Intro
When you are building your website, online store or a blog, finding the right site to host it is a big decision. Making sure they have the elements and options you need for your site is important, but also making sure that there is plenty of customization available to put your personal touch on your site is key. These host sites are called Content Management Systems (CMS) and they are the sites you will be looking at for your website. With options like WordPress, SquareSpace and Wix out there, it can take some digging to find the CMS you really want to use. We have narrowed down a few for you and listed their strengths, pricing and other features you may find interesting.
SquareSpace
SquareSpace is an integrated website builder that has customizable themes that create many options for users while also having an interesting commerce platform. This is great if you are building your own online store, as Squarespace will let you sign up for a subscription (ranging from $12-40 per month) that can help you easily build your site from scratch even if your not a professional web developer. Depending on the package you purchase, you can get your own domain, unlimited bandwidth and storage, SSL security and Google Adwords credit.
Weebly
Weebly is an easy-to-use CMS that specializes in the drag-and-drop format that can create your website in a matter of minutes. You can remove and add features, media, and pages quickly while getting direct feedback with frontend building. While there is a basic free option, the cheapest plan (around $6.50 per month) will get you unlimited storage, a domain name and a Google Adwords credit. The small business subscription ($22 per month) will get you the basic features along with password protection and tax calculators.
Wix
The Wix platform is one of the most hands-on interfaces out there. Like Weebly, it uses the drag and drop format while also allowing multiple plugins to cater to elements like email marketing, e-commerce and form builders. Basic options for Wix include a plan for around $3 per month, but the small business option ($10 per month) will get you unlimited bandwidth, 10GB of storage, domain name, a custom favicon, online store builder and ad vouchers.
Drupal
Drupal is an open-source CMS that is more involved in community websites. This means that Drupal is a software where multiple people come together to edit websites. There are a limited number of modules that can be used on the site, but there is plenty of customization options for anyone building a website. Drupal is free to use and is recommended for beginners due to its limited module options.
Magneto
Built for large eCommerce situations, the Magneto platform can handle a lot. The software is open source and fully customizable by developers. The system can handle everything from your website template, product managing, shipping and statistics.
Shopify
Shopify is an ecommerce platform with everything you need to sell online. You can purchase your domain name and choose website theme directly through shopify. Shopify websites must be hosted with shopify and pricing ranges from $29 - $299 per month. One of the benefits of shopify is that is easily integrates with programs like QuickBooks and will let you take payments over Facebook in your own Facebook Store.
WordPress
WordPress is one of the biggest CMS hosting services on the web right now, powering more than 60 million websites worldwide. One of the reasons this CMS is so popular is that users can install and switch different themes of their choosing, making WordPress one of the most customizable hosting sites in the market today. They also have over 50,000 plugins available, which gives the user the option to install custom functions that can help the user achieve the specific needs of their site. .com and .org
Final Thoughts
Before choosing a CMS, its best to sit down and make a list of everything you want to be able to handle with it. Then make a decision based on that list.
*Prices and other facts as of 12-20-2017