October 29, 2020
Showit VS Other Website Platforms – Pros and Cons of various website platforms in 2020.
You’ve got the business idea, the product, the Instagram handle and now you’re ready to dive into the world of websites – but where to start?!
With loads of website platform options out there, it can be hard to know if Showit is right for you. Not only is it newer than many other website platforms but it’s also harder to find resources on, which makes it tricky to figure out whether it’s right for your business.
I’ve already written a post about Why I love Showit, but I wanted to give you everything I know about Showit VS other website platforms so you can compare them for yourself.
Remember, while I’m comparing the most popular platforms here, there are literally hundreds of website platforms out there and there may be multiple that can achieve what you need, so don’t stress too much over making the ‘perfect’ decision.
Throughout your business lifetime, you may have to move website platforms a few times as your business grows and pivots, so try to choose the best one for you right now.
Showit
Showit.com is by far my favourite website platform in terms of flexibility and reliability. The platform is mainly targeting photographers, but with such creative freedom, I have built all types of websites on here, from marketing managers, designers, gyms, copywriters, etc.
Pros of Showit:
- True Drag and Drop Builder
- Unlimited Creative freedom
- Powerful WordPress Hosting with the ability to use WordPress.org Plugins
- Support Team available to answer your questions. They will also handle all the DNS connections, SSL and blog migration for you.
- Comes with SSL included.
- Works well with Shopify lite allowing you to sell products straight from your Showit site.
- No coding knowledge needed
- You can edit the mobile + desktop separately which is so good for SEO
- Showit sites are so attractive!
Cons of Showit:
- Mid-range costs
- Not suitable for advanced WordPress plugins or set-ups such as membership sites, courses, etc. These generally will have to be hosted elsewhere like Kajabi
- A little bit confusing to set up the blog at first – you may need some help.
Wix
There’s no doubt Wix has definitely improved over the years. I had to do a bit of research on this one to make sure some of these points were still valid and up-to-date with where Wix is at now.
Pros of Wix
- Lower cost
- Drag and drop
- Good as a DIY starter
- You can launch a ‘free’ website under their domain (not recommended, but possible).
- No coding knowledge needed
Cons of Wix
- Limited for SEO
- Often has ‘made with Wix’ written across the bottom which looks unprofessional
- Slow load speed
- Everything is locked into WIX.
- No migration for your blog posts or email list.
- Can’t export these things either!
Weebly
While I use mainly Showit now, Weebly was the platform I used prior and I think it’s a great and easy platform for clients. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t go back to the strict design abilities here but it comes down to personal choice!
Pros of Weebly
- Ability to add a blog and ecommerce (at a cost)
- Easy to use
- Has surprisingly robust SEO features.
- No coding knowledge needed
Pros of Weebly
- Outdated plugins
- No control how the blog layout looks like
- Limited creative freedom
- Responsive stacking can be a bit funny sometimes.
- CSS knowledge would be helpful to make custom changes.
Squarespace
SS is super well-known, so it HAD TO be on this list as it honestly suits a lot of different small business types and you can always be sure to find a designer who knows it!
Pros of Squarespace
- Widely used
- Suits a lot of different business types
- Let’s you connect third-party apps like Instagram and MailChimp really easily.
- Uses a ‘block style’ editor
- No coding knowledge needed
- You can purchase advanced CSS snippets to make the site more unique.
- Blogs and shops can be added really easily.
Pros of Squarespace
- Blocks can sometimes be a bit limiting and you can’t always do what you need without CSS.
- Dashboard and design settings can initially be a bit confusing.
- Blogs and shops often all look the same as each other unless you know code.
WordPress
Pros of WordPress.com
- Universally known
- Lots of help resources online
- No coding knowledge needed
Cons of WordPress.com
- No Plugins
- Limited creative freedom
- CSS knowledge would be helpful to make custom changes.
- No help team!
Pros of WordPress Self-Hosted
- Full control
- You ‘own’ your website completely.
- Website itself is free
- Can use any wordpress plugin.
- Lots of online resources
Cons of WordPress Self-Hosted
- Much harder to use and manage
- You alone are responsible for maintenance of plugins, hosting, etc.
- You need to pay for hosting so it’s not completely free
- You are responsible to manage your own plugins, updates and software on your own.
- You may need coding knowledge
Shopify
My personal favourite for ecommerce and any stores that need products displayed and able to be searched through
Pros of Shopify:
- Add products really easily
- Utilise discounts
- Can sell on Instagram, Facebook and IRL events with POS
- Lots of themes
- Page builders can take your pages to the next level.
- Great for growth of business with plugins.
- cloud hosted
- 24/7 customer support
Cons of Shopify:
- Some things need to be coded
- Liquid is tricky
- You have to purchase additional add-ons which can add up monthly!
Webflow
This is actually a platform I would love to learn more about in 2021 however from what I’ve seen, it has great potential however it may be hard for non-designers to set up.
Pros of Webflow:
- Lots of creative potential
- Allows for cool movement and animation
Cons of Webflow:
- If you aren’t a web designer, this platform is going to be a pretty steep learning curve and might require some code knowledge + technical ability to set up!
Kajabi
Another platform growing in popularity is Kajabi. Advertised as ‘the one to rule them all’… (Okay that’s a LOTR reference, but you know what I mean). Kajabi hosts your email list, landing pages, products and courses among other things. In conclusion, while I think it’s great for courses and memberships, I wouldn’t necessarily use it as a replacement for an actual website and email platform.
Pros of Kajabi:
- Great for courses and memberships!
- Create ‘landing pages’
- Can house your email lists, products
Cons of Kajabi:
- While it’s advertised as a replacement for things such as a website, mailing list, CMS, etc., It’s not necessarily very advanced in all these features
- Design-wise, Kajabi is quite basic for the website building!
- High membership cost
Conclusion
In conclusion, there’s no ‘perfect’ website platform! Each has its own pro’s and cons – you just have to choose the best for your business right now! Do you have another website platform you would love for me to compare? Drop a comment below for me to add it!
Showit Vs Other Website Platforms
I'm Madison; a thrift-loving, surf searching Brand + Web Designer based on the Gold Coast, Australia.
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I help small business owners, photographers and downright-cool-people build strategic online spaces that help them achieve FREEDOM.