Website Builders

Learn more about website builders including in-depth reviews, comparisons, and guides to using them more effectively.

How to Use Google Sites to Make A Website

Updated June 17, 2021 By Brian Adee

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If you’re one of the nearly 2 billion people in the world with a Gmail account, making your own website could be just a few clicks away. That’s because the big Google offers a website builder, Google Sites, alongside their free web-based tools. And just like their office suite of products, Google Sites is perfect for building quick, simple, easy to publish projects.

Bluehost vs. Squarespace for Building Websites

Updated May 3, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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Squarespace and Bluehost are two of the most well-known brands (and oldest) in the website building industry. They are both useful in their own ways. But if you are comparing Bluehost vs Squarespace – which is the best fit for your project?

Wix vs. Weebly: Website Builder Comparison

Updated May 3, 2021 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Wix vs. Weebly – they are two of the most well-known website builders. I’ve written an individual Weebly Review and a Wix Review. But how do they compare to each other?

Squarespace vs. Wix: Website Builder Comparison

Updated April 30, 2021 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Squarespace vs Wix – are two of the most well-known website builders. I’ve written an individual Squarespace Review and a Wix Review. But how do they compare to each other?

Bluehost vs. Wix for Building Websites

Updated April 27, 2021 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Wix and Bluehost are two of the most well-known brands (and oldest) in the website building industry. They are both useful in their own ways. But if you are comparing Bluehost vs Wix – which is the best fit for your project?

Bluehost

Wix

Before we look at different tradeoffs between Bluehost and Wix we have to define exactly what Bluehost and Wix are.

Site123 Review: Pros & Cons of using Site123 Website Builder

Updated March 10, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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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”.

Vistaprint Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated March 2, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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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?

View Current Plans

Vistaprint Website Builder Review Takeaways

Key Strengths – Ease of use and seamless integration with Vistaprint’s huge range of marketing products.

Key Complaints – Limited design and technical options and above average pricing for features.

Best For – Existing customers of Vistaprint who utilize their offline and physical marketing materials and want a simple to setup and manage website.

Current Coupons & Promo Codes – Get Vistaprint’s current discount here.

Actually…

You probably do know that, because you are likely in the middle of checking out and got their site 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.

Mailchimp Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated February 27, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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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.

GoDaddy vs. Weebly Website Builder – 6 Key Differences

Updated February 21, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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GoDaddy vs Weebly – they are two of the most well-known brands in the website builders industry. I’ve written a Weebly Review and GoDaddy Website Builder Review individually. But how do they compare directly to each other?

Weebly Review: Pros & Cons of Using Weebly For Your Website

Updated February 16, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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When it comes to getting a website up, there’s never been an easier time. Weebly is one of the fastest growing and longest standing brands in the website building space. They were mentioned in the first edition of the 4-Hour Workweek. Ever since then, they’ve grown and continued to revise their software.

11+ Wix Website Examples for Inspiration

Updated February 11, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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So you’re considering using Wix as your website builder, and you’re looking for Wix website examples for inspiration and confirmation that you’re making the right choice.

Blogger Review: Pros & Cons of Using Blogger (aka Blogspot)

Updated February 10, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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Blogger is the grand old man of Internet publishing. In fact, they arguably started the whole “everyone should have a voice online” ideal. Evan Williams started the company way back in the 1990s.

12+ Great Squarespace Website Examples for Inspiration

Updated February 10, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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So you’re considering using Squarespace as your website builder, and you’re looking for Squarespace website examples for inspiration and confirmation that you’re making the right choice.

Squarespace is one of the most well-known brands in the website builder industry.

GoDaddy Website Builder Review w/ Pros, Cons & Alternatives

Updated February 9, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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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.

View Current Plans

GoDaddy Website Builder Review Takeaways

Key Strengths – Getting started process and integration with GoDaddy’s other products.

Key Complaints – Limited marketing & design features.

Best For – A quick, straightforward website bundled with GoDaddy’s other services.

Current Coupons & Promo Codes – Get started with GoDaddy’s Website Builder for free here.

