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Website Builders Spark — squarespace — wix — wordpress

There are dozens of website builders out there, each claiming to do the same thing but better. So many platforms means that choosing which one to use is often very difficult, especially for beginners.

Here, we've compiled information on the most popular website building platforms.

Scroll for overviews and pros and cons of each!

Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark is a multifaceted platform that allows its users to create graphics, short videos, social media posts, and — last but not least — websites.

Types of templates available on Spark.

Included with any Creative Cloud subscription or available separately, Adobe Spark makes building websites quick and easy with its ready-made templates for anything from portfolio sites to presentations. These templates make building your website as simple as possible, prompting you to add photos, videos, or text at the end of each section, and it can only be built to be a scrolling page (like this one). For those looking to add more media to their websites, Adobe Spark also has built in photo grids or "glideshows" that can be added in-line with your text.

Spark's available options for what you can add to your website.

Pros:

  • Simple and elegant. The templates guide you and it doesn't take a lot of time
  • Templates can also be modified by a variety of different themes which quickly change the mood or style of the site without changing its layout
  • Comes free with any Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
  • User-friendly interface allows you to navigate options easily — it's pretty self-explanatory
  • Integrated with Lightroom and Creative Cloud Libraries, as well as Adobe Stock for any images you wish to add

Cons:

  • An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription can be pricey (but you can also get a more limited version of Spark for free, or the full version as a standalone subscription for $9.99 a month)
  • It does not give you the option to add your own domain to the site (any site you make will be www.spark.adobe.com/page... etc, rather than a personalized domain name)
  • Spark does not support unlimited bandwidth on its sites
  • Limited to single-page, scrolling sites
  • In designing, you are mostly limited to the templates and themes provided

Squarespace

Squarespace is a subscription-based website builder that allows you to create professional-looking websites for anything from portfolios to e-commerce.

Examples of businesses and creatives that Squarespace supports.

Squarespace's main appeal comes from the dozens of templates available to choose from, ranging from templates for non-profits to fitness sites, and from gaming to personal portfolios. Each of these can be multi-page websites that can be rearranged to best fit the needs of your site. Users also have the option to start with a blank site and build it from scratch. In addition, Squarespace provides its users with a free domain name for the first year of subscription, giving their websites added professionalism. With Squarespace, you can also add more specialized tools to your website than with something simpler like Spark, such as forums, online shops, blog pages, or private pages that require a password to access.

Some templates and template categories.

Pros:

  • Dozens of templates to choose from, and they're very customizeable from within the website builder
  • Easy to create multi-page websites for bigger projects or portfolios
  • The website builder uses AI to help design and streamline the site
  • Subscribers have the ability to link an existing domain name or purchase one through Squarespace itself
  • You can embed various aspects such as blogs, forums, password-protected pages, online shops, contact forms, or slideshows
  • Intuitive website builder makes for a relatively user-friendly experience
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Creates a mobile site automatically

Cons:

  • Requires a subscription which can be pricey ($16/month for personal accounts), but there is availability for a 14-day free trial
  • Managing the multiple pages may come with more difficulty than managing a single-page website builder
  • The free domain only lasts for one year, afterwards you'll need to buy it from Squarespace or another domain-seller
  • Because it is a subscription service, the website belongs ultimately to Squarespace, not the subscriber themselves (like renting a house!)
  • The use of pre-made templates could hinder originality in sites

Wix

Wix is a free website builder that allows you to grow your site from one of their templates or to have the website made for you.

How to create a Wix website, according to their homepage.

Wix websites can be used as anything from blogs to event announcements, and the platform offers two different website builders: one for those without coding experience, Wix ADI, or for those with coding experience who want to create their site from scratch, Corvid by Wix. Like Squarespace, Wix also allows options for blogs, forums, and online shops from within your site. You can also get one of various premium subscriptions that come with more bandwidth, storage, and video minutes. These also remove the Wix ads that would be present on a free site and, and depending on the subscription, different options for ads or "website boosters" to grow the site online.

Some of the several templates available to Wix users.

Pros:

  • 15 different pre-made template categories to choose from, including Events, Businesses, and Portfolio & CV
  • Multi-page websites!
  • The builder allows users to drag and drop images or other media straight into the site design, making customizing templates especially easy
  • E-commerce, blogs, and contact or other forms can all be added through the site builder
  • Allows you to connect a personal domain name
  • Creates a mobile site automatically (though they don't adjust to screen sizes or other differences across cellular devices)

Cons:

  • A free account does not create very professional websites, so most will need at least a basic subscription ($13/month for a personal website)
  • The websites made are not under the ownership of their creators, but of Wix (just like Squarespace, it's as though the site was rented)
  • Websites made on Wix don't have very high performance (which could negatively impact user experience and SEO, or search engine optimization)
  • For unlimited bandwidth and only one hour of video minutes, users must pay at least $17/month.

WordPress

WordPress, like Squarespace and Wix, allows users to create multi-page websites for online stores, portfolios, or blogs.

Companies using WordPress for their websites.

WordPress offers the opportunity to start with a free account, like Wix, and gives various types of subscriptions to grow from (the cheapest of which is $4/month for personal use). It is also the most popular website builder out there, powering and supporting 36% of the websites on the internet. The platform itself is used mostly for bloggers, though third-party sites offer other themes that can facilitate the creation of other types of websites. The platform also touts a 24/7 support service, which could be useful to the beginner website-maker.

Possible website options on WordPress.com.

Pros:

  • No paid subscription is necessary to WordPress.com (WordPress.org is different in that it requires users to pay for their web hosting, but allows them full control over their site)
  • There is a huge catalogue of themes from third-party users and WordPress itself to choose from (more flexibility in WordPress.org)
  • Fairly easy to use, though the flexibility of the platform leads to a greater learning curve than something with less flexibility (such as Squarespace)

Cons:

  • There is a difference between self-hosted websites from WordPress.org than the subscription-based websites hosted on WordPress.com, which have less flexibility and — like Squarespace and Wix — own the sites and content of its subscribers
  • Sites built with WordPress are known to use cheap hosting and, without the proper knowledge from users, can be extremely slow
  • 70% of sites on WordPress, according to a report from WPMudev.org, are vulnerable to hacker attacks.

More information can be found at...

  • WordPress.com or WordPress.org
  • Wix.com
  • Squarespace.com
  • Spark.adobe.com
  • https://medium.com/@alexsanchezdesigns/wordpress-vs-squarespace-vs-wix-which-is-the-best-option-aa0ca5fee237
  • https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-free-wordpress-com-infograph/?display=wide
  • https://www.wpbeginner.com/opinion/squarespace-vs-wordpress-which-one-is-better-pros-and-cons/
  • https://www.b12.io/l/15/adobe-spark/vs/wix
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