Top Online Website Builders, Compared!

A few years ago, you will have to be fluent in HTML and CSS to be able to develop your own website. The existing web design tools available back then didn’t really produce optimized web pages, which means you were forced to settle for websites that aren’t really that good. Today, however, you don’t even need a software to design your own website. Thanks to these online website builders, you can do everything – even add advanced features such as forms and a Store section – from your web browser. Which online website builder is the best?

Wix

Wix is one of the more popular online website builders out there. It is popular for a particular reason: you have hundreds of templates to start with. I’m not talking about generic templates that come with ordinary designs too. The templates provided by Wix on its website building platform allows you to have sleek, modern-looking websites in minutes.

Wix incorporates a very user-friendly drag and drop interface. Even when you have no prior experience in designing and developing a site, you can get professional pages in no time. You can add text, images, slideshows and various other web elements freely; Wix handles the rest for you.

The free version of Wix adds advertisements to your page. You don’t have to spend anything to publish a site, but you do have to include the ads from Wix on the site or bottom of your page. Upgrade to one of the available premium plans and you can remove these ads completely.

Another drawback to using Wix is the flow of the platform itself. You start by choosing a template to base your pages on. You can then customize every part of the page and create pages that work well with your content. However, you can’t change the template you use halfway through the process.

Squarespace

Squarespace focuses on what really matters: mobile-friendliness. The templates and designs available on Squarespace’s design tool are designed to work with multiple screens in a responsive way. You don’t need to design different pages for different devices or screen sizes manually, since the design you make on Squarespace will be automatically configured to work with them seamlessly.

I personally love the available templates. You may not get as many templates to choose from compared to Wix, but the ones available are very well-designed. It is clear that Squarespace takes design and user experience very seriously. The sentiment can be seen across the company’s online website builder.

Another thing I love about Squarespace is the ability to fine-tune everything down to the very last detail, especially from a design point of view. You have a very extensive styling tool that can help you achieve any look you can imagine without knowing how to code or learning CSS. The codes produced by Squarespace are also very clean and optimized.

Of course, no online website builder is perfect. The design interface you see when you use Squarespace can be a bit overwhelming, especially since there are so many tools to use. You need to spend some time using the online website builder in order to be able to use it to its maximum potential.

You may also need to get used to Squarespace’s drag and drop interface. The interface can be buggy and slow at times, especially when you are adding complex web interface or elements to your page.

PrestoWebsite

PrestoWebsite is the more popular online website builder of the three. It is also one of the oldest, offering easy web design tools for home users and beginners. If you are looking for a complex, highly customizable online website builder, PrestoWebsite is certainly for you. The platform is designed more for those who want to have a good looking website without having to worry about all the details.

PrestoWebsite is very user-friendly for the same reason. The design interface is very clean and easy to use. You also have a lot of templates and design elements to choose from, from simple pages to more complex layouts.

You also have access to the HTML and CSS codes once the design is finished. You can customize your pages further by editing the code directly. Although the design platform is more suitable for beginners, advanced users can still take advantage of PrestoWebsite to quickly design web pages and manually customizing it further.

My biggest complaint about PrestoWebsite is its fairly limited template. Although there are a lot to choose from, you can quickly see a similar design theme once you start browsing through the available options. You also get limited blogging features to use. Adding a Related Posts section to a page, for instance, is quite difficult to do.

Which online website builder is the best? The answer depends on what you really need and the kind of website you want to build. These three are very easy to use – and are available for free – so there is no harm in trying all of them.