Building a website yes for a small project or creating a website for an existing small business doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult nowadays. With the sheer number of tools you have to take the best option which perfectly suits you, inevitably means choosing between a template or a website builder.
Website Builders vs Templates both are very helpful in the sense of creating a website and both are very effective with relative ease approaches that enable you to build out your website. However, the truth is that both have very different solutions and are used in different circumstances.
In this article, we’ll discuss the difference between website builders and templates, so you can decide which one is best for you. Here is another article with more details about the best website builders
Website Builders vs Templates
Before we talk about the differences, first we need to know what are these and what solution these tools fetch for you.
Website Templates are usually a collection of HTML pages that are designed using CSS stylesheets and JS scripts, where you can edit the content of the pages such as changing out the logo and images, updating page information, switch out some of the colors. While using a web template you have some bindings because of the pre-built layouts and design. If you need to change the layout or some part of the design you must have a basic knowledge of coding.
On the other hand, a website builder is typically a drag and drop website builder that comes with some pre-built components that let you build a website easily without any knowledge of coding. You can handle the web design using the drag and drop interface and different website elements until your site is complete which doesn’t require direct manipulation of HTML and CSS files.
Which One will be Best for Me?
First of all, you should have a solid understanding of which kinds of websites you are going to build. Let’s have a look and sum up everything, that helps you make a better decision.
If you need a website that doesn't have any heavy features or modifies the layout and designs then a web template is the choice for you. Otherwise, you can go with a website builder.
A website builder lets you the option to choose the template, modify the layout, update content, and publish. Within a few hours, you can build a website with your own customized design and features.
A website builder needs a monthly subscription fee which is near about $9/month and sometimes more. On the other hand, a web template needs a lifetime license fee that is varied between $15 - $40.
There are plenty of website builders available on the internet today. If you have made up your mind to go for a website builder then you probably want to know, how do you know which is the right one for you with so many website builders out there? In fact, finding the best website builder can be tricky for beginners. Now we’ll go over the pros and cons of the most popular website builders that help you choose the best one.
Wix
Wix is one of the most popular cloud-based website builders in the world first developed and popularized in 2010 by an Israeli company also named Wix.
Pros
- Comes with around 500 templates.
- Wix includes ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence)
- It has advanced SEO options.
- Its super reliable and easy to use.
Cons
The free version has a lot of advertising.
An email account will cost an extra $5.
Weebly
Weebly is the best website builder, easy to use, a platform for e-commerce, creative entrepreneurs, and small business owners. It is a fair bit less expensive than Wix and has more than 50 million customers around the world.
Pros
- Weebly is pretty cheap compared with other website builders.
- Free domain with paid plans.
- It offers free email.
Cons
There have around 80 themes only.
Site Builder
Site Builder is a new kind of website builder with tons of great designs.
Pros
- You will get a FREE domain and one email account with paid plans.
- There have almost 1,200 templates available to choose from.
- It has "Save History" option.
Cons
Sitebuilder took 3 hours to activate an account.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a popular cloud-based website builder, great for designs and ease of use. It brings something unique element than Wix and Weebly.
Pros
- Free domain name and WhoisGuard.
- There have no limitations on whether you create a blog or eCommerce site.
Cons
- No free plans.
- An email account cost an extra $5/month.
Elementor
Elementor is available as a standalone WordPress plugin as well as a drag-and-drop page builder.
Pros
- The core product is 100% free.
- It is easy to use with an impressive range of features.
- With Elementor you can adjust your web page separately for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
- You can see what you edit with the real-time preview.
Cons
You can't use the most awesome features with the free version.
No lifetime updates.
