WordPress.org, WordPress.com, Squarespace, Weeby, Wix, Leadpages Sites, Blogger..… There are a ton of website building platforms out there, so how do you know which to use? In this post, I will be comparing 7 popular website builders so that you can be sure that you are choosing the best website building platform for your blogging business.
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First, let’s define what a website building platform actually is.
A website builder or website building platform is simply a tool/place to build a website without needing to manually code your site from scratch.
The first thing you have to decide is if you prefer a hosted or self-hosted website building platform for your blog. Every platform is either hosted or self-hosted and your choice will make a big difference in the overall abilities of your site.
A host or web hosting service provider provides a space for your website to live. When you sign up for hosting, you are essentially buying space on the Internet for people to visit your site. Just like you need a physical space to display your products and sell things in the real world, you need a physical space in the online world as well to store your files and code from your website.
I like to think of hosting as the equivalent to renting or buying a physical storefront property, only the online cost is a lot cheaper!
With self-hosting platforms you have to purchase your own hosting. This hosting can range anywhere ftom $3-$35/month depending on the length of time you are purchasing hosting for, the plan you chose and what host you go with. The longer you commit to hosting, the cheaper the rate becomes. Typically most people can get good hosting that meets their needs in a price ranging of $3-6/month.
Self-hosted pros
Self-hosted cons
The two self- hosting providers I highly recommend are Bluehost and Siteground. Siteground is faster in my opinion and good for those with a lot of information and graphics on their site, but for those just starting out I strongly recommend Bluehost.
Bluehost offers a low, affordable price and great support for those just starting out. They also give you a free domain for your first year, which is an awesome bonus! You can learn more about Bluehost hosting and plans here.
Learn how to set up your blog on WordPress.org with Bluehost hosting step-by-step here:
A hosted website building platform allows you to build your website with their software AND provides you with the space for your site to live. Sounds like a great deal, right? So why wouldn’t everyone pick this option? Here are a few pros and cons to hosted website building platforms.
Hosted pros
Hosted cons
Before you choose a website building platform, it is also important to evaluate the goals you have for your business and what you need your website to do.
WordPress.org is a free and open source software, meaning that it can be modified and shared by people because it’s design is publicly accessible.
It is a self-hosted website platform, so while it is free to use, you will need your own domain and hosting to use it.
In my opinion, if you need a customizable business website that will grow with you or a blog that you want to monetize, you must have a self-hosted site.
I believe that WordPress.org is the best choice for this. This is what I use with my business websites (with Bluehost hosting) and highly recommend to my clients.
Price: Available for free with a hosting provider
Learn how to set up your blog on WordPress.org with Bluehost hosting step-by-step here:
People often ask me if there is a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. My response is always a resounding YES!
It is so easy as a beginner to get these two platforms confused and sign up for the wrong one. (I did this myself in the beginning of my blogging journey years ago!)
The biggest difference is that WordPress.com is a hosted platform that does not require a domain or hosting. While WordPress.org is self-hosted.
While there are a few benefits to choosing WordPress.com, it is important to understand that this hosted platform comes with some major limitations.
Price: Free-$45
Squarespace is a website builder that has been quick to rise in popularity in recent years due to it’s high quality designer templates and it’s ease of use to create a basic website.
It’s an intuitive drag and drop website builder that favors ease over flexibility. Check out the pros and cons below.
Price:
Wix is a drag and drop website builder and hosted platform. It has become a pretty well-known website builder thanks to its big-budget marketing efforts. You have likely seen Wix ads on TV, YouTube
Pros
Like Wix, Weebly is also a use drag and drop website builder and a hosted platform that is very user friendly. It allows anyone, regardless of their skills, to create a professional-looking website quickly.
For years, Leadpages has led the way in creating high-converting landing pages. In spring of 2019, they took their knowledge of conversion marketing and introduced the first conversion-first website builder-Leadpages Sites.
It uses the same drag and drop feature of their landing pages and is designed to help your site not only look good but to convert leads and grow your business.
There are some really appealing features of this new website builder, but there is big con that may be a deal-breaker to many people.
Price: 3 pricing plans that range from
$25-$199/month when paid Annually
Blogger is a free blogging platform owned by Google. It is very simple to use and is a good basic platform for those wanting to try out blogging for the first time.
I recently set my nine-year-old son up with his own blog on the platform to get a taste for blogging.
Blogger was also my first introduction into the blogging world back in 2014. I created a hobby blog on this platform, but when I decided to turn my blog into a business, I quickly realized that this was not the ideal platform for doing this and switched to WordPress.org
You now know the pros and cons of seven different website building platforms. Which one do you feel will be the best option for your business? What was your biggest takeaway? Share it with us in the comments section so others can benefit as well!