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The Top 5 Website Builders - Our Experience
Jul 23, 2019
User-Friendly Website Builders | Our Take On The Top 5
One of the most frustrating processes when starting a business is creating a perfect website. Now, let me explain what I mean by “perfect.”
The best way to get there is to use website builders that give you the following functionality:
- Easy to edit
- Low cost
- Renders on all screen sizes
- Delivers a professional look
However, this is easier said than done. This is not an easy process - especially if you are a small business with limited funding. Besides, we all come in with high expectations and want every feature we see on major brand websites. Simply put - why is it that we can’t have it all?
Since starting Sisu, I challenged my team to build our website on the best platform available. Now, you may be asking why I would waste resources and risk having a properly functioning website for the sake of finding the “perfect” website builder? The answer is...I’m a little crazy! But lucky for you, I’m here to share what I learned through plenty of trial and error. The test subjects are below:
PLATFORMS
- Duda
- Squarespace
- Wix
- Ghost
- Shopify
- WordPress
CATEGORIES
- Best Overall Platform
- Best Page Templates
- Best Blogging Tools
- Best Small Business Platform
- Best E-Commerce Tools
- Bonus Features (just because…)
Best Overall Platform: Duda
We came across Duda
while searching for a website builder that allows developers to make changes easily. In addition, this tool features a drag and drop builder that enables designers to create a high-quality website quickly.
If you have ever managed a large website design project, you’ll find that there’s plenty of disconnect between designers and developers. For example, your team comes up with a beautiful design with graphic elements that are perfectly laid out. However, your developers will often give you bad news about feasibility and cost. Here’s a sampling of the fun conversations that will pop up during website builds - I’m sure that a few will look familiar:
Developers: “Your design goals are too lofty.” (Translation = your design costs too much
$$$).
Designers: “But, why can’t we have that triangle in the corner?” (Even when you know that the element has zero functional value).
Anyone who isn’t a developer: “What do you mean you can’t just code it quickly?” (We always need things yesterday, don’t we
Specifically, this is where Duda met our expectations! Unlike the lengthy design process that we experienced using Ghost, our designers utilized Duda’s drag and drop
builder
to create our website quickly. Now, this wasn’t the perfect website at first. For example, we were missing fonts and specific animations. Also, our graphics didn’t display well on all screen sizes
and we had speed
issues.
However, Duda enables any developer to go in and quickly make all of those changes without affecting our process/timeline. That said, Duda isn’t the only builder that has developer mode. But, it doesn’t restrict you from editing or making changes to the backend on your terms. On the other hand, you’ll find the opposite to be true with other drag and drop website builders. Simply put, they’re easy to use on the front-end - but impossible to edit on the backend.
Time: 2 weeks
Effort:
Medium
Cost:
Starting at $14/Month (free trial while building)
Pros:
- Beautiful templates that can be fully customized
- Drag and drop builder with a developer mode
- Widgets for days (and amazing ones at that!)
- Website personalization
- Easy to connect to a domain (you will be surprised at how difficult this can be with other “easy website” tools)
- Rest API
Cons:
- No image compression/editing - which causes problems with website loading speed. (This can be a problem for first-time users who don’t know to upload images at the smallest possible size).
- You can’t edit the site at the same time as someone else - with Ghost or Drupal, you can have multiple users editing at the same time. (We experienced a few “oh shit” moments when changes were not saved).
- Blog format - the base template isn’t that great and scheduling is not an available function.
Best Page Templates:
Squarespace
We tried Squarespace
for about 6 months - and in summary, it’s just okay. In other words, there wasn’t one specific thing about it that kept us from looking at what else was out there. That said, it’s easy to pick a responsive template and quickly customize it. For us, this was super helpful because we were building from scratch.
But, we really hated that our logo wouldn’t display on mobile without some help on the backend. This is easily fixed through code adjustments - but not with the same ease as Duda. Ultimately, we get that Squarespace is for people who can’t code. However, you should be able to make some quick updates without editing on the backend.
Ultimately, Squarespace is worth trying out simply for the quality of their templates. This is especially true if you are a DIY website builder.
Time:
1 week
Effort:
Easy
Cost:
Starting at $18/Month (free trial while building)
Pros:
- Fully-responsive
- Integrated marketing features (email marketing, social media promotions, SEO helper, Google URL Builder)
- E-commerce alternative to Shopify (accounting, shipping, inventory, discounts, etc.)
- Easy to get started (by far its best feature, especially when compared to other DIY builders)
Cons:
- Difficult to edit the code - (you know it's tough when an engineer at a global tech leader tests it out and can’t get things right!)
