When it comes to creating your very own website for your business, portfolio, online store or blog, there's an abundance of options to choose from. So what is the best website development platform? To answer this question is going to depend on your chosen business model. If you need help figuring out which business model you should go for check out our website structure and purpose article!
For context, development platforms are also called content management system or CMS for short. So if you see CMS or content management system throughout this article don't worry we're still talking about the development platform!
Why is choosing the best website development platform crucial for my success?
Selecting the right development platform is crucial. Options like WordPress, Shopify, and custom development offer unique advantages. Your choice should align with your business needs and technical requirements. In this article, we'll look at the following:
As you read this article, remember that we may have missed some popular choices you're familiar with or have looked into. Each platform provides its unique value, and what works for one person might not for another. Keep an open mind and comment down below which CMS Platform you decided to choose.
What is a CMS Platform?
As mentioned above, CMS Stands for Content Management System. This is the program you display all your content on and can categorise it into specific or broad categories. A CMS platform is a powerful and user-friendly software tool designed to simplify creating, managing, and publishing digital content on websites and online applications. With a these systems, individuals and organisations can quickly build, organise, and maintain their online presence without requiring extensive technical expertise.
Most CMS Platforms include the following features:
- 1Content Creation: Users can effortlessly create and edit various types of content, such as text, images, videos, and documents, using intuitive interfaces similar to word processors.
- 2Content Organisation: CMS systems enable content categorisation and organisation through user-friendly menus and hierarchies, making it simple to structure and navigate a website.
- 3User Management: Administrators can control user roles and permissions, allowing multiple contributors to collaborate on content creation and editing while maintaining security.
- 4Templates and Themes: Pre-designed templates and themes simplify website design, offering customisation options to match the brand's look and feel.
- 5SEO Tools: Many CMS platforms have built-in search engine optimisation (SEO) tools to improve a website's visibility on search engines.
- 6Scalability: CMS platforms can adapt to changing business needs, allowing websites to grow and expand quickly.
Popular CMS platforms include Shopify, SquareSpace, WordPress, Figma, WebFlow and many others. These systems empower individuals and businesses to establish and maintain professional and engaging online presences efficiently. Before we decide what the best website development platform is lets deep dive into our top 5 picks!
Now that we have a basic understanding of what a CMS Platform can do let's look at some of the popular choices on the market today.
Popular Development Platforms
As mentioned above, there is an abundance of CMS Providers to choose from, with new platforms popping up every other day. We're only going to cover what we think are the top 5 CMS providers today. Each CMS is specially catered for particular minds and designers. WordPress is one of the most popular or common CMS providers. We'll talk more about WordPress shortly.
Remember that each platform is not ranked in any particular order. Starting our list is Shopify.
1. Shopify: E-commerce Excellence
If you plan to sell products online, Shopify specialises in e-commerce. It provides a user-friendly interface, secure payment processing, and extensive e-commerce features. We've found that although Shopify has impressive features for eCommerce businesses, it needs the library of useful plugins that WordPress offers and is only customisable to a certain level.
2. SquareSpace: Drop and Drag Entry-Level Platform
SquareSpace is a versatile website builder catering to individuals, businesses, and creative professionals seeking a user-friendly platform. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, SquareSpace enables users to design and customise visually appealing sites without coding skills. It provides a range of templates optimised for various niches, such as portfolios, e-commerce, blogs, and personal websites.
SquareSpace, in our opinion, is one of the closest competitors to WordPress. It offers integrated tools for managing content, SEO, and e-commerce, making it a popular choice for artists, photographers, small businesses, and anyone seeking an elegant and functional online presence. Its user-friendly approach appeals to those with design-focused and aesthetic needs.
3. WordPress: A Flexible and User-Friendly Option
Known for its flexibility and ease of use, WordPress is popular for content-focused websites and blogs. It offers a vast library of plugins and themes to enhance functionality and design. We recommend using WordPress as our platform to build all our websites. We've found it to have a good balance of available plugins and valuable tools without getting too confusing and difficult to manage.
4. Figma: Collaborative Design Powerhouse
Figma is a versatile cloud-based design tool that empowers designers to create, collaborate, and prototype seamlessly in real-time. Its collaborative features set it apart, allowing multiple users to work simultaneously on the same design project, fostering efficient teamwork and reducing communication gaps. With Figma, design teams can streamline their workflow, maintain version control, and ensure design consistency, making it an indispensable tool for collaborative design projects.
5. WebFlow: Design Freedom Simplified
WebFlow is a robust visual web design platform that empowers users to create responsive, custom websites without coding. Its intuitive interface allows designers to design, prototype, and publish websites all in one place. The standout benefit is "Code-Free Customization," enabling users to create unique, pixel-perfect designs while maintaining complete control over their site's structure and interactions. WebFlow streamlines the web design process, making it an ideal choice for creative professionals and businesses looking for design freedom without coding constraints.
Now that we have discovered some popular choices, How do we choose the right platform? If you've followed our 6 steps to build a professional website, this should narrow down your selection. When you're ready to choose your pathway, you should have a good idea of the style you want to go for and what your website needs. We'll go into each platform's pros and cons to help narrow that choice even further.
Pros and Cons of each Platform
Following the same order as above, we'll look at the pros and cons of Shopify. In this article, we will focus on features and customisability rather than too much on the pricing of each platform. Depending on when you find yourself reading this article, the prices we supplied may have gone up or come down.
SPECIALISATION IN E-COMMERCE
Shopify is a user-friendly e-commerce platform known for its specialised features and templates. It's ideal for businesses seeking an easy setup and reliable hosting but may have limitations in design customisation without coding skills.
Pros
Cons
With an idea of all the pros and cons for each CMS platform, we've talked about here, where to next? You need to make a choice! Please choose one of the ones we talked about or go on a different pathway. Alternatively, contact us, and we can walk you through the steps of selecting the best platform for your needs and get you started on the right track. Which brings us to the most important part: what do we recommend?
What CMS do we use?
Our Recommendation
As you may or may not have guessed, our pick of CMS platforms is WordPress. Over the years, the team has dabbled in many different web developing software, from Shopify to Wix and dived into FIgma. The best one we found to be the most flexible is WordPress.
Our Reasons:
- 1We use a premium theme suite called Thrive Suite. Thrive suite is jam-packed with perks, benefits and automation to make our developing journey much more manageable.
- 2We understand how the backend of our websites works better and have access to more customisation.
- 3It's also free, depending on the hosting provider being used.
- 4The number of plugins we have access too, far outweighs the likes of Shopify or Squarespace.
- 5We can also integrate more services, creating a central hub where we can do all our work.
These are only a few reasons why we choose WordPress over different CMS. However, even though we prefer and recommend using WordPress, we are still open to working with other Platforms to help you build, grow, optimise and integrate your digital presence. WordPress is not the rule; it's an exception. As mentioned in the Pros and Cons section, it can be tricky and advanced for beginners. We understand that and will meet you where you're at.
When selecting a development platform, consider scalability, maintenance, and security. Collaborate with web development professionals who understand your goals to ensure a seamless development process. If you want more information or partner with our web developers here at DPT Total Solutions, fill out this short survey to get started! One of our team members will get in contact with you shortly!
We hope you found this article insightful and that you can start making your first professional business website! Be sure to follow us across all our Socials and sign up for our newsletter to receive occasional emails with events, offers and new blogs!
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Disclaimer: If you choose to purchase or sign up for any programs or software talked about in this article, a small compensation may be paid out to DPT Total Solutions. This does not come at any extra cost to you. We use these affiliate payments to ensure we can provide you with the best advice and practices to Build, Grow, Optimise and Integrate your business online.