Best Websites for Small Business
October 12, 2022
The process of creating a website for your business is a great opportunity and also it is exciting, however, this process also has difficulties and it is hard to start because all the things are new. For example, check if the payment is working fine for your business and your customers, organize the website, the things you want to show there, the sub-pages, etc.; the good news is that there are amazing platforms that help you to create your website, with a lot of features for all your needs.
The best to look for in a website builder
There are many platforms that can help you to create your business website online. We can check some of them based on four criteria: price, ease of use, number of features, and level of customization offered. These are the best criteria to consider when you are creating your business website for the first time.
Price
In the growth phase the best option is to keep the costs as low as possible, there are many options the providers help you to start your website, some of them have the domain for the first year free or cheap plans using ads.
Ease of use
With or without experience in web design, it is important that not only during the process of creating the page is easy but always, to keep everything organized in the best way.
Features
It is very important to know what type of customer support options the company offers, as well as how payment processing and other additional features offered by their website builder tool work.
Level of customization
It is very important to know the design options they offer to make your store stand out on the various platforms, as some are limited in the creative flexibility they offer and have their own level of customization.
Let’s take a look of the best ecommerce platforms to build your website:
- Shopify
This is one of the best platforms to create your website, Shopify helps to set up a custom domain name and web hosting services, as well as grow with each stage your business grows. It also offers free marketing features for social media, email marketing, website chat, and more. You can click here to create your ecommerce.
Price: You have a 14-day free trial with no down payment required, where you can check out all the features. Other plans are, Basic Shopify costs $29 per month, Shopify costs $79 per month, and Advanced Shopify costs $299 per month.
Ease of use: The tools are intuitive and if needed you can access the extensive help center, forum or 24/7 support.
Features: It has customer support available 24/7; 100 mobile friendly themes; free SSL certificate; more than 4000 easily integrated tools; as well as reports and analysis; among other great features for your site.
Level of customization: The templates are easily customizable, you can also access the HTML and CSS for more control.
- Big Cartel
In case you want to have a custom domain as an alternative to Etsy, Big Cartel is the right choice.
Price: It is free for up to five products, other plans are Platinum (50 products) is $9.99 per month, Diamond (250 products) is $19.99 per month, and Titanium (500 products) is $29.99 per month.
Ease of use: It’s a bit difficult here to scale this to more channels than just the web, however it’s easy to set up the web page.
Features: Customer support is available 7 days a week during these hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET You can put up to 5 photos per product; have a custom domain; be able to connect to Google Analytics; and also themes to customize.
Level of customization: The pre-built themes are easy to use, or you can design your own themes however you like.
- Wix
Wix has different prices depending on your needs and it is easy to create your page here, and in case you need more information to create your website you can click here.
Price: Business Basic is $23 per month, Business Unlimited is $27 per month, and Business VIP is $49.99 per month.
Ease of use: Its editor is easy to use, it’s just drag and drop, making the whole process easier for you.
Features: Inventory management is a bit complicated, however, with Unlimited and VIP plans you can use advanced features like dropshipping and tax automation; recurring payment options; 24/7 customer support; and also integrate shopping on Facebook, eBay, Instagram and Google Shopping.
Level of customization: It has more than 800 templates, and you can personalized using the drag and drop option.
- Squarespace:
To create a site quickly and customize it very little, Squarespace is a good option since it has simple and beautiful themes and is very useful for the sale of physical services, for example, to reserve and buy in a Spa.
Price: Basic Commerce plan is $30 per month, and the Advanced Commerce plan is $46 per month and saves around 30% if you have a subscription on the plans for one year.
Ease of use: It’s very simple to use, and in case you need help, the company offers webinars, a help center, and a forum.
Features: It is used to sell physical goods or services; unlimited products; drag and drop option to customize templates; inventory management and notifications; and Stripe and Paypal integrations.
Level of customization: The templates can be customized and if you want you can access the code, also the styles you choose will be uniform throughout the site, which limits editing a bit.
- GoDaddy
This platform, GoDaddy, uses artificial intelligence to design your website in a faster way, however, their designs are a bit simple.