- Best features are reserved for Pro account (like Google Tracking integration)
Best Blogging Tools: Ghost
Now, this one is difficult - because we have a love/hate relationship with Ghost. First, we built a custom website using this platform. It creates beautiful experiences - but also rehashed some of the issues we’ve had managing WordPress sites. Said differently, Ghost is great if you have a full-time developer who can make changes for you.
That said, Ghost’s blogging
feature is second-to-none. Furthermore, the company even brags that it’s perfect for blogging - and they are in fact 100 percent correct. We loved how easy it was to put together and update posts within its library of templates. However, when it comes to a full website builder - we’d recommend going with another tool ahead of Ghost.
Time:
13 weeks
Effort:
Difficult
Cost:
Starting at $36/Month
Pros:
- Custom website with no limitations
- Schedule content in advance (blogs)
- AMP Pages - huge bonus!
- Structured data - blog posts look great when sharing on different platforms and devices (Twitter, text message, Facebook shares, etc.)
- Open source - build integrations with any of your applications (this is huge if you have experience building large-scale websites)
Cons:
- In-house developer required to manage updates
- Lack of available plug-ins/widgets (you’ll need to pay extra for each feature you need via custom build)
Best Small Business Platform: WIX
We built our first website on Wix. In short, it was low-cost and made our initial build super-easy. In addition, the company provides all of the resources you need to be successful. However, it lacks one major feature - mobile-responsive design.
As a result, this tool is stuck in the ice-age when it comes to current web design standards.
On a positive note, it does include many features that are important for small businesses. For example, you have access to billing, email automation, social media and inventory. As a result, it’s a great all-in-one platform for small businesses. That said, the platform’s best feature is Wix ADI
- especially for operators with no design skills (or time to think). Simply put, you’ll have a great-looking website for your business in about 15 minutes (seriously, it’s that easy).
Time:
1 Day
Effort:
Easy
Cost: Starting at $17/Month
Pros:
- Includes a custom domain for one year
- Templates for every business - plus WIX ADI to make things easier
- Customer login feature
- Booking feature for service providers and restaurants
- Logo maker for businesses who don’t have one (or still using that old design you made in Word)
- Essential small business features bundled together for one low price (instead of buying them separately, which costs $$$)
Cons:
- Very basic and limited (less of an issue new business owners who need an easy-to-use option to get started)
- Not mobile-responsive (this is a BIIIG issue)
- SEO issues (Google Speed Test scores often fail for desktop and mobile)
Best E-Commerce Tools: Shopify
We’re including this one in our rundown - as we’re often tasked with working on Shopify for clients. The platform has a reputation as being the best e-commerce website. Generally, we agree that it’s perfect for a business owner who wants to sell products online. However, we have definitely run into some issues with this platform that have us on the hunt for something better. If you have anything better, don’t hesitate to drop us a line!
Time:
1 Day
Effort:
Easy
Cost:
Starting at $26/Month (basic)
Pros:
- Integrations with a wide variety of platforms to help promote/sell products
- Bulk upload and export of products
- Easy to update product listings, inventory and manage orders
- Links with Instagram and Facebook to easily sell products
- Easy to scale business using Shopify - you can quickly grow from a small business to a major e-commerce company
Cons:
- You must purchase the premium plan to add advanced Google Analytics (Google Tag Manager)
- Added cost for extras like a multi-language website (using apps)
- Difficult to update non-product pages
- Coupon code generator doesn’t work well when free shipping is included
(One More) Bonus Feature: WordPress
We have built multiple custom websites using WordPress - ranging from $6K to $150K. In addition, we have also felt the aches and pains that come with it. For example, this includes taking on existing websites that were poorly built by previous developers. Specifically, poorly-built WordPress sites usually have massive SEO issues. In summary, we recommend that you have a quality team of developers structure the site properly. Speaking from experience, you’ll regret it if you don’t.
Pros:
- Well-known platform - easy to find developers
- Integrations galore - almost everything connects with WordPress
- Well-built sites enable admins to create template pages without help from developers (event pages, blog pages, etc.)
- Plenty of widgets available for customization (community features, stylistic features, etc.)
- As a follow-up to the last point - you can customize it (but be prepared to spend $$$)
Cons:
- SEO issues (errors affect speed and widget performance)
- Major SEO issues caused by naming convention for tags, images, etc.
- Developers required to update website themes
- Separate widget required for image compression
- No drag and drop features (basic CSS and HTML skills are needed to make changes)
Conclusion
In the end, it’s not easy to find the best website builder. Ultimately, you can have the perfect platform and end up with a website that’s far from perfect. Regardless of which platform you choose, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Make a plan - create a site map
Get your designers and engineers on the same page
Plan + Collaboration = THE BEST WEBSITE EVER
If you follow these steps, every website builder will produce the experience you’ve always wanted.
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