Business Website Builder

Should I Choose a Free or Premium Business Website Builder Plan?

As with anything in business, you get what you pay for. If you choose a free plan on a business website builder then you may be at a disadvantage in terms of not having access to the full range of functionalities that your website builder offers.

On the other hand, premium website builder plans open the door to a wide range of features that can help make your business website a success. Ultimately, premium business website plans will give you everything you need to create a stunning website, ranging from your own custom domain name to more design features and even the ability to see who visits your site and when!

Why choose a free website builder plan then? Well, free plans are a great way to get started without taking on any financial risks.

The beauty of business website builders is that if you build a free business website and then realize that you need more functionality to grow and take your business to new heights then you can easily upgrade to a premium plan and start taking advantage of all that added functionality.

You have full control over this. You don’t need to upgrade if you choose not to!

Do I Own My Business Website If I Use a Website Builder?

In a word, ‘yes’.

Just because you’ve built it on a website building platform doesn’t mean that your site becomes the intellectual property of the site builder.

In fact, having a premium plan ensures that everything remains yours – your site, your domain, your content – just as it would if you’d paid a web designer thousands of dollars to create your own website for you.

Is There Anything That I Shouldn’t Overlook When Building My Business Website?

1. Choosing an easily recognizable domain name

Your domain name is the address of your website, e.g. www.your-business-name.com.

Business website builders make the process of purchasing a domain name extremely easy. Most provide the option of purchasing a domain name for as little as $1 before you start creating and editing your website. Some website builders even offer free domains for your first year (though you’ll have to pay to keep it after those first 12 months).

When choosing a business domain name try and keep it as succinct and clean as you can, e.g. if you run a flower business called Mandy’s Flowers then a good domain name might be something like: ‘www.mandysflowers.com’. Whereas a more cluttered domain name might be along the lines of: ‘www.mandysflowerandplantshop.com’.

Shorter or more succinct domain names are more memorable too, for example: did you know that IKEA stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd? Well, imagine if rather than ‘www.ikea.com’, the company had gone with ‘www.ingvarkampradelmtarydagunnaryd.com’ – not quite as catchy or memorable is it?

Another good example would be the candy brand M&Ms, whose name stands for Mars & Murrie’s. I think we can all agree that ‘www.mms.com’ is far more likely to stick in your head than ‘www.marsandmurries.com’.

If your business has a long name that will be hard to read and remember then it might be worth considering if there are ways you could condense it for your domain name.

2. Make sure you’ve got the functionality you need

Your business is unique. This means that the website for your business will have specific needs and goals that you will want to achieve with it. Bearing this in mind, it’s always a good idea to research your preferred website builder to ensure it offers the functionality you might need. You may want to include a subscriber sign up form…but if you can’t make one on a certain platform, why would you choose it?

You’ve got to make sure your builder will work for you and help you achieve the goals you’ve set for your website. Opt for substance first, style second.

Most website builders offer a pretty wide range of features and functions for you to explore, but it’s also worth remembering to take a look at the additional features that can be purchased from the relevant app or plugin stores. There are many 3rd party developers who create programs that can add more functionality to your site, for example adding a members only section or dynamic pricing functions for ecommerce stores.

3. Planning to sell online? Make sure you’ve got the ecommerce functions you need

We’ve used a wide range of website builders over the years, trying out all sorts of features in order to find out which ones are best suited to different types of websites. With so many platforms available it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that not all website builders are not equal when it comes to ecommerce features.

A number of builders have decided to specialize in helping users create their own online store. Platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce and Wix eCommerce provide the ability to track stock, manage inventory, and look after accounting among other things – essentially, helping you make the most of your business online.

If you’re looking to sell products or services online then we suggest looking at our ecommerce website builder comparison chart.

Or if you prefer a longer read, have a look at our article on the best ecommerce platforms.