Compare Website Builders vs. WordPress Side-by-Side – 2023 Review

Building a website used to be the domain of experienced developers and designers. Today, almost anyone with a computer, internet access, and a few dollars can create a professional website. The two most popular tools are general website builders and content management platforms (CMS) like WordPress

Although website builders and CMS platforms achieve the same objective, the two platforms work differently. Each platform also has its advantages and disadvantages. This post pits website builders and WordPress head-to-head to help determine the best option for you. 

Website Builders and WordPress Compared to the Best 

WordPress didn’t make it to our list of the best website builders simply because it is a full content management system (CMS) and not strictly a website builder. Our recommendation for the best website builder is Shopify for its versatility, superior ecommerce capabilities, high-quality templates, and easy no-code design. Try the full-featured Shopify website builder free for up to three days with no credit card or commitment required.  

  • Shopify – Best for selling products and services 
  • Wix – Best website builder for your first website 
  • Zyro – Best for keeping website costs low 
  • Bluehost – Best for WordPress websites 
  • Squarespace – Best website builder for creators of all stripes 
  • Weebly – Best for solopreneurs
  • GoDaddy – Best for building your website from your phone 

Website Builders vs. WordPress High-Level Comparison 

Many people mistakenly categorize WordPress as a website builder. Instead, WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that also includes a site builder. Although website builders and content management systems both let you build a website from scratch, they are still vastly different tools. 

A website builder provides a platform and tools for…

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Episode 2028 Scott Adams PART2: Trump Witch Hunt Grand Jury, Ramaswamy vs Cartels, Eric & UFOs, More Fun

Episode 2028 Scott Adams PART2: Trump Witch Hunt Grand Jury, Ramaswamy vs Cartels, Eric & UFOs, More Fun

Content:

  • If you’re White, don’t live in a Black neighborhood
  • Nikki Haley ahead of DeSantis in poll
  • Eric Weinstein, Sam Harris, & UFOs
  • The Political Gooners
  • Georgia Grand Jury foreperson…witch?
  • Ukraine war, ammo shortage
  • If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

 

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5 Ways to Safeguard Your Marketing Career Against/With AI

AI is an opportunity, not a threat. The marketers who embrace change will see their capabilities expand faster than they ever thought possible. Marketers who hide or ignore the trends will be left behind.

There are two ways to look at this situation. Let’s start with the negative way…

The Lost Marketers on the Beach

All the marketers sat on a beautiful beach that went on far as the eye could see. They chatted, laughed, built sand castles, and played in the waves. Then the ocean started to recede; a little bit at first, but as the minutes ticked by, it got farther and farther away from the shore until it couldn’t be seen.

The marketers looked at each other perplexed… some thought it was funny and ran out onto the wet sand where the waves used to crash. Others remained were they were, and simply discussed the troubling disappearance of the ocean. Still others ran inland towards high ground, screaming for the rest to follow.

By the time the tsunami could be seen, it was too late for anyone to change their mind. The wave rose, and rose, and rose, and it got closer, and closer, and closer. It swept up the people who had run towards the ocean first, then the people who did nothing, and then pursued the ones who tried to prepare for its arrival.

Everything they had built on the beach was destroyed. Most of the marketers were lost, sucked into the ocean or smashed against the shore. The remainder stumbled across a desolate landscape, picking up the pieces of what they had built, and began reconstructing from scratch.

I’m sure you guessed that AI is the tsunami, and the three groups of marketers are the ones that are happy about AI but aren’t taking it seriously, the ones on the beach aren’t doing anything, and the ones heading for the hills understand that AI is a game changer and are starting to prepare.

The good news is, this isn’t the only way to look at this situation!

The Adventurous Marketers on the Frontier

The crew was ready. Cargo stowed, flight checklist reviewed, engines in the green… the countdown had begun. The count reached zero and like a match being struck, the ship leapt into the air climbing higher and higher, faster and faster until the mountains and waves devolved into a mat of green and blue, and the clouds billowed below.

