Years ago, site builders like Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly made it possible for someone with limited technical experience to design and build a website — without the help of a seasoned web developer.
These drag-and-drop builders did such a good job making web development accessible to the masses, creating a website is as easy as putting together a PowerPoint presentation.
They became one of the main reasons businesses and entrepreneurs opted not to partner with a web designer.
It made web design so easy that the limited functionality was an easy tradeoff for many people.
Despite their adversarial past with web pros, site builders today are poised to become an important tool for web designers and developers.
As these apps continue to improve, what role, if any, do they play in the toolbox of the modern web designer and developer?
GoDaddy’s hosting team spoke with a group of designers and developers, as well as agency leaders, to learn what, if any, role modern site builders play for web professionals.
Here’s what we learned.
Web pros are using site builders
Despite a tumultuous past, web pros are, in fact, using site builders to help deliver client sites faster.
Builders also make it easier for their clients to manage those sites in the long term.
In just about half of the interviews we conducted, web pros had adopted a site builder as a secondary content management system (CMS).
Meanwhile, less than 4% were committed to using WordPress only — a long-time favorite platform for web professionals.
Historically, web pros were committed to their CMS of choice, which was most often WordPress. This meant that regardless of what kind of site their client needed, they used WordPress to build it.
Today, web pros have both a primary CMS, most likely still WordPress, and a secondary CMS, very likely a site builder, to help with certain types of sites or clients.
So what problems are they solving with site builders?
Making client handoffs easier
All the web pros we spoke with were concerned by a client’s ability or level of comfort with managing a site long-term.
Many of them said the WordPress admin panel could be confusing for their clients, especially when their client needed to make minor changes to the site.
Site builders, on the other hand, with their drag-and-drop interfaces, make it exceptionally easy for clients to make minor changes to images and copy when necessary.
Secondarily, but of equal importance, site builders don’t require the same level of maintenance and service to keep the site online.
WordPress, to remain secure, requires updates and security patches to be installed on a regular basis.
Often the site's server also requires attention, as well, to run fast and safe.
Site builders, much like GoDaddy Website Builder, are completely maintained and managed by the hosting company, and do not require any of these administrative tasks.
Faster and easier for less complex sites
Most of the web pros we spoke with reported an increase in the number of clients asking for “basic” websites that don’t require the robust backend that WordPress is known for.
When a client is asking for five to ten static pages with a few features for lead generation, like appointment booking, a website builder makes more sense and is easier to work with than a large WordPress deployment.
Most of the web pros we worked with said the ability to start a project quickly with a lightweight tool like a site builder makes it easier to deliver that site to the client.
Designed for designers
Clients want a site that looks great and engages visitors visually. Often this comes in the form of animations and site interactions.
“I’ll ask my client why they like a certain site they showed me as an example, and they always say they animations. They want the animations."Allison W., a freelancer who prefers WordPress, but uses a site builder to deliver the same caliber design for less technical clients.
Many web pros noted they could add these same designs with WordPress, but it often required a plugin or a different builder to do so.
Site builders often include many of these sought-after visual components, making it very easy to give any site the right amount of flare to keep clients happy.
Is a site builder right for you?
It’s very clear that modern site builders offer a lot of value to seasoned web pros.
If you’re not already using a site builder, or if you are, we invite you to a free trial of GoDaddy’s Website Builder so you can try it out on your next client project.
