– So in the past couple of months, I’ve tried out
pretty much every popular website builder out there
and in this video I’m gonna go over each
of them and tell you exactly which one is best for you.
I’ve also created complete beginner tutorials for each
of the website builders I’m covering in this video.
So once you’ve made your decision
feel free to watch those tutorials to get you started
with whichever provider you chose to go for.
I’m simply gonna give you my honest opinion based
on my own experience, and based on
some further research I’ve done
on each of these providers.
However, if you do wanna support my work
you can use my referral links to sign
up for whatever provider you choose to go for, and
for some providers, you’ll even get an additional discount
by using my referral link.
So let’s start with the first website builder on the list
GoDaddy
the GoDaddy website builder.
This is an all in one website builder
including hosting, customizable themes, a visual editor
and additional features
like email marketing or e-commerce with GoDaddy.
Building your website is very simple.
You just choose the type of website you want to build.
Choose a name, voila, you have a pre-made website.
From there, you can select your main theme
and personalize the content however you want to.
One thing to note is that GoDaddy doesn’t have a drag
and drop builder, meaning you can place text
or images wherever you want on your page.
Instead, you’re limited to placing them
in the predetermined position based
on the structure provided by GoDaddy.
This means that building your website will be faster
and easier, and you also won’t have to worry
about optimizing your content for mobile devices
as everything will automatically look good
on smaller screen sizes.
However, this restriction also means that you’ll have
less flexibility when it comes to customizing your website.
GoDaddy also offers basic features for email marketing
blogging and e-commerce, but if you’re looking
for advanced features, it may not be the right option
for you.
GoDaddy offers a completely free plan, but it comes
with a catch.
You won’t be able to use your own custom domain
and there will be an ad at the top of your website.
So if you want to use your own custom domain
and you want to remove the ad, then you need to upgrade
to a paid plan.
The basic plan starts at $10 per month and will be most
likely sufficient for most simple websites.
If you’re looking to sell products on your website
then you’re gonna have to go with the commerce plan starting
at $17 per month.
Just keep in mind that these prices are for yearly payments
and will be more expensive if you decide to pay
on a monthly basis.
In conclusion, GoDaddy is a great option for those who
want to build a simple websites and don’t need
extensive customization options.
Squarespace
Let’s move on to the next option, which is Squarespace.
Compared to GoDaddy, Squarespace offers
a lot more flexibility when it comes
to customizing your website
with close to 150 website templates.
In various industries like photography
local businesses, restaurants, and a lot more
you are likely to find one that fits your needs
and all of them are completely free to use
and have a modern and clean design.
Squarespace recently introduced their so-called
fluid engine
which allows you to build your website using drag and drop
making it easy to achieve the design you have in mind.
I personally find Squarespace to have a good balance
between flexibility and ease of use
offering plenty of customization options
without being overly complicated for beginners.
If you’re looking to start a blog
then Squarespace is a great alternative to WordPress.
It allows you to create
and manage your blog content very easily
without having to install a lot
of plugins like you would have to do on WordPress.
Squarespace has all the essential blogging features
you need, like being able to optimize for search engines
organizing your content using tags and categories
creating a newsletter, and even being able to
create a members only area for exclusive content.
You can even host your podcast on your Squarespace website.
Squarespace currently doesn’t offer a completely free plan
but they do have a 14 day free trial you can take advantage
of to test out everything before committing to a paid plan.
You’ll find a link
to that trial down below in the video description.
Once the trial is over.
You can choose between four different plans starting
with the personal plan at $16 per month
if you pay annually or $23 per month if you pay monthly.
If you need e-commerce features
then you’re gonna have to go
with the business plans starting at $23 per month
allowing you to accept payments
on your website with a 3% transaction fee.
To reduce that transaction fee to 0%
you’re gonna have to go with one
of the commerce plans starting at $27 per month.
So Squarespace is a great option if you’re looking
for an easy to use website builder
without sacrificing too much flexibility when it comes
to the customization of your website.
