Website Builder Comparisons

Squarespace 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 to each other?

View Wix’s Current Pricing & Plans

View Weebly’s Current Pricing & Plans

View Squarespace’s Current Pricing & Plans

First, a bit of background. Over just the past few years, website costs have plummeted and the technology to get a website from idea to reality has blossomed. Whether you are using a text editor and uploading to the Amazon cloud; hosting your own site powered by WordPress or using a drag and drop website builder, there’s never been an easier time to create a website.

All-inclusive website builders have been particularly interesting. Companies like Squarespace, Weebly and Wix have brought websites to everyone regardless of coding knowledge or skills.

On the wide spectrum of website building solutions, they live on the end that is all-inclusive and provides everything you need to get started and grow your website. This is in contrast to solutions where you buy, install and manage all the “pieces” of your website separately. That’s not a good or bad thing. But it is something to be aware of when you’re choosing one of them as a solution…since it affects your website both long and short term.

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.

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.

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

You can also look at my posts on –

• Squarespace vs. WordPress
• Wix vs. WordPress
• Weebly vs. WordPress

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

[Read more…] about Squarespace vs. Weebly vs. Wix: Website Builder Comparison

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.

[Read more…] about GoDaddy Website Builder vs. Wix vs. Weebly: Website Builders Compared

Squarespace and WordPress are two of the most recognizable brands in the website building industry. They are both excellent choices in general. But if you are comparing Squarespace vs. WordPress – which is the best fit for your project?

See Squarespace’s Current Plans & Pricing here

See WordPress.com’s Current Plans & Pricing here

See How To Setup & Self-Host WordPress here

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

Squarespace is an all-in-one “hosted website platform” (aka “website builder“). A hosted website platform is where all the components needed for a website come in a single bundle with a single monthly price.

Squarespace provides the software to manage your website content; they provide the designs and functionality. And most importantly, they also provide the hosting (aka the server where your website files live) all in one price.

WordPress is technically free website software that you manage your website content, designs and functionality. But it’s used in two different ways because you also need a domain & hosting to use it.

First, there’s self-hosted WordPress (aka “WordPress.org). It’s free, open-source, community-supported software that anyone can install on any web host that meets minimum requirements. You pay for hosting, install WordPress, and run your website how you like. I wrote a setup guide here. I also built a way to try self-hosted WordPress here.

Second, there’s WordPress.com. It’s a hosted platform service sold by the main corporate supporter of WordPress. With WordPress.com, you can get any website running a limited, hosted version of WordPress for free. You then pay for upgrades. It’s basically a website builder like Squarespace….but built with WordPress.

Yes – it’s confusing. I wrote a bit more about the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org here if you want to dig deeper.

But here’s an analogy that works –

Imagine you are looking for a place to live.

Squarespace and WordPress.com are both like buying a condominium. You own everything inside your condo. You can do whatever you want inside. The condo association takes care of the water, electricity, security, and structural issues. They even have furnished unit options. However, you also have to abide by condo association rules. You are limited by their structure and you have to pay extra HOA fees.

Self-hosted WordPress is like buying a house. You can do anything you want. There’s no rules or limitations. But you have to take care of everything (or hire someone to take care of it). It’s also as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. There’s also a bit more of a learning curve.

[Read more…] about Squarespace vs. WordPress (Self-hosted .org & WordPress.com)

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

See Weebly’s Current Plans & Pricing here

See WordPress.com’s Current Plans & Pricing here

See How To Setup & Self-Host WordPress here

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

Weebly is an all-in-one “hosted website platform.” A hosted website platform is where all the components needed for a website come in a single bundle with a single monthly price. It’s otherwise known as a website builder.

Weebly provides the software to manage your website content; they provide the designs and functionality. They provide add-ons & extensions for unique functionality. And most importantly, they also provide the hosting (aka the server where your website files live) & security all in one price.

WordPress is technically free website software that you use to manage your website content, designs, and functionality. But it’s used in two different ways.

First, there’s self-hosted WordPress (aka “WordPress.org). It’s free, open-source, community-supported software that anyone can install on any server that meets minimum requirements. You pay for hosting, install WordPress and run your website how you like. I wrote a setup guide here.

Second, there’s WordPress.com. It’s a hosted platform service (ie, website builder) sold by the main corporate supporter of WordPress. With WordPress.com, you can get any website running a limited, hosted version of WordPress for free. You then pay for upgrades.

Yes – it’s confusing. I wrote a bit more about the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org here if you want to dig deeper.

But here’s an analogy that works –

Imagine you are looking for a place to live.

Weebly and WordPress.com are both like buying a condominium. You own everything inside your condo. You can do whatever you want inside. The condo association takes care of the water, electricity, security and structural issues. They even have furnished unit options. However, you also have to abide by condo association rules. You are limited by their structure and you have to pay extra HOA fees.

Self-hosted WordPress is like buying a house. You can do anything you want. There’s no rules or limitations. But you have to take care of everything (or hire someone to take care of it). It’s also as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be.

And FYI – this basic explanation is very similar to Squarespace vs. WordPress, Wix vs. WordPress – or even hosted eCommerce platforms like Shopify.

[Read more…] about Weebly vs. WordPress (Self-hosted .org & WordPress.com)

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

See Wix’s Current Plans & Pricing here

See WordPress.com’s Current Plans & Pricing here

See How To Setup & Self-Host WordPress here

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

Wix is an all-in-one “hosted website platform.” A hosted website platform is where all the components needed for a website come in a single bundle with a single monthly price. It’s also know as a “website builder“.

Wix provides the software to manage your website content; they provide the designs and functionality. They are most well-known for their drag and drop builder. They provide add-ons & extensions for unique functionality. And most importantly, they also provide the hosting (aka the server where your website files live) & security all in one price. There is no way to self-host Wix on your own server – that would defeat their main point of maximum convenience (even though you can have email and domain name elsewhere) See Wix plans here.

WordPress is technically free website software that you manage your website content, designs and functionality. But it’s used in two different ways.

First, there’s self-hosted WordPress (aka “WordPress.org). It’s free, open-source, community-supported software that anyone can install on any server that meets minimum requirements. You pay for hosting, install WordPress and run your website how you like. I made a tool & tutorial to try self-hosted WordPress here. I wrote a WordPress self-hosted setup guide here.

Second, there’s WordPress.com. It’s a hosted platform service sold by the main corporate supporter of WordPress. With WordPress.com, you can get any website running a hosted version of WordPress for free. You then pay for upgrades. See WordPress.com’s plans here.

Yes – it’s confusing. I wrote a bit more about the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org here if you want to dig deeper.

But here’s an analogy that works –

Imagine you are looking for a place to live.

Wix and WordPress.com are both like buying a condominium. You own everything inside your condo. You can do whatever you want inside. The condo association takes care of the water, electricity, security and structural issues. They even have furnished unit options. However, you also have to abide by condo association rules. You are limited by their structure and you have to pay extra HOA fees.

Self-hosted WordPress is like buying a house. You can do anything you want. There’s no rules or limitations. But you have to take care of everything (or hire someone to take care of it). It’s also as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be.

And FYI – this basic explanation is very similar to Squarespace vs. WordPress, Weebly vs. WordPress – or even hosted ecommerce platforms like Shopify.

[Read more…] about Wix vs. WordPress (Self-hosted .org & WordPress.com)