Best Website Builder Reddit (All Tested) 2023 Update

Building a website in 2023 is way easier than back in the day. You don’t even need to code, all you need is a good website builder.

However, one challenge you might face is to choose the right one. To help you with that, I’ve read through dozens of Reddit posts.

And let me tell you, there is a particular website builder that is being recommended everywhere on Reddit.

Best Website Builder Reddit

According to the most upvoted answers and the most recent posts, Reddit’s favourite website builder, as of 2023, is Webflow.

Everyone loves Webflow. Not only because of the beautiful user interface but also because you get clean code, you can create modern websites easily and you don’t need to look out for hosting.

Here are all the winners summarized:

Using WordPress is the best option, if you’re planning to do a lot of in-depth SEO. It’s also the most affordable one. However, you need to take care of installing and maintaining the plugins, the security, finding a hoster and so on. If you choose WordPress, the Elementor plugin is a must.

Squarespace is a good alternative in case you don’t want to use Webflow, and Shopify is the clear winner when it comes to shopping.

However, let’s dive in into all the details and allow me to give you a more comprehensive explanation of each website builder.

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Table of Content

• Two Kinds of Website Builders
• Webflow
• Squarespace
• Squarespace vs WordPress According to Reddit
• WordPress
• Wix
• Weebly

Two Kinds of Website Builders

Since you already know what website builders are, so I’ll skip the introduction and focus on their differentiating factors. The most important thing to be aware of, is that there are essentially two different kinds of website builders. WYSIWYG editors and and non-WYSIWYG editors.

WYSIWYG Editors

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”. These website builders are also referred to as drag-and-drop builders. The main advantage is that WYSIWYG builders provide all the necessary tools and resources for building a website in one convenient platform.

A WYSIWYG editor usually includes:

• Hosting
• Domain
• Content management
• Themes
• Customer Service
• Plugins

With these editors, there is no need to worry about finding a hosting provider or third-party theme, making them incredibly convenient and hassle-free. But there are some drawbacks to WYSIWYG editors. First, you’re bound to their service and second, usually the code is more optimized with non-WYSIWYG editors.

I say usually, because Webflows code is actually pretty good. That’s also why it’s way ahead of the competition.

Examples of WYSIWYG editors:

• Webflow
• Squarespace
• Wix
• Weebly

Content Management Systems (Non-WYSIWYG)

Another way to build up a website is to use a Non-WYSIWYG website builder. WordPress is the primary option to consider here. You can use WordPress along with a premium page-building plugin such as Elementor. That’s also what Reddit suggest.

The advantges of using WordPress are:

• Open-source
• Huge community
• There is a plugin for everything
• Hundreds of themes
• Usually clean code, perfect for SEO

However, in order to use WordPress, you may need some help in setting it up. It can be a bit challenging, depending on your skills. More on that later.

Now that you know the difference between WYSIWYG and non-WYSIWYG editors, let’s check out the different website builders.

Webflow

Webflow is the winner on our list. Most redditors prefer Webflow over WordPress or Squarespace (1).

One user was asked about his experience transitioning from WordPress to Webflow. Here’s what he says:

The funny thing is since this comment has been posted, Webflow already added e-commerce functionality. So, this problem is already solved.

Why is Webflow so Popular?

The main reason is that Webflow does not work like a classic WYSIWYG editor. Lots of the WYSIWYG disadvantages do not apply to Webflow. However, it’s also not just a CMS. So, what is it?

Essentially it’s a visual coding tool.

In other words, it’s a website builder with clean-code. That’s the main difference to Wix, Squarespace and the other classic website builders. The downside is that you need to have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS. There is a small learning curve.

The good news is that Webflow offers a great resource section for this problem.

You can access the The webflow university right here.

And don’t forget, you don’t need to become a full-stack developer to master Webflow. You’ll need a basic understanding and Webflow will do the rest! Simply by using Webflow, you’ll probably learn all that automatically without any instruction.

So, as you can see it’s really worth it to start using Webflow these days. The community is huge and really helpful as well. The Developers love it, and so do the clients. Depeding on whether you want to create your own page, or if you want to create pages for clients, Webflow’s user interface is just brilliant.

How Much Does Webflow Cost?

A basic Webflow site, without a content management system costs $19 per month (assuming you choose monthly payment). With Webflow there are account plans and website plans. You can combine these two.

So, let’s create an example.

If you would like to build my website with Webflow, you would need a free account + the basic plan, which in total would add to $19 per month. 25,000 thousand monthly visits are included. That’s more than enough for every starter website.

For more visitors, a content management system, or the exporting code option, you would need to either upgrade your account or your website.

You can read more about Webflows pricing here.

The easiest way to get started is to create an account with the basic plan. And if you have any questions, check out the Webflow community.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a classic WYSISWYG drag and drop editor. They offer a comprehensive solution by handling the hosting, managing your domain, and providing all the necessary tools from a single, convenient source.

It’s a popular website builder on Reddit.

One of the greatest advantages of Squarespace is its simplicity in getting started. There is probably no website builder that is as user friendly. Within minutes, you can sell your products, create your portfolio or start a blog. Squarespace has an easy-to-use interface with almost no learning curve.

