That’s it, you’ve decided, you want to create your own website! Congratulations! Now, how are you going to proceed? Now, if you google who is the best website builder, you will soon be overwhelmed by ads from Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and company.
| Disclaimer: I have affiliate links for some website builders that I use often and I recommend (Wix, Weebly, Jimdo, Webself, Bluehost). That means I receive a small commission if you click on any of these 5 links and you choose a paid plan. Of course, I don’t recommend that you choose right away a paid plan. You should always try the free version beforehand. If you do choose to build your site through my links, first I thank you, and I will do my best to help you start on the right foot! Just send me an email through my contact form saying that you want to create a website and mention the website builder. I will get back to you rapidly and we will find a way to start you off! |
You will read the different blogs and the recommendations are often contradictory. Some will tell you that WordPress and a lot of hard work is the only way to go while others will talk about instant solutions, which would require virtually no work on your part. The truth lies somewhere between these two poles.
Here’s how I do it when I help a customer choose their website builder. These are key questions that help clarify your needs and allow you to choose the right builder for your situation. The idea is to find what suits you best personally.
(And if you only want my recommendations without reading all the post, you can click here!)
What is the purpose of your future website?
What will you want to do with your site? Make a blog? Create your little online shop? Exhibit your art or your music? Show your Bed and Breakfast or your restaurant to the world? Or more simply, to show photos of your last vacation to your loved ones? The answers to these questions will help you to choose the right website builder.
To make a blog
If you want to create a blog, WordPress should logically be part of the choices, but Wix can be considered too, just like Weebly or Squarespace since they all offer a very adequate blog tool with different features. You can also go see my take on a travel blog made with Wix here. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the result.
However, we can see that the Wix blog page is slower to load than a WordPress page. This could be problematic in the case where one would like to be well ranked by Google.
WordPress.com or WordPress.org?
As for WordPress, you have to make a distinction between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. The first, WordPress.org is a free tool, which does not include hosting. You can find thousands of site templates and plug-ins, but you have to build your own website by adding templates and plug-ins according to your needs. It is a bit like going to a furniture store and being able to choose all the features and colours on the spot. But it takes time to figure out how to make all the right choices for you.
Also, don’t be afraid of technical bugs that will happen here and there. In addition, you will also have to pay a hosting provider to make your website available on the web. But you will see that it is all worth it!
The latter, WordPress.com, offers a complete solution (hosting and editing tools). On the other hand, it offers very few templates and plug-ins compared to WordPress.org and the free version contains a lot of advertisements, which is really annoying for the reader.
For my part, I consider that I fell into the trap in which several beginner bloggers have fallen: I opted for WordPress.com rather than WordPress.org because I was intimidated by the impression that I had to be practically a programmer to install and manage a WordPress site.
As a result, after a few months of frustration because I did not have the tracking tools (Hello Google Analytics!) or the plug-ins needed to develop my blog, I transferred all my content to a WordPress.org site.
Is WordPress.org complicated?
In fact, it’s not that difficult to use WordPress.org because many hosting companies can do a one-click installation of your WordPress site. Instantly, you are in the WordPress environment, but with tens of thousands of tools at your fingertips to make your website great.
I finally chose Bluehost, which is possibly the largest hosting company for WordPress sites in the world and has excellent customer service, either by chat or phone.
If you feel like starting a blog and do not know where to start, contact me here, or in the Comments section below, it will be a pleasure to give you a hand! And if you want to try out now, here is the WordPress.org link with the hosting company Bluehost: BlueHost
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To create an online store (ecommerce)
If you want to create an online store, you have to analyze thoroughly your needs because, if not, you might be unpleasantly surprised at the end. For example, if you need a multilingual site to reach a wider audience, you need to know that some publishers (like Shopify) do not offer multilingual site templates. What I mean by a multilingual site is the ability to change language version with a simple click of a button.
In fact, I am currently finding solutions with a young Quebec entrepreneur who has opted for Shopify and who is stuck because he realizes that he needs a multilingual website. This type of error can potentially be costly in time and money. This is why you must evaluate your needs before choosing a website builder for your business.
In fact, you can usually buy apps or plug-ins that will allow you to get a multilingual site, but they are often quite expensive and require a good investment of time for translation.
However, if your priority is to have Shopify’s multitude of payment solutions, just go ahead, knowing that you will have to pay an extra $ 8 to $ 15 per month for a multilingual plug-in.
Alternatives to Shopify
On the other hand, if you find that Shopify represents a too expensive solution, especially if you are starting your e-commerce project (and that the millions are not there yet!), there are several interesting alternatives.
Weebly has the most comprehensive online store offering with an e-commerce package of US$ 25 per month with automatic tax and shipping calculation as well as a highly efficient inventory management process.
Wix has a more affordable offer from US$ 16 per month. The difference lies in the calculation of taxes and delivery fees that must be programmed manually in Wix. On the other hand, Wix has a better offer with regard to payment solutions.