They were headed towards space, where countless new stations had been constructed near resource-rich astroids… or maybe to the manufacturing plants on the moon… or to the growing colony on Mars… or to explore the moons of Jupiter. The crew was excited with the endless possibilities this new frontier had opened up.

There would be danger and fear, but that would be easily squashed by adventure and opportunity, driven by courage, energy, and a ravenous appetite for advancement.

The frontier…

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4 Ways to Do Less and Get More Done Today

4 Ways to Do Less and Get More Done Today

You get more done when you do less, and you get less done when you do more.

Constant busyness produces shallow people. Most of us do too much of what matters less. I think it’s a compulsion because busyness is a status symbol.

Busy is the proper response to, “How are you doing?” You’re a loser if you eat dinner at home, coach Little League, take weekends off, and don’t send emails at 1:15 a.m.

70% of Americans said they “never had enough time,” in 2011. It rose to 80% in 2018. (HBR)

If you don’t have a crazy schedule something’s wrong with you.

The less you do the more you get done. Image of a gymnast's hand grabbing a ring.The less you do the more you get done. Image of a gymnast's hand grabbing a ring.

4 ways to do less and get more done:

#1. Become a one string banjo.

Life is a disaster when everything is urgent. It makes you feel important, but the opposite is true.

Important people do important things. I’m not talking about being too good to pick up trash in the parking lot. I’m talking about choosing one or two places to invest your time, energy, and talent in order to make meaningful contribution.

Get more done by choosing one important thing to do today.

#2. Make your own decisions.

A person who lets others run their life does what matters to others.

Don’t live to only serve yourself, but don’t let others run your life either.

Realize you chose to work where you work. If the downside of your job is heavier than the upside seek a new job.

#3. Go to bed.

What fool believes tired people get more done? You get more done by getting enough rest. Too much rest is exhausting. Too little rest is debilitating.

#4. Put white space on your calendar.

Back-to-back meetings indicate poor management. Get more done by realizing schedule management is self-management.

How can you do less to get more done today?

Still curious:

How to Manage Your Schedule When Your Hair is on Fire

A Formula for Your Best Day Ever Pt. I

4 Simple Reasons Your Calendar is Out of Control

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Top 5 Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins of 2023 – In-Depth Review

Our recommendation for most users is WooCommerce, as it’s a versatile and powerful solution for building and managing an ecommerce store. Get started with a 30-day free trial.

The best WordPress ecommerce plugins make starting and managing an online store a lot easier, but not every option out there is worth your time. The Quick Sprout research team spent three weeks analyzing top ecommerce plugins for WordPress websites and found feature-packed and high value-for-money tools that simplify common ecommerce activities, such as inventory management, customer management, and payment gateway integration.

See our top picks below.

The Top 5 Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins

After weeks of detailed research, we determined our top picks for the best WordPress ecommerce plugins. WooCommerce gives users the perfect mix of basic and advanced features that make running an ecommerce site a breeze. Get started with a 30-day free trial.

Company logos for our best WordPress ecommerce plugins reviewsCompany logos for our best WordPress ecommerce plugins reviews

How We Evaluate the Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins

Here’s a quick rundown of how we researched and evaluated different WordPress ecommerce plugins: 

How We Qualify WordPress Ecommerce Plugins for Consideration

In our first round of research, we identified 26 options that were commonly used by ecommerce owners:

Cart Recovery for WordPress, Easy Digital Downloads, Ecwid by Lightspeed, JivoChat, MemberPress, Sendinblue, WSDesk, Shopify, Sucuri, Tidio, TrustPulse, WP EasyCart, WP eCommerce, WooCommerce, YITH WooCommerce Wishlist, WPForms, Gravity Forms, W3 Total Cache, Yoast SEO, Akismet Anti-Spam, BackupBuddy, Better WordPress Security, BuddyPress, Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WP Super Cache

Naturally, not all of them were good enough to meet our standards. Our research team ruled out WordPress plugins that were either difficult to use, lacked desirable features, or…

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Episode 2029 Scott Adams: I’m Trending On Twitter. Was It Something I Said?

