As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you will inevitably get the point where you need to invest in a website. Whether you start with a website right out the gate or you are a few years into your business, the same question applies: what web platform is right for me?

It’s a valid question because, as of October 2020, these are SOO many website platform options out there. It’s like choosing your favorite ice cream flavor in the frozen food aisle at the supermarket. HARD.

If you want to choose the perfect platform for your business, it’s important to get all the details you can on features, functionality, ease of use, customization, coding requirements, and price points. You also want to establish what you want and need your website to do for your business. This is exactly why I wrote this post! 

Now, once you’ve nailed down what you need, you can strategically weigh the pros and cons of each web platform so you can make the most informed decision. So let’s get started, shall we?

Shopify

Shopify is a pretty popular (for a good reason) and hassle-free eCommerce website platform that makes it easy to sell products online. Not only are their templates beautiful and cohesive, but the platform itself is really intuitive to use. Plus, Shopify has everything all rolled into one – from automatic backups, installing updates, software updates, and integrated payment solutions – it really makes your job as a user super easy.

Not only can you make a beautiful and functional eCommerce store straight out of the gate, but you don’t need to learn a single piece of coding! This makes it extremely user-friendly for beginners who want to just use the drag and drop features to create a stunning eCommerce store.

My favorite part is that Shopify easily integrates into WordPress, which allows you to use the best of both platforms within your business. You can have a shop AND a blog. 

The only con is that if you ever want to move from Shopify to a different web building platform, you might hit some walls. But then again, once your a Shopify user – nothing else measures up.

Price Point: Shopify is a little pricey at $29 per month for the basic plan, but it’s the best eCommerce platform out there, in my opinion, and worth every penny.

 

Squarespace

If you are a beginner looking for an easy to use platform that creates stunning sites without too much effort, Squarespace is your gal. I’ve heard designers say that Squarespace is the stylish version of Wix. 

With Squarespace, you are slightly more limited in your template’s customization, but, honestly, Squarespace offers a huge variety of incredibly beautiful templates. So, you might not even want or need much customization anyways. 

Squarespace is also easy to navigate and has a friendly user interface once you get past the small learning curve. This platform is perfect for those business owners who want their site up fast but still want it aesthetically pleasing. 

Whether you are running an eCommerce store, a blog, or a service-based business, Squarespace has a template that will match any user’s dream. Bonus, you don’t need to know any code to have a stunning website. 

Price Point: The downside is that their platform packages start around $24 a month, which can be a pretty hefty sum – especially for new businesses.

ShowIt

If you didn’t know this already, I’m a pretty big Showit fan. Another drag and drop platform, Showit, allows you to create a fully functional custom website without worrying about coding. It has such an easy-to-use interface, and the learning curve is obsolete. And unlike Squarespace, Showit allows you to customize how your website looks on mobile. 

My favorite part about Showit is that – similar to WordPress – they allow you to create something completely custom that is all your own. That means you don’t have to choose templates that 1 million other people have chosen, nor are you limited in the drag and drop features. I even wrote a blog post all about Showit templates to help you choose if they are the right option for you.

Showit allows you to create a site that genuinely encapsulates your vision. This is exactly why I design all of my client’s websites on Showit. I also love that Showit allows you to add a WordPress blog to your website for a small monthly fee. That means you can have the best of both worlds if you still want a high functioning blog through WordPress.

Price Point: Showit is affordable and starts at $19 per month for an annual fee, or they have a 14-day free trial.

WordPress

I can’t have a list of website platforms without mentioning WordPress. You might have heard of it before – because it’s that popular – and that powerful. Basically, WordPress is extremely functional, given that it’s an open-source website creation tool and content management system all rolled into one platform. With thousands of plugins, you have tons of options for making your website extremely functional and well-designed. 

WordPress is slightly more complex and tech-oriented than other options on this list, so the learning curve is steep – but it’s also incredibly customizable.

Price Point: While WordPress itself is free, given the complexity and possible coding needed, you might either need to 1) purchase a theme or 2) hire a website designer to create a well-functioning and high-quality site for you. 

Choosing between website platforms can seem complicated at first, but once you establish what’s truly important to you and what you need in a website, it should be easy to reverse engineer what you’re looking for. From there, you can narrow down your options and then choose the web platform that is perfect for your business. 

If you have any questions – you can always contact me; I would be happy to help you choose the right web platform for you. Or if you are ready to get started on building the website of your dreams, let’s hop on a Discovery Call!