Selecting The Best Website Tool For Your Business - A Comprehensive Guide
- Daniel Barnett
- Nov 30, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Feb 14
Every business needs a professionally designed and functioning website. It’s a storefront, it's the first place a prospect checks out to see what your brand is about. If it looks amateur, that’s their first impression.
But like all other SaaS solutions, website builders come with tons of bells and whistles that makes an evaluation challenging. Some features are needed, most are not.
That's why I put together a little guide on some of the best options i've used during my career. To give other founders and marketers a head-start on the website platform selection process.
Table Of Contents
The 5 Best Website Tools For
Overall: Wix
Founders Only - Squarespace
Startups > : Wix
Best All-In-One: HubSpot CMS
Best for Scaleups: Wordpress
Best for Design-Focused Brands: Wix
Best for Customization: Wordpress
Best for Growing Enterprises: Wordpress
Best for Large Enterprises with Specific Use Cases: Salesforce Experience Cloud
Tool Analysis
Wix
Overall: 8/10
Wix is for:
Startups
Small businesses
Designers
Bloggers
Pros:
Giant community of skilled Wix designers and developers.
Published designs stay very true to the WYSIWYG.
Intuitive UX for increased productivity and fewer roadblocks.
Cons:
Google Analytics tracking is not compatible with lower tier versions.
Pricing can scale very quickly as features are added.
Inability to export means a complete rebuild if you decide to migrate off Wix.
Site performance is curiously mediocre and slow to load.
Wix is a very popular tool for portfolios, blogs, and small businesses. Its WYSIGYW is intuitive, flexible enough to allow for plenty of creativity, and functionally will give users everything they need to stay on par with businesses of similar sizes.
Wix provides all basic functionality and a lot that sets it apart from alternatives. Its inclusion of solutions for all areas of a business – marketing, sales, eCommerce, payments, booking, integrations, and analytics loads the tool with value and makes it a leader in the all-in-one category.
Aside from functionality, what really sets Wix apart from other options is their fast and helpful support that is easily accessible throughout the app and available over SMS, email, and phone.
Criteria | Rating | Description |
|---|---|---|
Templates | 8 | Perhaps the largest and most diverse library of templates of any builder not named Wordpress. Wix categorizes templates by industry, purpose, use case or site type to make them easy to find and use. |
Design Flexibility | 7 | Wix offers tons of prebuilt elements that you can drag and drop onto a webpage. Each comes with settings and a design panel to customize look and functionality. Customization of components can be limited; there are lots to choose from which makes the lack of customization more tolerable. |
Functional Features | 7 | Wix offers many options to extend page functionality. Some of the most important will include forms, booking, transactions, and a highly capable blog application. For those looking for more advanced use cases, an app market features hundreds of apps built by developers and solution providers that are free or require separate licenses. |
Support | 8 | Wix’s support is part of what sets this solution apart. Support options are accessible within the settings of a component and you can start chatting with a support agent in seconds. You’re greeted by an AI chat bot which is different from most chatbots – it is actually helpful. If you need further assistance, ask for it and a human joins the conversation. |
Build Cost | 8 | The Core plan starts at $36/month is where most small businesses will start. The lack of custom development needed to get a site up and running will keep costs relatively low. |
Cost Of Ownership | 9 | Wix is a very intuitive tool that, once you get going, maintaining it should not be a high effort. |
Squarespace
Overall: 7/10
Squarespace is for:
Small business owners
Hands-on non-designers or developers
Marketing agencies that serve small businesses
Agencies
Pros:
Templates are clean, secure, and completely managed by Squarespace.
Difficult to design an ugly Squarespace site.
Lots of extensible features create a nice all-in-one small business web tool.
Cons:
Limited design freedom without tinkering with code.
Undocumented design and functional limitations require some inadequate workarounds..
Squarespace is for startups and small business owners who want to design and build a professional-looking website. It offers a suite of website, marketing, and payment tools to cover use cases ranging from personal portfolios and blogs to eCommerce, email marketing, and payments.
Designers may find the Squarespace WYSIWYG customization limiting. Elements controlling layout and object placement are restricted in the tool in order to stay true to template design. While this can be a pain for designers, it helps ensure non-designers can create a professional and clean site.
