When it comes to building a website for your business there are plenty of options to choose from. Trying to decide which would work best for your business can be a daunting task and you may end up choosing one that is too complicated or does not provide the tools you need.
So what can be done? Not to worry Webnetic Development has done the hard work for you! We’ve tested and utilized a multitude of website builders for Colorado Springs website development and can give you the pros and cons of our favorites.
Hopefully this guide can assist you in picking the right fit for your business and if you need assistance or want to hire out your project feel free to contact us.
We are mainly going to stick with builders we have experience with and ones we believe can benefit businesses in these categories:
We believe these categories are mainly the essentials when businesses are looking for a builder and each category carries weight in how it will benefit a business overall. We are ordering these builders in no particular order as each as their own purpose and can benefit businesses in different stages.
WordPress is an overall excellent choice for any business willing to get a website at an affordable price with the ability to scale and produce excellent designs. Currently, around 43.2% of websites on the internet are using WordPress which tells you how popular it is! The platform does have a learning curve however, as it can take some time getting used to the dashboard, understanding plug-ins, and picking the right theme.
Depending on your theme, editing your content can be extremely easy or somewhat difficult if you don’t have experience. You will have to learn what the difference is between a page and a post on WordPress as it is was designed as a CMS (content management system) where users could make blogs with ease.
Again this does depend on your site theme as some are a lot easier to edit than others. For themes we recommend:
These themes usually carry templates that you can utilize to give your site a good foundation. Most of these templates also follow current website design trends and structures. These themes are lightweight, easy to edit, and can usually be paired with a page builder like Elementor or Divi.
However, we do not recommend the use of page builders like Elementor or Divi due to their builds having the chance to slow down your site immensely if you are not aware of what you are doing and due to a ton of recent breaches in security for Elementor users.
Essentially WordPress can fit your needs for any size of business. Due to the ability of plug-ins to fit more features to fit your needs you could scale your business from small to large with ease over the coming years.
Keep in mind how many plug-ins you use however, as too many can slow your site, cause security issues, and the constant updates could effect your site and result in a website break resulting in your site going down.
Cost depends on several factors such as your business purchasing a domain name, choosing a website hosting service, storage, themes, security, and plug-ins. On average the upfront cost can start around $75 but can be less if you are going for free plug-ins, themes, and basic hosting with a provider.
WordPress has some of the best plug-ins and potential with search engine optimization. Plug-ins like Yoast SEO and RankMath give your site a boost by showing you a score of how your site’s optimization is currently looking. Each page can be given keywords to target and Yoast/RankMath will make suggestions to improve your content.
There is also the ability to structure your site incredibly well with WordPress and allows you to make adjustments like redirections and allowing SEO specialists to change several elements for SEO purposes.
Website developers can utilize WordPress for nearly any possibility. Of course it helps to know the platform, understanding code like PHP, and having experience adjusting theme files. Possessing these foundation gives the developer opportunities to make WordPress their very own. Create your own custom themes or even use a theme like Generatepress and create your very own lightweight site with ease.
If you have the time to learn this platform or hire someone to assist you with it we highly suggest it. There’s a reason why so many sites use WordPress. Even with the immense competition out there. WordPress is not going anywhere anytime soon.
A designer’s best friend, Webflow provides a user with beautiful sites without slowing down your site performance immensely. Utilize their templates to have a site ready to go or have someone build a site out for you to get something custom. You can also benefit from Webflow University which shows you the ropes on how to use the platform and look at things from a design perspective.
Webflow has two options for editing, the designer and the editor. With the designer you are building the elements and structure of the site. This area can get complicated if you are not familiar with CSS and how it impacts a site’s design. The editor however is straight forward.
If you already have a site built or bought a template, the editor allows you to make changes to the text and content. Extremely easy to use, you could have a simple template made and make all the content edits yourself and be ready to go live with ease. Webflow also includes views for every device so you can see how your site looks and feels on desktops, tablets, and phones!
Webflow provides both free and paid templates which are designed efficiently. You can also take advantage of Webflow’s library where components and page sections can be utilized for free to give your site a more custom feel/theme. Overall, their templates are worth the money and even the free ones set you up for success.
Webflow provides plenty of room to scale a business at any size. However, they do charge more as your site gets larger and larger to keep up with storage, capabilities, and functionality. The basic plan covers mainly a site with a few pages and the ability to intake forms. For e-commerce and CMS you will have to upgrade to one of their plans to be able to set up a store or creating a blog.
For a basic business the cost of a Webflow site is very affordable. You will still have to purchase a domain but Webflow covers hosting, storage, and site structure. For a basic plan you could spend $18 a month, if you are planning on just using the free resources that they offer.
Compared to other builders Webflow gives you a lot for the price you pay and is an affordable option for any business.
For Webflow it really does depend on the user how effective their SEO will be on-site. Most templates are optimized to an extent but you may need to make adjustments and have some sort of understanding one what you are doing. Be sure not to make these 10 common SEO mistakes while building your site.
There are tools like Semflow which creates an extension on your browser and Webflow editor to help you with this task. Semflow acts like Yoast and RankMath in WordPress providing the users with suggestions and opportunities to optimize.
Webflow is mainly about design but developers will find familiarity with the ability to edit HTML/CSS and insert JavaScript to make changes throughout the site. Having access to this backend is essential for any developer and will make it easier to develop a site over the long run.