I have written about GoDaddy’s hosting product and compared their 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 Website Builder, WordPress.com and other website builders. And GoDaddy has upgraded the website creation 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 vs. Wix Website Builder – 6 Key Differences

Updated February 8, 2021 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

GoDaddy vs Wix – they are the two most well-known website builders. I’ve written an individual GoDaddy Website Builder Review and a Wix Review. But how do they compare directly to each other?

Wix Review: 11+ Pros & Cons of Using Wix For Websites

Updated February 8, 2021 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

There are seemingly thousands of different ways to build a website now. Wix is one of the best-known brands in the website builder world.

SiteBuilder Review: Pros & Cons of Using SiteBuilder.com

Updated February 7, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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SiteBuilder.com is one of the faster-growing brands in the rapidly evolving website builder space. SiteBuilder focuses on core features, a clean interface, and simple templates.

11+ Weebly Website Examples for Inspiration

Updated February 5, 2021 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you’re considering using Weebly as your website builder, and you’re looking for Weebly website examples for inspiration and confirmation that you’re making the right choice. Read my Weebly Review here.

8+ Google Sites Examples for Inspiration

Updated February 2, 2021 By ShivarWeb Staff

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So you’re considering Google Sites as your website builder, and you’re looking for Google Sites website examples for inspiration and confirmation that you’re making the right choice.

11+ GoDaddy Website Examples for Inspiration

Updated January 31, 2021 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you’re considering using GoDaddy as your website builder, and you’re looking for GoDaddy website builder examples for inspiration and confirmation that you’re making the right choice of site builder.

See GoDaddy’s Current Plans & Pricing

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 GoDaddy domains, GoDaddy hosting, GoDaddy website builder, online stores, and productivity products for small businesses.

Squarespace Review: 5 Pros & 4 Cons of Using Squarespace

Updated January 21, 2021 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Squarespace is one of the best known brands in the website building space. They do a ton of advertising with everything from podcasts to the Super Bowl and have a beautiful product with a long trusted history. I recently had a project that was a fit for a bundled site builder software. I gave Squarespace a try, along with several other brands. Here are my 5 pros, 5 cons, and full Squarespace review.

Jimdo Review: Pros & Cons of Using Jimdo Website Builder

Updated January 11, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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Jimdo is known as an easy-to-use, all-inclusive website builder that is designed for people with no coding knowledge.

View Jimdo’s Current Plans & Pricing

They offer three options for website owners: a DIY website builder that puts you in control of choosing a Jimdo template and customizing it, an AI logo creator that will create logo & brand from scratch, or a fully function online store.

Google Sites Review: Pros & Cons of Using Google’s Website Builder

Updated January 1, 2021 By Nate Shivar

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Google Sites is Google’s free website builder software that it offers as part of the G Suite of Drive, Email, Hangouts, etc.

Sites has never been highly publicized like its other products. I’ve always thought of Sites as a Google product like Drawing, Blogger, and Correlate that sort of come as part of other, well-known product lines but are otherwise forgotten about…yet still awesome in their own way.

Yahoo! Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated October 7, 2020 By Nate Shivar

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Yahoo! Small Business Website Builder is known as an all-inclusive website builder that’s tailored to helping small business owners get up and running online quickly and easily. They’re also known for offering responsive websites, which means the site fits on any device (i.e. a tablet, phone, computer).

How To Choose The Best Website Builder for Videographers

Updated September 11, 2020 By ShivarWeb Staff

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Building your website can be a tough but fulfilling part of growing your videography business. Website builders make building & maintaining a website much more accessible and convenient. But they all have tradeoffs, and videographers usually have very specific requirements.

Weebly vs. WordPress (Self-hosted .org & WordPress.com)

Updated September 9, 2020 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Weebly and WordPress are two of the most well-known brands in the website building industry. They are both excellent choices in general. Read my Weebly Review and WordPress.com Review. But if you are comparing Weebly vs. WordPress – which is the best fit for your project?

Squarespace vs. WordPress (Self-hosted .org & WordPress.com)

Updated September 9, 2020 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Squarespace and WordPress are two of the most recognizable brands in the website building industry. They are both excellent choices in general. I’ve written a Squarespace Review and a WordPress.com Review individually before.

But if you are comparing Squarespace vs. WordPress – which is the best fit for your project?

