Writer: Joe Warnimont
Editor: Britain Simons
Reviewer: Cristian Lopez
Getting publicity for your growing business is exciting, but it’s a double-edged sword. I remember back when a client of mine, Jackie, who ran a skincare eCommerce store, got featured in a major magazine. It was a big change for her growing brand and website traffic.
A similar influx of notoriety happened to my dad’s hardware store. His shop was given a yearly business award from the local newspaper, but his website felt the weight of a curious community.
In both instances, the positive attention was great for business, but caused issues with their struggling websites. I recall cringing as Jackie’s low-cost Wix website struggled with her influx of traffic. Slow load times and frustrated customers. My dad ran a self-hosted site, but his shared hosting plan hadn’t been stress-tested in years.
Luckily, I was able to upgrade both of their plans, but it’s not always so easy. You may find your business outgrowing a website builder. But ideally, before any of this chaos ensues, you choose a website builder made for growth- one that doesn’t require a migration in the future.
Never Assume You Can Easily Change Your Website Builder Later
I used to be in your shoes. I figured it would be wise to just sign up for the most user-friendly website builder. I planned on opening a simple blog and maybe a small eCommerce store. Keep it easy.
Deep down, I’ll admit that “the easiest approach” provided a quick escape route; if the business failed, I could abort ship fast, without losing too much cash. But there was a fatal flaw with my theory.
No matter how many guides you read about “how easy it is” to migrate a website, the truth is usually the opposite. Migrating a website is a nightmare. Your initial choice of a website builder matters far more than you think. Even if you must migrate, you only ever want to do it once.
I’ve seen clients spend over $10,000 to move from WordPress to Shopify or Squarespace to WordPress. They simply didn’t realize that their businesses would have worked better on a different platform. It is a blind spot that we must shine a light on.
Again, I’m guilty of thinking of migrations as “not a big deal” before I learned the hard way. But boy do they have hidden costs:
- Rebuilding of integrations: Any website migration requires you to reconnect any integrations previously configured — for things like payment processors, CRMs (Customer Relationship Management), automation, and email marketing platforms.
- Destruction of your design: You’ll never duplicate the design of your old website after a migration. It’s a tough realization. Think about the hours, days, and weeks of perfecting your brand pages and layout.
- Retraining: Perhaps the biggest hidden cost is the overhead of retraining your staff. Consider everything from a new CMS (Content Management System) to new workflows they must remaster.
- Data fragmentation: I’ve found that no matter how clean a migration, I always end up with data silos. Sometimes I struggle to transfer over all my order data (e.g., Products, pricing, and shipping). Other times it’s more about customer records or analytics.
- SEO problems and unpredictability: I’ve performed some pretty clean migrations, but Google always seems to push back at my efforts. Search engines view migrations as massive changes, so you should expect fluctuations in your rankings.
Keep in mind that one platform isn’t better or worse for everyone. Some business owners love WordPress for its scalability, while others loathe it for its many moving pieces. Wix can be perfect for an actor or artist page that may never need massive scaling.
The goal for you is not to find the perfect website builder, but to find the perfect website builder for your needs, and to make this decision early to avoid costly migrations.
Finding Your Perfect Website Builder
I’d like to provide a framework to help you find the best website builder, the first time around. We’ll keep it simple. My framework relies on four questions, all of which are designed to narrow down the exact website design for your needs.
Let’s save you time, money, and especially stress down the road. My questions for you:
Question 1: How Much Control and Customization Do You Need?
In the website builder world, customization and control fall on a vast spectrum. Some website builders let you customize every bit of code and control everything from your domain name to your hosting. Others rely more on prebuilt templates and have harsh vendor lock-in.
Let’s take a look at how much control and customization will work best for you, as we break down these questions:
- Will you take a prebuilt template and significantly customize it to your style, or leave it as is?
- Do you need the ability to customize code, or are you more of a visual drag-and-drop designer?
- Will you lean heavily on plugins (simplify repetitive and technical functions) or opt for a website builder with built-in features?
