Choosing The Right Website: Web Hosting, Ecommerce Platform Reviews & More

GoDaddy is the big brand in the website services industry. From their Super Bowl ads to TV ads to online advertising, they are by far the most well-known choice for domains, hosting, website builders, and productivity products for small businesses.

I have written about GoDaddy’s hosting product and domains product, but I’ve never looked specifically at GoDaddy’s website builder product (aka “Websites + Marketing”) before this post.

My experience with GoDaddy’s website builder began back when I first started my web design business years and years ago. I didn’t actually use GoDaddy’s website builder for my projects until I came across it when a client of mine was using it and needed a few tasks done.

Since then, new competition has popped up from Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, Gator, WordPress.com and other website builders. And GoDaddy has upgraded the product I originally used. They’ve streamlined it to make it supposedly the “easiest way to get online.”

So for a personal project of mine, I decided to try it out again and see who the product would really be a good fit for – and not just compared to other hosted website builders.

I also wanted to compare GoDaddy’s website builder to other website solutions like hosting your own website or using a hosted eCommerce platform.

GoDaddy Website Builder

GoDaddy's Website Builder (GoCentral) offers businesses a way to seamlessly get their own website started. Very convenient with simple onboarding and integration. Features are limited with some upsells.

Editor's Rating:
3

GoDaddy Website Builder vs. Weebly vs. Wix – they are the three most well-known website builders. I’ve written about them individually here, here and here. But how do they compare directly to each other?

View Wix’s Current Plans & Pricing

View Weebly’s Current Plans & Pricing

View GoDaddy’s Current Plans & Pricing

First, a bit of background. The process of building a website has changed radically since the early days of the Internet. Even though the core job of a website – HTML rendered in a browser – has not changed, the technology used to produce the HTML has. While you can still produce a website with nothing but a text-editor – most people choose a technology that makes the process of building and managing the website much easier and more accessible.

All-inclusive website builders have been particularly interesting. Companies like GoDaddy’s Website Builder, Weebly, and Wix have brought websites to everyone regardless of coding skills with their drag & drop and/or customizable templates.

There is a wide variety of website building solutions, and they all live on a spectrum with a tradeoff between control & convenience. I’ve written a full explainer on website builders here, but here’s how I think about it –

On the 100% control, but 0% convenience end – you have solutions like a text editor and server space that you purchase separately. It’s a bit akin to buying raw land to build your house for shelter.

On the 0% control, but 100% convenience end – you have solutions like Facebook and Twitter that provide no control (not even domain name control), but are highly convenient.

In the 50/50 middle – you have solutions like WordPress that live on your own server, but help you manage & build your website. It’s akin to buying a house that you own – you are responsible if anything breaks, but you can do really whatever you want.

Towards the convenience end, but with more control all live “hosted” website builders like Weebly, Wix, and GoDaddy’s Website Builder. They offer more convenience by bundling hosting, design, etc, but trade some control.

Using a website builder is sort of like leasing and customizing an apartment in a really classy development instead of buying and owning your own house. You’re still in control of decor, cleaning, and everything living-wise – but you leave the construction, plumbing, security, and infrastructure to the property owner. That point is key because there’s usually a direct tradeoff between convenience and control.

In the long-term, it affects your versatility, functionality, and, of course, your brand. In the short term, it can certainly add/take away a lot of headaches. That said, just like choosing a physical house or office, there is no such thing as an absolute “best” or “top” choice. There’s only such a thing as the right choice relative to your goals, experience, and circumstances.

GoDaddy Website Builder, Weebly, and Wix as a group compete with options like WordPress (which provides the free software to build a website that you own & control on your own hosting – see my WordPress setup guide here) all the way to options like typing actual HTML code into a text file.

*confusingly, GoDaddy also offers hosting, where you can install website software like WordPress. This comparison will focus on GoDaddy’s Website Builder that bundles hosting. You can find GoDaddy hosting alternatives here.

Make sense? Awesome, let’s dive into the comparison.

Side note – if you want this comparison in a BuzzFeed-style quiz, you can take my website builder quiz here…

Otherwise, we’ll look specifically at pricing, onboarding/user experience, design features, technical features, marketing features, customer support & company structure.

Duda is known as an all-inclusive website builder that was originally created as an easy-to-use mobile website platform for DIYers. It has sinced evolved to help agencies, digital publishers, and hosting companies scale with an quick and easy website platform that helps their clients get up and running ASAP.

