Introduction
Building a website from scratch can be an intimidating process for startups and small businesses. Many founders simply don't have the coding skills or time needed to handcraft a site. That's where website builders come in.
Website builders provide easy-to-use drag-and-drop editors, designer templates, and hosting all in one platform. They allow you to create an attractive, customized site quickly without needing to code. Features like built-in SEO, responsive design, mailing lists, and ecommerce shopping carts cater to startups specifically.
For example, the cost to build a custom WordPress site typically ranges from $5,000 - $15,000. In contrast, website builders have monthly subscription plans starting around $20 - $50 per month. This results in huge cost savings.
In this post, we'll explore the key benefits of using a website builder for startups. We'll compare top options like Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, and others. You'll learn how website builders can help you launch faster and what criteria to evaluate when choosing a platform. Let's dive in!
Key Benefits of Using a Website Builder
Website builders offer many advantages for startups looking to create their first website MVP fast:
Time Savings
A key benefit of website builders is the huge time savings compared to traditional web development:
- 🕒 Avoid learning web development or coding. Build sites visually with no expertise needed.
- ⚡️ Templates and drag-and-drop speeds up building from weeks to days or hours. Launch your MVP in a fraction of the time.
- 🔎 Built-in SEO optimization saves manually configuring technical best practices.
- 🛠 No maintenance of code over time - just update content as needed.
- 🏁 Launch your MVP website faster, allowing you to focus your limited time on the startup.
For example, building a basic 5-page startup site in Webflow can be done in 1 week versus 1 month or more for custom development.
Cost Savings
In addition to time savings, website builders provide immense cost savings:
- 💰 No need to hire expensive professional developers and designers.
- 💡 Budget monthly fees starting around $20/month versus five-figure upfront agency costs.
- 🔌 Hosting, maintenance, and security are bundled into the costs.
- 🛍 Ecommerce and payment features let you sell without added transaction fees.
- 🔒 Free SSL, CDN, speed optimizations and more built-in.
For example, Webflow's $12/month Start plan handles hosting and security versus $100+ per month separately with WordPress.
Ease of Use
Website builders make creating a site simple and intuitive:
- 👨💻 Easy drag-and-drop editor means no coding needed.
- 📱 Professionally designed templates come mobile ready.
- 🔎 SEO optimization happens automatically behind the scenes.
- ➕ Built-in forms, popups, widgets make adding features simple.
- 🆘 Guidance resources provide extra support for beginners.
Customization
While easy to use, builders still allow for deep customization:
- 🎨 Hundreds of templates suit different brand styles.
- ✏️ Easily edit colors, fonts, layouts, images, and text.
- 🖼️ Upload your own logo, graphics, videos, and media.
- 🛠 Rearrange sections and components as needed.
- 🤓 Custom code can be added for advanced customizations.
Scalability
Modern website builders are built to scale with your startup over time:
- 🚀 Start with a simple landing page and expand into a full website.
- 🛒 Add ecommerce capabilities, membership areas, advanced forms as you grow.
- ⚙️ Seamlessly upgrade hosting and enable performance enhancements.
- 🔌 Integrate third-party apps, services, and payment providers via APIs.
- 🚚 Most builders allow you to export site content if migrating platforms.
Top Website Builders for Startups
With the key benefits covered, let's look at some top website building platforms suitable for startups and evaluate their options:
Wix
- 🖌️ Drag-and-drop editor with 500+ templates.
- 📱 Mobile responsive design and hosting included.
- 🔎 SEO Wiz guides site metadata and alt text.
- 🛍 Wix Stores provide ecommerce carts and payment processing.
- ➕ App Market adds functionality like appointments, forms, etc.
- ❌ Cost increases quickly for advanced features and add-ons.
Squarespace
- 🏆 Beautiful award-winning templates.
- 🛒 Powerful ecommerce features and transaction fees.
- 🗓 Scheduling, mailing lists, and CRM integrations.
- ❌ Limited custom code ability constrains advanced customization.
- 💰 Monthly fees get expensive for advanced sites.
Webflow
- 🎞️ Visual editor with animation and interactions.
- 👨💻 Developer-friendly with custom code ability.
- 🚀 Hosting optimized for site performance and SEO.
- ⚠️ Steeper learning curve than other builders.
- ❌ No native mailing list or appointment tools.
Unicorn Platform
- 🦄 AI-powered builder made for startups and SaaS.
- 🖌️ Drag-and-drop with code support and export.
- 🔒 SEO, CDN, and SSL built-in.
- ➕ Integrated payments, mailing lists, appointments.
- 🆓 Free plan available with cheap pro upgrades.
WordPress + Page Builder Plugin
- 📜 Open source CMS with endless extensions.
- ➕ Plugins like Elementor add drag and drop.
- 👨💻 Large developer ecosystem for support.
- ⚠️ More complex for updates and security.
- 📉 Steeper learning curve than all-in-one builders.
Key Evaluation Criteria for Startup Website Builders
When choosing the right website builder for your startup, here are some key factors to consider:
Core Features
- 🖌️ Drag-and-drop editor with mobile responsiveness.
- 🎯 Quality templates designed for startups.
- ✏️ Easy customization of colors, fonts, content.
- ➕ Contact forms, mailing list signups.
- 🛒 Basic ecommerce and payment processing.
- 🔎 Built-in SEO optimizations.
Scalability
- ⚙️ Ability to upgrade hosting and performance.
- 🔌 Integrations with third-party services.
- ➕ Features to support complex sites long-term.
- 💰 Clear pricing for upgrades and add-ons.
- 🚚 Easy export ability to switch platforms.
Ease of Use
- 👨💻 Intuitive editor for non-technical users.
- 🆘 Documentation and support for guidance.
- 🔎 Built-in SEO handled behind the scenes.
- 🛠 No need to manage code or updates.
- ➕ Drag-and-drop forms, popups, widgets.
Customization
- 🎨 Editable template colors, fonts, styles.
- 🛠 Rearrange sections and components.
- 🖼️ Upload custom graphics and media.
- 🤓 CSS/HTML code customization ability.
- ➕ Widgets for dynamic content.
Startup-Specific Features
- 📈 Landing pages and brochure sites.
- 📧 Email marketing integrations.
- 🗓 Online appointment scheduling.
- 🔐 User logins and membership areas.
- ➕ Advanced and payment-enabled forms.
- 🛍 Full-featured ecommerce capabilities.
Email marketing integrations allow sending newsletters to subscribers, tracking opens/clicks, and growing your mailing list. Appointment scheduling makes it easy to book calls, meetings, or classes online.
Conclusion
In summary, website builders provide an easy way for startups to create an attractive, customized site quickly without coding. Benefits like drag-and-drop editors, mobile-ready templates, built-in SEO, ecommerce features, scalability, and affordable pricing make them an ideal solution for launching an MVP.
AI-powered solutions like Unicorn Platform cater specifically to startups with components for landing pages, mailing lists, scheduling, payments, and more. Their free plan and startup focus make Unicorn Platform worth evaluating.
Platforms like Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, and others each have unique strengths for startups. Evaluate core features, scalability, ease of use, customization, and startup-specific capabilities when choosing a website builder. The ability to get your site live faster, cheaper, and with less effort allows you to focus energy on your startup goals instead of web development.
Try out a website builder today to start creating your startup site! Let us know if you have any other questions. We're happy to help you pick the best platform to suit your needs.
