BEST Website Builder 2024 (My TOP Recommendation)

Summary

This video offers a comprehensive review of six popular website builders: GoDaddy, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, Shopify, and WordPress. Each is evaluated based on ease of use, customization options, and suitability for specific needs such as blogging or e-commerce. The narrator shares personal experiences and provides tutorials for beginners, ensuring viewers can make an informed decision on the best platform for their website.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video provides an honest review of various website builders without sponsorship influence.
• 🛠️ GoDaddy offers an all-in-one website builder with hosting and customizable themes, but lacks a drag-and-drop feature for more flexibility.
• 📈 Squarespace is praised for its balance between customization and ease of use, with a modern design and blogging capabilities.
• 🏪 Wix stands out for its vast template library and high flexibility in design, although it can be more challenging for beginners.
• 🎨 Webflow is recommended for advanced users seeking maximum design freedom, suitable for complex and customized websites.
• 🛒 Shopify is the top pick for e-commerce websites, offering ease of building an online store with a limited design scope for simplicity.
• 🌐 WordPress is the most popular platform for complete control over website aspects, requiring more technical knowledge and time investment.
• 💰 GoDaddy has a free plan with limitations like using their domain and displaying ads, while paid plans start at $10 per month.
• 📅 Squarespace lacks a free plan but offers a 14-day trial, with plans starting from $16 per month for personal use.
• 📝 Wix provides a free plan with Wix domain and ads, with the cheapest paid plan starting at $16 per month for custom domains.
• 🔗 The video includes referral links for viewer support, offering additional discounts for some providers.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The video aims to provide an overview and comparison of various popular website builders, helping viewers decide which one is best suited for their needs.

What is the key feature of GoDaddy's website builder mentioned in the video?

GoDaddy's website builder is an all-in-one solution that includes hosting, customizable themes, a visual editor, and additional features like email marketing or e-commerce.

What is the limitation of GoDaddy's website builder in terms of customization?

GoDaddy does not have a drag-and-drop builder, which means users are limited to placing text or images in predetermined positions based on the structure provided by GoDaddy.

What are the starting prices for GoDaddy's basic and commerce plans?

GoDaddy's basic plan starts at $10 per month, and the commerce plan starts at $17 per month, with these prices being for yearly payments.

How does Squarespace's website builder differ from GoDaddy's in terms of customization?

Squarespace offers more flexibility with nearly 150 website templates and a fluid engine that allows for drag-and-drop building, making it easier to achieve the desired design.

What blogging features does Squarespace offer?

Squarespace provides essential blogging features such as search engine optimization, content organization using tags and categories, newsletter creation, and the ability to create a members-only area for exclusive content.

What is unique about Wix's approach to website building compared to other builders mentioned?

Wix stands out with its open application marketplace, offering over 300 apps to add additional features to a Wix website, providing more customization and flexibility.

What are the pricing details for Wix's cheapest plan?

Wix's cheapest plan starts at $16 per month, which allows the use of a custom domain and removal of Wix ads, including a free domain for the first year if paid annually.

Why is Webflow recommended for designers and developers?

Webflow is recommended for designers and developers due to its advanced drag-and-drop builder that offers even more flexibility and customization options for website design.

What is Shopify's main focus and who is it best suited for?

Shopify is specifically designed for building online stores and e-commerce businesses, making it the top recommendation for those looking to create an online store easily and quickly.

How does WordPress differ from the other website builders discussed in the video?

WordPress is a content management system rather than an all-in-one website builder, requiring users to handle aspects like hosting or security themselves and offering complete control over every aspect of the website.

What are some of the benefits of using WordPress for website building?

WordPress offers complete control with no limits on what can be done with the website, access to over 55,000 plugins for additional functionality, and thousands of free and paid templates for design customization.

What is the recommended hosting provider for WordPress users as mentioned in the video?