Duda is also known for making responsive websites, which means the site fits on any device (i.e. a tablet, phone, computer).

Recently, I gave Duda a try for a full Duda review. But before I get into the pros and cons of my Duda review, let’s dive into an overview about tools to build a website.

Duda Website Builder

Duda certainly makes getting a website up and running easy, and when you factor in their advanced features that give you more control, it makes the platform a pretty solid website builder for small agencies and even DIYers who need something that's easy-to-use but can also scale.

Application Category: Website Builder

Editor's Rating:
3.5

When you think of Vistaprint, you probably think of business cards — which is what the company is known for and has been since their founding in 1995. But did you know Vistaprint offers other marketing materials for small business owners — like a website builder?

Actually…

You probably do know that, because you are likely in the middle of checking out and got their website builder offer. And you thought “is the Vistaprint website builder actually good?” And so, you stumbled on this post.

Well I thought the same thing while buying a few business cards. So, I went ahead and gave Vistaprint a try for a small project for a full Vistaprint Website Builder Review.

But before I get into the pros and cons of my review, let’s get a bit of background on building a website in general.

Vistaprint Website Builder

Vistaprint is known for their business cards, but they offer a website builder as a complementary product. It's functional, but very basic and probably won't fit long-term projects.

Application Category: Website Builder

Editor's Rating:
2.5

MailChimp has been one of the fastest growing email marketing providers for years now. They’ve built an huge base of customers ranging from tiny personal accounts to some of the most prestigious enterprise brands in the world.

In 2019, they added a ton of functionality, including postcards & remarketing as they grow their positioning into a marketing platform. And as part of their growth, they’ve introduced a free website builder.

I’ve been using Mailchimp for years, and was super curious when they announced the beta version of their website builder (FYI, beta just means it’s their first, trial run version. They’re looking for feedback from users to improve the product).

So I gave Mailchimp’s beta builder a try for a full Mailchimp Website Builder review. But before I get into the pros and cons of my review, let’s dive into an overview about tools to build a website.

There are so many considerations to take into account when choosing a website builder — and really, there are a thousand ways to get what you want in the end in terms of functionality, convenience, pricing, etc. The thing to remember is: whether you’re building a simple personal website or running a business, the way you build your site has a lot of consequences.

In the long-term, it affects your versatility, functionality, and, of course, your brand. In the short-term, it can certainly add/take away a lot of headaches. That said, just like choosing a physical house or office, there is no such thing as an absolute “best” or “top” choice. There’s only the right choice relative to your goals, experience, and circumstances.

Adobe is a huge name in the software industry — and their website builder app, Adobe Spark Page, is no exception. Adobe Spark is a single-page website builder that makes building one-page websites (think resumes, portfolios, blog posts, presentations, etc.) easy to do with zero design experience.

Recently, I gave Adobe Spark Page a try for a small project after receiving a few reader questions. But before I get into the pros and cons of my Adobe Spark review, let’s consider a bit of background on building a website in general.

There are so many considerations to take into account when choosing the best website builder for your project, such as what you want it to look like, what you need your site to be able to do, and how much time you want to spend creating the site. And really, there are a thousand ways to get what you want in the end in terms of functionality, convenience, pricing, etc. The thing to remember is: whether you’re building a simple personal website or running a business, the way you build your site has a lot of consequences.

Adobe Spark Website Builder

Adobe Spark has a straightforward user-experience and easy-to-use editor that makes getting your content out there a breeze. But if you're looking to create anything beyond a simple, single page website, Adobe Spark Page is probably not the best option for you.

Editor's Rating:
2

Zoho is a software company that has a suite of products designed to help business owners get their businesses up and running online. Their website builder, Zoho Sites, is an all-inclusive website builder, which means it includes everything you need to create your site (from the builder itself to the hosting).

Recently, I gave Zoho’s website builder a try for a full Zoho Sites Website Builder review. But before I get into the pros and cons of my review, let’s dive into an overview about tools to build a website.

There are so many considerations to take into account when choosing a website builder — and really, there are a thousand ways to get what you want in the end in terms of functionality, convenience, pricing, etc. The thing to remember is: whether you’re building a simple personal website or running a business, the way you build your site has a lot of consequences.

