We have published many articles featuring WordPress themes and plugins. We also have written about selling WordPress services and how to stay updated on what’s new in the WordPress ecosystem. WordPress is what we love and what we do! Altogether, it’s not fair to ignore WordPress alternatives! Many of them come with interesting features and it’s highly recommended to have an idea about their potential.
Thankfully, there are many intriguing WordPress alternatives! Some of them are for particular niches like blogging and e-commerce while others are multipurpose. In this article, we’ll explore six compelling alternatives that are making waves in the web development world.
Wix
Wix was released in 2006, and by 2021, it had amassed over 200 million users worldwide. Its ongoing success is no coincidence, as the platform consistently introduces new and useful features. One noteworthy example is Wix ADI (Artificial Intelligence Designer), one of the pioneering implementations of AI in a SaaS product. By answering a few questions, Wix ADI creates a customizable website based on your input. However, you can still choose to use a template or start from scratch if you prefer.
Another standout feature is the intuitive drag-and-drop builder, allowing you to build a complex website without any coding knowledge. Wix also offers support for animations, dynamic effects, and you can enhance its functionality by integrating plugins and apps from the App Market. Additionally, Wix takes care of responsiveness, ensuring your website looks great on various devices.
For those interested in e-commerce, Wix provides robust tools like abandoned cart recovery, support for multiple currencies, subscriptions, and membership features. However, it falls behind WordPress when it comes to handling large-scale online stores.
Pros:
– No coding knowledge required
– Hundreds of well-designed templates
– Free hosting
Cons:
- You can’t change the website template without losing all the data
- Not suitable for large-scale websites
Weebly
Weebly is another powerful platform to build websites for people lacking coding skills. It’s similar in many ways to Wix; it has a visual builder, the App Center has apps to extend website functionality, and hundreds of templates are available to start creating a website. However, there are some significant differences between the two platforms. Weebly stands out by providing a generous free plan, suitable even for online stores, making it an excellent option for those on a tight budget.
Users appreciate Weebly because of the easiness of use, large diversity of templates, and endless customization options. Additionally, Weebly differentiates itself from competitors with its mobile app that allows editing and launching of websites.
Pros:
– No coding knowledge required;
– Hundreds of well-designed templates;
– Generous free plan;
Cons:
- Lack of major improvements in the last years.
Squarespace
Squarespace offers best-in-class templates, making it an excellent WordPress alternative for creating stylish websites. The templates look great and cover all types of projects. Squarespace works for blogs, magazine news, portfolios, online shops, agency, or SaaS websites.
Squarespace caters to creative professionals and small business owners who desire a visually appealing website. The interface is intuitive and the visual builder is powerful and effective. However, it’s slightly more complex than Wix or Weebly’s drag-and-drop builders.
Besides the excellent templates and visual builder, Squarespace impresses with the multiple features much needed by webmasters. Integrated analytics, video maker, online booking and scheduling, inventory management, and email marketing built-in system are just a few to name.
Pros:
– Best-in-class templates
– No coding knowledge required
Cons:
- No free plan, yet you may sign up for a 14-day trial (no credit card required)
- Not suitable for enterprise projects.
Ghost
The story of Ghost began in 2013 as a successful Kickstarter campaign. A group of people decided to create a WordPress alternative focused entirely on blogging. It generated much hype at its launch, but the enthusiasm has reduced step by step. In spite of that, Ghost fully deserves your attention.
Ghost is the ideal solution for bloggers and content creators looking for a simple and effective platform. It offers serious benefits for both publishers and readers. As a publisher, it’s hard to find any drawback to Ghost, but you have attractive benefits like:
– distraction-free environment for writing
– drag and drop editor
– cool membership system to generate revenue
– outstanding templates
– built-in newsletter
– large selection of this-party integrations.
As a reader, you benefit from:
- an environment centered on the reader’s needs;
- fast and secure platform
- possibility of meeting like-minded people and being part of awesome communities.
Pros:
- Focus on providing quality content;
- Themes and integrations to shape and delight communities
Cons:
- Limited to blogging.
Shopify
For those looking to venture into e-commerce, Shopify stands as one of the best WordPress alternatives. This platform specializes in creating and managing online stores with a wide range of built-in features tailored for retail businesses. You can create a pretty complex online store even though you are a no-coder, but basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript knowledge is beneficial.
Start your store by selecting a theme and editing it to match your business’ style. Next, purchase a domain name and associate it with your store. Depending on the type of e-commerce activity, upload your products and use apps from the Shopify App Store to add extra features to your store.
Pros:
- A large array of features and apps to manage an online store
- Unlimited products on all plans
Cons:
- Limited to ecommerce activities.
Web.com
Web.com is rarely mentioned in the lists of the best WordPress alternatives, but it deserves recognition. It distinguishes itself with the complete arsenal of tools needed to set up and run a website. Web.com comprises a visual builder and 150+ professionally designed templates so you can build all kinds of websites. It supports e-commerce activities and has plenty of tools to style and manage your store. Unlike other platforms, Web.com has all you need to find, buy, and manage domain names. Moreover, you may use the AI copy creator to take care of your website copy.
Pros:
- A complete solution to launch and manage websites;
- Affordable introductory pricing plans
Cons:
- Renewal pricing plans are pretty high.
Conclusions
While WordPress continues to be a dominant force in the world of website development, these six WordPress alternatives are powerful contenders in 2023. Whether you’re a blogger, e-commerce entrepreneur, creative professional, or organization, these platforms offer unique features, ease of use, and scalability to cater to your specific needs.