The video recommends Hostinger as a fast, reliable, and easy-to-use hosting provider for WordPress users, with plans starting at only $2 per month.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Introduction and Overview

The speaker discusses their experience with various website builders over the past few months and intends to share their opinions and reviews on each. They emphasize that the video is unsponsored, offering honest insights based on personal experience and additional research. Links to tutorials and referral discounts are provided in the video description. The first website builder discussed is GoDaddy, highlighting its simplicity, built-in features, and pricing plans.

05:01

📋 GoDaddy Website Builder Review

The speaker reviews the GoDaddy website builder, emphasizing its all-in-one approach, including hosting, customizable themes, and a visual editor. While it lacks a drag-and-drop feature, making customization limited, it offers a straightforward, quick setup and ensures mobile optimization. Basic email marketing, blogging, and e-commerce features are included. Free and paid plans are detailed, with the latter offering more features and custom domain usage. GoDaddy is recommended for simple website needs with minimal customization.

10:02

🏞️ Squarespace Review

Squarespace is presented as a more flexible alternative to GoDaddy, with nearly 150 templates suitable for various industries. Its fluid engine allows drag-and-drop customization, balancing ease of use and flexibility. Squarespace is highlighted for its robust blogging features, including SEO optimization, newsletter creation, and member-exclusive content. While lacking a free plan, it offers a 14-day trial and multiple paid plans, with e-commerce features available at higher tiers. Squarespace is ideal for those wanting flexibility without complexity.

15:03

🖌️ Wix Review

Wix is reviewed for its extensive template collection (over 800) and drag-and-drop builder, offering high customization flexibility. Despite this, the speaker notes potential pitfalls in mobile optimization and element alignment due to the extensive control provided. Wix's open application marketplace, blogging, and e-commerce capabilities are discussed. Free and paid plans are outlined, with the latter removing ads and allowing custom domains. Wix is recommended for users needing varied templates and design flexibility.

🎨 Webflow Review

Webflow is described as a highly customizable drag-and-drop builder, offering significant design freedom, making it ideal for designers and developers. It supports advanced, creative website building but has a steeper learning curve, not recommended for beginners. Webflow's marketplace for templates and apps is mentioned, with pricing plans for custom domains and online stores detailed. While offering high creativity, Webflow demands more time and effort, best suited for those seeking unique, complex websites.

🛒 Shopify Review

Shopify is highlighted as the top choice for building e-commerce websites, with a user-friendly builder similar to GoDaddy's. It includes responsive design and a vast app store with over 8,000 apps. Shopify's template options and pricing plans are discussed, including a three-day free trial and a special referral offer. The speaker recommends Shopify for easy and quick online store setup, despite its higher costs.

📚 WordPress Review

WordPress is introduced as the most popular platform for website creation, powering over 43% of websites. It requires handling aspects like hosting and security independently, making it less user-friendly for beginners. However, WordPress offers unparalleled control and customization with over 55,000 plugins and numerous design templates. The speaker recommends WordPress for those with technical skills or willingness to learn, especially for blogging. Hosting recommendations and cost details are provided.

🔍 Choosing the Right Website Builder

The speaker summarizes the unique benefits of each website builder discussed, helping viewers decide based on their needs. GoDaddy is suggested for simple, affordable websites; Squarespace for flexible, easy-to-use builders; Wix for template variety and design freedom; Webflow for advanced custom designs; Shopify for e-commerce; and WordPress for maximum customization without limits. Viewers are encouraged to start building their desired websites using provided tutorials and free trials.

🚀 Conclusion and Call to Action

The video concludes with the speaker encouraging viewers to start building their websites using the links and tutorials provided in the description. They emphasize the importance of getting started and experimenting with the different builders. Viewers are asked to like the video if they found it useful and subscribe for future updates.

Keywords

💡Website Builder

A website builder is a software application that allows users to create and manage their own websites without the need for extensive technical skills. In the video, the term refers to various platforms that provide tools for building websites, each with its own set of features and capabilities. Examples include GoDaddy, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, Shopify, and WordPress, each offering different levels of customization and functionality.