Squarespace also lacks some standard web elements like autoscrolling slideshows for customer logos. Lastly, singular objects placed on the canvas in the WYSIWYG; like an image, graphic, or shape, will not always stay in position when published. Since workarounds are usually limited, you have to get very creative sometimes and think of unusual ways to display content.
Criteria | Rating | Description |
Templates | 8 | Lots of options to choose from that are unique to use cases and align to Squarespace template aesthetic. Choose from dozens of prebuilt layouts to get started or have Squarespace’s AI build a custom template. |
Design Flexibility | 7 | Squarespace templates have a very clean aesthetic, controlled by a grid, and offer little opportunity to truly screw up the design of a site. |
Functional Features | 8 | Squarespace checks the majority of boxes when it comes to website functionality. eCommerce tools include product and inventory management, cart management, and fully integrated payments. Marketing functionality starts with a great-looking website, content management, intake forms, and automated email follow-up. Use an integration to send leads to your CRM or use Squarespace’s CRM for a straightforward workflow. |
Support | 7 | Overall, support is good. Documentation is mostly up-to-date and requests can be sent in the support portal. Response times range 2-3 days which is a minor drawback if speed is a factor. |
Build Cost | 6 | $36/month for entry-level business plan. |
Cost Of Ownership | 8 | A straightforward interface helps make maintenance simple. |
Wordpress
Overall: 7/10
Wordpress is for:
Scale-ups and brands with budget to manage it.
Teams with access to experienced Wordpress developers and designers.
Pros:
Endless options for support, plug-ins, and best practices because of a massive community.
Infinitely customizable design and functionality.
Solutions for every budget; depending on complexity and customization requirements.
Cons:
High cost of ownership.
Requires 3rd party plugins for basic functionality.
Themes and plugins present security risks and require frequent updates.
Wordpress launched as a blogging tool in 2003. It has since evolved into the largest website production and hosting ecosystem. It is truly the swiss army knife of web platforms and the go-to juggernaut for most businesses. Wordpress offers an extraordinary range of capabilities, add-ons, plugins, use cases, designers, and developers, so if your business has the budget to invest in something very custom, this is the tool for you.
Start by learning the differences between Wordpress.org and Wordpress.com. Wordpress.org is the original open-source software that allows you to freely download Wordpress code and install on any server for you to freely use and tweak. Wordpress.com is a for-profit business that sells and hosts Wordpress software, services, and plug-ins. While there is lots of overlap, they are actually quite different.
To start, template selection is perhaps the most important decision to make and one that will impact everything you do in the tool. Beyond just a design starting point, templates change the UX of how users navigate Wordpress; for better or for worse. Test out templates and choose the one that aligns closest to your design.
Criteria | Rating | Description |
Templates | 9 | There are thousands of template options. The best ones are licensed and are supported with developer updates that keep the template current and safe.
While templates impact design, they also change the UI, add and remove features, and can make one instance of Wordpress unrecognizable from another. |
Design Flexibility | 10 | Wordpress allows designers to be completely free to create an entirely custom experience for visitors. Designing a site requires knowledge of CMS, HTML, and other web basics. |
Functional Features | 10 | Lots of Wordpress's functionality will be dictated by the template you choose. Some will offer features more heavily weighted towards blogging or personal portfolios while others are built specific for eCommerce or large-scale content hubs. |
Support | N/A | You’ll need ongoing management support from an experienced Wordpress admin and/or developer. |
Build Cost | 7 | Wordpress licenses for access to the paid platform and services and templates can hover in the $10-20/month range, Wordpress sites can scale very quickly given the horsepower needed to maintain a well-designed and functional website. You can find Wordpress average talent on popular marketplaces like Upwork, 99Designs, or Credo. |
HubSpot Content Hub
Overall: 7/10
HubSpot CMS is for:
SMB
Agencies
Existing HubSpot customers
While HubSpot is known for its email marketing tools and free CRM, it also provides a suite of solutions for marketers and business leaders looking for an all-in-one solution for everything marketing.
Pros:
Drag-n-drop elements make creating content easy.
Personalize content in real-time with CRM data.
Lots of extensible options and technical support.
Good all-in-one value for startups looking for lean tech stacks.
Integrates seamlessly with other HubSpot hubs.
Cons:
Site customization requires experience with HubL, which is HubSpot’s proprietary templating language.
Managed requires very specific skillsets and experience with a steep learning curve.