Episode 2029 Scott Adams: I’m Trending On Twitter. Was It Something I Said?

Content:

Was it something I said?

If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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The Writing Business of Your Dreams: 15 Tips for Entrepreneurial Writers

The Writing Business of Your Dreams: 15 Tips for Entrepreneurial Writers 18&63,h=A>>12&63,n=A>>6&63,o=63&A,u[l++]=i.charAt(a)+i.charAt(h)+i.charAt(n)+i.charAt(o);while(d A Framework to Start the Writing Business of Your Dreams: 15 Tips for Entrepreneurial Writers { /** * Displays toast message from storage, it is used when the user is redirected after login */ if ( window.sessionStorage ) { $( window ).on( ‘tcb_after_dom_ready’, () => { let message = sessionStorage.getItem( ‘tcb_toast_message’ ); if ( message ) { tcbToast( sessionStorage.getItem( ‘tcb_toast_message’ ), false ); sessionStorage.removeItem( ‘tcb_toast_message’ ); } } ); } /** * Displays toast message */ function tcbToast( message, error, callback ) { /* Also allow “message” objects */ if ( typeof message !== ‘string’ ) { message = message.message || message.error || message.success; } if ( ! error ) { error = false; } TCB_Front.notificationElement.toggle( message, error ? ‘error’ : ‘success’, callback ); } } )( typeof ThriveGlobal === ‘undefined’ ? jQuery : ThriveGlobal.$j ); ]]> ‘ + data.settings.title + ” : ” }}} ]]>

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5 Simple Ways to Practice Being Present Even Busy Leaders Can Try

5 Simple Ways to Practice Being Present Even Busy Leaders Can Try

Being present is getting there by being here.

You aren’t present when one eye watches the clock. You’re absent when you intimidate with position or power. When you try to impress someone a pretend-self has displaced the real you. Continually checking your phone means you aren’t here.

You avoid being present when you procrastinate or avoid someone in the hall or nurture hurt feelings.

The enemies of being present intend for you to live but miss life.

Being present is getting there by being here. Image of a person walking on a plank path.Being present is getting there by being here. Image of a person walking on a plank path.

5 simple ways to practice being present:

#1. Show up with an intention.

Before your next meeting clarify one intention. “I’m in this meeting to ____________ (fill in the blank).” When the goal is simply to get something done, you are absent. What’s your intention when answering email? Responding to complaints?

Stop rushing.

#2. Do what you are doing.

Forget about missing out. FOMO is the reason you miss out. Persistent dissatisfaction indicates you live in a wished-for world, not the one you’re in.

#3. Listen.

If you love a challenge, try challenging yourself to listen.

  1. Listen to learn.
  2. Listen without fixing.
  3. Listen to let yourself be changed.

Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you. Image of three giraffes.Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you. Image of three giraffes.

#4. Leave your phone in your car.

The next time you show up for something, show up empty handed. Do your best to minimize beeps, buzzes, and notifications.

I’ve started turning my computer off a few times a day. I don’t put it to sleep. I kill it.

#5. Create rituals.

Re-center yourself several times a day.

When someone shows up for a one-on-one say, “Let me put my phone in the drawer.” In the morning, center yourself by choosing an intention for the day.

Bonus: Do things that matter.

Appreciate the things you do that matter to you. Don’t waste life on trivialities.

What can you do today to practice being present?

Still curious:

The Pleasure of God – Overcome Misery and Feel Joy

4 Ways to Be Present that Anyone Can Practice

4 Ways to Make 2018 the Best Year of Your Life

How to Focus a Wandering Mind

How to Defeat Distraction and Heighten Satisfaction

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Wix Alternatives and Competitors – 2023 Review

Our top recommendation for a Wix alternative is Shopify, a robust ecommerce platform built for streamlining online sales. Start a free 3-month trial of Shopify.