- Would you like to host your website from a third-party provider (higher subscription rates) or buy it directly from your website builder? What about your domain name?
Here’s how the top website builders compare in customization and control:
| Website Builder | Best For | Options | Custom Coding | Add-ons | Control and Lock-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Those with limited web design experience and to make basic websites. | Mid-level. Templates with a drag-and-drop website builder. Thousands of plugins. AI integration. | Mid-level skill. Adjust code snippets and some advanced files. | Mid-level. In-house app store with thousands to choose from. Intuitive interface. | Low-level control. Harsh lock-in. Hard to migrate out by design. Wix manages your domain and hosting. |
| Squarespace | Design-oriented websites with imagery and straightforward web design needs. | Low-level. Pre-built templates with rigid drag-and-drop website builder. Heavy AI integration. | Low-level skill. Inject code into pre-made templates for small tweaks. | Low-level. You’re mainly limited to built-in features with a few third-party apps. | Low-level control. Harsh lock-in. Hard to migrate out. Squarespace manages your domain and hosting. |
| Shopify | Any eCommerce website, regardless of complexity. Some limitations on highly customized websites. | Mid-level. Pre-built templates with rigid website builder and access to advanced code modifications. Thousands of plugins. “Shopify Magic” and “Sidekick” AI tools. | Mid-level skill. Access some Liquid coding files to make advanced changes. | High-level. There are thousands of in-house and third-party apps you can add to your store. | Low-level control. Medium lock-in. Tough to migrate out, but you’re able to export things like products and customers. Shopify manages your domain and hosting. |
| WordPress | High-scale, highly custom websites. | High-level. Thousands of templates and plugins. Strong website builder and access to code customization. Easy AI Plugin support and builder. | High-level skill. You can access every bit of code in WordPress. | High-level. Thousands of third-party and WordPress-made plugins for all your needs. | High-level control. Medium lock-in. Still hard to migrate out unless moving to another self-hosted solution. You control your domain and hosting. |
| Webflow | Sites requiring significant customization and control. | High-level. Very precise website design with a visual builder. Dynamic AI workflow and chatbots. | Mid-level skill. Mainly a visual website builder, but there are custom coding options. | Mid-level. Quite a few integrations, along with an extra CMS to work with. | Low-level control. Harsh lock-in. Webflow manages your hosting and domain. |
You don’t automatically have to opt for a more complex system like WordPress just because you have technical experience. You should focus more on your business model and how you intend to grow.
Is it straightforward enough that you’ll be okay saving time with pre-built templates and locked into a website builder? Or, does your business need a website that requires unique compliance, constant homepage updates, and features you won’t be able to find on an app marketplace?
Question 2: Do I Need Integrations? If So, Which Ones?
The turning point in any business is usually figuring out how to make your current website talk to everything else. You must think of your website builder as the central nervous system of your entire operation. It must integrate with other systems, so how will it take on that task as your business grows?
Here, we’ll focus on four main integrations that are crucial for any business. I find it best to look through these critical integration categories to make sure your website builder actually works with them:
- Email marketing and automation: For generating leads or retargeting sales. Does the website builder connect with tools like Mailchimp and ConvertKit without custom coding? Are you able to collect form submissions and run automations with a smooth website integration?
- Payment processing: Digital, print service, or inventory product sales. Does the website builder support your payment processors of choice? Do all transactions drop right into accounting tools like Xero or QuickBooks? Can you activate special features like payment plans and subscriptions to improve sales conversions?
- Customer data systems: Group customer information. Can your website builder populate a CRM like HubSpot or Salesforce? Will it help maintain clean data in one spot?
- Ecommerce fulfillment and inventory: Does your website builder sync with tools like print-on-demand apps and dropshipping providers? Can you route sales to a warehouse management system while also linking to inventory tools like ShipStation?
I prefer finding a website builder with native integrations. That way, you know that your payment processor or CMS is always supported by the website builder.
