New Website - Weebly, Wix or Wordpress?

Bubbleshark on 17/07/2023 - 16:25
Last edited 18/07/2023 - 17:00

Hi,

I am looking to create a website for my home bakery and was wondering what platform would be most suitable. I'd prefer to do it on my own as times are tough, I was wondering what could host a few pages with photos and an order/payment system. I read that Wordpress would require much maintenance (maybe not as I am looking to do something fairly simple) and Wix/Weebly are dearer options. I have been leaning toward Wordpress as the amount of info/tutorials are all over the place but I fear I might mess it up at some point during some updates and pull my hair trying to recover from a backup.

Thanks for the insight

Internet Web Hosting

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 17/07/2023 - 16:26
    +5

    Shopify

    • netjock on 17/07/2023 - 16:42

      This

  • lachhelix on 17/07/2023 - 16:42
    +2

    WordPress = more powerful, good industry standard, but requires maintenance and not really drag and drop out of the box

    If you're going to DIY for content only, use a self service builder - Wix over Weebly
    If you're going to be selling stuff, definitely go for Shopify

  • geekcohen on 17/07/2023 - 17:01
    +2

    Start off with Shopify first and then if things really take off, invest (through a developer) in a Wordpress (with WooCommerce) site. Shopify is the quickest, easiest and lowest initial cost to get going.

    But as Lachhelix said - Wordpress requires a bit more maintenance.

  • AustriaBargain on 17/07/2023 - 17:20

    Wordpres is boss, and it's "free", but expensive because someone who knows it thoroughly isn't cheap. Kind of like how repairing a car is "free" but most people still need to pay a mechanic.

    What I lean more towards is having one website.com as a sales funnel to like your shoplift store at shop.website.com or order.website.com. Your own Woo store is ideal because fees can be low, but you don't have a merchant bank account so you'll probably be paying PayPal's fees anyway, so no harm in just paying Shopify's fees. You can always change stores later.

  • Jolakot on 17/07/2023 - 17:20
    +4

    I'm a web developer, don't use Wordpress or Weebly, they both suck for basic solutions.

    Shopify is amazing for self-service ecommerce, you'll be up-and-running in an afternoon. It'll cost you $42/month for the basic plan, and their payment processor will charge you 1.75% + 30¢ for each online transaction. They had a deal where you can get it for $1/month as a trial for 3 months, not sure if that's still active.

    Wix is great for a more content-orientated site, but getting payment systems setup is a bit convoluted, not a bad option overall.
    Squarespace is similar to Wix, but even worse for payment systems in my experience.

    • Bubbleshark on 18/07/2023 - 17:17

      Thank you for the explanation,

      Would you still get Shopify over wordpress.com (not the self hosted one, it has maintenance with updates/backup)?
      I just feel that wordpress has more liberty if I want to transit to something different in the long run, I am usually skeptical of proprietary solutions but I also feel that if I don't have a complex ecommerce site, it shouldn't matter too much

      • Jolakot on 18/07/2023 - 23:11
        +1

        For a new e-commerce site? Shopify, 100%.

        Like I could build and maintain a customized Wordpress site myself, but the hours wasted messing around with themes, security, updates and especially SEO, are hours that you can't spend on actually working and making money.

        Really don't discount SEO either, the faster page load-times and mobile-optimized themes that come with Shopify makes a gigantic difference in where your site ranks on Google/Bing. Getting the same SEO 'score' with Wordpress takes a lot of work, you start on the backfoot, and experts aren't cheap.

        I get wanting extra customization, but you're not stuck with any option. If you start with Shopify and then later decide that you want it to be something else, then you can make a purpose-build Wordpress site once you know what you want. It's like a single person buying a 9 bedroom house because they might have 8 kids one day.

        • Bubbleshark on 19/07/2023 - 14:48
          +1

          Thanks for the insight, I started to get on Shopify and it's really way easier to navigate then Wordpress as you mentioned.

  • DewinDell on 17/07/2023 - 21:02

    Can't believe people are recommending Wordpress.

    • lachhelix on 18/07/2023 - 14:44

      Lol literally nobody has recommended WordPress for they're use case 😂

  • jason101 on 17/07/2023 - 21:44

    I ran a few Wordpress websites in years gone by, for reasons still unknown to this date all were continually compromised, deleted by malicious parties or pages replaced with Islamic state propoganda and other very obscure material. If properly managed (maintained by a professional) is this avoidable vs paying Shopify thousands per month? I am continually paranoid about downtime as my website sustains several families and cannot be offline without causing significant financial trauma.

    • AustriaBargain on 17/07/2023 - 22:47
      +1

      Your sites were hacked bro, probably from some plugin with an exploit. Add all your sites to something like MainWP so you can see what plugins they all have in one place. And stop using random Elementor add on plugins, keep all your plugins up to date, keep Wordpress up to date. Just stop using Elementor actually.

    • geekcohen on 18/07/2023 - 05:53

      I ran a few Wordpress websites in years gone by, for reasons still unknown to this date all were continually compromised, deleted by malicious parties or pages replaced with Islamic state propoganda and other very obscure material.

      As indicated above, you were hacked.

      If properly managed (maintained by a professional) is this avoidable

      Yes. You could go with a provider like WP Engine who manage it for you and do the automatic updates.

      I am continually paranoid about downtime as my website sustains several families and cannot be offline without causing significant financial trauma.

      If you pay someone or pay extra for it to be maintained by a professional and have solutions in place to stop hacks, then there wouldn't be any downtime. Because of now downtime, then you get more cash, so then it pays for the maintenance and other security solutions. In the last 5 years, with solutions I have in place for Wordpress websites (hundreds of sites over the 5 years), I haven't had 1 hacked and all have been using free Security solutions like Wordfence and CloudFlare just to name a few. All of these sites haven't always been up to date either with plugins.

  • AustriaBargain on 17/07/2023 - 22:46
    +1

    Uber would be good for you too, 5% pickup fee, would give you exposure to Uber audience too, and presumably you can leave later. Uber don't accept just anyone though, you haven't told us how many sales if any you are actually making…

    • Bubbleshark on 18/07/2023 - 17:05

      I haven't really started yet, so my sales have been through words of mouth, I don't know much about the requirement but I'll have a look thanks!

  • jthomaz5 on 18/07/2023 - 14:32
    +3

    I run a WordPress agency so this is what I tell prospects…

    If you're looking for somewhere to start that is easy maintenance and easy to use - Squarespace

    Ecommerce and need bit more features and functions - Shopify

    Customisation and functionality but needs maintenace - WordPress

    • Bubbleshark on 18/07/2023 - 17:09

      What do you think about Wordpress.com compared to Shopify? As I understand it requires less management than a self hosted version

      • jthomaz5 on 18/07/2023 - 21:07
        +1

        Wordpress.com has an extremely high transaction fee atleast for the first few plans. Only once u get the business plans will u get other features like installing wordpress plugins etc. I think still Shopify maybe more easier though for clients. But generally speaking, Shopify amongst others, are made to go from day one w sales. WP isn't.

  • Sinnerator on 19/07/2023 - 08:45
    +1

    adobe dreamweaver + godaddy

    • Bubbleshark on 19/07/2023 - 14:40
      +1

      Haha dreamweaver, those were the days with some flash plugins

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