It is incredibly important to select the right platform for your new website at an early stage because the platform you decide to work on will largely define what you can and can’t do with your site in the future. In this article, we aim to help your decision-making process so that you are empowered to choose the best website platform for your current needs and what you might need from your website in the future.
We’ll cover capabilities, ease of use, flexibility, SEO features, and stability.
An Overview of the Most Popular Web-Building Platforms
WordPress
WordPress is arguably the single largest web-building platform that’s available. The statistics speak for themselves, as over 40% of all websites on the internet are built using the WordPress platform!
Why is it so pervasive? Well, it’s highly flexible, and because it's so popular, you can find a plugin for virtually any functionality. Wordpress also performs well in terms of SEO capabilities. If you need a high degree of customisation, then WordPress offers that too, and you can build anything from a large eCommerce site to a small portfolio showcase.
Drupal
Drupal is a favourite with developers because of its technical proficiency. Drupal is the ideal platform for complex sites that require advanced features and have high volumes of traffic. As with WordPress, Drupal performs well with SEO. On the side of drawbacks, Drupal certainly is more complicated to use than many of the leading web platforms. In short, if you don’t require advanced features and have no experience with web development, Drupal is probably not your best choice.
Shopify
If you wish to build an eCommerce site, it’s hard to beat Shopify. With payment handling and SEO that is aimed at online shops, Shopify is billed as a comprehensive eCommerce solution that offers everything, and largely that’s accurate. Shopify allows for customisable URLs, automatic sitemaps, and Google Analytics integration. If you are starting with a small online store but have ambitions to grow in the future, then Shopify is able to scale really easily too.
WooCommerce
As with Shopify, WooCommerce is a popular eCommerce solution with a lot to offer. WooCommerce is a plugin for the WordPress platform and therefore shares many of WordPress’s advantages and benefits. It’s less user-friendly than Shopify but doesn’t have the recurrent cost that Shopify does. Maintenance will be a bit more involved than Shopify, as security updates aren’t as frequent or comprehensive.
Magento
Magento is the grandaddy of eCommerce, offering everything on one single platform. It performs really well with SEO and is capable of scaling well, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. You’ll need an experienced web developer to help you get the full benefits of the Magento platform, and if you have a smaller online store, Magento is probably not the most suitable option.
Wix and Squarespace
Both Wix and Squarespace are template-based sites. They are firmly aimed at those who have very limited web-building experience. You essentially choose from a shop of templates and then tweak the design to your taste. A huge advantage is that you don’t need to know any programming languages or have any prior SEO knowledge, but if you want something a bit different, then a template isn’t going to be the best option. It’s also worth remembering that you can’t migrate a Wix or Squarespace site to another host or platform, so you’re effectively tied in for the life of your site.
Duda
The Duda platform is very much in the same vein as both Wix and Squarespace, being incredibly user-friendly and capable of producing great looking template based sites in a very short space of time. Duda does have the ability to edit sites directly with HTML / CSS, so technically you have a huge amount of scope to add custom scripts and even build fully bespoke sites. Duda is virtually bullet-proof too, so you don;t need to update with security patches and it's incredibly stable on all devices. Web Choice favours the use of the Duda platform for all small-scale sites.
Webflow
Webflow is a relative newcomer to the scene and bridges the gap between ease of use and a high level of customisation. Webflow has a really good CMS system that’s easy to use but also offers some advanced functionality, and it performs well with SEO.
HubSpot
HubSpot’s is a content management system that focuses on lead conversion. HubSpot’s CRM tools can generate extensive user data that can then be used to inform SEO strategies. HubSpot is a great marketing tool, but you might need help from a web marketing company to get the best results from it.
The platform you eventually decide to go with will define how scalable your website is, so it’s really important to plan in advance to ensure you aren’t limited by your platform in the future
It can be really helpful to talk to a consultant to establish the most suitable tools for your needs and discuss exactly what it is that you need from your site.
SEO and What You Need to Know Before You Build Your Site
All the platforms we’ve listed above have subtle differences in terms of SEO. URL customisation, for example, allows you to have more targeted URLs on your site. Google Analytics offers really valuable data on how well your site is performing, and mobile optimisation is vital for a good experience on smartphone devices. It’s considerations such as these that are really helpful to know at an early stage.
Ultimately, the most suitable platform for you will depend on what you need it to do, how much experience you have, what your budget is, and what your plans are for future growth.
WordPress is hard to beat in terms of flexibility, but Shopify is probably the best choice if you need an eCommerce site that’s easy to use and is highly scalable. Drupal and Magento can do it all but are predominantly suited to larger-scale sites and for those who have experience.
If you need further help or advice on which is the best web platform for you, please get in touch with the team at Web Choice.
