Web Development and Design Honesty
I’m a firm believer that one should test tools before judging them, so years ago, I built test websites for myself on both Wix and Weebly to see what they offered. The final conclusion? They were fine. However, if a web designer tells you they’re going to build you a “custom website” using Wix or Weebly, that’s not fine. Those platforms are okay if you’re creating a portfolio site (unless you’re creating one as a web designer, developer, marketer, or anything else related to being online because I promise you the hiring manager will see that and ignore you). If you’re running a business and want to be able to customize your website, WordPress is likely your best friend. Let’s get into it.
Content Management Systems (CMS) vs. Website Builders
WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS), which means it’s a platform that allows us to build websites and create content for publishing online. Page builders are typically used to design sites on WordPress and these websites are completely customizable. While you don’t technically need coding experience to design a site with WordPress, I wouldn’t recommend diving into WordPress without knowing what you’re doing or hiring a professional who does.
Wix and Weebly are website builders. These allow you to build a website without much, if any, coding experience.
Website Design and Creative Control
With WordPress, the general idea is if you can think of a design or function, you can make it happen on an actual website. That doesn’t mean it won’t cost money and take time, but the best thing about WordPress is that it’s truly customizable. You can use plugins, themes, integrations, and/or code to create the reality you dream up. Themes are available to help get the design started and are available from trusted third-party libraries.
Wix and Weebly, on the other hand, rely on templates to create a site. Wix has over 800 templates, so there is a huge selection, whereas Weebly has over 50. Their drag-and-drop editors are fairly easy to use, but you’re pretty limited by their options and won’t be able to completely customize your site.
Plugins and Apps
WordPress boasts a plugin library of 54,000+ options, both free and paid. If this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry, because that’s why we’re here. Any web designer worth their paycheck can list the handful of plugins they use on every site off the top of their head. Additionally, when we need to find a new plugin, knowing what to look for when researching it comes in handy. In short, experience is everything. On a personal note, my favorite plugins multi-task like crazy, which means I don’t have to overload websites with a bunch of weight.
Wix and Weebly both offer 300+ plugins and apps, both free and paid. If you’re building your own small site and don’t want to research as many plugins, I can definitely see why this would be a draw.
SEO and Google Ranking
There’s so much nuance when it comes to SEO and the old way of thinking is that sites from Wix and Weebly are ignored by Google. Today, we know better because we know more. Google’s John Mueller was asked about Wix, specifically, in 2021. He said, “Wix is fine for SEO. A few years back, it was pretty bad in terms of SEO, but they’ve made fantastic progress and are now a fine platform for business.” If one of the most trusted people from Google says it, we should be taking it as truth. While he didn’t mention Weebly, the same is likely true for those sites, as well.
Back to the nuance of SEO. My theory is that these sites aren’t often seen ranking highly on Google because of the following main reasons:
- They’re smaller sites with less content
- People running these sites aren’t as well-versed in SEO as those running WordPress sites
As for WordPress sites, they’re arguably the standard in the mix and when content and SEO are handled appropriately, Google will be paying attention. Again, there’s so much that goes into SEO and ranking that it’s tough to get into all right here, so if you’re interested in learning more about things like what Google wants from your website or tips on local SEO, check out those blogs.
Leave Web Design to the Pros
Years ago, when I worked at a large web design and marketing company, I was guilty of having blinders on when it came to other options for building a website. Wix and Weebly aren’t terrible options. You can create cute and functional websites there with little knowledge of web design. The issues arrive when your business starts to grow and you can’t make the necessary changes you inevitably need to make along the way.
Web Content Matters
Don’t sleep on content and SEO when it comes to web design and development, either. You can design the prettiest site ever but if the content and SEO are trash, so is the website.
Work with Green Ivy Creative
Anyhoo, hit me up if you’re ready to chat about a new site! Obviously, it’ll be WordPress.