Price: Offers a Basic plan for $6.99 per month, Standard plans are $10.49 per month, and Premium plans are $13.99 per month, or in case you want ecommerce functionality, there is a plan for $14.99 per month.
Ease of use: For beginners with no coding experience, the platform is easy to use.
Features: It has more than 100 templates; it can be integrated with Instagram and Facebook and also, payment options with Google Pay and Venmo.
Level of customization: The designs offered are simple, and it is easy to customize.
- Duda
Here in Duda you can easily create widgets and brand your site, as well as customize using templates, with plenty of creative options to use.
Price: Basic ($14 per month), Team ($22 per month), and Agency ($44 per month) and if you want a subscription for one year you can save 25%.
Ease of use: You can easily customize the templates and also use the drag and drop option.
Features: It has a photo editor and also more than 100 types of fonts, you can create widgets and activate pop-up messages and promotions.
Level of customization: You can only customize inside the template, not outside, still very easy to use and customize.
- Webflow
Webflow has several options for you to customize your website, and offers complex functionality for web developers and designers who want to create without limitations.
Price: You can create a website for free, or also it offers plans that start at $12 per month and ecommerce plans that start at $29 per month.
Ease of use: It offers previews to make sure what is going to be published, which is very easy, and you have access to more than 25 templates that can be adapted to your business.
Features: You can collaborate with colleagues on the design; also a version history so you can see who changed what and when; as well as you can optimize for SEO.
Level of customization: Website interactions, page transitions and animations can be created visually.
- Weebly
In case you don’t need your own domain and don’t mind ads, Weebly works for bloggers, freelance portfolios, or simple shopping carts if you want to sell products.
Price: There is a basic ecommerce account for free, however, there are plans Personal plan is $9 per month, or $6 per month billed annually, Professional plan is $16 per month, or $12 per month billed annually and Performance plan is $29 per month, or $26 per month billed annually.
Ease of use: It is very easy to use and customize.
Features: With the option of drag and drop it is easy to use; creator of coupons for promotions; custom themes; Inventory management; product editor; and also integration with PayPal, Stripe and Square.
Level of customization: It’s easy to use with a theme and customize it with your brand colors, custom fonts, video and animation backgrounds, as well as access to HTML and CSS.
- 3dcart
If you don’t mind using a pre-made template 3dcart is a good option, however you need a bit of knowledge to edit the HTML.
Price: It has a 15-day free trial and plans start at $29 per month, as well as a free premium plan using the Shift4Shop payment processor.
Ease of use: It can be a bit complicated to use, but if you have a bit of knowledge it’s easy.
Features: It has customizable themes; chat customer service; inventory synced with eBay and Facebook; more than 160 payment and financing options.
Level of customization: It has themes to customize and with a payment method, and in case of further customization, you can access the HTML.
- Volusion
Volusion has built-in analytics tools and can be integrated with Fullstory and Google Analytics for building your business.
Price: With a free trial for 14 days, then you can select the best plan for you, the Personal plan is $26 per month, the Professional plan is $71 per month, the Startup plan is $161/month, and the Business plan is $269 per month.
Ease of use: It’s easy to use, however if you want to use more design elements it can get complicated.
Features: It has customer service by phone and chat; also with Apple Pay, Stripe and PayPal payment method integrations; bulk orders; zero transaction fees; as well as integration with essential tools like Google Analytics, Fullstory and Pinterest; and the drag and drop to edit option.
Level of customization: You can choose paid and free themes and customize them to your liking depending on the options offered on the platform.
- WordPress
WordPress is open source software, which you can update and if you have programming knowledge you can create it, also you can edit your homepage.
Price: You can have a free trial to check all the features, or use the plans, the Business plan is $33 per month and the ecommerce plan is $59 per month.
Ease of use: It can be a bit difficult at first, then it depends on the customization you want to use, it is very functional.
Features: To have all the features, you can set up an ecommerce plugin like WooCommerce; with over 50,000 plugins; and marketing and SEO tools.
Level of customization: It can be configured by accessing the HTML, as well as adding the logo, brand colors and brand font with ease; but even so, to add more configurations, you must have programming knowledge.
