Website Builders

How to Create A Website

Embarking on the journey of website creation demands the selection of the finest website builder. To help you navigate through the myriad of options, we present the ultimate guide to the best website builders in 2023. These platforms have been carefully chosen for their exceptional features, user-friendliness, and ability to cater to diverse needs.

Let’s explore the top website builders that are reshaping the digital landscape:

1. Shopify

If you want to create an online store and sell physical products, Shopify stands out as the top website builder. It simplifies the complexities of e-commerce and overcomes common obstacles online store builders face. Shopify is highly recommended for anyone seeking an easy and effective way to set up and manage their online store.

Pros

• Customizable
• Multichannel Selling
• Built-in payment processor
• Excellent Customer Support
• Most Creative eCommerce Company

Cons

• No Drag and Drop Editor
• No email hosting
• Learning curve

Shopify offers three primary plans with pricing ranging from $29/month to $299/month (billed annually).

2. WIX

Wix is a very popular tool for building websites, mainly because of its large market share. One of its standout features is the unstructured editor, which means you can freely move elements around on a page wherever you like. This gives you a lot of creative freedom.

This platform is best suited for users who want complete control over their website and are comfortable taking on some risks that come with that level of control.

To give you a comparison, if Squarespace is like the Apple of website builders, Wix is more like the Android or PC equivalent. Wix offers a wide range of features, but they may not be as meticulously refined as Squarespace’s. With Wix, you have more control over your website, but this can make it a bit less intuitive and easy to use compared to Squarespace. While Wix provides many templates and apps, they may not be as polished and seamlessly integrated as those on other platforms.

Pros

• More than 800 design templates
• Drag and Drop Editor Flexibility
• Small business and marketing tools
• 500+ widgets and plugins
• More features than any website builder

Cons

• Bandwidth limits
• Unstructured editor – bug prone
• Learning curve

Wix offers a range of pricing plans starting from $16/month up to $59/month. These plans are categorized into four options for building websites and three plans for businesses and eCommerce. While they do provide a free plan (similar to other free website builders), there are no free trials for their paid plans. However, they do offer a 14-day money-back guarantee.

If you opt for an annual pricing plan, you’ll also get a free custom domain name for the first year.

3. Squarespace

Squarespace can be compared to the Apple of website builders. It stands out with its intuitive and carefully crafted design, offering polished features and beautiful templates. The platform ensures security, and its editor is flexible and customizable, catering to the needs of a wide range of users.

Pros

• Best templates
• Structured Drag and Drop Editor
• Powerful Features & Functionality
• eCommerce User Friendly
• Excellent Customer Support

Cons

• Small learning curve

Squarespace offers plans starting at $16 per month when billed annually. While there is no free plan available, they do provide a free trial without requiring any credit card information.

The base plan is ideal for non-business or non-ecommerce websites, such as personal sites, resume websites, portfolio websites, wedding websites, and more. However, if you require commerce features, you will need to opt for a Commerce plan, which starts at $27 per month on an annual payment basis.

As a bonus, all annual plans come with a free custom domain name for the first year.

The main reason I continuously choose Squarespace is because their templates are visually appealing, the platform is easy to use and navigate, and everything functions seamlessly. And by far the best one for me.

4. Webflow

Among the website builders listed, Webflow stands out as the most customizable one. If you can imagine a design, you can likely bring it to life using Webflow.

However, it’s essential to be aware that Webflow does have a learning curve. To create your website, you’ll either need to invest time in learning the platform (which could take days, weeks, or even months depending on your technical background) or consider hiring a professional Webflow developer.

To put it in perspective, think of DIY website builders like Squarespace and Wix as Canva – user-friendly tools that allow you to create graphics for various purposes. In contrast, Webflow is more like Photoshop – offering advanced customization and manipulation capabilities for fully customized graphics, but it requires a certain level of knowledge in graphic design and learning the platform.

Because of this, Webflow is especially popular among professional web designers or individuals with some technical experience. Familiarity with HTML & CSS can significantly ease the learning process when using Webflow.

Pros

• More customization options
• Full CMS
• Over 2000 Modern Templates
• eCommerce User-Friendly
• Excellent Customer Support

Cons

• Pricey eCommerce
• Takes time to learn
• Features are missing from the cheaper plans.

Two type of plans:

1. General – there is a single free plan that offers enough features to get a good grasp of how Webflow works. Beyond that, there are various paid plans, which start at $14 per month (when pre-paid for the entire year). However, if you require CMS (Content Management System) capabilities for blogging or other purposes, you’ll need to opt for a plan that costs at least $23 per month.

2. eCommerce – eCommerce plans have a starting price of $29 per month when billed annually. However, the beginner plan includes a 2% transaction fee on each sale. For those who prefer to avoid transaction fees entirely, they can opt for a plan that costs at least $74 per month when billed annually.

In addition to the regular ecommerce plans, Webflow offers distinct plans tailored to freelancers and agencies providing Webflow services. These specialized plans likely come with specific features and pricing structures to accommodate the needs of freelancers and agencies who use the platform to build and manage websites for their clients. For detailed information on these freelancer and agency plans, it’s best to visit the official Webflow website or contact their sales/support team directly to get the most up-to-date and accurate information.