Website Builder Comparisons

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?

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

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?

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

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?

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

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?

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

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

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?

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