Anyone who’s ever thought of building a website would probably have heard of the wordpress website builder. It’s an extremely popular platform and one that has been around for quite some time. Wordpress started out as a simple blogging site that has evolved into a sophisticated platform that lets users create fully-functional personal and business websites.
Meanwhile, there’s Strikingly - a website builder that is relatively younger but packs quite a punch in terms of site design and development features. It is another option you can explore if you’re looking into creating an engaging and mobile responsive website to house your brand or portfolio online.
Both platforms have the same end goal - enable users to build a website. But you’re probably wondering which one is the right choice for you. We battled them out so you didn’t have to - Wordpress website builder vs Strikingly. Find out how one compares to the other in this post.
Wordpress - the website building giant
Wordpress has two versions: Wordpress.com - the fully hosted platform that is popular for building blog sites - and the self-hosted Wordpress.org. The former takes care of the hosting and all you need to do is get your content on the site. For the purposes of this article, we will look at how this version of the Wordpress website builder compares with Strikingly.
Set up and customization
Both Wordpress and Strikingly promise to enable users to build websites with little to no coding required. Wordpress.com. Wordpress.com setup is pretty straightforward. It starts with a question on the type of website you’re creating, asks for a domain name and then finally takes you to the site editor where you can add in your content. There’s no need to select a template because the site’s design has already been decided for you. It is also not clear how users can add elements or customize their pages. There’s a steep learning curve in terms of creating a fully-functional website rather than a simple blog.
And then there’s Strikingly. Setup starts with website template selection. The platform has a collection of templates that were designed to suit different types of websites. You can preview each template so you get an idea of how your site might look like. Once you’ve selected a template the actual site building starts. The sections are carved out and all you need to do is write the copy and add visuals. You can also add more sections depending on the site features that you require - an ecommerce section, blog, forms and galleries, for example. Overall, you don’t need to learn programming language to run the site editor but the option to write code is still available through Strikingly’s app store.
Pricing and eCommerce Support
Both Strikingly and Wordpress website builder offer a low cost of entry - you can get a free account from these platforms. For paid plans, however, the services offered are vastly different. Wordpress.com offers 4 paid account tiers ranging from US$4 per month to US$25 for business accounts. Ecommerce support is only available for the eCommerce tier so you will need to upgrade your free account if you’re looking to try your hand at selling your products online through Wordpress.
Meanwhile, if you’re a one-product business, Strikingly enables you to dip your toes into the world of ecommerce at a relatively lower cost by giving you access to Simple Store even on free accounts. You pretty much get access to all the web templates on the platform, plus reliable customer support through chat and through its growing knowledge base. If you’re looking to scale up, paid accounts start at US$8 for Limited accounts to $49 per month for the VIP tier. Overall, Strikingly gives you better value for money, especially if you’re a small business owner who wants to start building an online presence with minimal financial risk.
Which is the better option?
In the battle of Wordpress website builder vs. Strikingly, we think that while both platforms serve a specific set of users, the latter wins as a suitable site builder for beginners and startup businesses. It provides a better suite of features and customization options for individuals who want to create unique websites without breaking the bank. While Wordpress provides site building capabilities, it is still better suited for bloggers and freelancers.
