(Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Q: I’m trying to decide which tools to use to build my business website. What’s the difference between Wix, Weebly and WordPress for a novice?
A: In the past, it was nearly impossible for someone with no coding experience to create their own website, but that’s not the case anymore.
Two of the tools you listed, Wix and Weebly, are great for beginners, while WordPress would be a bit overwhelming for someone with no web coding experience.
Even though you’ll be able to create a website for your business with one of the DIY platforms, there’s a lot more to the process than that.
Registering a Domain
If you haven’t already acquired a domain, I would start by checking to see if the address you’d like to use is available.
You’ll pay about $12 per year for each domain name from providers like Google Domains and GoDaddy.
If you want to protect your brand, consider registering more than just the .com version so competitors can’t make use of the .net or .org. If you plan on doing business internationally, you may want to grab the .us version as well.
If your business name is commonly misspelled, you may want to register the misspelled versions of your domain and consider whether both the singular and plural versions are relevant.
Creating the Content
No matter which tool you decide to use, you’ll have to think about what you want to say about your business.
Start by thinking through your site menu so visitors can quickly navigate to the proper section.
Once you have your navigation menu, I’d recommend gathering your images, logos and text in one place on your computer.
Remember, the more content about your business you create, the more there is for Google to index, which can result in more organic search traffic to your site. More is better when it comes to descriptive text on every page, just make sure it’s relevant to what your visitors seek to learn about you.
Wix vs Weebly
Both of these options are very easy for anyone to use and allow you to get started for free, but your type of business, the size of your website and whether you want to use the e-commerce option will be important factors for which is better for you.
Wix has more themes to choose from and has more flexibility in the customization of their themes and support many more languages for those with international needs.
While Wix has many more themes, if you decide to switch to another theme, your content won’t automatically get transferred, so you’ll be starting over. Weebly retains all your content when you switch themes making it easier to change your mind.
Weebly has more flexibility in the sub-menu levels, which can be important if your website is going to be very large. It’s also far superior for those wanting to incorporate e-commerce into their website.
Both of these platforms provide Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools which are critically important to use so your website can be found. If you’re in a very competitive industry, you may want to hire a professional to assist you in this area.