We highly recommend Webflow as a platform for any business. In fact we loved their platform so much we built our site with it! You’ll see throughout our site some animations and excellent site structure which keeps users and SEO in mind.
We have used Webflow for the past three years and have never regretted the decision as they add more features as time goes on. Utilize this powerful site builder if you are looking for modern design and if you are willing to learn!
Squarespace took the website building niche by storm on their inception and have come a long way since then. Now utilizing features like block building, it is now easier than ever to get a site running within minutes. Squarespace also offers the ability to easily change colors, designs, and embed data from other applications.
Editing a Squarespace site could not be any easier! If you are a beginner and need a platform that can guide you with ease without fear of breaking your site then Squarespace is for you. They offer multiple templates to get started with and editing is as easy as replacing the placeholder text in these templates.
Adding new sections and features on your site is also no hassle due to the block editor and adding block tools.
Squarespace appears to target the minimalist designers and their templates reflect this. Except simple but effective designs within their templates. If the template is not to your liking there are plenty of Squarespace designers out there that can assist in building out a unique and custom site.
The platform offers the potential to scale effectively however, you would be paying for every addition to the site such as e-commerce, scheduling, and blog content. These are not included in the basic version of Squarespace so expect to pay more as your business grows in size with this platform as you add more functionality to your site.
Squarespace offers four pricing plans, with monthly costs ranging from $16 to $65. You can start with a 14-day free trial to try it out before committing to a plan. Squarespace is definitely one of the more pricier builders out there due to the user having to purchase more functionalities such as wanting scheduling, adding a store, or even adding blog capabilities.
If price is no object however, you can not go wrong with one of their sites if you are looking for easy maintenance and design.
This is where Squarespace may actually fall short compared to the previous builders mentioned on this list. Although Squarespace allows the user to build great site structure and the potential to add important corrections like redirects the biggest flaw is the builders ability to impact site speed.
Due to Squarespace providing an extensive builder with restrictions on what the user can do behind the scenes, a Squarespace site has the possibility of being bloated with code thus causing a huge impact on site performance. This can negatively effect your SEO as a whole as well as effect your users perception of your site if they have poor connections.
With Squarespace do not expect to have access to the code of the site for adjustments. Mainly, the only areas you would be able to effect on a Squarespace site are the CSS and the ability to emplace JavaScript on certain areas of the builder. This is all part of the design however, and is used mainly to ensure no breaks or sites go down during building.
There are still many functionalities you could add despite this obstacle and it doesn’t hurt to be able to make easy adjustments to websites if you have the development know-how.
If you are into minimalist designs, easy editing, utilizing an all-in-one platform, and looking for a platform that won’t experience the risk of downtime for your site then we recommend it! If you are looking for more customization and functionality with a focus on technical structure for your site we recommend going with another builder as Squarespace does provide many limitations.
A year ago we would not have included Wix on this list for builders and options for your business. However, Wix has been changing the builder landscape the past year by offering new features such as using their headless CMS option and they have improved their SEO capabilities.
Wix is a perfect option for businesses beginning their web presence on a budget.
You will find that Wix is actually the easiest out of all our options to edit. The site’s themselves have easy to use components, it’s very simple to edit text, and the user interface is beginner friendly. You’ll have no issues on learning how to maintain and edit elements on your site like images.
Wix even has a mobile view screen to see how your site looks on a phone and it’s responsive capabilities however, this view isn’t perfect and the live site may differ from the preview so be sure to double-check!
Yes! Wix offers a multitude of templates to utilize with categories that may be specific to your niche. These templates are responsive out the box so you can be sure that your edits will look great on all devices. With their templates being free it makes it even easier to get a site running within minutes.
Wix does have the capabilities to scale with your business as it grows throughout the years. With their plug-in and integration capabilities you can add payment processing, scheduling, and more functionalities easily and without breaking your site.
With Wix you’ll have one free plan and the option for eight other premium plans ranging from $16 to $59 a month. Wix is definitely the cheapest option on our list but be aware of additional costs if you want more features and plug-ins to use.
With having a free plan you’ll have the value of a website and not just rely on other digital spaces like Facebook.
Wix has come a long way with their capabilities to offer SEO with their sites. Now there is tool to use that will allow you to optimize your site in a number of ways like editing your meta information. When it comes to performance and site speed Wix also does not clutter your site with code so you can be sure to have a fast operating site easily.
Wix offers a system known as Velo by Wix where you get serverless computing, hassle-free coding and total design freedom to create, manage and deploy your next web project.
You also have the ability to add custom code right into your site with advanced options so you are not completely restricted by the builder. These options make it developer friendly although we recommend other platforms for development as others can provide better options and opportunities.
Wix is perfect for you if you have no web presence and want to test the waters of building a business website that won’t break the bank. You are able to manage it yourself rather easily and there is plenty of community support to utilize if you get stuck.
However, we definitely see other builders as a better option especially if you plan on dedicating yourself to your business site and want complete flexibility.
Hopefully, this guide was able to help you in your decision to pick a builder and get your business site running. There are a multitude of builders we did not list as we believe these builders fit our criteria for great site design and ease of use without sacrificing too much performance.
If you still need help deciding or need website building assistance feel free to contact us! We provide free consultations and free competitor analyses. We’re more than happy to hear about you and your business while making sure you start with the best site foundation.
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