Wix
Now let’s move on
to the next website builder on the list, which is Wix.
Wix comes with over 800 website templates
all of which are completely free to use.
So no matter what type of website you want to build
Wix is assured to have the perfect template for you.
Wix also has a drag and drop website builder just
like Squarespace, allowing you to place elements anywhere
on the page, compared to Squarespace.
The Wix website builder gives you even more flexibility
and customization options when it comes
to the design of your website.
However, in my experience, it’s a lot easier
to make mistakes and misalign elements on Wix just
because of how much control they give you.
I’ve also found that on Wix
it usually takes me a bit longer to optimize the content
for mobile compared to Squarespace.
One thing that sets Wix apart
from its competitors is their open application marketplace.
This allows independent developers to create
applications that add additional features to a Wix website.
Currently, there are over 300 apps to chooses from
most of which are free to use just
like most other all-in-one website builders.
Wix also allows you to create a blog
or turn your website into an online store and sell products.
When it comes to e-commerce
then Wix is a good option for small online stores
or for people who already have a Wix website
and wanna start selling some products as well.
However, if the main focus
of your website is gonna be to sell products online
then I actually recommend another provider
which I’m gonna talk about later in the video.
If you’re looking
for an all-in-one solution to start a blog
then I would personally choose Squarespace over Wix
as their blogging features are a bit more sophisticated
from what I’ve seen.
Just like the GoDaddy website builder
Wix also offers a completely free plan
which means you’ll have to host your website
on a Wix domain
and you’ll also have Wix ads on your website.
The cheapest plan starts at $16 per month
and allows you to use your own custom domain
and get rid of the Wix ads, plus you get a free domain
for the first year if you choose to pay annually.
If you want to sell products
on your website and build an online store
then you’re gonna have to go with the business
and e-commerce plans starting at $27 per month.
So Wix is a great option if you’re looking
for an all in one website builder
with a wide variety of templates to choose
from and a good flexibility when it comes
to designing your website.
Next up, we have Webflow, just like Wix and Squarespace.
Webflow
Webflow has a drag and drop website builder
but it gives you even more flexibility
and customization options when it comes
to the website design.
So with Webflow
you can really make your website look perfect
and optimize the design for any screen size.
This is why Webflow is a great option
for designers and developers who are looking to
build something very customized
and potentially more complex than your average website.
However, it’s definitely more
of an advanced website builder that takes longer to learn
so I wouldn’t recommend it to complete beginners.
Webflow also has an open marketplace
for apps and website templates.
That’s why there’s currently
over 1,500 website templates to choose from, some
of which are free and others cost between 50 and $100.
If you want to start a blog or create an online store
you can also do that with Webflow.
Webflow also has a free plan allowing you to
publish your website on a Webflow domain.
If you want to use your own custom domain
then you’re gonna have to choose a paid plan starting
at $14 per month if you pay annually.
For online stores, the plan start at $29 per month.
In my experience, building websites on Webflow can be a lot
of fun and you can get really creative
but it definitely takes more time compared
to the other website builders I’ve mentioned previously
in this video.
So if you’re looking
for a ready-to-go website as quickly as possible
then Webflow is probably not the right choice for you.
But if you want maximum design freedom
and you want to build something completely custom
then I can definitely recommend it.
And I do have a one hour beginner tutorial
that’ll help you get started with Webflow.
Shopify
The next website builder I want to introduce is Shopify.
Shopify is designed specifically
for building online stores and e-commerce businesses.
So if the main goal of your website is not to sell products
and take payments, then you don’t need to look into Shopify.
However, if you plan to create an online store
then Shopify is definitely one of the best options.
Their website builder is similar to the one of GoDaddy
so it’s not a drag and drop website builder.
You can simply add elements and then customize them
through the site menu, which limits your design freedom
but makes building your store very easy and quick.
