What are Common Website-Building Applications?

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Note: We are not sponsored by any of the website-building applications discussed in this article.

A website is a powerful tool that allows potential customers to learn more about your business and its products and services. Coding a site from scratch can be tricky. Fortunately, many website-building services are available that allow you to easily build a site without requiring you to know any coding. This article will look at four popular services (Google Sites, Weebly, Wix, and Squarespace) and will address the essential aspects of choosing an application: payment plans, ease of use, customization, and domains.

Ease of Use

One integral aspect to consider is how easy the application is to use. All the applications discussed in this article offer easy-to-learn interfaces utilizing a drag-and-drop system, making creating a site straightforward.

Customization Options

Each service offers different levels of customization capabilities. Let's explore each of them individually:

Google Sites: Although no full website templates are available, you can choose from all the Google Fonts, giving you countless options. Google Sites has design limitations, but you can still create a functional and effective website using it.

Weebly: you can choose from tons of full website templates and directly edit them. In addition, you have the option to edit the HTML and CSS framework of the website if you choose to, making it very versatile.

Wix & Squarespace: like Weebly, there are many templates for both small site areas and whole websites. They also include a vast collection of design elements you can incorporate into your site.

Free & Paid Plans

Most of these applications offer a free plan to create a fully functional website. Let's see how each application's site plans are set up:

Google Sites: there are no paid plans; creating a website is free!

Weebly & Wix: you can create an excellent site for free, but upgrading allows you to use a custom domain and includes features such as more online store options, footers, etc.

Squarespace: creating a website using Squarespace is not free. They offer a free trial, so you can test out the application and decide if you would like to continue using it or not.

Domains

Using a custom domain for your website can make it more professional. However, most services require you to upgrade to a paid plan or pay a certain fee to use a domain you already own or to purchase one. If you are using a free website plan or are not paying for a custom domain, you will default to one of the following:

• yoursitename.sites.google.com

• yoursitename.weebly.com

• yoursitename.wixsite.com

Learn more about domains in the article: What is a domain and how does it work?