So, here is the bottom line: you have to find the plan that suits your situation. And to complicate things a bit more, Shopify also offers a $ 9-a-month extension to turn your website into an online store! To make it all clearer, I will come back on all the elements necessary in order to choose the right e-commerce website builder in a future post.
To create an artist website
In the case of an artist’s site (visual art or music), I will have to go with all the experts who lean towards Wix since this site’s templates are very aesthetic and leave a large place to the images. Squarespace is also a good choice for aesthetics. In addition, these two platforms can sell digital products, MP3 files, for example, if you want to sell your music.
To make a showcase website
Do you have a business (bed and breakfast, restaurant, service company, etc.) and you want to give it visibility on the Web? You will need what is called a showcase site. It is a type of site of a few pages which gives a good idea of your services and products and which allows your potential customers to contact you. A well-organized showcase website can significantly increase your customer base, especially by adding an advertising campaign, with Google Ads for example.
In order to create this type of site, I really like Wix, for its multiple apps that can be integrated into the site, to make reservations or to display an availability calendar, for instance.
If you prefer more conventional formats, Weebly can also be very suitable. In addition, this platform is probably even easier for the user than that of Wix. Webself is also one of my favourite platforms because of its simplicity of use and its clean design. Here are some examples of showcase sites that I have created for my work:
Website of a French cottage in Charente-Maritime (Click on the pictures to see the real websites):
Wix
Weebly
Webself
By the way, if you go to Charente-Maritime, in France, this place is beautiful 🙂 . My clients have chosen the Wix website for its more attractive visual aspect than the other two, but each builder has its strengths and weaknesses, which we will see below.
However, if you want to experiment now with Wix, the most popular website builder in the world, you can jump right in by clicking on the image below:
Here is an example of a showcase site that is gradually being transformed into an e-commerce site. This is the website of a Quebec housekeeping company, VOEntretien, created with Webself.net:
What is your budget?
Budgeting is very important when planning to build a website. Most website builders offer packages that are about $5 to $45 per month. Also, many offer a free version of their builder, with some limitations, of course.
Some website builders, such as Squarespace, do not offer a free version. For my part, I approach this type of builder with suspicion since it is by practicing long enough that we become comfortable adopting a product. As a result, we are willing to pay more for a product that we know and appreciate.
In addition, all companies offer more expensive plans, but in general, when people start a project, they do not turn to these plans. I will therefore not analyze this type of high-end plans.
The Free Plans
For builders with free packages, Jimdo has a slight advantage over other builders, in my opinion. There is only one very small ad and all the parameters are accessible. In addition, the simplicity and sharpness of the design make Jimdo sites very fast to load, an important element to consider. By the way, you can see here my draft of a personal site made with Jimdo.
Near Jimdo, we find Webself, a Canadian company from Quebec City, which has only a small footnote. However, these two publishers only offer 5 web pages per site, which may not be enough for a web project.
Then come Wix and Weebly. The two major builders offer almost all their basic functionalities, which are very numerous, except for paid apps, but in return, they place ads prominently on your site. The Wix ad is very visible at the top of your site. With Weebly, the footnote is quite important. Both ads remain present throughout the navigation on the site.
Access to Google Analytics would be the element that could differentiate them. Indeed, Weebly, like Jimdo, gives any user the possibility to use Google Analytics while Wix does not. However, the user can get an app called Visitors Analytics (a sort of a lighter version of Google Analytics).
Less than US$ 10 monthly plans
For packages under $10, offers are unfortunately not much more attractive than free packages. Among the best value for money are Webself, which offers a Basic package at CDN$7.95 per month. Unfortunately, at this price, there is still an advertisement at the bottom of the site. If you don’t want ads, Webnode offers a flat rate of US$5.95 per month. However, at this price, you will not be able to configure a multilingual site, which is the strength of this web editor. Jimdo used to offer its entry-level product at CDN$10 per month without advertising, which was a very attractive offer, but the company has recently increased the prices of its packages. If you are interested in getting this package at the old price, I have found a functional link here.
Plans between US$ 10 and US$ 20 per month
The best price-quality ratio in this category must be that of Wix, who makes its bread and butter from it. Indeed, there are two very interesting packages in this segment, one at US$12 which offers discounts of all kinds for SEO services, and the other at US$16 which is the best entry level package in e-commerce.
Jimdo offered a competitive business package at CDN$20 per month, especially since creating an online store with Jimdo is extremely easy, but the company has increased the price of this package to CDN$25 per month, which seems a bit expensive to me. Jimdo websites are generally less attractive than those made with Wix or Weebly, so they should cost less to the user. If you are interested in Jimdo Business’s CDN$20 offer, I also found a link still working here.
More than US$ 20 Plans
Packages of $20 or more per month are often reserved for people who want to get into e-commerce. Weebly, with its high-end e-commerce package at $25 US, is among the top of the class in this category. It offers more features than Wix. And then comes the giant Shopify, with its entry-level package at US$26 per month, which can be an interesting solution, especially if you have the intuition that your online business will take off quickly.
