Intro
With so many options out there, how do you know which website builder is the best? Well, it really depends on what you’re looking for! Some website builders are more adept at eCommerce, some at content management, some at blogs, and others at portfolios and marketing pages. To help you sift through all your options, here’s a breakdown of the top 4 website builders to help guide your decision-making process…Top Four
Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Shopify. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to which website builder is best and finding one that matches your needs and budget will take a little bit of research. Each site has a slightly different take on what you can do with it, so it’s worth doing some homework.Squarespace and Weebly have similar features but their price points vary considerably; Shopify offers enterprise-level features for huge companies at an enterprise-level price tag, and Wix touts itself as something of a hybrid between those options.
Coming in at fifth place is the startup SAAS company, Estage. Estage is poised to become the go-to for entrepreneurs and creators that aren’t techy but appreciate superior quality without sacrificing ease of use. In other words, they do hard work on a user’s behalf while keeping them happy by giving them ample room to operate within.
Their easy drag-and-drop interface creates sites that automatically look like you spent tons of money — instead of hours — perfecting them. In addition, they offer 24/7 live support, the most intuitive blogging platform, and mobile responsiveness out of the box! Still hesitant about how easy it really is? Test drive their app before committing any capital by using their free trial or read testimonials from thousands who are already using Estage every day!
Ease of Use
To build a successful website, you need to be able to use your software. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to work with an agency or have someone in-house learn how it works — both of which will slow down your site’s launch. The best website builder will make it easy for you to choose templates and add photos, text, buttons, sliders, and more in minutes.WordPress powers most websites, but can be difficult for non-techy users. Especially when a few plugins become incompatible with your site. Most of these tools are built around drag-and-drop functionality, making them simple enough for any level user. We do suggest testing out different features before choosing a tool so that you know exactly what each one does.
Design Capabilities
What’s responsible for a beautiful website in 2022? Good design sense and creativity, of course, but also many more design capabilities. What follows are common features you should expect to see on good web-design platforms this year. I’ve included some basic tools that will be assumed to be available on any good web-design platform.You may not need all of these tools right away, but it’s important to know what you can do with your future site (and how much it might cost) before you build it. Consider using Invision Studio, Photoshop, ProofHub, Sketch, and Adobe Dreamweaver. So without further ado: let’s explore what’s next for website builders in 2022!
Integrations
If you have a page-builder in your web-design tool, you probably won’t be able to import information. Instead, if you need to link an event registration form or integration with Facebook ads into your site, then consider a Content Management System (CMS) like Squarespace or Estage. A CMS gives you more control over what can go on your website and how it looks.
You’ll want to make sure your website can accommodate the most popular APIs like Google Analytics, Google Fonts, Google Calendar, Google Maps, autoresponders, and social media. You should always include an email signup form on every page of your website too. The alternative is often losing subscribers or clients because people are unable to subscribe or contact you via email.
Another thing to keep in mind about choosing a platform for creating websites: will it let you sell products online? This may not seem super important when building out marketing sites for freelancers, but eCommerce might be important down the road as your business grows and scales.
Customer Support
No matter how stellar the platform and features are, if you’re not provided top-notch customer support, you will not stick around. Having a solid customer service team ensures that you have access to help at any time you need it. This is an absolute must for non-techy users and will play a crucial part in the development of your projects.eCommerce
As with any product, eCommerce platforms are created to meet specific needs. Some are better for large businesses, others are catered to startups, and some excel at selling highly technical products. Because there’s no one-size-fits-all platform, it pays to research your options and choose a system that meets your goals.That’s why we did just that — we took three of today’s top eCommerce platforms and put them through their paces. We researched how long each one takes to set up, how many stores they can accommodate, and what features they offer consumers on both desktop and mobile devices.
If you run an online business or want to sell products in 2022 then you will need a great platform like these three: Shopify, Template Monster, and Magento! We also ranked them according to user experience (UX), performance, overall cost, and hosting fees. Our goal was simple: figure out which platform is right for you by learning how to use one yourself — and giving our own opinions along the way.
Security And Protection
The web world has been through some ups and downs when it comes to security in recent years, and it can be hard to figure out where we are at any given moment. The year 2022 will see an evolution of current trends — and maybe some new ones. Here’s a look at five key things to watch for in terms of web security in 2022.1. Web Application Firewall (WAF)
2. Transport Layer Security (TLS)… the padlock in the address bar before the domain.
3. Penetration testing (order a Fiverr gig)
4. OWASP secure coding practices (ask customer support, if hacks are your major concern)
5. Cyber Security Framework (NIST, CIS, etc.)
It’s impossible to know exactly what will happen, but there are plenty of factors that could make web security even better or worse over time. All of these factors come into play now as well, but they all point towards something else in a few years: hopefully, they all work together towards increased trust on the web.
Sales Funnels
ClickFunnels, ThisFunnel, ThatFunnel lol (And which one to pick): What are sales funnels, you ask? In short, they’re a series of pages (and sometimes emails) that guide your visitors toward taking a specific action. For example, if you want people to buy your product or service, then there needs to be a clear path for them to do so.A sales funnel would walk them through each step involved in buying your product until they’ve made their purchase. So what’s with all these different types of website builders out there today? The narrative that the “website” is dead, and all you need is a funnel is just silly.
Do the Trillion-dollar companies of the world operate with just a funnel? Nope. How about Billion-dollar companies? Nope again. What do they have in common though? Websites! They have websites with ecosystems and those ecosystems have cash machine branches stemming from them. I implore you to build your website in a similar manner. Your sales funnels are cash machines that you can link to from your website.
Estage
If you’re looking for a straightforward platform that offers pretty much everything you need, including sales funnels, membership sites, e-commerce functionality, video embedding, Google analytics integration, and social media marketing tools, Estage could be a great choice.It comes with over 40 ready-made templates so your site will look sharp and unique right out of the box. Once your site is live, Estage’s traffic tracking tools make it easy to see how visitors interact with individual pages on your site as well as gather insights into which content they like best. A/B testing functionality enables you to test different elements on your site quickly and easily. Estage also offers dedicated 24/7 customer support via live chat and email so you can rely on them for help when you need it most.
Estage Builder
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