Every company needs a website, and as a marketing firm, you are the go-to resource for helping businesses create one that is aesthetically pleasing, expertly designed, user-friendly, and conversion-focused.
Fortunately, it’s not as difficult to create a website now as it was when Myspace and HTML forums were popular.
Today, all it takes to create a modern, polished website is to select your preferred website builder, drag and drop some components, and publish.
However, how do you choose a website builder? What should you do if your client requests a feature that the software platform upon which their website is based doesn’t offer?
The truth is that not all website builders are created equal, and each has a special set of applications and niches. Today, I’m going to discuss how to select the simplest website builder for your requirements by going over:
• There are four things to take into account when deciding which website builder(s) to concentrate on.
• The top 7 website building options, along with each one’s benefits and drawbacks.
• Where each website builder stands in terms of their areas of expertise.
Let’s get started…
How to Choose the Best Website Builder for Your Agency: 4 Things to Take into Account
Every website builder has a specific area of expertise, so you must be aware of these areas in order to best meet the needs of your customers (or even your own company).
The same goes for website builders and website-building principles. You shouldn’t use the same marketing strategies for drastically different businesses. Small brick-and-mortar bakeries have different website requirements than Fortune 500 companies or online clothing retailers.
There are a few important factors to take into account in order to choose the best website builder to use for a particular client, which is outlined below.
• The business’s niche: Finding the business’s niche is the most logical place to start. Is it large or modest? What sector does it belong to? What demographic is it aiming for? Due to the fact that many website builders are designed to support particular niches, such as small businesses or e-commerce, this alone can help you narrow down your options.
• The needs of the company’s website: Next, consider what the company hopes to achieve with its website. Are they a physical store that only requires a website to lay out the foundation of their goal and business? Or are you collaborating with a company that was built entirely online and relies solely on its website to generate revenue? The features your website builder will require will depend on this.
• Time and financial commitment: There are times when a client’s needs don’t quite match the budget, timeline, or even the level of expertise your agency provides. For example, asking a marketing firm without a full team of developers to create a fully customized 100+ page site with numerous custom-coded features is unrealistic, especially if the client needs it finished in a matter of weeks. Look for a website-building solution that offers a compromise between the client’s wildest expectations and what you can deliver.
• What do you want your website services to look like: Finally, all of your client’s needs have to be weighed against what’s realistic for your agency to offer. While you can offer to build anyone’s website on any platform they want, it’s usually best to train your team on a few solid platforms that work well for most of the clients you target. This is because it allows you to provide more in-depth service.
The Top 7 Website Builders and What They’re Good For
#1 The most flexible website builder: WordPress
Did you know that WordPress powers 43% of all websites on the internet?
With good reason, WordPress is one of the most widely used website builders worldwide. It is incredibly flexible and can be used to create any type of website, whether you need a straightforward website with five to ten pages or a complicated one with hundreds
In terms of adaptability and customization, WordPress excels. With an open-source architecture, WordPress offers tens of thousands of themes, plug-ins, and customizability options that can give your website practically any functionality you can think of.
The drawback is that everything is very do-it-yourself. To create a fully functional, expert-level website, you must be knowledgeable about how WordPress functions and have a basic understanding of basic code.
WordPress can be made simpler, though, by using page builders. BeaverBuilder is among the best page builders available. A drag-and-drop website builder called BeaverBuilder can be used with WordPress to make the process of creating a website simpler and more user-friendly.
It eliminates the need for writing any code and enables the creation of stunning pages without any prior design or coding knowledge. This makes it a fantastic choice for those who want WordPress customization but lack the technical know-how.
#2 The simplest website builder for new users: Wix
For those just starting out and on a tight budget, Wix is one of the most popular website builders. Wix makes building a website simple and accessible for those without any technical knowledge or design experience thanks to its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
When it comes to customization, Wix has some restrictions. Although the templates are attractive, few of them can be significantly changed, and there isn’t much room to include unique widgets, features, or performance tracking. If you decide to upgrade to a different website builder, it’s also nearly impossible to migrate a website from Wix—you’d have to start from scratch.
So, while Wix is a great option for small business owners who just need to establish a web presence, personal portfolios or websites, or other small projects, it may not be the best choice for larger businesses or those who need more complex features and functionality.
#3 The simplest website builder focused on design: Squarespace
A website builder that is extremely comparable to Wix is Squarespace. It was made with users without any previous web design or development skills in mind and is comparatively user-friendly. Although some packages are slightly more expensive than Wix, it is offered at prices that are quite close to Wix.
Similar to Wix, it provides a number of basic built-in features, such as analytics and e-commerce capabilities, that are more than sufficient to meet the demands of a small business or startup.
The main thing that differentiates Squarespace from Wix is that it’s a bit more design-oriented and has a more premium feel.