In the long-term, it affects your versatility, functionality, and, of course, your brand. In the short-term, it can certainly add/take away a lot of headaches. That said, just like choosing a physical house or office, there is no such thing as an absolute “best” or “top” choice. There’s only the right choice relative to your goals, experience, and circumstances.

What Is Zoho Sites?

On the wide spectrum of website building solutions, Zoho Sites lives on the end that is all-inclusive and provides everything you need to get started and grow your website. It contrasts with solutions where you buy, install, and manage all the “pieces” of your website separately.

Using Zoho is sort of like leasing and customizing an apartment in a really classy development instead of buying and owning your own house. You’re still in control of decor, cleaning, and everything living-wise – but you leave the construction, plumbing, security, and infrastructure to the property owner. That point is key because there’s usually a direct tradeoff between convenience and control.

Everything may fit together just right with a website builder like Zoho, but that may or may not be what you’re looking for.

As far as competition, Zoho Sites competes with all-inclusive website builders like GoDaddy, Wix, Squarespace, Jimdo, Yahoo!, Strikingly, and WordPress.com.

Compared to their direct competition, they focus on ease of use and integration with their plethora of Zoho products. Zoho offers several website templates you can customize with no coding or design experience required, and also gives you the opportunity to integrate with their marketing and optimization tools.

Zoho Website Builder

Zoho Website Builder is very straightforward with lots of advanced features. The pricing, versatility, and future-proofing leaves some to be desired.

Price: 4

Price Currency: EUR

Application Category: Website Builder

Editor's Rating:
3

1&1 MyWebsite is an all-inclusive website builder from German web hosting company IONOS. Their website builder is geared toward helping small businesses get up and running online with pre-made templates that include images and text based on your niche. Their platform requires zero code or design skills, meaning even those with no website experience can create a good-looking site in minutes.

Recently, I gave 1&1 MyWebsite a try for a full 1&1 MyWebsite review (I have previously reviewed their hosting services). But before I get into the pros and cons of this website builder review, let’s dive into an overview about tools to build a website.

1&1 IONOS MyWebsite

1&1 IONOS MyWebsite is 1&1 IONOS' hosted website builder. It comes bundled with hosting and drag & drop features.

Price: 5

Price Currency: USD

Application Category: Website Builder

Editor's Rating:
4

Site123 is a fast-growing, independently-owned, website builder based in Israel focused exclusively on DIYers. They claim to be “the most intuitive and easy to use website builder on the market”.

Recently, I gave Site 123 a try for a small project after receiving a few reader questions. But before I get into the pros and cons of my Site 23 review, let’s consider a bit of background on building a website in general.

There are so many considerations to take into account when choosing a website builder — and really, there are a thousand ways to get what you want in the end in terms of functionality, convenience, pricing, etc. The thing to remember is: whether you’re building a simple personal website or running a business, the way you build your site has a lot of consequences.

In the long-term, it affects your versatility, functionality, and, of course, your brand. In the short-term, it can certainly add/take away a lot of headaches. That said, just like choosing a physical house or office, there is no such thing as an absolute “best” or “top” choice. There’s only the right choice relative to your goals, experience, and circumstances.

What Is Site123?

On the wide spectrum of website building solutions, Site123 lives on the end that is all-inclusive and provides everything you need to get started and grow your website. It contrasts with solutions where you buy, install, and manage all the “pieces” of your website separately. I wrote a post on Website Builders, Explained for more background.

Using Site123 is sort of like leasing and customizing an apartment in a really classy development instead of buying and owning your own house. You’re still in control of decor, cleaning, and everything living-wise – but you leave the construction, plumbing, security, and infrastructure to the property owner. That point is key because there’s usually a direct tradeoff between convenience and control with all software, but especially with website builders.

Everything may fit together just right with a website builder like Site123, but that may or may not be what you’re looking for.

As far as competition, Site123 competes with all-inclusive hosted website builders like Weebly, Wix, Squarespace, Gator, and WordPress.com.

Compared to their direct competition, they focus on speed and ease by providing done-for-you templates and designs so you can focus solely on content.

Instead of operating like a traditional drag-and-drop website builder, Site123 has you pick your niche and then customize a curated template based on that niche, which appeals to beginners who have no design or development experience (think DIY-ers who need to create a website ASAP without having any website experience).

Site123

Site123 is an accessible and straightforward website builder for DIYers. They do fall down on total value and technical limitations.

Application Category: Website Builder

Editor's Rating:
3