When it comes to building your website, picking the right platform is essential. After all, the platform you choose will have a direct impact on your website’s functionality, overall performance and long-term success. And, if you don’t choose a platform that suits your needs, it could poorly impact your online presence, and prevent your online brand from effectively growing.
Here, the web design team at Oxygen Elements have tried, tested and rated our top website platforms.
WordPress
It’s a no-brainer when it comes to deciding which website platform comes out on top, and that’s WordPress. Its ability to adapt to a business and grow with a brand is second-to-none, not to mention its vast plugin ecosystem and customisable theme options.
The pros to using WordPress for your business’s website platform include:
- Its flexibility allows our creatives to seamlessly build a bespoke website specifically shaped around the needs of each client.
- It has thousands (60,000 plus) plug-ins available to expand the functionality of a website, while ensuring it is designed to suit its target audience.
- It’s SEO-friendly, making it our top choice for businesses seeking to enhance their online visibility and improve their Google rankings.
- It receives regular updates to improve security and fix bugs.
From complex, multi-page portfolio websites for corporates to brochure websites for small independents, WordPress continues to reign as supreme.
Shopify
Shopify is also a strong contender, especially for those in the e-commerce sector. It offers a range of tools to ensure our web design team can customise your online platform to suit your business.
Here are some of the pros to choosing Shopify:
- It can be customised to suit the needs of your business.
- It provides users with a seamless shopping experience.
- It’s safe and secure.
- Shopify has the ability to grow and develop alongside your business, making it the perfect choice for online retailers with a long-term strategy.
Shopify is a popular choice for e-commerce clients, thanks to its extensive features and ability to grow with a business. It enables a seamless and smooth online shopping and payment process, enhancing the user experience while allowing retailers to easily manage their inventory. Shopify would be our top choice for e-commerce businesses, regardless of their stage of growth.
Wix
While Wix can be a good option for small businesses and individuals, it definitely lacks the flexibility and scalability compared to WordPress or Shopify.
Wix does have multiple pre-designed templates to choose from, however, its SEO capabilities are limited, and customising a Wix website can prove difficult.
Squarespace
Squarespace is often the choice for small online businesses thanks to its range of aesthetically pleasing, professionally designed templates.
However, its flexibility and scalability are extremely limited. With this in mind, businesses seeking a website that reflects their identity and is designed with their target audience in mind should consider either WordPress or Shopify.
Magento
Although not widely known, Magento is still an option for e-commerce websites. It offers comprehensive features, making it customisable, but is a lot more complex behind the scenes. Even experts with the most technical knowledge of websites can find Magento difficult to manage.
Joomla
Joomla is best known for its strong security features and ability to offer a platform for complex website structures.
However, templates are limited, and for this reason, website builders often have to rely on third-party plug-ins, extensions, and resources to help build a platform specific to the needs of their clients. And doing this could make your website’s security vulnerable.
To operate Joomla effectively, it requires a high level of technical knowledge.
Are you looking for a new website?
While there are several great website platforms available, we would strongly recommend that businesses choose either WordPress or Shopify. Both platforms offer the best balance of features, flexibility to customise, ability to grow with a business, and the opportunity to boost online presence.
Of course, it’s right that you choose a platform that suits your unique needs and requirements. And who better to advise than the experts themselves? If you’re looking for a new website or to refresh your current one, then book a meeting with our team of creatives.
