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A website is builder is a program or software that you use to build a website. Specifically for churches, this builder needs to be easy use, often have no coding, and easily integrate with things like livestreams and giving platforms (and a plus if it plays nice with Planning Center!) In this guide I will rank my favorite website builders and show you the differences between each one.
Not a lot of things can be said about Weebly that have not already been said. Starting in 2007, Weebly came onto the scene as another "drag and drop" option for building websites. In its prime, Weebly was of high value to a lot of customers. With a wide array of templates, Weebly is easy to use, requires no coding background, and is responsive across different screen sizes. In 2o23, Weebly is still a strong contender for building websites at a low cost, but ultimately it can be limiting in functionality.
Who hasn't heard of Wix? It's popularity grew so much that, at a time, you would be hard pressed to find a website that was not built on Wix. It is easy to use, user friendly, and adds functionality that Weebly cannot offer. While you may not be building a website based off of constant rotating content, it works as an excellent foundation for churches that just need something online.
The crowned prince of usability and responsiveness, Squarespace is, rightfully so, a huge hit for many people looking to build websites. For churches, you'd be hard pressed to find something easier to use. Squarespace has tons of templates to choose from, and with their new Flex Layout web builder you can make your website into almost anything you want. What stops Squarespace from being number one on this list is limited functionality. The Content Management System of Squarespace is a little rigid, and cannot be fully manipulated to suit specific needs. If you just want a beautiful, responsive website to look at and do not care about all that functionality, then Squarespace is where you should go.
There is a reason so many websites are built on this platform. It just works. Wordpress is highly customizable and is another drag and drop website builder. With plugins like Divvy and Elementor, you can even turn Wordpress into a powerhouse of visual design. There are great templates to choose from and the backend of Wordpress hosting is as iron clad. The downside of Wordpress is that it is hard to get the hang of. It can be hard to learn, hard to navigate, and even harder to teach to potential volunteers or staff members. However, not enough good things can be said about its functionality.
My personal favorite, Webflow. This website builder came onto the scene in 2013 and has just been getting better since its release. What makes Webflow standout is that it is a no code option to building an incredibly functioning, beautiful, and responsive website. While the learning curve can be steep, once you get it it will dramatically decrease the amount of time you spend fixing random issues or adding things to your website. With Webflow's amazing Content Management System you can transform your website entirely and make it a breeze for staff and volunteers to collaborate. While Webflow is still newer to the scene, it has made quite the splash as a website builder. If you don't want to start from scratch, Webflow has amazing templates to choose from. The best part? All that designing you just did can be easily exported as code to use somewhere else.
Church website builders can be hard to choose from, but hopefully this guide helped you. At White Oak Media we build all our websites using Webflow and we work specifically with churches to showcase their strengths and highlight what makes them special. With Webflow, your online presence can improve drastically.
Don't know where to get started? Call us today or join our newsletter!
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