However, there’s no such thing as a website builder with every tool you’ll ever need. That’s why you still want a robust collection of third-party apps and plugins.
Question 3: How Much Will My Business Grow?
We’re spoiled by technology that just “works,” but there are limitations based on your chosen web hosting service.
I’ve seen it too many times. I receive an email in the middle of the night from a client wondering why their website is down. Then, I look at how their website gets 50,000 visits per day, even though their shared hosting plan really only supports 10,000 visits per day.
You must be willing to scale, meaning you need to have the willingness and ability to pay for better hosting and higher website builder plans as your business grows. You also want to opt for a website builder that supports the amount of growth you expect.
Businesses grow in different ways. You may need:
- Support for more content: media, community forums, visual blogs, etc.
- More advanced design tools: CMS, development, marketing, visual content, etc
- More team members on your plan.
- Greater hosting resources to support more visitors and high traffic spikes.
Here’s how I would compare our top website builders in how they help you scale in different categories:
| Website Builder | Traffic Support | Content and Product Limits | Cost Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | For sites with low to medium levels of traffic. | Unlimited pages for most plans and up to 50,000 products for most plans. | Up to $159 per month. |
| Squarespace | For sites with low to medium levels of traffic. | Unlimited products and pages for all plans. | Up to $139 per month. |
| Shopify | For all traffic levels; it’s ready for enterprise needs. | Unlimited products for all plans. | Up to $2,500+ per month for an enterprise-grade website builder. Regular plans go up to $299 per month and have payment processing fees, too. |
| WordPress | Supports high levels of traffic but that depends on your hosting. | Unlimited products and pages. | Costs range wildly depending on your hosting and development costs. You can scale as high as necessary. $4-$45 per month for hosting, to well over $10,000 for development costs. |
| Webflow | Supports both low and high levels of traffic. | Plan-based limits on products and CMS items, but there’s plenty of scaling if you pay for higher plans. | Ecommerce plans go up to $235 per month. Regular site plans go up to $49 per month. Enterprise plans are fully custom. |
Keep in mind, I’ve only considered hosting and website builder plans in the “Cost Scaling” column. You’ll also have to think about expenses for domain names, marketing, plugins, and other integrations, many of which add up fast.
Question 4: What are Your Immediate and Future Needs?
Would you rather optimize for a quick start or invest in long-term functionality? After all, a builder like Wix could get you online and selling within minutes, but it may not support a massive increase in traffic in three years.
Here’s what our website builders offer in the present and future:
- Wix and Squarespace: Great for immediate usability. Take advantage of templates and lower upfront costs to launch in days. There are, however, feature and design limits as you grow.
- WordPress and Webflow: Great for long-term flexibility. There’s a steeper learning curve and higher initial investment but they’re helpful for adapting in the future and controlling every aspect of your business.
- Shopify: Balanced flexibility. This is only for eCommerce but it offers a middle ground website builder to scale if needed but also launch with quick templates and design tools.
I suggest you go with a simpler, short-term-focused builder if you’re testing a business idea or working on a limited budget. Just know that you may have to migrate or rebuild later on. If you need the simplicity to get going, that’s good. We all start somewhere.
If you intend on growing and building your business into a complex operation, don’t jump for the easiest option. For a serious business, especially with high capital or funding, go with a robust, scalable website builder.
Choosing Your First and Final Website Builder
This should be an exciting new chapter for your brand. I’ll leave you with one final metaphor. Choosing a website builder is like selecting the headquarters for your business.
Some businesses would fare well in a coworking space, with high-speed internet and a no-hassle, fully furnished headquarters. It’s affordable, flexible in the short term, and easy to start. But the building isn’t yours, they can raise the rent, and you have to give up some control. For example, they may not let you paint the walls (use coding, plugins, or developer tools).
With growth in mind, some businesses should opt for something more permanent at the get-go, to build an infrastructure they never intend to move. The development cost may be a little more up front, but you’ll be thankful in the long run that the building is yours.
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