Learning to build websites on any platform takes time—weeks, even months.
Before you embark on the journey of website building, it's crucial to select the right platform from the outset. This can save you from the potential frustration of investing hours into a platform, only to realize it's not the best fit later on.
Imagine sinking hours into learning a platform, only to realize it's not the right fit later.
Shifting a website from one platform to another can be a daunting task, often leading to a total headache. It involves navigating domain migrations, content imports, and fixing broken links, which can be a source of unnecessary stress.
Think gray hairs and long nights navigating domain migrations, content imports, and fixing broken links.
My goal is to equip you with the knowledge to make an informed decision, avoiding unnecessary stress and ensuring a smooth website-building process.
First, let's take a quick look at each platform:
Squarespace stands out for its beautiful designs and ease of use.
It's an all-in-one platform where you can build your website and manage email marketing, memberships, eCommerce, and more, all in one place, saving you time and effort.
The drag-and-drop builder is not just user-friendly, it's empowering, making it a great choice for small businesses, creatives, solopreneurs, and bloggers.
However, Squarespace needs a robust mobile editor.
You can't customize the mobile version as much as the desktop version.
But if simplicity and all-in-one convenience are what you're after, Squarespace is a solid choice.
Webflow is a powerful tool for creating highly customizable websites.
It offers complete design freedom, allowing you to build complex layouts and interactions without writing code.
Webflow also provides a robust CMS for managing content.
The downside?
Webflow has a steeper learning curve.
It's more complex than platforms like Squarespace or Wix.
But for those who want to push creative boundaries and build visually stunning sites, Webflow is perfect.
Another advantage to Webflow is sites developed on Webflow are natively much faster than other sites built on another platform.
Additionally, the built-in audit functionalities and SEO tools are excellent for ensuring your website has the bases of basic SEO covered.
WordPress is the most established website builder, powering most websites online.
It's known for its SEO capabilities related to blogging, though this advantage is debated.
WordPress requires some coding knowledge, or you'll need to hire a developer.
WordPress relies heavily on plugins for added functionality.
This can be a pro or a con, depending on your needs. A pro is that the customizability allows users to address their needs by simply installing a plugin. The negative is that many necessary plugins require monthly or annual subscriptions, adding additional costs to the website.
It's popular among businesses of all sizes, especially those with more complex requirements.
Shopify is built for eCommerce.
It has features like abandoned cart recovery, customizable tax and shipping options, and a seamless checkout experience with Shop Pay.
It even has its own payment processor.
While Shopify is fantastic for selling online, it can be clunky on the design side.
It's best for business owners who need a robust eCommerce platform.
Wix is known for its user-friendly interface and flexibility.
It offers a wide range of templates and a drag-and-drop editor, making creating a website without coding knowledge easy.
Wix also provides various apps to extend your site's functionality.
However, Wix can become limited as your site grows.
While it's great for small to medium-sized businesses, it may need to scale better for larger projects.
It's ideal for those who need a quick, easy, and affordable way to get online.
Squarespace: ★★★★★
Easiest to learn and perfect for DIYers or new designers.
You can get up and running in no time.
Webflow: ★★★
More complex due to its advanced design capabilities.
Best for those comfortable with professional design tools.
WordPress: ★★
Steep learning curve, especially if you don't know how to code.
Requires time to master the basics.
Shopify: ★★★★
More complex than Squarespace, but easier than WordPress.
Ideal for setting up an online store quickly.
Wix: ★★★★★
Very easy to learn and use.
Great for beginners and small businesses.
Squarespace: ★★★★
Great design capabilities once you understand the basics.
Many workarounds allow for endless customization.
Webflow: ★★★★★
Unlimited design freedom.
Perfect for those who want complete control over their site's look.
WordPress: ★★
Limited by the builder or template you choose.
More complex for design tweaks.
Shopify: ★★★
Challenging to achieve exact designs.
Limited design freedom compared to other platforms.
Wix: ★★★★
Flexible design options with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor.
Ideal for quick and creative website builds.
Squarespace: ★★★★
No coding is needed for most designs.
Custom code can enhance certain elements but isn't necessary.
Webflow: ★★★★★
No coding is needed for design, but knowing CSS and HTML can be helpful for advanced features.
WordPress: ★★
Coding knowledge is required for most customizations.
Essential for delivering client sites.
Shopify: ★★★
Basic coding knowledge is needed for design changes.
Not as advanced as other platforms.
Wix: ★★★★
No coding is needed for most tasks.
Custom code can be added for advanced features.
Squarespace, Webflow, WordPress, Shopify, Wix: Equal, mostly!
SEO concerns content quality, site speed, mobile friendliness, and user experience.
However, I have to give a slight edge to Webflow here for their auditing features mentioned earlier. Again, these checkpoints are built-in to ensure that someone who doesn't know SEO well isn't making basic errors.
All platforms can be optimized for SEO.
Squarespace: ★★★★★
Most accessible for clients to maintain and update.
Perfect for hands-off designers.
Webflow: ★★★
More complex maintenance due to design freedom.
Clients may need ongoing support.
WordPress: ★★★
Similar to Webflow.
More integrations and coding are required for maintenance.
Shopify: ★★★
Needs to be more intuitive for clients.
Requires training or ongoing support for updates.
Wix: ★★★★
Easy for clients to maintain with minimal training.
Great for self-sufficient small businesses.
It depends on your goals:
Small Business Owner: Squarespace or Wix is perfect if you are trying to do it yourself and need a simple, easy-to-use platform.
Business Owner Needing A Custom Website: Webflow is ideal for visually-focused businesses needing design freedom.
Larger Business/Corporation: WordPress is best for complex, advanced functionality.
Ecommerce Business Owner: Shopify is the top pick for selling online.
Ultimately, choose the platform that aligns with your long-term goals.
Test them out and see which one feels right for you.
If all this sounds overwhelming, don't worry! Your job can be something other than designing and managing your business's website. It can be about doing what you do best, running your business.
Designeo is here to help you create a stunning, high-performing website without the hassle.
Let's chat and get your website off the ground!
Happy building!
