What is the Best Website Builder for Small Business?

your founder, chloe

On this side of the blog, you’ll find education in all realms of business – website design, branding, marketing, copywriting and search engine optimization. If you’re a client, you may even see your project highlighted so others can see! Either way, there’s loads to see here. Team Chloe Creative welcomes you!

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When you start your business, you’ll want to get a website up immediately. And we’re not suggesting that just because we’re a design team – we recommend it for all business owners! As you do your research, you might find that the best website builder for small business is WordPress. We’d agree! In this post, we’re chatting about WordPress and what platform to turn to if it’s not for you (and it might not be).

Best free website builder for small business

As a new business owner, you might be trying to keep costs down as you find your footing. This is totally okay! I am a firm believer that you can definitely compromise on some items within your business as you first start it off.

However, one of the things you don’t want to “cheap out” on is your website host or builder. For example – many business owners like to kickstart their first business website with a builder like Wix. They have a free plan that you can start with but does include Wix advertising on your website.

There are many website builders out there, but Wix is not one that we’d recommend. Why? Because they actually own your website! And – they make it nearly impossible to transfer content away to another website builder should you want to or if you outgrew your Wix plan.

All in all, we highly recommend not going with one of the free website builders out there.

Paid website builders that we’d recommend

Now, let’s talk paid website builders that our team would recommend.

As you do your research, you’ll find that there are a lot of options to choose from. You may see:

  • Squarespace
  • WordPress
  • Wix
  • GoDaddy (definitely not)
  • Webflow
  • Showit
  • And more!

There are scenarios where we may recommend one of these over the other – but 99.9% of the time we are recommending either Squarespace or WordPress.

For one, these are the platforms that have been in existence the longest. This doesn’t go to say that individuals cannot trust a new platform, but it does mean that the support on these platforms are far more advanced than newer platforms.

Sometimes, we’d recommend Squarespace to business owner whereas another we’d recommend WordPress. This is why having a discovery call with our team is so crucial, because we truly custom-cater every decision specific to your needs.

Why WordPress is the best website builder for small business

In this section, I want to cover the highest overview points of why we believe WordPress is the best website builder for small business. Please keep in mind that you, as a small business owner, may not place importance on some of these features. If that’s you, maybe Squarespace is the better choice for you.

Very well-known platform

WordPress was one of the very first website platforms released in 2003. 2003! Can you even believe that?!

Although we don’t knock newer platforms like Showit or Webflow, with a more well-known website platform, you have more opportunity for support and knowledge when you need help on development.

This is a key factor to consider because should you or your website developer run into issues, a quick Google search can normally help you to find a solution. On newer platforms, it may require a custom-solution or a harder-to-find option.

Organic growth potential

One of the main reasons business owners choose WordPress as the best website builder for small business is because of the potential for organic growth on Google Search.

At our studio, we love using Elementor as the website builder of choice via WordPress. If you are unsure what we mean by “website builder” consider reviewing our website terms blogpost.

Anyway – based on a 2021 study, websites on WordPress who use Elementor tend to score higher in organic search. But that’s not all – WordPress compared to other platforms is a significant factor as well.

best website builder for small business chart

Plugin capabilities

My personal favorite thing about WordPress is the plugin capabilities. A plugin is essentially an installed add-on (can be paid or free) that provides you a functionality that you’d desire. For example: analytics tracking, membership hosting, SEO tools and more.

The opportunities that WordPress provides to small businesses is truly endless. However, it’s important to note that not all plugins are compatible with your theme and/or builder and the more you have installed on your website, the slower it can become.

In short: be selective with what plugins you have enabled and be sure to keep them updated.

When our team would suggest Squarespace

As briefly noted above, there are times where we’d recommend Squarespace to an individual over WordPress. If you went through the above notes and felt those capabilities aren’t suitable for your small business, consider using Squarespace.

Less technology focus

If you are in individual who struggles with technology, Squarespace is a great option for you. Normally on discovery calls we like to gauge your comfortability with editing your current website and/or using technology by asking you to rate yourself on a scale out of 10.

If you find yourself 6 or below, we’d recommend Squarespace.

Squarespace has it’s own grid builder that makes it an easy editor for most individuals. This might be the best website builder for small business if you find yourself needing something less technological.

Newer to websites in general

Secondly, if you are new to websites, Squarespace is a good starter platform. With WordPress, there will be a learning curve and a lot of our clients find themselves “intimidated” with the editor. Rest assured, we always provide website tutorials to help you edit your website (Squarespace and WordPress both).

However, if you are a new business owner, it might be wise to spend time focusing on the growth of your business versus learning technology that you may never fully understand.

We’d recommend in this scenario to start on Squarespace, and after a few years, consider moving to WordPress to really optimize on your SEO strategy.

Conclusion

If you are new in business or someone who has had a website for years, finding the right website platform is essential to it’s growth and success.

Finding what features and capabilities will best suit you will be determined by a little research. We encourage all of our clients to dive into either WordPress or Squarespace and pick one that you truly feel comfortable working in. All in all – you will be the one editing or adding blogposts.

If you’d like us to decide for you, we’d suggest WordPress. If you feel comfortable around technology and want many features, this will set you up for success.

When you are unsure, book a discovery call with our team to chat about your preferences and we can help you decide what the best website builder for small business is for you.

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