We know how it goes: You’re sitting at your kitchen table, freshly brewed coffee in hand, staring at your laptop. You’ve got a million tabs open about website platforms, each one claiming to be the best. Your head’s spinning, and all you can think is, “How do I even choose?” Sound familiar?
Price might grab your attention immediately, but here’s the truth—choosing a website platform isn’t like shopping for the cheapest coffee maker. Your website is your digital storefront, your handshake to the world, your 24/7 representative. It needs to do so much more than just fit a budget. It needs to work for your business.
Here are the 7 things every small business owner should consider (besides price) when selecting a website platform—and no, you don’t need to be a tech wizard to understand them.
1. Is It Flexible Enough to Reflect Your Brand Identity?
Your website is more than a place for information; it’s an extension of your brand. If your goal is to stand out, design flexibility isn’t optional—it's essential. Your platform should enable you to design something uniquely you without locking you into limited templates.
Consider this: Wix offers incredible drag-and-drop ease, but it might feel restrictive for advanced customization. On the other hand, platforms like Webflow deliver near-limitless design possibilities, albeit with a steeper learning curve.
Think about how you want your website to feel and ask yourself if the platform you’re looking at can help you achieve it. Because trust me, no one remembers a website that looks like it came out of a "meh" template mold.
2. Can It Scale as Your Business Grows?
Your business today isn’t your business tomorrow. Whether you’re a boutique florist or a thriving e-commerce brand, you need a platform that grows with you, not one you’ll outgrow within a year.
Platforms like Squarespace are perfect for small startups but may struggle as your site grows into a more robust e-commerce hub. Compare that to WordPress, a platform known for handling websites of all shapes and sizes—a solid solution for long-term scalability.
Pro tip? Look for platforms that allow you to add features without needing an overhaul. You don’t want to be stuck rebuilding six months from now because your current platform suddenly maxed out on capabilities.
3. Does It Integrate the E-Commerce Features You Need?
If you’re selling anything online—whether it’s custom pottery or consulting services—your platform needs to bring its A-game to e-commerce.
Ask yourself:
- Can you easily hook it up to payment gateways like Stripe or PayPal?
- Does it handle inventory management smoothly?
- Is it intuitive for your customers to browse seamlessly through your shop?
For small businesses, platforms like Shopify excel here, offering tailored e-commerce solutions, while others, like HubSpot, shine when combining your shop with marketing tools for customer retention.
Make sure your platform has the tools you need on Day 1 and can support extras if your business grows beyond your dream.
4. Is It Mobile-Responsive and SEO-Friendly?
Here’s a harsh reality. Over half of global web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website isn’t mobile-responsive, you’re waving goodbye to potential customers before they even reach your homepage.
Website platforms like Squarespace and Wix excel at creating mobile-responsive designs right out of the box. Meanwhile, SEO-friendly tools—available on platforms like WordPress and Webflow—help get your website seen on Google, driving traffic to your digital doorstep.
Your ideal platform not only looks great but works brilliantly on both a 6-inch smartphone screen and a 27-inch desktop monitor and ensures search engines like Google love it too.
5. Will It Keep Your Data Safe?
We’re talking about your reputation here! A platform with robust security measures isn’t negotiable. One data breach, and you risk losing your customers’ trust—and you can’t afford that.
Top platforms like Squarespace, HubSpot, and Shopify are well-known for strong built-in security protocols and compliance certifications like GDPR (because, yes, your smallest customer cares about data privacy too).
Make sure your platform takes care of behind-the-scenes vulnerabilities so you can focus on growing your business. Remember, trust is earned in teaspoons but lost in buckets.
6. How Easy Is It to Manage Your Website?
Raise your hand if you don’t have a dedicated tech team. That’s probably most of us. Your website platform should be straightforward enough for anyone on your team to manage—whether you’re swapping out photos, uploading a blog post, or updating office hours.
User-friendly content management system (CMS) tools are your best friend here. Wix prides itself on simplicity, while WordPress has a steeper learning curve paired with almost unlimited capabilities. Then there’s Webflow, a fantastic choice for designers, though it might need extra hand-holding for non-designers.
The point? Choose something that matches your team's tech comfort level. Because the last thing you need is to call your 19-year-old nephew every time you need a blog updated.
7. Does It Offer Solid Support and a Strong Community?
Picture this scenario. It’s midnight. You’re in full-on panic mode because your homepage just disappeared. Now what?
This is where a platform’s support system and community resources come into play. Platforms like HubSpot and Squarespace offer stellar customer support, while WordPress boasts an enormous community forum filled with problem solvers.
When you invest in a platform, you’re also investing in their ability to help you when things go south. Find out what kind of assistance they provide—because running a small business can be unpredictable, and you deserve dependable support when it counts.
Building Your Digital Foundation Starts Here
Your website is so much more than a digital placeholder for your logo and contact info. It’s the heartbeat of your brand online—a space to showcase your products, interact with customers, and grow your business.
And just as you wouldn’t build your dream home on shaky ground, you shouldn’t settle for anything less than the perfect platform for your business’s foundation.
The question isn’t, “What’s the cheapest option?” It’s, “What platform sets me up for long-term success?”
If you’re still uncertain which platform fits your goals best, schedule a Web Design and Build Consultation with our team today (we normally charge $99 for this comprehensive service but mention this article and we'll give it to you for free!). We'll help you refine your vision, identify your business priorities, and choose the platform that brings your ideas to life.
Because the digital world is vast, and your small business is destined to shine. Let's build something extraordinary, together.
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