💡Customizable Themes

Customizable themes are pre-designed templates that can be modified to fit the user's preferences and branding. They are a key feature in website builders, allowing users to quickly establish a professional look for their website. In the script, GoDaddy and Squarespace are mentioned as offering customizable themes, which can be selected and then personalized with the user's content.

💡Drag and Drop

Drag and drop is a user interface feature that allows users to move elements around on a screen by clicking and dragging them with a mouse or touch input. In the context of website builders like Squarespace and Wix, this feature enables users to easily arrange and design their website's layout without coding knowledge, as mentioned in the script.

💡E-commerce

E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, as well as the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. The script discusses e-commerce features in website builders like GoDaddy and Shopify, which allow users to sell products and process payments online, making it a crucial aspect for businesses looking to establish an online store.

💡Free Plan

A free plan is a tier of service that allows users to use the basic features of a website builder at no cost. However, these plans often come with limitations, such as the inability to use a custom domain or the display of ads on the website. In the video, GoDaddy, Wix, and Webflow are mentioned as offering free plans with certain restrictions.

💡Paid Plan

A paid plan is a subscription-based service where users pay a monthly or annual fee to access premium features of a website builder. The script explains that upgrading to a paid plan removes limitations such as ads and allows the use of custom domains. Prices for these plans vary depending on the website builder and the features included.

💡Blogging Features

Blogging features refer to the tools and capabilities provided by a website builder to create, manage, and publish blog posts. Squarespace is highlighted in the script for its blogging features, which include SEO optimization, content organization with tags and categories, and the ability to create a members-only area for exclusive content.

💡Referral Links

Referral links are unique URLs that allow users to sign up for a service and provide the referrer with some form of incentive, such as a discount or commission. In the script, the speaker mentions including referral links in the video description to support the channel, offering viewers additional discounts for some providers.

💡Templates

Templates are pre-designed layouts or frameworks that serve as a starting point for creating a website. They are a fundamental aspect of website builders, providing users with a variety of design options to choose from. Wix is noted in the script for having over 800 templates, while Webflow offers over 1,500, catering to diverse website needs.

💡Content Management System (CMS)

A content management system is a software application or a set of related programs that allows users to create and manage digital content. WordPress is described in the script as a CMS, which requires users to handle hosting and security themselves and offers complete control over the website, including access to thousands of plugins and templates.

💡Plugins

Plugins are software components that add specific features to a digital platform, such as a website or a CMS. In the context of WordPress, plugins are used to extend the functionality of the website, as mentioned in the script. With over 55,000 plugins available, WordPress users can add virtually any feature they need to their website.

Highlights

I've tried out every popular website builder and will tell you which one is best for you.

Complete beginner tutorials are available for each website builder discussed.

This video is not sponsored; it's based on my honest opinion and research.

GoDaddy website builder includes hosting, customizable themes, a visual editor, and additional features.

GoDaddy doesn't have a drag and drop builder, which limits customization but simplifies the process.

GoDaddy offers a free plan with limitations and paid plans starting at $10 per month.

Squarespace offers more flexibility with 150+ templates and a drag and drop builder.

Squarespace has a good balance between flexibility and ease of use, especially for blogging.

Squarespace doesn't have a free plan but offers a 14-day free trial and paid plans starting at $16 per month.

Wix provides over 800 templates and a drag and drop builder, giving extensive customization options.

Wix has an open application marketplace with over 300 apps to add features to your website.

Wix offers a free plan with limitations and paid plans starting at $16 per month.

Webflow provides the most flexibility and customization, ideal for designers and developers.

Webflow has a free plan with limitations and paid plans starting at $14 per month.

Shopify is the top choice for building e-commerce websites with ease.

Shopify offers a three-day free trial and paid plans starting at $29 per month.

WordPress is the most popular platform for creating websites, requiring technical understanding.

WordPress is free but requires hosting, with recommended plans starting at $2 per month.

