Wordpress - The Website Building Giant
Wordpress has been around for quite some time - so long, in fact, that it has become a household name. There are two versions of the Wordpress website builder: the self-hosted Wordpress.org and the fully hosted Wordpress.com that is more popular for building blog sites.
Strikingly - The All in One Solution
Strikingly is an all-in-one platform that lets you create full-featured websites within minutes. It is a smaller brand compared to Wordpress but it packs quite a punch when it comes to website building tools and integrations.
Wordpress Website Builder vs Strikingly
Who wins the battle of the website builders?
✓ Ease of use
Strikingly is targeted towards beginners and individuals with little to no working knowledge of website design. Wordpress, meanwhile, may have a user-friendly website editor but if you want more customizations, you may need to dabble in HTML and CSS.
✓ Template Selection
Wordpress website builder and Strikingly both have a template library that you can use to design websites. In-house selections may be quite limited but because it’s an open-source platform, it supports third party templates. You can find free templates but the best ones come with a price. In terms of variety, Wordpress, being a platform of choice for blogs, may not have a lot of options for other types of websites. Meanwhile, Strikingly’s internal template collection covers various industries and website types.
✓ App integrations
Plugins on Wordpress are aplenty, being an industry leader in website building. You can create feature-rich websites by simply adding different plugins. However, do note that the more plugins you add, the heavier your site becomes so it may take longer to load. Also plugins need to be updated to ensure compatibility with the Wordpress website builder version you’re using so you need to spend a lot of time maintaining your website. Strikingly keeps things simple by giving you a variety of options for apps and plugins without the need to constantly update app versions. Its app integrations are pared down to the most essential so they don’t weigh your site down.
✓ SEO and Marketing
Wordpress offers SEO tools in the form of third-party plugins to help you start optimizing your website. Meanwhile, Strikingly has created its templates and tools with SEO in mind. All templates are mobile-responsive - something that is very important given how Google is prioritizing mobile versions of websites in search results.
✓ Pricing
With both Wordpress and Strikingly, it’s possible to create websites for free. The difference lies in the features that are available on free accounts. If you’re just starting to dip your toes into website design, Strikingly makes it possible for you to enjoy most features that you can only get on paid plans. For instance, Strikingly lets you build an online store on its platform even on a free account. Meanwhile, eCommerce support is only available on Wordpress’ eCommerce tier. You will need to upgrade to a paid plan if you want to try your hand at online store management.
BOTTOMLINE
In the battle of Wordpress website builder vs Strikingly, both platforms are targeted towards a particular set of users. However, Strikingly wins as the better solution only because it can support a variety of website types. It is great for beginners and users who are looking for a lower cost of entry to website design without sacrificing on customization options and features.
Check out our blog for more website design tips and inspiration.