If you want to focus on your business without worrying about mainting plugins or dealing with hosting companies, Squarespace is the way to go.

How to get Started with Squarespace

The first step is to select a template. Squarespace makes this process really simple by asking questions regarding your website and your business. Then you can select from a variety of modern website templates.

Here’s what they selected for me after describing my business as a designer who’s selling products.

And that’s not it. I was able to choose from hundreds of various website themes. The selection is huge.

Squarespace Pricing

To get going, all you have to do is pick a plan that suits you. You have the option of paying on a monthly or yearly basis. Personally, I prefer to opt for the monthly option as it gives me the flexibility to cancel at any time. However, many users choose the annual plan due to Squarespace’s widespread popularity.

By selecting the personal plan, you’ll be charged $23 per month with a monthly payment option. However, you can lower your monthly rate to $16 by choosing the yearly payment option. This way you’d save 30%.

The Personal plan includes all the essential features, such as unlimited bandwidth, access to customer support, and SSL.

Squarespace vs WordPress According to Reddit

You might be wondering, what distinguishes Squarespace from WordPress and how do they compare? I stumbled on this helpful answer on Reddit:

That’s also my experience with Squarespace. The extend of your SEO efforts is something to consider. If SEO isn’t your top priority, I’d recommend choosing Squarespace over WordPress.

On the other hand, if you want to dive deep into SEO, WordPress offers more control. That being said, it’s important to note that Squarespace does provide great SEO capabilities, it’s just that WordPress offers more options in this area.

There’s also another thing to be aware of. If you use Squarespace you’re limited to their services and offerings. So, in case you want to choose a certain hosting provider, remember that you can’t do that with Squarespace. You’re stuck to their hosting.

With WordPress, you can choose from a huge collection of plugins, the ability to select your own hosting provider, and you’re able to buy third-party WordPress themes.

However, this may not be an advantage for you. You may prefer not to handle these responsibilities and instead letting Squarespace do all the work.

Can you Export your Squarespace Website to WordPress?

Yes, that’s possible. Squarespace offers an export function and WordPress, on the other hand, is able to import your Squarespance website. However, it’s always a good idea to double-check everything after the transfer. If you want to learn more about this topic, there’s a Reddit post discussing it that you might find helpful.

WordPress

Now, it’s time to check out WordPress in detail. It’s actually number two on our list.

WordPress is the content management system while Elementor is the actual page builder. The good news is that it’s one of the most-affordable ways to build a website in 2023, while still having a modern, clean looking site.(1, 2)

Why is WordPress so Popular?

WordPress has one of the largest communities to help you guide you through the process of building and managing a WordPress site. Using WordPress is basically free and almost every developer you can find will have no issues working with WordPress. There are thousands of plugins available for any functionality you can think of, making it possible to install almost any feature you can imagine.

However, although free to use and open-source, you’ll at least need to pay for your hosting provider.

Another advantage is that the front-end code produced by WordPress is really clean. This is especially important, if you do lot’s of SEO, making it possible to go deep down the SEO rabbit hole.

What’s the Disadvantage of Using WordPress

You must handle everything independently, such as selecting a hosting provider or installing WordPress on your server. If your website requires a special feature, it’s up to you to find a suitable plugin and to configure it. Although you’ll get a lot of help from the WordPress community.

Your hosting provider may also offer a one-click WordPress installation and taking care of security. If you’d like to see some options, you can check out my article which highlights the best WordPress hosting providers as rated by Reddit users.

That is the main disadvantage. But if you’re willing to learn, WordPress might be a really good option for you.

Why Should you use Elementor?

Elementor is the plugin that will turn your WordPress site into a fully functional page-builder and it makes it way easier to use WordPress. Redditor’s love Elementor and they recommend using the premium version. Here’re some answers to the question, if the premium version is worth it:

Wix

Next on our list is Wix. Wix is also a drag-and-drop editor which offers everything you need to get started with your website. Some Redditor’s were especially recommending it to designers, although it seems like it was the last favourite website builder on Reddit.

The general consensus was that redditor’s enjoy using Squarespace, WordPress or Webflow more than Wix. Although everyone said you need to try it first and then decide. Since it’s free to try you won’t lose anything. If you decide to use Wix, premium plans start from $10/month. Here is a quote from a Reddit discussion comparing Wix to Squarespace:

Weebly

I couldn’t find a lot about Weebly on Reddit. From what I see it’s a similar website builder as Squarespace and Wix, a classic WYSIWYG editor. However, reading through all the posts, I would say Weebly is also a rather low mentioned website builder on Reddit. In the Weebly subreddit, you’ll only find approximately 500 Redditor’s, whereas the Squarespace subreddit has over 10.000 users.

WordPress goes even further, currently there are over 150.000 users in the WordPress subreddit. But still, Weebly is a well-known website builder. If you like what they offer, go for it. If you choose the monthly payment, which I always recommend, you pay around $10 and Weebly also offers online shops.

That’s It

These are Reddit’s tips on the best website builders as of 2023. If I forgot anything please send me a message.

Happy building.

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