Each website builder has unique benefits, so choose based on your specific needs.

Transcripts

- So in the past couple of months, I've tried out

pretty much every popular website builder out there

and in this video I'm gonna go over each

of them and tell you exactly which one is best for you.

I've also created complete beginner tutorials for each

of the website builders I'm covering in this video.

So once you've made your decision

feel free to watch those tutorials to get you started

with whichever provider you chose to go for.

You'll find all the links

down below in the video description.

Before we get started, I do wanna mention

that this video is not sponsored by any of these providers.

I'm simply gonna give you my honest opinion based

on my own experience, and based on

some further research I've done

on each of these providers.

However, if you do wanna support my channel

you can use my referral links down below

in the video description to sign

up for whatever provider you choose to go for, and

for some providers, you'll even get an additional discount

by using my referral link.

So let's start with the first website builder on the list

the GoDaddy website builder.

This is an all in one website builder

including hosting, customizable themes, a visual editor

and additional features

like email marketing or e-commerce with GoDaddy.

Building your website is very simple.

You just choose the type of website you want to build.

Choose a name, voila, you have a pre-made website.

From there, you can select your main theme

and personalize the content however you want to.

One thing to note is that GoDaddy doesn't have a drag

and drop builder, meaning you can place text

or images wherever you want on your page.

Instead, you're limited to placing them

in the predetermined position based

on the structure provided by GoDaddy.

This means that building your website will be faster

and easier, and you also won't have to worry

about optimizing your content for mobile devices

as everything will automatically look good

on smaller screen sizes.

However, this restriction also means that you'll have

less flexibility when it comes to customizing your website.

GoDaddy also offers basic features for email marketing

blogging and e-commerce, but if you're looking

for advanced features, it may not be the right option

for you.

GoDaddy offers a completely free plan, but it comes

with a catch.

You won't be able to use your own custom domain

and there will be an ad at the top of your website.

So if you want to use your own custom domain

and you want to remove the ad, then you need to upgrade

to a paid plan.

The basic plan starts at $10 per month and will be most

likely sufficient for most simple websites.

If you're looking to sell products on your website

then you're gonna have to go with the commerce plan starting

at $17 per month.

Just keep in mind that these prices are for yearly payments

and will be more expensive if you decide to pay

on a monthly basis.

In conclusion, GoDaddy is a great option for those who

want to build a simple websites and don't need

extensive customization options.

Let's move on to the next option, which is Squarespace.

Compared to GoDaddy, Squarespace offers

a lot more flexibility when it comes

to customizing your website

with close to 150 website templates.

In various industries like photography

local businesses, restaurants, and a lot more

you are likely to find one that fits your needs

and all of them are completely free to use

and have a modern and clean design.

Squarespace recently introduced their so-called

fluid engine

which allows you to build your website using drag and drop

making it easy to achieve the design you have in mind.

I personally find Squarespace to have a good balance

between flexibility and ease of use

offering plenty of customization options

without being overly complicated for beginners.

If you're looking to start a blog

then Squarespace is a great alternative to WordPress.

It allows you to create

and manage your blog content very easily

without having to install a lot

of plugins like you would have to do on WordPress.

Squarespace has all the essential blogging features

you need, like being able to optimize for search engines

organizing your content using tags and categories

creating a newsletter, and even being able to

create a members only area for exclusive content.

You can even host your podcast on your Squarespace website.

Squarespace currently doesn't offer a completely free plan

but they do have a 14 day free trial you can take advantage

of to test out everything before committing to a paid plan.

You'll find a link

to that trial down below in the video description.

Once the trial is over.

You can choose between four different plans starting

with the personal plan at $16 per month

if you pay annually or $23 per month if you pay monthly.

If you need e-commerce features

then you're gonna have to go

with the business plans starting at $23 per month

allowing you to accept payments

on your website with a 3% transaction fee.

To reduce that transaction fee to 0%

you're gonna have to go with one

of the commerce plans starting at $27 per month.