Lacks automated backup tools.
Criteria | Rating | Description |
Templates | 8 | HubSpot offers lots of templates that range from free to licensed. For greater variety or specificity of use cases, there are 3rd party developers who offer their own themes that you can purchase and install. |
Design Flexibility | 6 | While the HubSpot Content Hub offers a wide range of themes to choose from and a drag n’ drop WYSIWYG editor, advanced customization can require development and will stunt marketing agility. With an in-house developer, you can overcome this hurdle easily, but without one, you might find yourself cycling through developers in search for a good one. |
Functional Features | 8 | Functionality is a HubSpot Content Hub strength. Since it is directly connected to its CRM and other Hubs (marketing, sales, etc), it offers lots of very useful ways to engage visitors, serve personalized content, and automate follow-up. |
Support | 8 | HubSpot offers great support, always available in the top nav bar. Chat with support reps and get advice and very detailed guidance on solutions to bugs and for ways around areas of the tool that you’re less familiar with. I’ve worked with support reps extensively and have always been delighted by how far they will go to help and find the right solution for you. |
Build Cost | 6 | For Starter, $20/month per user and scales to $1,500/month per user for Enterprise. Note: a free version is available and nice for playing around in and even starting a light build but is not a viable option for a business. |
Cost Of Ownership | 5 | Small tasks like cloning a page to create and modify a new one or adding elements to an already existing page should be easy. Otherwise creating new page templates will mostly require HubSpot and Hubl experience. |
Looka
Overall: 6.5/10
Looka is for:
Founders
Startups
Pros:
Great for quick production of professional-looking brands.
Produces dozens of brand assets that are edited directly in Looka.
AI saves time and provides lots of design inspiration and templates through the tool.
Cons:
Brand assets are only editable in Looka’s native CMS.
The blog module is limited in functionality and missing some key SEO capabilities.
Layouts are cookie-cutter and lack design features.
Looka is an AI-powered brand asset manager and a website builder. Great for founders who need a quick brand – Looka starts you off with a brand design wizard that helps non-designers create a logo, as well as lots of other assets including presentations, invoices, 1-pagers, posters, social media icons..
The website builder is good, even though it feels like a secondary product to their core design tools. After creating your logo, adding your tagline, picking your fonts and colors, you’ll see AI-driven suggestions to personalize your content. The tool suggests layouts, provides tons of template options from entire pages to content blocks, and affords some freedom to design a site unique to your brand.
While the product is marketed as an AI tool, it could probably get along just fine without the AI. The product gathers information about your business and generates options based on your responses. For the most part, generated content is relevant and interesting, but not necessarily unique or super creative.
Criteria | Rating | Description |
Templates | 8 | Many more predesigned sections than entire pages. Templates will cover a wide range of common use cases and will give a user a good head start. |
Design Flexibility | 6 | WYSIWYG is a bit rigid and lacks some key and standard web components like anchor tags and other ways of organizing content outside of adding a search bar. |
Functional Features | 6 | Functionally offers a limited range of widgets but to cover several use cases from booking reservations to image sliders and social integrations. |
Support | 8 | Easy to find and available over chat and email. Outside of business hours (Europe), support typically responds within 24 hours. If you catch them online, you can chat immediately. |
Build Cost | 8 | $129/year for branding + website - very competitive pricing makes it a viable option for new businesses. |
Cost Of Ownership | 9 | A Looka site can be managed entirely from a drag and drop interface and does not require development experience nor an expert understanding of how a website works. |
Worth A Look
Webflow
Viable and competitive alternative to Wordpress. Offers basic automation and processing of leads. Requires Webflow configuration or development experience to build and manage.
Doorik
Conclusion
Navigating the website platform/host/provider landscape can be stressful. There are so many options and potential use cases to consider and every tool gos-to-market with a different combination of features. There will be lots of bait -- upsells, offers, add-ons, and upgrades -- available regardless of where you sign up.
Writing a clear list of priorities going into your search will help ensure you get the most value out of your investment and keep your team on track to go-live on time. Prioritize what you need today. Is it a blog? A store? A dedicated members area where members can follow each other? Do you need a community or can you get by with a blog?
Ultimately, you probably won't discover a platform that fulfills all your desires, and it may even offer features you don't need. If the tool does what your brand needs and what your team can do, you've found the right solution.