Extras
It should be noted that most of the packages of all these companies include the first year the price of the reservation of your domain (for example, yourname.com), but it should be remembered that you will have to pay the amount in the following years (around $20 per year). Also, if you want an email address with your domain name, you will need to add about ten dollars or a little more to your bill. Also, the best features of some apps are often reserved for their paid version (which can range from $5 to $20 per month!), while the free version is only there to give the user a slight taste of what they can do. This is especially true for Shopify, but also for Wix or WordPress.org.
How much time do you want to spend on your site?
Obviously, the time invested depends on your prior skills and knowledge, but some builders are much easier to use than others so you will be able to progress more quickly with your website project.
On the other hand, sometimes simplicity of use means sacrificing tools or features that would allow a site to look more professional. I’m thinking of Jimdo in particular, which allows you to quickly create a website, but does not offer more sophisticated templates for a design with a more aesthetic finish.
Easiest-to-use builders
Jimdo and Weebly are, in my opinion, the easiest editors to get started immediately. I would say that Jimdo is the editor that is the easiest to use in itself. However, the visual aspect of a Weebly site is more interesting. Webself and Site123 are close to the first two for their ease of use and their platforms are very similar.
Builders with average ease of use
Then comes Wix, since you have to find your way a little bit on the platform. Indeed, the editor forces us to modify the elements directly on the page of the site (the other builders use an editor window) and includes several tools that you have to know how to use. On the other hand, these tools become very useful quite quickly and prove to be valuable assets when creating a site. I am thinking in particular of the toolbox that opens when you click on an element of the page.
On the other hand, some modules (such as some photo galleries), although very elegant, charge very slowly. This is an element to be wary of, especially when creating the mobile version of the site. It is therefore always necessary to test the web pages on all devices to be sure of the result.
Shopify also requires more work to understand the platform in order to properly configure its e-commerce site. The site creation tool is not as user-friendly as that of other builders such as Wix or Weebly. However, it is easier to understand and use than Squarespace.
Builders that are more difficult to use
On the other hand, some builders are less easy to use. I will name Squarespace and WordPress.org in this category for different reasons. The Squarespace editor is not very intuitive at first sight. Indeed, we do not quickly know where to find the editing elements to modify the page. It takes some time to get to know the location of all the tools.
In addition, to create an interesting WordPress.org site, you need to know about the countless plug-ins available for your project. Then, it is necessary to test these plug-ins. Indeed, this can create compatibility problems with the other elements of the website, which will certainly give you serious headaches! So you have to be patient and spend time reading and experimenting to develop a WordPress site.
What features do you need?
We all have different tastes and needs. That’s probably why there are so many choices of website builders! Think about yourself and how comfortable you are with the platform offered. Experiment, when possible, with the free version of the builder. Also, find out what support is available in the event of problems. However, some features are essential to make your website attractive to the user. Also, you need to think about the features Google likes (a mobile version) if you want visitors to find you!
A mobile version of your site
Did you know that people now surf the web more often with their various mobile devices than with their computers? Google knows this very well and now penalizes sites that are not optimized for mobile devices. How? By relegating them to the dustbin of the ranking! You must, therefore, ensure that the builder of your choice offers responsive templates that can be adapted to mobile device screens.
A multilingual site
I mentioned earlier the multilingual aspect of a site, which can be of major importance for an e-commerce site, among others. Some builders have features that allow you to create multilingual sites easily (Wix, Webself, Duda, Site123). Others, unfortunately, only offer expensive apps (Shopify) or more or less improvised solutions (Weebly and Jimdo).
Features added by third-party applications (apps)
App market or app store are virtual places where you can search for very interesting features in the form of applications. For example, you could allow customers to make online reservations with OpenTable. To this end, Wix is unbeatable, there is something for everyone and many are free. I think Weebly is second in this respect, but its market is growing well. Shopify is not to be outdone, but many apps are only available for a fee and even quite expensive.
Quality of customer service
It may be relevant to find out about the quality of the website builder’s customer service. Is the service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Are the staff knowledgeable? Can I contact a representative by phone? When you have technical problems, you want support quickly. And especially when your business is based on online sales. Shopify understood this very quickly and is known for its speed of response and efficiency.
Summary of Recommendations
To create a blog
#1 WordPress.org with BlueHost hosting
To create a small online store:
To create a medium-sized online store:
To create an artist website:
To create an easy, simple personal website
To create a showcase website:
So, you want to finalize your website project? If so, I can help you! If you have any specific questions, write them down in the Comments section or send them to me via the contact form. You know how I like reading your comments and finding solutions with you! Also, if you have ideas for web projects and you are not sure how to realize them, leave me a comment, I will try my best to guide you!
Renaud
Great article Renaud! Very informative!
Thanks Justine! Glad you liked it!
Well done Renaud. The writing is very clear and informative. I wish my French had progressed as far as your English has in the last two decades.
Thanks Gary! I bet my Inuktitut has less progressed than yours over the last two decades, so we are even😆! Thanks again for the feedback, it is really appreciated!