Skip to content 
Website Designers for Small Businesses, As the market of today has gone digital, establishing an online presence is a necessity for small enterprises. An impressive and effective site is always an added advantage as it allows business owners to attract more customers. In such regard, however, the task of creating a website may not be easy for the owners of small companies.
This is particularly true for those who have little or no computer know how, or outsourcing budgets to hire skilled experts. Fortunately, there are plenty of site design programs designed especially for small businesses, which offer simple interfaces and affordability.
These websites help to reduce the complexity of the site creation process by employing tools such as drag-and-drop builders, ready-made website skins and bundled services, including online shopping and advertising.
This time however, the same issues related to the redesign of institutions websites remain unchanged for small organizations.
Hence, whether you want to build from the ground up or stimulate your current website, this guide will aid you in finding the best site builders ideal for small business owners as well as help you on how to effectively select a builder ideal for your needs.
Key Takeaways
- Conceive your business goals and budget before proceeding with the selection of a website designer.
- Look for developments that can be operated even by those who are not tech-savvy.
- Choose a platform with great customer support that can offer help and solve issues when required.
- Make certain that any relevant services will integrate with your business processes to optimize them.
- Take into account factors such as scalability and customization for subsequent expansion of your organization.
Introduction to Website Designers for Small Businesses
Why a Website is Essential for Small Businesses
In this case, the start-up has developed a website that acts as an online store for small businesses, which allows customers to obtain information about a product or service at any time.
Some people think website is only for providing information, however, the things that can be done with a website are remarkable – it helps in marketing the business, attracting more potential customers, creating credibility, and standing out among the competitors.
It is also applicable to other aspects of Internet marketing for small businesses, such as social media and email marketing, where the website serves as the centre of attention where the traffic is directed. In summary, it is only a professional looking website from which the demands of customers for brand development, strategic positioning and business expansion can be met.
The Role of Website Designers for Small Businesses
Small business’s needs in a well-designed website are effortlessly met by studio website designers within reasonable budgets, usually providing all the necessary services in the same package, such as hosting and domain registration. This means that small business owners can build and maintain a website even if they do not have a web developer, therefore cutting costs and time.
Top Website Designers for Small Businesses
Wix
Wix is one of the top website building tools for small business owners because of its easy to learn interface and rich features wagering template design and other available options. However, the drawback of the service is that there are no distinguishing features such as rich integration of with external services.
Key Features
- Ease of Use: Allows self-service thanks to the drag-and-drop feature.
- Extensive Template Library: Hundreds of templates that depend on different industries.
- App Market: Many apps are available for extra support like SEO, Marketing Apps, and Bookings.
- Pricing: A basic free plan available with e-commerce plans starts from 14 dollars monthly.
Squarespace
Squarespace is well known for its beautiful and aesthetic templates and design features, making it suitable for small businesses that wish to have a notable visual impact. It’s mainly geared to be used by creative people like photographers, artists, and designers because of its better design functionalities.
Key Features
- Professional Design Templates: Nice looking, mobile friendly and responsive templates.
- Built-In E-Commerce: Systems catering for markets include sales, inventory and checkout safe.
- Integrated Analytics: Tools to measure the volume of product or service sales and the traffic to a website.
- Pricing: $12/month upwards with no free plan.
Weebly
Weebly is a relatively simple website maker that comes with powerful e-commerce features well suited for the small businesses looking for a product market. Its makes use of a method where you drag and fracture objects like that of wix but every plan incorporates some features proving better towards e – commerce.
Key Features
- User-Friendly Interface: A drag-and-drop builder which is user-friendly for first-time users.
- Comprehensive E-Commerce Tools: This includes the necessity of listing products, a shopping basket and safe payment options.
- SEO Optimization: Instructional guides and tools for improving the rank of websites in search engine results.
- Pricing: Free plans are available; premium plans start from 6$ a month.
Shopify
Shopify is quite possibly one of the most popular e-commerce systems because it provides almost everything a small enterprise requires in order to set up and operate an internet site. If their primary focus is product sales and they are looking for growth with enhanced retail functions, then this is the solution most appropriate for them.
Key Features
- E-Commerce Excellence: A very wide set of functions available is for product creation and modifications, order processing, payments and shipping options.
- Third-Party Integrations: There are a wide range of other apps available for marketing and inventory, and many others.
- Mobile App: Keep control over your store from mobile with a Shopify-built mobile application.
- Pricing: The cheapest plan starts from $29/month. 14 day free trial is applicable as well.
GoDaddy Website Builder
GoDaddy website builder should be used by those who need to create a professional-looking website fast without complicated design since it comes with default marketing capabilities. The platform features uniquely appealing attributes such as social media marketing, email marketing, and even SEO.
Key Features
- Fast and Simple Setup: Saving Time – already has a pre-desired website and content – for those who need to go online fast.
- Integrated Marketing Tools: Comes with marketing functionalities such as social, email, and SEO.
- Responsive Design: The constructing website design is reallocated to computer screens of different sizes.
