Webbuilding software: a six vendor comparison Adam Fuchs February 2014 fuchsworks.com af@fuchsworks.com
Moonfruit Free Custom CSS Drag and drop builder Can t export files Flashed-based in transition to HTML 5 No snap-to system for dragging and dropping Difficult user interface Limited widget options (No forms, slideshows, etc.) 2/5 Bad Moonfruit is currently having problems with their new version (v6) as they transition from Flash to HTML5. The old version (v5) is actually better due to currently unsupported features in teh new version like php forms, blogs, slideshows (the essentials of a decent website). They are working on the switch and are creating new components, but as of right now, they are undependable.
squarespace $8/mo Fully customizable CSS Beautiful templates Good SEO Easy commerce options Responsive Can only export files to Wordpress Price - You can get two weeks free with no credit card Editing the CSS is easy, but the HTML can be tricky 4/5 Good Squarespace is my favorite CMS system because of its beautiful templates combined with full CSS customization. You can also embed virtually any media into your website and their e-commerce platform is wonderful. They have a decent blog feature as well. Squarespace has a relatively low price point and the options more than make up for the cost. Unfortunately, you can t export files to local storage, only to Wordpress.
weebly Free Export files to zip folder Easy user interface SEO functions Full CSS and HTML editing Mediocre templates 4/5 Good From what I ve read, Weebly is the easiest CMS system to use. The fact that you can download your entire website into a zip folder for backing-up is also a huge plus (although you should be backing up your files on your computer before uploading anyway). The only downside is the poor design of the templates they provide. If you can code your own CSS, that s not an issue, but it can create some disappointment for those new to making websites.
wix Free Drag and Drop Lots of Help buttons Ads prominently visible on free platform Can t switch templates during build Can t export any files Flash based Semi-difficult User Interface 2/5 Bad Most free CMS systems have ads somewhere on the site, but Wix ads are the most prominent by far. The fact that it is Flash based is also disappointing. This means it won t work on most mobile devices (Flash is the dinosaur of web design). Their user-interface is also difficult to navigate and cooperate with, necessitating their many help buttons and links which they were at least nice enough to make easy to use. You also can t export files from Wix for back-up purposes.
wordpress Free Can export files Mediocre user-interface Tons of plug-ins Best blogging interface Its not very easy to export usable files Tons of plug-ins Steep learning curve to get familiar 3/5 So-so Wordpress was built as a blogging platform and functions great in that arena. Building a website through them however requires many plug-ins and time spent learning not only how Wordpress functions, but also how all the plug-ins you need to build the site function. You can export files through the Wordpress Dashboard, but they come out as.xml files, which are only useful for exporting your site to another blog engine or to another Wordpress blog. There are however plugins (surprise, surprise) that will export your site into files on your local computer.
Dreamweaver cs6 $85-$399 Can build semi-by-hand Many widget options Live preview option Teaches HTML & CSS Steep learning curve Auto-correct and auto-help is atrocious Need to get hosting and domain separately 2/5 Bad For people who know enough code to be dangerous, or want to learn it in a limiting environment, Dreamweaver is alright. I ve actually heard that CS6 versions are a much needed improvement from previous versions. The live preview option makes debugging easy, but the auto-correct, autofill, and auto-help options are horrible and take some doing to turn off. You ll also have to get your own domain and hosting (or use MCAD s). There s also a steep learning curve if you are not used to the program. For those who don t already have the Adobe Creative Suite, the cost can also be prohibitive.
Overall recommendation I would recommend either Weebly or Squarespace. Both can be built straight from templates without any coding knowledge, but also offer the ability to customize if you have coding knowledge. Weebly allows you to download your site as a zip file for back-up, which is nice. Squarespace has no exporting options, but you can use a website downloading application like Sitesucker (free from the App Store) to download any website and its assets, so non-exporting is not really an issue. Anyone who makes a website should have a copy of everything on their computer anyway. Squarespace is better looking and more professional, but does cost $8 per month bought in 1 year blocks. Weebly is free, but to get it to look good you need to customize. If you want to learn how to hand code, there are many great tutorials online don t waste money on classes or books. W3C Schools and HTML Dog taught me pretty much everything I needed to know to get a good start at coding. Google, reverse-engineering, and trail-and-error can do the rest.