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The first thing that springs to mind when you think of quality web design is a professional agency, right? And while top companies largely do a great job, they can be eye-wateringly expensive.
Luckily, there is another way: website builders and ecommerce platforms. These are DIY online tools that allow you to create and design your own website – without needing to know a single line of code!
Naturally, there are tons of options out there – of varying quality – but we’ve put in the legwork and researched the best on the market. Through a combination of expert research and thorough testing, we can now reveal the best options for designing your very own site.
Below, we’ll run through the top three options for both regular websites and online stores. First, though, let’s address the elephant in the room: WordPress.
What about WordPress?
WordPress.org is a self-hosted, open-source CMS (content management system) – but all you really need to know is that it’s the most popular platform for designing a website.
WordPress gives you total control over the look and feel of your website, and is technically free to use. We say this because, in order to get your website live, you’ll actually need to pay for web hosting, security, a domain name, and any additional plugins or themes you need.
The biggest issue with WordPress, though, is that it’s not really suitable for the average Joe. Unless you’re comfortable with code – or have the budget to hire a professional developer – WordPress will prove near-impossible to use.
For this reason, we’d recommend that people who are building their own site stick to website builders and ecommerce platforms.
Designing Websites: Website Builders
Unless you’re looking to sell online, website builders are the most effective way for non-tech whizzes to create their own website. If an online store is what you’re after, skip to our ecommerce platforms section.
From our expert research, we’ve been able to establish the 10 best website builders available to you today. All cater to different needs, but for a general overview, take a look at our quality scale below:
Wix
| Wix Pros | Wix Cons |
|---|---|
| Highly intuitive and easy-to-use editor | Can’t switch templates after your website goes live |
| Great value for money | May have to spend more on third party apps to scale your website |
| Strong help and support features | The sheer choice and amount of customizable options can be overwhelming |
| The builder our users were most likely to recommend |
Wix is generally regarded as the best website builder on the market. Its easy to use drag-and-drop editor gives you total creative control, allowing you to add in all your content and position it wherever you see fit.
There’s also a choice of 510 professionally designed templates, a bunch of amazing features which come built-in, and a huge app store where you can install any extras you may need.
From thoroughly testing the platform ourselves, we can confirm Wix lives up to the hype. Have a look at our final research scores and see for yourself:
4.7out of 5
Top Choice
Ease of Use
4.5 out of 5 stars
Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
4 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
4.5 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
5 out of 5 stars
We also arranged for regular people, just like you, to sit down with Wix and attempt to design their own website. These volunteers were blown away by just how quick and easy Wix was to use, as well as the sheer choice of features on display. Here’s what they had to say:
“I was genuinely surprised that it was that quick [to design a website]. I didn’t think that it would all get done in an hour.”
“I like the side menu where you can add images and apps etc. because it was simple and easy to navigate.”
Wix is the best website builder on the market. Sign-up to its free plan and see what you make of it.
Wix Review– Read more about Wix in our in-depth review.
Wix Pricing – An overview of Wix’s pricing plans.
How to use Wix – A step-by-step guide for beginners.
Wix Editor vs Wix ADI – Learn about the different ways you can create a Wix website.
Squarespace
| Squarespace Pros | Squarespace Cons |
|---|---|
| Best quality templates in terms of design and flexibility | Limited number of price plans |
| Best quality features of any builder on the market | Not totally beginner friendly |
| Full customization control without the need for coding |
Squarespace is a website builder that oozes class, and comes with a glossy, premium feel.
Squarespace prides itself on its templates. Their cutting-edge designs make them perfect for anyone in a creative field, such as photographers, artists, or graphic designers.
Squarespace also comes with an array of quality features. Here you can see how it scored in our research for all the major categories:
4.3out of 5
Ease of Use
3.5 out of 5 stars
Features
4 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
5 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
4 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
3 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
4.5 out of 5 stars
Squarespace proved a real hit with our users, too. Here’s just a couple of their thoughts:
“My website looks really clean and fresh. I think a lot of that is down to how well the template I chose is designed.”
“It’s a huge challenge to create a site by yourself unless you’re a designer, so the fact that the templates have industry-specific features is a huge benefit. I’d say that’s one of the most important factors [when designing a website].”
Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial. Discover why creatives love it so much.
Weebly
| Weebly Pros | Weebly Cons |
|---|---|
| Best for small businesses, with all the basic tools you need to build a great business site | Drag-and-drop customization is limited – unless you’re confident with code |
| Cool customizable templates | No personal restore option, so if your site goes down, you’re totally reliant on the Weebly support team |
| Really helpful SEO guides in Weebly’s help and support center | No ADI option (short for Artificial Design Intelligence, this is where a website builder uses information you provide to automatically create a site for you) |
Weebly is marketed as a website builder for all, but really, it specializes in small business websites. It has a great range of templates to choose from, and a drag-and-drop editor that’s pretty easy to get to grips with.
Weebly really comes into its own when you start looking at its features – there’s hundreds to choose from, and most of them are brilliant! For a closer look at where Weebly’s strengths lie, take a look at our scores:
4.1out of 5
Ease of Use
3.5 out of 5 stars
Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
4 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
3.5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
4.5 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
5 out of 5 stars
Our users who tested Weebly really liked how it helped them structure their site, and how it showed them that anyone really can build their own website:
“I think Weebly’s templates are a good way of introducing you to the structure and presentation of a website.”