Squarespace is renowned for its slick, fashionable templates that make it simple and low-effort to give your website a professionally designed appearance. Comparing it to Wix’s drag-and-drop editor, which lets you place elements wherever you want, its block-based editor makes it harder to mess up the appearance of the templates. For those who want a well-designed website without having to put in any creative effort, this is fantastic.
So, Squarespace is an excellent option if you want a stylish website with basic functionality and don’t want to give it any thought. The wisest course of action, however, might be to choose a different course of action for larger companies with more complicated needs or clients with extremely specific creative visions.
#4 The Easiest Website Builder for Performance: Leadpages
Leadpages is ideal for creating entire websites, even though it’s typically advertised as a landing page builder.
In fact, it’s what the website for AutoGrow employs. A website builder called Leadpages is made especially for performance-driven websites that want to maximize leads, sales, and conversions. Because of this, it is the ideal option for marketing firms, coaches, and any other company interested in boosting conversion rates primarily through their website rather than through other channels.
Making landing pages and sales funnels is where Leadpages excels. Its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface makes it simple to create pages that are optimized to produce any outcome you desire. To create a seamless, end-to-end sales process for your clients, you can also integrate Leadpages with a wide range of other tools and platforms, including email marketing software, webinar platforms, and payment gateways.
So, if you’re concerned with tracking performance and want a website that functions as a revenue generator, Leadpages may be the way to go.
#5 The easiest website builder for e-commerce: is Shopify.
One of the most widely used e-commerce website builders today is Shopify, largely because of how simple and quick it is to set up. With Shopify, the typical person can quickly and easily create a professional-looking online store that has all the bells and whistles required to process payments, track inventory, and handle other operational duties.
For companies of all sizes, but especially for small- to medium-sized companies, Shopify is a fantastic choice. It offers a variety of features and integrations that make managing an online store simple, such as:
• Inventory control
• Processing payments.
• Management and tracking of orders
• Modifiable storefront layout
• SEO and marketing tools
Due to Shopify’s high scalability, you can expand your clients’ online stores and add new features and integrations as their business expands. Because of this, it’s an excellent long-term option for online businesses. Of course, it also provides a respectable range of store templates and designs so that users can alter the branding of the website.
So if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to create an e-commerce website, Shopify is definitely the easiest website builder out there.
#6. The Best Ecommerce Website Builder for Larger Businesses: BigCommerce
Like Wix and Squarespace, Shopify and BigCommerce share a lot of similarities. They are both designed for e-commerce businesses and offer the same basic services in terms of design and customization options and extra features to help users run their businesses. They can also both accommodate growth and scalability without sacrificing performance or user experience.
However, if you’re working with a larger client, BigCommerce is the way to go.
BigCommerce also offers a wide range of integrations with popular e-commerce tools such as payment gateways, shipping carriers, and marketing tools. This integration saves businesses time and effort, as they no longer need to spend time managing multiple tools and services.
Finally, another key aspect of BigCommerce is its security. It has a strong focus on ensuring the security of customer data, so businesses can feel confident in their website and the information they are collecting.
#7 The Best Option for Large Companies: Building From Scratch
Lastly, you might consider doing away with website builders altogether and starting from scratch with your own development team.
In order to create a website from scratch, you must have advanced coding knowledge, which either requires hours (or, more likely, months or years) of learning or the hiring of a costly team of developers.
It’s better to just use website builders when you consider that the majority of clients don’t actually require websites that are so customized and intricate that creating them from scratch is necessary.
Building from scratch, however, makes sense in one situation: when working with very large organizations.
Large corporations frequently hire their own team of developers to create a website from scratch if they need one with extremely complex functionality and design.
This is done in order to give them the most control possible over the layout, features, and analytics of the website. This is also true for businesses operating in highly specialized or regulated fields that require elaborate, unique systems or features for their websites but which are inaccessible through website builders.
So go ahead and put together a team to create websites from scratch if you want to specialize in developing websites for Fortune 500 companies or a highly specialized industry. However, it’s best to pass on this choice if you’re working with typical clients who require standard websites. The success of your clients’ businesses online, and consequently, their satisfaction with your services, depends on choosing the right website builder for their needs.
From versatile builders like WordPress, budget-friendly options like Wix and Squarespace, and highly specialized builders like Shopify or Leadpages, there’s a builder out there for every client.
• Thoroughly comprehend the needs and objectives of your client’s websites so you can provide the best possible service.
• Recognize the market niche that each website builder serves so you will know when to recommend them to your clients.
• Take into account the constraints on what your agency is able to accomplish, and only suggest solutions that are compatible with their resources, schedule, and level of expertise.
What website builders have you tried? Which one did you have the most success with?
Let me know in the comments below.
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