Wix offers easy website building in a convenient package with affordable pricing, allowing almost anyone—technical experience or not—to design a website from the ground up. From blogs to multi-category ecommerce sites, Wix can handle any website you want to build.

Still, it’s far from the only website builder on the market. The Quick Sprout team spent dozens of hours testing different website builders to determine use cases for each and who each product fits best. We found six Wix alternatives that could be the ideal solution for your website. 

The 7 Best Website Builders

Shopify is an excellent Wix alternative for most businesses needing a website for online sales. Along with Shopify and Wix, here are some more website builders that could work for you:

  1. Shopify – Best for selling products and services
  2. Wix – Best website builder for your first website
  3. Zyro – Best for keeping website costs low
  4. Bluehost – Best for WordPress websites
  5. Squarespace – Best website builder for creators of all stripes
  6. Weebly – Best for solopreneurs
  7. GoDaddy – Best for building your website from your phone

Browse my list of the best website builders to learn more about each product.

Brand logos for the seven best website buildersBrand logos for the seven best website builders

Shopify – Best for selling products and services

Shopify logoShopify logo

It’s hard to beat Shopify as an ecommerce site builder….

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Decision-Making Skills: 16 Ways To Improve

Decision-making skills and processes can be hard, but psychological research can help us combat our mind’s inherent flaws.

Accurate decision-making — about investments, business, relationships and the rest — is very difficult.

Our minds are wonderful and fabulously complex, but not without flaws.

In many ways, while the mind is amazing, it is also a clumsy, cobbled together contraption with many predictable foibles.

One of the biggest challenges to decision-making is that fact that we effectively each have two people inside us.

One is a party animal.

He wants to get as much pleasure as he can right now, to eat, drink and be merry.

The other is the boring guy.

The kind who saves for a rainy day, eats healthily, never drinks too much and does the ‘right thing’.

We’ll call the first guy ‘Want’ and the second guy ‘Should’.

The mental battle between Want and Should has been going on since most of us can remember.

Here some tips drawn from psychological research on the best ways to improve your decision-making skills in the face of these two sides of yourself.

1. Make the decision in advance

One of the best ways to fox the Want guy is to carry out decision-making in advance.

When we make decisions in advance it’s Should that’s in charge.

Whatever area of life, whether it’s financial, dietary, work or any other, if you make the decision in advance, you’re likely to cut down on detrimental outcomes.

2. Consider alternatives when making decisions

Studies find that when people choose things without comparing the options their Want guy easily gets out of control.

Without comparisons, it’s easier for the Want guy to justify the bad decision.

By comparing options, though, research finds that people are better able to make the choice that is in their long-term interests.

Remember that our brains are not good at evaluating evidence dispassionately.

Force yourself to generate alternatives.

Research has demonstrated the value of counter-factual thinking: thinking about the opposite helps us make better decisions.

3. Weigh costs against benefits

Weight up costs and benefits is common decision-making advice, but actually quite tricky to do.

Research shows that our minds prefer to consider either costs or benefits; taking both into account takes considerable effort.

One factor we often forget is the ‘opportunity cost’: when we do one thing, we can’t be doing something else.

When I watch TV the benefit might be relaxation and enjoyment but the cost is that I can’t be reading that mind-improving book that’s being lying around for weeks.

4. Reframe the decision

Our memories are highly contextual so the background to any issue we consider has a huge impact on how we view it.

Politicians, advertisers and other influencers use framing extensively to persuade us of their point of view.

You can fight back by reframing the decision — think about the problem your own way, not the way others want you to.

5. Correlation doesn’t equal causation

When evaluating evidence for decision-making, remember that correlation does not equal causation.

To explain: there’s a clear correlation between foot size and being richer, owning your own house and having a better education.

On the other hand people with smaller…

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