Zoho Sites Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated September 5, 2020 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Zoho is a software company that has a suite of products designed to help business owners get their businesses up and running online.

Zenfolio Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated September 1, 2020 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Zenfolio is a photography portfolio website builder that includes eCommerce functionality, so photographers can “showcase and sell your photography”.

See Zenfolio’s Current Plans & Pricing

Recently, I gave Zenfolio a try for a small project after receiving a few reader questions. But before I get into the pros and cons of my Zenfolio 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 photography portfolio or running a full-fledged photography business, the way you build your photography website has a lot of consequences.

How to Choose the Best Free Website Builder for Your Website

Updated August 28, 2020 By ShivarWeb Staff

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Thanks to free website builders, creating a webpage has become something that almost anyone can do. Because there are so many options out there when it comes to finding a website builder, though, it can be challenging to know which one is the best choice for your future website.

Squarespace vs. Weebly: Website Builder Comparison

Updated April 4, 2020 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Squarespace vs Weebly – they are the three most well-known website builders. I’ve written a Squarespace Review and a Weebly Review individually. But how do they compare to each other?

When Should Someone Not Use WordPress?

Updated March 30, 2020 By ShivarWeb Staff

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

You’re probably here because you’ve heard the buzz about WordPress (Alignable’s SMB Index says WordPress is the most trusted software for small business), but are wondering if there are situations in which someone should not use WordPress for their business website.

WordPress is an incredibly versatile website platform — I won’t hide my enthusiasm for it. But there is no such thing as a “best website platform”. There’s only the best choice based on your goals, resources and preferences.

Most website platforms promote with features and price. But like buying a house – price and features don’t tell the whole story. They don’t tell you if this platform is a good choice for your website.

When evaluating whether or not to use WordPress, you need to think about your needs for a website. Do you need flexibility? Support? A mixture of both?

Here’s how to figure out if/when someone should not use WordPress for their business website.

Duda Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated March 10, 2020 By Nate Shivar

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Duda Website Builder 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.

See Duda Website Builder Current Plans & Pricing

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.

WordPress.com Review: Pros & Cons of WordPress.com as a Website Builder

Updated March 6, 2020 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

WordPress is one of the most popular pieces of software in the website space. WordPress powers over 25% of the Internet and is famous for its versatility and ease of use.

See WordPress.com’s Current Plans & Pricing

Its is so well-known, that it’s common for people with some web design experience to generally say “just use WordPress” when referring DIYers and freelancers to a website solution.

But for those who are unfamiliar with the general WordPress world, there is a major point of confusion: WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.

In this article, I’ll be reviewing WordPress.com as a website builder and general website solution for DIYers.

But before I dive into specifics, let’s talk about the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

Wix vs. WordPress (WordPress.com & Self-hosted)

Updated March 2, 2020 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Wix and WordPress are two of the most well-known brands (and oldest) in the website building industry. They are both useful in their own ways. I’ve written an individual WordPress.com Review and a Wix Review.But if you are comparing Wix vs. WordPress – which is the best fit for your project?

Wix

See Wix.com Current Plans

WordPress.com

See WordPress.com Current Plans

WordPress

See Self-Hosted WordPress Guide

Before we look at different tradeoffs between Wix and WordPress, we have to define exactly what Wix and WordPress are.

14+ WordPress Website Examples for Inspiration

Updated January 8, 2020 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you’re using WordPress as your website software, and you’re looking for WordPress website examples for inspiration and confirmation that you’re making the right choice.

WordPress powers more than 30% of the Internet. It’s famous for its versatility and ease of use (yes, there is a learning curve. No, it’s not insurmountable). In short, it’s an incredibly popular choice for your website software.

What’s The Best Website Builder for Your Website?

Updated January 2, 2020 By Nate Shivar

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Figuring out how to choose the best website builder for your website is a tough and often all too confusing process. It’s tough to do a simple comparison because there is no such thing as an absolute “best website builder.” There is only the website builder that is right for you considering all the pros & cons.

Adobe Spark Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated November 23, 2019 By Nate Shivar

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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.

See Adobe’s Current Plans & Pricing

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.