So Squarespace is a great option if you're looking

for an easy to use website builder

without sacrificing too much flexibility when it comes

to the customization of your website.

Now let's move on

to the next website builder on the list, which is Wix.

Wix comes with over 800 website templates

all of which are completely free to use.

So no matter what type of website you want to build

Wix is assured to have the perfect template for you.

Wix also has a drag and drop website builder just

like Squarespace, allowing you to place elements anywhere

on the page, compared to Squarespace.

The Wix website builder gives you even more flexibility

and customization options when it comes

to the design of your website.

However, in my experience, it's a lot easier

to make mistakes and misalign elements on Wix just

because of how much control they give you.

I've also found that on Wix

it usually takes me a bit longer to optimize the content

for mobile compared to Squarespace.

One thing that sets Wix apart

from its competitors is their open application marketplace.

This allows independent developers to create

applications that add additional features to a Wix website.

Currently, there are over 300 apps to chooses from

most of which are free to use just

like most other all-in-one website builders.

Wix also allows you to create a blog

or turn your website into an online store and sell products.

When it comes to e-commerce

then Wix is a good option for small online stores

or for people who already have a Wix website

and wanna start selling some products as well.

However, if the main focus

of your website is gonna be to sell products online

then I actually recommend another provider

which I'm gonna talk about later in the video.

If you're looking

for an all-in-one solution to start a blog

then I would personally choose Squarespace over Wix

as their blogging features are a bit more sophisticated

from what I've seen.

Just like the GoDaddy website builder

Wix also offers a completely free plan

which means you'll have to host your website

on a Wix domain

and you'll also have Wix ads on your website.

The cheapest plan starts at $16 per month

and allows you to use your own custom domain

and get rid of the Wix ads, plus you get a free domain

for the first year if you choose to pay annually.

If you want to sell products

on your website and build an online store

then you're gonna have to go with the business

and e-commerce plans starting at $27 per month.

So Wix is a great option if you're looking

for an all in one website builder

with a wide variety of templates to choose

from and a good flexibility when it comes

to designing your website.

Next up, we have Webflow, just like Wix and Squarespace.

Webflow has a drag and drop website builder

but it gives you even more flexibility

and customization options when it comes

to the website design.

So with Webflow

you can really make your website look perfect

and optimize the design for any screen size.

This is why Webflow is a great option

for designers and developers who are looking to

build something very customized

and potentially more complex than your average website.

However, it's definitely more

of an advanced website builder that takes longer to learn

so I wouldn't recommend it to complete beginners.

Webflow also has an open marketplace

for apps and website templates.

That's why there's currently

over 1,500 website templates to choose from, some

of which are free and others cost between 50 and $100.

If you want to start a blog or create an online store

you can also do that with Webflow.

Webflow also has a free plan allowing you to

publish your website on a Webflow domain.

If you want to use your own custom domain

then you're gonna have to choose a paid plan starting

at $14 per month if you pay annually.

For online stores, the plan start at $29 per month.

In my experience, building websites on Webflow can be a lot

of fun and you can get really creative

but it definitely takes more time compared

to the other website builders I've mentioned previously

in this video.

So if you're looking

for a ready-to-go website as quickly as possible

then Webflow is probably not the right choice for you.

But if you want maximum design freedom

and you want to build something completely custom

then I can definitely recommend it.

And I do have a one hour beginner tutorial

that'll help you get started with Webflow.

The next website builder I want to introduce is Shopify.

Shopify is designed specifically

for building online stores and e-commerce businesses.

So if the main goal of your website is not to sell products

and take payments, then you don't need to look into Shopify.

However, if you plan to create an online store

then Shopify is definitely one of the best options.

Their website builder is similar to the one of GoDaddy

so it's not a drag and drop website builder.

You can simply add elements and then customize them

through the site menu, which limits your design freedom

but makes building your store very easy and quick.

