Here are some short notes on my experience with some website builders over the years…
Squarespace.com
- Everything is in one place. Hosting, analytics, templates
- Nice design capabilities but not that flexible
- Most of the time custom CSS is required if you want to achieve certain interactions or layouts
- Default layouts and templates work well on mobile but if you want to create something custom from a blank template then you’ll need to adjust every layer on the different breakpoint views
- CMS and online store capabilities are available based on the plan selected
- Custom font upload is not that straightforward. You might need to use custom CSS. However, you can access Google Fonts and some Adobe fonts
- Color and text styles are simple to set but a bit tricky to apply on specific items if needed
- The backend interface is well-structured and easy to understand
- Low-cost compared to their competitors offering similar solutions
- 15-day free trial (extendable 7 more days) to test things out or start setting up your site
- It’s a secure platform, there is no need to worry about extra security plugins or backups
Overall, it’s a very effective and easy-to-learn platform. I’d recommend Squarespace if you’re focused on running and maintaining a single website and don’t want to worry about plugins or managing features and security through third parties.
Webflow.com
- Everything you need is also in one place
- You can achieve pretty much anything you design
- You have total control over each element for every state and interaction
- It’s a more robust builder to design, develop and also animate your website but it takes longer and more effort to learn
- Most likely you’ll need someone to develop the site for you
- There is a big community of designers and developers to help you along the way
- Integration with the design software Figma is available only if you use smart layouts
- No plugins are needed for extra features or security
- Color and text styles are easy to set and manage across the board
- Uploading custom fonts is very straightforward
- CMS and online store capabilities are available based on the plan selected
- Plans cost a bit more than their competitors
- Free plan for very basic websites without using a custom domain
- Webflow University is very helpful and fun
I’d recommend Webflow to someone who wants to use design, animations and interactions as part of their brand identity, products and services. You can use Webflow’s capabilities to show you’re a high-end, technological company, and that you have an interactive website that aligns with it.
WordPress.org
- Easy to set if you use a hosting third party such as Hostinger or Bluehost
- Those Hosting services allow to build and host multiple sites on a single subscription
- You can also use Local to install and build your website locally on your computer and then launch it once you have it ready. You’ll need to migrate your site manually or using a plugin
- Thousands of templates are available to use as a base to build your website. This is good and bad because it can be quite overwhelming. Usually, I prefer to select a simple, minimalistic and flexible template such as this one
- Uploading custom fonts is relatively straightforward but sometimes you need a plugin to add and manage them due to the limitations of the theme
- You can find a plugin for anything you might need but most of them are not great or you need to pay a subscription to access the features to solve what you need to be solved
- With WordPress, there are more security vulnerabilities and you might need to install plugins and check for updates more regularly as well as create backups of your site, especially if you have a large and well-established business
- Managing content, media and blog posts is very easy and simple
- WordPress interface is more complex and robust. The new site editor is very easy to use and it is also flexible but overall there are many aspects of the platform you need to get familiar with and learn, which might take some time and energy
- It is cheaper than other options but costs might get out of hand if you find that you need to pay for a premium version of the theme you’re using or plugin subscriptions
- WordPress has a very large community of designers and developers that will help you find answers for anything you might need help with
WordPress is a more complex and robust ecosystem that will allow you to build anything you need, large or small. You will probably need someone to help you along the way. Otherwise, take the time to learn it end-to-end. If you run or manage multiple sites, WordPress becomes a more cost-effective option.
I didn’t include other options such as wix.com or elementor.com either because I haven’t tried them or because I found their onboarding process and platform difficult to navigate.