- Pricing: Starting from $9.99/month. The free plan is not available.
Comparison of Website Designers by Features
Selecting the right platform can prove to be quite an arduous affair, hence let’s look at a table that focuses on the prevailing features of some of the best website designers for small businesses:
| Website Designer | Ease of Use | E-Commerce | Marketing Tools | Pricing | Free Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | High | Moderate | Moderate | Free to $39/month | Yes |
| Squarespace | High | High | Moderate | $12 to $40/month | No |
| Weebly | High | High | Low | Free to $26/month | Yes |
| Shopify | Moderate | Very High | High | $29 to $299/month | No |
| GoDaddy | Very High | Moderate | High | $9.99 to $24.99/month | No |
This analysis assists in understanding differences in usability, e-commerce features, marketing features, costs and the presence of a free package and helps you choose a better service for your business requirements.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Website Designer
1. User Skill Level
Make an honest evaluation of your technology competence before you pick the site: For example, Wix and GoDaddy are very easy to navigate for users with drag and drop modes which are very basic, clearing the way for beginners.
On the contrary, Shopify may be much more appropriate for users with some e-commerce background as the user would be expected to have some advanced features to manage.
2. Business Goals and Needs
Determine what functions you expect the website to perform. If the plan is for online product sales, e-commerce platforms like Shopify are one of the best options.
For web service providers with particular emphasis on design, it would be better to use templates from Shopify rather than focus on using Squarespace.
3. Budget and Pricing
There is no uniformity in terms of pricing within the various web platforms. This is a more detailed side-by-side comparison:
| Website Designer | Free Plan | Basic Plan | Mid-Tier Plan | Premium Plan | Additional Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Yes | $14/month | $23/month | $39/month | Domain registration, apps |
| Squarespace | No | $12/month | $18/month | $40/month | Domain registration, add-ons |
| Weebly | Yes | $6/month | $12/month | $26/month | Domain registration, apps |
| Shopify | No | $29/month | $79/month | $299/month | Transaction fees, apps |
| GoDaddy | No | $9.99/month | $14.99/month | $24.99/month | Domain registration, SEO |
4. Customer Support and Resources
Basically, once you create a website, you also have to find a customer support service. Wix and Squarespace provide such support through live chat, phone, and email. GoDaddy offers round-the-clock phone support, which is great for immediate problems.
5. Integration with Business Tools
The website will probably have to be linked with additional tools for marketing, sales or customer handling. Therefore, do not forget to know whether the platform you select has the necessary email or social media automated asana integration. Shopify for example has several apps which other apps can customize Shopify to fit in any business.
Best Website Designers for Specific Business Needs
For E-Commerce: Shopify
There is no doubt that for companies driven by e-commerce, Shopify is the best alternative. The system consists of advanced applications which help small retailers organize efficiently the work of the stores via stock-taking, payments, and order delivery.
It also has multi-channel features that allow for the continued use of basic features and future development for small businesses.
For Creative Professionals: Squarespace
As such, many creative professionals, such as photographers, artists, and designers, will value Squarespace’s gorgeous templates and turn to the platform.
Squarespace enhances the extent to which small businesses create portfolios by allowing them to design appealing and mobile friendly galleries of their work.
For Beginners: Wix
Thanks to the drag-and-drop wizard, template design, and easy interface, Wix is ideal for beginners. It is a flexible platform that gives room for expansion since a user can begin with a simple site and later add more functionalities as the site requirements grow.
For Budget-Conscious Users: Weebly
Weebly is the best option for small businesses that have limited cash resources and can go for no additional costs plans.
On the free plan, one is able to create a simple site using the basic features provided, while additional features can be purchased in advanced paid plans.
Startups and small businesses will benefit from Weebly’s affordable plans, appealing interface and easy to use features.
For Quick Launch: GoDaddy Website Builder
For those who do not have the luxury of time and need to put up a website in the fastest way possible, GoDaddy Website Builder is the best option, and it means quick hits. The platform is equipped with a detailed sequential setup tutorial and also contains promotional resources that assist in marketing the site once it is done.
Benefits of Using Website Designers for Small Businesses
Cost-Effectiveness
In the case of small enterprises, cost is often an important aspect. It is quite expensive to hire an expert web developer or designer as it will easily cost several hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Designers of websites like Wix, Squarespace and Weebly provide relatively cheap pricing plans which contain all the necessary tools for creation of a website.
It is common practice to allow basic features for free or charge very little to enable all features like a host, domain and basics for the websites for small businesses and thus cut down on their costs.
Time Efficiency
Time is another resource for the small business owners. Website creation tools are so crafted that such tools take minimum time in making the site live. So, why spend a few weeks in creating a fully working website when the advanced tools make it ready in a matter of hours?
For instance, GoDaddy’s Website Builder has published helpful instructions so that one knows how to start and get one’s business really rather quickly.
Access to Templates
One of the most notable advantages of a website designer is that there are ready made templates available. There are sites like Squarespace and Wix where one can find thousands of templates and modify them.