1&1 IONOS MyWebsite Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated September 1, 2019 By ShivarWeb Staff

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

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.

See 1&1 MyWebsite’s Current Plans & Pricing

Recently, I gave 1&1 MyWebsite a try for a full 1&1 MyWebsite review (I have previously reviewed IONOS 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.

Homestead Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated August 29, 2019 By ShivarWeb Staff

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Homestead is an all-inclusive website builder that’s tailored to helping businesses build their websites quickly, so they can have an online presence. Their platform includes “ready-to-use” templates that DIYers can customize to meet their needs, or simply “plug in” their content and hit publish.

See Homestead’s Current Plans & Pricing

Recently, I gave Homestead a try for a full Homestead 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.

Strikingly Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Updated August 8, 2019 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Strikingly is an all-inclusive website builder that’s tailored to helping entrepreneurs get up and running online quickly and easily. They’re platform requires zero code or design skills, meaning even those with no website experience can create a good-looking site in minutes.

See Strikingly’s Current Plans & Pricing

Recently, I gave Strikingly a try for a full Strikingly 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.

InMotion’s BoldGrid Website Creator Review: Pros, Cons & Alternatives

Updated March 13, 2019 By ShivarWeb Staff

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Website Creator (also called BoldGrid) is a stand-alone website builder product built & sold by InMotion Hosting, one of the largest independent web hosting companies in the world.

See BoldGrid / Website Creator Current Plans & Pricing

InMotion Hosting has been in the web hosting business since 2001. Unlike many hosting companies, they remain staunchly independent and focused primarily on website products for small businesses. They have an emphasis on customer support and raw performance.

While they still have a range of hosting products (my InMotion Hosting Review), they have also been quick to respond to changes in customer demand. Website Creator came out of that effort.

The big demand of the past 5 years has been for easy to use, bundled, drag and drop website builders. But popular website builders pose some risks for business owners investing in a long-term project.

Website Creator was created for small business owners who need to easily DIY their own website, but also are thinking seriously about how to best build their website for scalability, versatility, and long-term success.

Since I’ve been a user of InMotion’s hosting products for quite some time, I recently decided to give their new website builder, Website Creator, a try for a small, quick project.

Before I dive into pros and cons, let’s talk about some basics.

HostGator’s Gator Website Builder Review: Pros, Cons & Alternatives

Updated February 11, 2019 By Nate Shivar

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HostGator is one of the best-known brands in the website & hosting industry. They is especially known for HostGator web hosting, building their reputation on good pricing, fast servers, and great service compared to other brands like GoDaddy.

Website Builders Explained

Updated January 10, 2019 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Website builders are a type of software that turns visual design elements into HTML / CSS files that browsers can show as a website. Modern website builders are usually bundled in some form with hosting to provide storage & server abilities for those files.

As an analogy, imagine a website is like a physical home. Website builders are a bit like pre-built houses or condominiums with infrastructure & services provided. Usually the land (hosting), address (domain) and services are bundled with the home. There are usually costs & limitations, but also much more convenience compared to building a home from scratch.

WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org: Which Should You Use?

Updated March 10, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you’re exploring starting a website. And you’ve chosen WordPress as your software of choice. It powers more than 25% of the Internet. It’s famous for its versatility and ease of use.

But for anyone unfamiliar with the WordPress world – there’s a point of confusion. WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org – which should you use? What’s the difference? What’s the best fit for your website?

Here’s a concise overview of what you should think about before getting started.

Self-hosted WordPress Alternatives for a CMS & Building a Website

Updated March 17, 2017 By Nate Shivar

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There has never been so many options for starting a website or blog. Hosting WordPress on your own server is not only the most popular ways – it has been completely revolutionary. As a free, open-source, community-maintained content management system – WordPress software has allowed millions of people to start & fully control their own website.

Best Squarespace Alternatives & Competitors for Building a Website

Updated March 17, 2017 By Nate Shivar

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There has never been so many options for starting a website or blog. Squarespace was one of the companies to take website builders to the “next level” – ie, beyond simple drag & drop templates. Squarespace really focused on getting design elements along with certain technical website elements right. They have been a go-to solution for a while, but have really built brand recognition with massive podcast & TV ad spend.