Additionally, everything is fully responsive
so your store will look great on mobile devices as well.
If you want to use Shopify
but you need more design freedom
then you can install a third party application such
as Gem Pages, allowing you to build your website
using a drag and drop builder.
The Shopify app store currently has
over 8,000 apps giving you endless options to
add new features to your store.
Shopify comes with a bit
over 100 online store templates to choose
from with only 11 of them being free to use.
The paid ones cost between 200 and $350.
Shopify is definitely not the cheapest option
but currently they do have a three day free trial to test
out all the features after the trial, you can choose one
of their paid plans starting at $29 per month
if you pay annually, or $39 per month if you pay monthly.
Now, I do have a special referral link
for you that allows you to extend your trial
for an additional three months for only $1 per month
and you’ll find the link
to that offer down below in the video description.
So Shopify is my top recommendation
for anyone who wants to build an e-commerce
website very easily and quickly.
And now onto the final website builder I wanna talk
WordPress
about in this video, which is WordPress.
WordPress is still the most popular platform to
create websites.
In fact, over 43%
of all existing websites are running on WordPress compared
to the other website builders I’ve mentioned before
this is not an all in one solution.
WordPress is a content management system
that requires you to handle certain aspects
of website management yourself, such as hosting or security.
So running your website
on WordPress definitely demands you to have a certain level
of technical understanding compared
to all-in-one solutions like Wix or Squarespace.
Now, learning how to use WordPress definitely
can be a bit overwhelming
especially if you don’t have any prior experience.
So you need to be willing to spend some time
watching tutorials until you get the hang of it.
Luckily, because WordPress is such a popular platform
there’s tons of resources out there.
WordPress gives you complete control
over every aspect of your website, leaving you
with no limits of what you can do with your website.
In the future.
You have access to
over 55,000 plugins that are essentially small pieces
of software that add additional functionality
to your website.
Just like the applications for Shopify, Wix or Webflow
this means that you can add virtually any feature
to your website, including e-commerce
social media integration, and a lot more.
When it comes to the design, WordPress has thousands
of free and paid templates to choose from
so it can make a website look exactly how you want it to.
There’s also a drag
and drop page builder called Elementor that allows you to
build your website without any coding.
Now WordPress is completely free to use.
So for simple websites that don’t require a lot
of additional features through paid plugins
the only thing you need to pay for really is hosting.
The hosting provider that I recommend is called Hostinger
or it’s fast, reliable, easy to use
and their plans sort at only $2 per month.
Plus, if you get hosting through my referral link down below
in the video description and you use Code MeticsMedia
you’ll get an additional 10% off.
So if you’re on a really tight budget and you don’t
mind spending a bit more time learning how to use WordPress
then this is a great option.
Also, WordPress is still the number one choice
for people who want to start a blog.
Conclusion
So now, which website builder is the right choice for you?
Each of these six options has its unique benefits
so you need to consider your needs
before making your final decision.
If you’re looking for an all in one solution to
build simple websites with affordable pricing
then the GoDaddy website builder is probably
the right choice for you.
Squarespace is a great option if you’re looking
for a flexible website builder that is still easy to use
with a bit more customization options.
Wix is a good option if you’re looking for an all-in-one
solution with a wide variety of templates and a good amount
of flexibility in designing your website.
Webflow is the best option for designers and developers
who wanna build something very customized, but it’s not
really recommended for complete beginners.
Shopify is my top recommendation for those who want to
build an e-commerce website very easily and quickly
and don’t mind spending a bit more money to get a very
powerful all-in-one e-commerce solution.
And finally
if you don’t want to put any limits on what you can do
with your website and you’re willing to
spend a bit more time learning the platform
than WordPress is the best option for you
let me know in the comments
down below which website Builder convinced you the most
regardless of which one you choose
the most important thing is to get started
and build the website you always wanted.
So check out the links I added and sign up for a free trial.
Please share this article if you found it usefull and want to suport my work.