Thus, even the smallest of companies will be able to aim at some design that corresponds to their business without hiring a designer.
Templates serve as a basis that can be modified, making it possible for the businesses to enhance their brand image without looking cheap and unkempt.
Technical Support and Resources
In the case of a small scale business presents the owner with not so much technical know-how, the need to have assistance is paramount. In addition to the services provided by it, the website building software has the support of its clients through live phone, online chat, emailing, and wide-ranging tutorials.
Support systems offered by websites such as Shopify and Wix, further help users in addressing problems, learning how to use the platforms, or improving the websites.
Such support is very useful for those in business who require help and direction while creating a website.
Pros and Cons of Popular Website Designers
Wix
Pros:
- A user-friendly drag-and-drop editor with a very high learning curve.
- The functionality and the integrations are very whole owing to a rich app market.
- Tons of templates are available for extensive customization and styling.
Cons:
- After going live, such modifications to the design can hardly be made to existing pages.
- The free plan includes brand ownership of Wix, which is not professional-looking at all.
Squarespace
Pros:
- Chic corporate templates appropriate for the creative sectors.
- Incredible poise of e-commerce built in.
- Perfect analytical as well as search engine optimization devices for performance tracking and visibility enhancement.
Cons:
- More restrictions on Customization than in Wix.
- There’s no free plan; this might repel users short on a budget.
Weebly
Pros:
- Reasonably priced plans with overall e-commerce functionalities.
- Straight forward and easy to work with drag and drop designing tool.
- In-built marketing features for effective use of emails and social media.
Cons:
- Little straining design templates and formats modifications.
- Limited options when it comes to application integrations.
Shopify
Pros:
- One of the best ecommerce platforms in the market boasting great retail activity features.
- The dedicated app store helps preserve and customize the store further.
- Unmatched expansion capabilities suiting a blooming churner.
Cons:
- Costs are quite high, more so for extra apps or when making transactions.
- E commerce might be a secondary interest to the company which might push the usability of the platform beyond reach.
GoDaddy Website Builder
Pros:
- Easy configuration via helpful tutorials that are excellent for users who require speed.
- Marketing features such as social media and search engine optimization are packaged with the site itself.
- Practical and simple pricing strategies.
Cons:
- Lack of advanced control and variation in the design.
- For clients with particular requirements, the platform does not offer as many capabilities compared to other platforms.
Understanding the Importance of Mobile Optimization
Why Mobile Matters
Mobile optimizations are necessary since more than 50% of global web traffic comes through mobile devices. It is important to have a website that is easily accessible via smartphones and tablets to reach and serve customers while they are on the go.
This improves accessibility of the sites to the users, which also leads to decreased bounce takingays as well as improved conversions. Advantages that small businesses gain through mobile contents play a role in creation of customer relationships and due competition.
Mobile Optimization by Platform
- Wix: Every single template is mobile-friendly, and inbuilt, there is a mobile app of the site et that enables a user to edit the site from phones.
- Squarespace: All templates are fully responsive, hence no need to worry about mobile UI design since mobile users will be using the same template.
- Weebly: Providing Mobile optimization but limits your potential in the mobile site software edition.
- Shopify: Mobile friendly themes are there, coupled with tools to help handle mobile commerce.
- GoDaddy Website Builder: All templates are responsive, thus simplifying the task of building a website that will appear neatly arranged on any type of device.
Marketing and SEO Features
SEO Tools
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a very essential procedure for the small-scale enterprises that depend on attracting organic traffic from different search engines. Though simple in nature web page designers embed very simple SEO benefits for instance metadata, use of alt tags or providing XML sitemaps.
More user-oriented options such as Squarespace and Shopify have, in addition to more basic SEO options on URL development, sitemaps that are generated automatically and the ability to analyze data trends.
Marketing Integrations
Any small business, which plans to expand its customer base, needs efficient marketing tools. Thanks to Wix and GoDaddy, there are also integrated email marketing tools and social infrastructure inside the website so that business campaigns can be activated from the dashboard rather than launching a separate program.
Of the CMSs, Shopify performs the best in this area having various applications targeted specifically at email and Facebook marketers.
Analytics and Reporting
To be able to act, it is important to know how the website is performing. Any such platform will carry with it basic analytic tools to keep tabs on who comes to the site e.g how many pages were clicked conversions and how many people visited the site.
On the other hand, customers can carry out reporting themselves when an extensive report generation is made available on apps like SHOPIFY while users on SQUARESPACE have embedded web analytics, which is simple to use and view.
My Opinion
Owning a professional website is rather important, especially for small-scale businesses, in order to enhance their legitimacy and expand their market. Websites are created and published using web publishing applications such as Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, Shopify, GoDaddy which are user friendly and cost effective for the non-techies.
They offer template designs that can be edited, provide marketing tools and online shops which are very user friendly for the business as far as websitecreation and administration is concerned. Important considerations for the product or platform design are usability, customer support, support for other business activities, and growth potential.
However, considering the number of features available, it would be easier to identify a platform for such small businesses, which in terms of price and functionality meets the growing demand.