“Overall, it was really easy to use, and kind of debunks the myth that it’s really, really difficult [to build a website].”
Weebly’s free plan lets you ‘try before you by’. Take a look at what all the fuss is about.
Designing Websites: Ecommerce Platforms
Ecommerce platforms work in a very similar way to website builders, but they’re specifically designed to help you set up an online store. Some are purpose-built just for ecommerce, while others (like Wix) are website builders that have ecommerce functionalities.
Shopify
| Shopify Pros | Shopify Cons |
|---|---|
| Sell across multiple channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon and eBay | You have to create your storefront between the editor and dashboard, meaning you’ll have to flick between the two |
| Brilliant inventory system which helps you manage your store | Only platform to enforce its own transaction fee with Shopify Payments |
| Came first in our research for sales features and customer score | Content doesn’t automatically reformat if you switch to a different theme |
Shopify stands head and shoulders above its peers as the best ecommerce platform. It has a range of themes which are all designed with your products in mind, and more sales features than you can shake a stick at.
Where Shopify really excels, though, is away from your website. The platform allows you to broaden your online store’s reach by tapping into different channels, and by selling across various marketplaces and social media networks.
Here you can see how Shopify performed in our ecommerce platform testing:
4.7out of 5
Top Choice
Ease of Use
4 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
4 out of 5 stars
Sales Features
5 out of 5 stars
Website Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
4.5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
3.5 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
5 out of 5 stars
Shopify is slightly different to website builders in that you predominantly work from a dashboard, rather than an editor.
Because there is so much more to consider with online stores – like marketing, inventory, and shipping – it makes sense that you have a hub to manage everything from, including your website’s design.
Shopify’s 14-day free trial lets you get a real feel for the platform before deciding whether to invest
Wix eCommerce
| Wix eCommerce Pros | Wix eCommerce Cons |
|---|---|
| Eye-catching designs – add product videos to give customers a better shopping experience | No social media integration – doesn’t let you sell across multiple channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest |
| Advanced ecommerce tools, including abandoned cart recovery to catch customers who have left items at the checkout | Too much creative freedom, which can get in the way of ecommerce design best practices |
| Multilingual sites – grow your business globally by creating multiple sites for different countries |
“But haven’t you already covered Wix?” Well, yes – but building an online store with Wix is a whole other ball game!
Although Wix can’t rival Shopify when building a ‘pure’ online store, it’s perfect for people who just want to have a store section on their website.
Anyone who sells products on the side could benefit from Wix. If you’re in a band, for example, the main purpose of your site will pro
bably be to provide fans with tour information and take bookings for gigs.
However, you may also want to sell merchandise, such as tour tops, albums, and branded instruments. Wix makes it easy to either build an online store from the off, or add in a store section further down the line.
Here are Wix’s ecommerce-specific scores from our research:
4.3out of 5
Ease of Use
4 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
4.5 out of 5 stars
Sales Features
3 out of 5 stars
Website Features
4 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
4.5 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
4.5 out of 5 stars
Squarespace and Weebly also offer online store pricing plans, so if you just want the option to sell online, it’s worth having a look around.
Use Wix’s platform free of charge and see whether it’s worth upgrading to the online store plans.
Wix eCommerce Review– Discover why Wix is the best website builder for ecommerce.
Wix vs Shopify – Learn more about the difference between the two platforms.
BigCommerce
| BigCommerce Pros | BigCommerce Cons |
|---|---|
| Most scalable ecommerce platform | Hard for ecommerce beginners to get to grips with |
| More built-in features than any competitor | No mobile app to run your store on the go |
| Lets you sell across multiple channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest | |
| Fantastic SEO tools |
Between Shopify and Wix, BigCommerce is far more similar to the former. It’s designed solely for selling online, and is widely regarded as one of the best platforms to create an online store with.
One thing BigCommerce has over Shopify is the amount of built-in features it has. With Shopify, you may end up spending far more than just the standard monthly fee to install a whole bunch of apps – many of which are free to use with BigCommerce.
On the flip-side, BigCommerce is undoubtedly harder to use than Shopify. Some of the terms it uses are quite technical, and the actual design of your site can get quite complex – meaning it’s not exactly a beginner-friendly platform.
Still, BigCommerce more than held its own through our research testing:
4.2out of 5
Ease of Use
3.5 out of 5 stars
Design Flexibility
3.5 out of 5 stars
Sales Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Website Features
4.5 out of 5 stars
Help and Support
3.5 out of 5 stars
Value For Money
4 out of 5 stars
Customer Score
3.5 out of 5 stars
We’d see BigCommerce as a platform for those who are both more technically skilled and budget-conscious. It’s really designed for SMEs, so anyone just looking to sell a few products a month will be better off with a website builder that has ecommerce functionality.
Just a heads up, BigCommerce is currently offering up to three months free when you sign up for a new plan! Go to the BigCommerce website to see this offer live.
BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial for you to find your feet.