Additionally, everything is fully responsive

so your store will look great on mobile devices as well.

If you want to use Shopify

but you need more design freedom

then you can install a third party application such

as Gem Pages, allowing you to build your website

using a drag and drop builder.

The Shopify app store currently has

over 8,000 apps giving you endless options to

add new features to your store.

Shopify comes with a bit

over 100 online store templates to choose

from with only 11 of them being free to use.

The paid ones cost between 200 and $350.

Shopify is definitely not the cheapest option

but currently they do have a three day free trial to test

out all the features after the trial, you can choose one

of their paid plans starting at $29 per month

if you pay annually, or $39 per month if you pay monthly.

Now, I do have a special referral link

for you that allows you to extend your trial

for an additional three months for only $1 per month

and you'll find the link

to that offer down below in the video description.

So Shopify is my top recommendation

for anyone who wants to build an e-commerce

website very easily and quickly.

And now onto the final website builder I wanna talk

about in this video, which is WordPress.

WordPress is still the most popular platform to

create websites.

In fact, over 43%

of all existing websites are running on WordPress compared

to the other website builders I've mentioned before

this is not an all in one solution.

WordPress is a content management system

that requires you to handle certain aspects

of website management yourself, such as hosting or security.

So running your website

on WordPress definitely demands you to have a certain level

of technical understanding compared

to all-in-one solutions like Wix or Squarespace.

Now, learning how to use WordPress definitely

can be a bit overwhelming

especially if you don't have any prior experience.

So you need to be willing to spend some time

watching tutorials until you get the hang of it.

Luckily, because WordPress is such a popular platform

there's tons of resources out there.

WordPress gives you complete control

over every aspect of your website, leaving you

with no limits of what you can do with your website.

In the future.

You have access to

over 55,000 plugins that are essentially small pieces

of software that add additional functionality

to your website.

Just like the applications for Shopify, Wix or Webflow

this means that you can add virtually any feature

to your website, including e-commerce

social media integration, and a lot more.

When it comes to the design, WordPress has thousands

of free and paid templates to choose from

so it can make a website look exactly how you want it to.

There's also a drag

and drop page builder called Elementor that allows you to

build your website without any coding.

Now WordPress is completely free to use.

So for simple websites that don't require a lot

of additional features through paid plugins

the only thing you need to pay for really is hosting.

The hosting provider that I recommend is called Hostinger

or it's fast, reliable, easy to use

and their plans sort at only $2 per month.

Plus, if you get hosting through my referral link down below

in the video description and you use Code MeticsMedia

you'll get an additional 10% off.

So if you're on a really tight budget and you don't

mind spending a bit more time learning how to use WordPress

then this is a great option.

Also, WordPress is still the number one choice

for people who want to start a blog.

So now, which website builder is the right choice for you?

Each of these six options has its unique benefits

so you need to consider your needs

before making your final decision.

If you're looking for an all in one solution to

build simple websites with affordable pricing

then the GoDaddy website builder is probably

the right choice for you.

Squarespace is a great option if you're looking

for a flexible website builder that is still easy to use

with a bit more customization options.

Wix is a good option if you're looking for an all-in-one

solution with a wide variety of templates and a good amount

of flexibility in designing your website.

Webflow is the best option for designers and developers

who wanna build something very customized, but it's not

really recommended for complete beginners.

Shopify is my top recommendation for those who want to

build an e-commerce website very easily and quickly

and don't mind spending a bit more money to get a very

powerful all-in-one e-commerce solution.

And finally

if you don't want to put any limits on what you can do

with your website and you're willing to

spend a bit more time learning the platform

than WordPress is the best option for you

let me know in the comments

down below which website Builder convinced you the most

regardless of which one you choose

the most important thing is to get started

and build the website you always wanted.

So check out the links down below

in the video description and sign up for a free trial.

And feel free to use my tutorials to walk you

through everything you need to know step by step.

Please give this video a like if you found it useful

and subscribe to the channel to not miss any future updates.