don’t be disappointed.
If you choose any of the top 4 rated website builders, you should be pretty happy with what you can put together. I personally would recommend staying away from anything not in the top 4 as there are better options.
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