Let’s be honest: there are lots of web design platforms out there. Whether you’re a website designer or you’re a small business owner, it can be hard to find the best website design platform for your needs.
I went through the same struggle. I initially started my website for Inkpot Creative on WordPress, but recently decided to make the move over to Showit because it fit my needs better, despite being a little pricier.
When choosing the best website design platform for you, make sure you consider your own needs. How much control do you want? Do you care about SEO (hint: you should!)? Will you be purchasing a template or hiring a designer?
Hopefully, this post will help you gain some clarity so you can finally get your website built to market your services.
Below, find the top 5 best website design platforms!
1. Showit
Showit is my new favorite website design platform of choice. To me, it’s the best out there, even though it might be a bit pricier. I love it so much that it’s the platform that is most popularly used with my website design services.
From a designer’s standpoint, Showit offers you an incredible amount of freedom. You don’t have to mess around with a drag and drop builder like Elementor. Instead, it’s essentially like designing within Adobe Photoshop: you can put text, images, and more wherever you want. It’s a designer’s dream!
As a small business owner, Showit can be the best way to go if you want an incredibly custom site. It’s easy to make updates, it’s SEO friendly, and takes care of hosting for you. You don’t even have to shop around and try to decide if Bluehost or Siteground is better for you.
They offer a tiered pricing system. A basic website with hosting is $24/month, a blog with hosting is $29/month, and an advanced blog with hosting is $39/month. I personally use the middle tier option and it’s perfect. You can also save money by purchasing annually, which will save you about $5/month.
If you already have your website set up on another of the website design platforms like WordPress or Squarespace, they’ll even migrate it over for you for free.
Pros:
- Price includes hosting
- Tons of customization options
- SEO friendly
- Easy to make updates
- The blog part of the website is hosted on WordPress
Cons:
- Can be pricy
- The mobile version of the website has to be designed from scratch
2. WordPress
Ah, WordPress. This is one powerful website design platform. Once you purchase your own domain (usually around $12 per year) and then decide on your hosting, there aren’t any other hidden fees.
WordPress is the website design platform of choice for many designers. I even use it for my blog, Volumes & Voyages, but moved away from it when it came to my business’s website.
It has a low initial setup cost, more than 50,000 plugin options, and is SEO friendly. There are also many drag and drop builder options on WordPress, like Elementor and Divi. However, you do have to pay an annual price for these.
Even if you don’t know how to use HTML, simple edits can be made to the design part of your site using CSS, which can be easy to learn.
Pros:
- SEO friendly
- Cost effective
- Many plugin options
Cons:
- Not as many design options as a platform like Showit
- The more monthly visitors you get, the higher the cost of hosting
3. Squarespace
Squarespace is another favorite of many web designers out there. I do occasionally design websites for my clients using Squarespace, so I can vouch that it is a great platform.
This website design platform is built around a drag and drop feature, so even if you hire a designer to make your website, it’s pretty easy for you to go and make updates as needed as a client. Squarespace is built for minimal and clean designs.
Unlike Showit, Squarespace is automatically mobile responsive. It also has tons of integrations with tools like Google Drive, Mailchimp, and Acuity Scheduling, which can be helpful as a small business owner.
Squarespace operates similarly to Showit because its pricing plans include web hosting. If you’re a first-time user, you also get one year of a domain for free. Plans range from $12/month to $40/month.
Pros:
- Price includes hosting
- Easy to update as a client
- Mobile responsive
- Tons of integrations
- SEO friendly
Cons:
- Can be pricy
- Not as many design elements as other site builders
4. Wix
Over the years, I’ve built many websites on Wix, however, it’s not my favorite of the website design platforms. A lot of the designs aren’t responsive to bigger screen sizes and there aren’t many design abilities compared to other options on this list.
However, it is easy to update, Wix gives you added site security, and the customer service is superb. Pricing per month starts at $14 and goes up to $39. There’s also a $5 month to month option, which includes advertisements.
Truthfully, if you’re looking for a beginner site, Wix isn’t a terrible website design platform option, but I wouldn’t suggest it.
Pros:
- Cheaper than other website design platforms
- Easy to update
- Great customer service
- Excellent site security
Cons:
- SEO isn’t the best
- Limited creativity with designs
- The starter plan option includes advertisements
- Not responsive to big computer screens
5. Webflow
Webflow is the new kid on the block, and it works a lot like Showit. You don’t have to know any HTML or CSS to design a beautiful site on this platform, and your creative options are limitless.
It’s responsive to different screen sizes and has incredible SEO options. There are also tons of template options that you can use as a stepping stone to creating the bare bones of your website if you can’t afford a designer just yet.
However, the learning curve for Webflow is steep, it can be pricey, and if you pay ahead of time for the year and decide you don’t like it, you can’t get a refund.
Pricing starts at $12 and goes up to $212 if you need the site builder for e-commerce.
Pros:
- Lots of creativity with designs
- SEO friendly
- Lots of templates
Cons:
- Pricy plan options
- Steep learning curve
- No refunds
These are just five website design platforms that many designers and small business owners use, but there are tons more out there. At the end of the day, you have to consider your own needs, budget, and if you plan on working with a designer, you also have to consider the website design platforms that they do custom designs for.
If you’re in the market for a new website design, inquire now. I’d love to help you build the website of your dreams!
Read more:
- Fun Showit Web Design for Colorado Photographer
- Website in a Day: How We Designed a Copywriter Website in 8 Hours
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KP’s design journey began in book publishing, but she fell in love with the truly limitless possibilities that web design presents. Since then, she’s been helping photographers and creatives become the no-brainer option for their dream clients before they even get on a call.
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2/08/21
Published On:
Krystianna Pietrzak
