“What website do I use to build a website?” (#7)

When I first took Content Marketing with Professor Sweet, I had just vaguely heard of WordPress, and was initally so overwhelmed by all the different tools and methods of customization. I had seen ads for Wix, and even messed around making a site or two on there, but what we were doing in class seemed so different than the website building process that the Wix ads showed.

There are so many different websites and tools that are designed to help us build websites, so I wanted to break down three of the other most popular ones and analyze what each one has to offer. Since we have worked on WordPress for this semester, I wanted to cover other website builders that you might not be quite as familiar with.

1. Wix.com

Wix has been praised by many reviewers for being one of the most accessible and user friendly website platforms. TechRadarPro says it “is the best fir for most people, most of the time.” Wix offers a free model with several premium plans that can be purchased for access to more features. These plans range from $17 a month to $36 each month.

Started in 2006, Wix boasts a wide library of site templates and many professional features that help to create high quality websites, as well as compatability with hundreds of apps that can be connected to boost SEO and E-commerce. However, users have expressed frustration with the lack of storage (2GB on the cheapest plan), and the inability to change a template once you’ve chosen it. This last reason makes it incredibly difficult to change and update a site as your business grows and expands, which can deter those looking to build a site with longevity in mind.

2. SquareSpace

The same blog post from TechRadarPro deemed Squarespace “the best choice for bloggers and writers” noting its built in email marketing features, mobile friendly templates, and manage the test blog from a smartphone. Squarespace offers three different plans, with the personal coming in at $16 a month, business at $23, and commerce at $27 a month.

The mobile features were a major selling point in reviews of Squarespace, allowing you to publish on the go and keep syncing with the site. However, according to Forbes, 50% of consumer users had a negative sentiment about the pricing and plan options. Even more notable, 80% of consumers had a negative sentiment about the customer support and resources available.

While Squarespace might be worth considering for someone who wants ease of use and plenty of customization options to build off the existing design templates, it might mean compromising support and money.

3. Hostinger

Finally, Hostinger is a platform that was created in 2004 to enable free website building. Their plans are by far the cheapest, with a single shared hosting costing $1.99 a month, and business shared hosting only $3.49 a month. They incorporate several AI-powered tools into their interface and offer an “all in one sort of solution” according to TechRadarPro. Most of their E-Commerce and AI tools are available only on their premium plans, but even the base model still has beginner friendly tools to incorporate.

Their portfolio of templates provides visually appealing layouts for virtually any type of site, each being compatible across device types. They also provide a free domain for the first year of having an account, before needing to purchase the domain for $7.99.

Hopefully this brief overview of various website building tools helps you to feel more aquainted with what other alternatives may be besides WordPress. While we have focused on WordPress for this class and in most classes at GCC, you might end up working for a company that uses a different website builder, so having base knowlegde and recognizing other names can be helpful.