Whether you’re setting up a small scale brochure website for a new business, selling products online or need a more bespoke solution, choosing the right web platform is crucial.
With so many website builders available now it’s more difficult than ever deciding what the best course of action is. Here we have decided to weigh up the key pros and cons of using four of the main website builders out there to help you better decide.
We use WordPress ourselves on all projects but below we will give an honest and fair review of each and what might be the best option to use for you.
WordPress
A good all round solution for a bespoke approach and ideal for the longevity of your site.
Pros:
- Highly Customisable: WordPress is an open-source platform, giving you full control over your site’s code, functionality and design. This can help to keep your site streamlined with minimal code for faster run times and also be specific to your brand.
- Wide Range of Plugins: Most are available for free or as a small one off cost, including ones for SEO, e-commerce, security, multi-language, sliders, galleries, contact forms, animation effects and so much more.
- Longevity and Scalable: With WordPress being so flexible and customisable means you can easily adapt your site or add to it in the future without worry. Also, because the site would have, hopefully, been built to your specific needs means you’re less likely to require large changes further down the line. Finally, WordPress is suitable for small blogs all the way through to large, bespoke websites or big e-commerce solutions.
Cons:
- Learning Curve: Beginners or someone unfamiliar with websites can find it overwhelming due to its flexibility and technical nature. This is why WordPress is more suited to hiring a professional web designer for.
- Requires Hosting and Maintenance: You’ll need to buy hosting and handle updates, backups, and security yourself. This can be a positive as you then have full control and can get a cheaper, faster or more secure solution this way, but again may require professional help.
- Can Get Costly: Although WordPress is free to use – customising themes, any purchasable plugins and professional help can add up. These costs, however, are usually just one offs, so in the long term it could work out cheaper.
Wix
Handy for a cheap, quick solution you can do yourself if needs be.
Pros:
- Drag-and-Drop Interface: Very beginner-friendly, allowing you to visually design your site without coding.
- All-in-One: Hosting, design and all required features to get a website launched are all bundled together, keeping everything under one roof.
- Quick to Launch: Ideal for personal sites, portfolios, or small businesses needing a fast, cheap solution.
Cons:
- Limited Flexibility: You’re locked into the Wix environment and customising beyond the built-in options is difficult or even impossible. This can mean branded design layouts may not be achievable, certain SEO requirements might be inaccessible and even adding specific tags, plugins or styles can be unachievable.
- Performance Issues: Sites can load slower compared to more optimised platforms, due to redundant code and heavy reliance on its core framework as well as limited hosting and adapting options.
- Difficult to Migrate: Moving your site away from Wix can be complex and would usually required a rebuild. Whereas sites like WordPress have migration tools and it’s usually standard php files that can be used in various other platforms.
Shopify
Handy for a simple, quick e-commerce solution if you aren’t requiring a specific design or functionality.
Pros:
- E-commerce Focused: Built specifically for selling products online with tools for inventory, payments and shipping. Obviously not as useful if you’re just needing a brochure website.
- Secure and Reliable: Shopify handles all hosting, security, and compliance itself, keeping everything simple and in one place.
- Great Support: 24/7 customer service and active developer forums and support – gives any novice the reassurance they might need to get their site created without professional support.
Cons:
- Monthly Fees Add Up: shopify works on a subscription basis so you have to pay monthly to keep your site active. Any plugins, apps and themes required are often an additional ongoing cost too. Unless using Shopify Payments, extra transaction fees will also apply.
- Less Customisation: Not as flexible as WordPress when it comes to design or unique functionality outside of e-commerce.
- Site Ownership: you won’t technically own your site yourself, you may own the domain and data, but you won’t be able to use the actually website outside of the Shopify framework. As the actual infrastructure is shopifys own.
Squarespace
A good choice for a simple, sleek gallery / portfolio site – photography websites for example.
Pros:
- Beautiful Templates: Known for sleek, modern designs—great for creatives and visual portfolios with limited technical knowledge.
- All-in-One Solution: Hosting, design, and support are all in one place, much like Wix and Shopify.
- User-Friendly: Simple interface with built-in tools that a novice can use. Suitable for blogging, small e-commerce sites, brochure sites and more.
Cons:
- Limited Extensions: Fewer third-party integrations and plugins than WordPress or Shopify. Meaning that further down the road you may run into trouble.
- Design Flexibility: Templates are polished but can be restrictive if you want a very custom layout. Also, the designs may look nice and pretty with Squarespace glossy images in but once you put your own in they can often fall flat.
- Pricey for Small Sites: Starting from around £12 per month for basic, personal use.
Conclusion
Choosing the right platform depends on your goals. If you need full control, scalability and want your website for the long term then WordPress is the best bet—though it requires some technical know-how, which we can obviously help with.
For a fast, cheap solution, Wix and Squarespace are excellent, especially for portfolios or small businesses. If you’re setting up a small online store, Shopify is purpose-built and offers a seamless experience.
Ultimately, the best platform is the one that aligns with your needs, budget and technical comfort level, get in touch with one of our experts to find out more >
