Which website builder is best for your wedding business or if you are a creative entrepreneur? I am breaking it all down for you.

As a wedding business owner or creative business, having a website is essential. It is another way for you to show up and get those dream clients. It is where they get to know you and where you share your best work. A website is like a book cover, and even though the saying says ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ in this case potential dream brides and couples are called to a beautiful website.

So much has changed in web over the years, and I am happy to report that all the newest platforms now provide a considerable amount of control over making updates to your website and the aesthetic. I started my web journey in high school with dreamweaver (totally dating myself I know) and quickly moved to WordPress. With almost two decades of web experience I want to help you choose the best website builder for you and your wedding biz or creative business.

Showit: A drag-and-drop website builder.
Showit was actually created for photographers and creatives. It is it’s own builder so with one monthly fee or an annual subscription they take care of hosting your website.

Showit by far is the easiest to use and learn platform and it is why it is now my number one choice. There is a learning curve and regardless of which builder you choose, putting a website together takes time. If you are up for learning and want full control over your website, Showit is the way to go.

You can also hire me to customize a template for you and save yourself loads of time. 😉

The one downside I have found with Showit is the SEO (search engine optimization) component. They have made improvements but it is very important that you do your keyword research to optimize your copy, properly name images, fill out the SEO section on each page and for your images.

It is also the reason I highly recommend upgrading to the Showit plan that includes a blog. The blog is actually done through WordPress and than it feeds your posts into your Showit website. Blogging is so good for SEO!

For mobile responsiveness, Showit has a wonderful side by side view while you design mobile and desktop views. It saves so much time. I have seen past complaints about Showit not showing up properly on android phones or tablets but I have not had issues yet. My feeling is this is where they have made a lot of improvements.

When it comes to ecommerce Showit seamlessly integrates with Shopify. My favorite ecommerce platform. I love that Shopify so easily integrates with Showit and you can’t tell the difference. Everything looks like it is all in one site and aesthetically is the winning choice.

They also offer 24/7 chat support which is a wonderful feature to have.

 

WordPress: The ability to have a drag and drop element or fully customizable with coding knowledge.

WordPress actually started out as a blogging platform and quickly became the go to as a website builder. It has a lot of add ons called plugins where you can have the ability to drag-and-drop. Elementor and Visual Composer are my two favorites. 

WordPress is not a standalone builder so you do need to pay a separate company to host your website. I am a huge fan of SiteGround and Get Flywheel. You also run the risk of having issues with plugins that have conflicts with each other and with WordPress you have to keep the versions and plugins up to date or you run a high risk of having your website hacked.

WordPress is more difficult without having coding knowledge and being tech savvy. It is a good choice for a business looking for something completely custom that can also have a marketing agency manage the updates and upkeep of the website. For any wedding business or creative biz, Showit is the winner.

The plus side in WordPress is the SEO (search engine optimization) component. Since it started out as a blogging platform they did this part very well and there are great plugins to make your SEO even more robust. I love the SEO plugin Yoast.

The other benefit is that you have your website and blog all in one place.

I you use one of the drag-and-drop builders like Elementor, the mobile responsiveness is pretty accurate and what is nice is you get to view changes across desktop and mobile. However I still have found issues and usually need to customize certain aspects just for mobile which can end up being very time consuming. 

There is also no support with WordPress, and that has always been one of the biggest downsides.

Squarespace: another all-in-one solution and is a lot like Showit.

I still choose Showit over Squarespace though I know many love it. I found it lacks in control over design and because it’s source code is not as open ended, making customizations can be a huge pain.

The key here is finding a template you love and sticking to that look exactly as it comes or hiring a designer with experience who can easily make those customizations for you. There are a lot of beautiful templates to choose from some super talented Squarespace designers.

I have also found on the SEO side they are just not as strong.

This is a great platform for artists or to use just for a portfolio where the images speak and you just need a very basic website.

That covers it! Showit is the winner for me and I am so glad I made the switch. If you want to chat web or have any questions, click here and send me a DM.