What Is the Best Web Design Platform for Your Site Type?

For that's the proper question to ask yourself: "What is the best web design platform for my own use case?"

For your own context, which is made of specific:

needs
constraints and limitations
business goals and objectives
particular budget
level of technical know-how
type of website that you need

And this last factor is, by far, the most important criterion to use when you evaluate the most popular web development platforms.

When you try to identify the best one for you...

It's also the criterion that we'll use in today's post to highlight for you the best web design platforms in 2019.

Just scan through the different types of website listed here below, spot your own type, and see which platform makes your best choice.

1. If You're Building a Low-Maintenance, User-Friendly Website...

Say you're not planning to "take over the world" with your new website and you need to be able to keep its maintenance and upkeep to a minimum.

Then you opt for Squarespace...

And here are the top reasons why you would want to choose this particular platform for web design:

you get a conveniently simple interface
it ships with a load of modules to choose from
it provides you with eCommerce functionality

It's true, though, that you don't get that much customization freedom as you'd get with other platforms, but it does the job if it's a:

user-friendly
low-maintenance

... website that you're planning to build.

2. If You're Building a Visually-Appealing Website...

In this case, your 2 best options are WordPress and Drupal.

The first "spoils" you with so many great templates to choose from to create a visually-stunning website. Not to mention the heavy load of WordPress plugins that you can use for custom-tuning your site to fit your aesthetical needs perfectly.

Whereas for Drupal (and particularly Drupal 8), you just can't ignore its built-in responsive design capabilities.

Note: one of the aspects that might discourage you from choosing this CMS to create a great looking website is the lower number of Drupal developers compared to the "deep" pool of WordPress talent. That's why we've focused an entire post on the topic of "hiring Drupal developers" and "stuffed" it with tips on where exactly to find the right Drupal talent for your project.

3. If You're Building an Enterprise-Level, Complex Website...

Drupal "rocks supreme" on this category:

it's equipped to withstand floods of traffic and massive volumes of content
it's designed to handle complex, multi-user content creation and management systems
it's robust enough to power heavy multi-site infrastructures
it ships with tons of modules to extend its functionality even further

In short: Drupal's an "enterprise-ready" platform; it's built precisely for large, high-trafficked websites (think Tesla.com, eBay, NASA, Harvard University's website).

Where do you add that Drupal stands out as the best platform for responsive web design, as well...

4. What Is the Best Web Design Platform to Rank High on Google?

If out-of-the-box SEO optimization features are your top priority, then you'll need to choose between WordPress and Drupal. They both ship with robust plugins, respectively modules, aimed at helping you make your website SEO-friendly.

WordPress

The system's already ideally optimized with regards to SEO:

it's coded so that search engines can easily crawl in
managing heading and title tags is dead-simple
creating and updating content's highly intuitive

Word of caution: WordPress's ease of use and SEO-friendliness does come at a cost: being so popular makes it particularly "tempting" for hackers, too. You don't want to cut down on preventive maintenance costs on your future website.

Drupal

Its SEO modules — Pathauto, Yoast, Global Redirect — are designed to streamline all your SEO efforts, from optimizing your meta tags to... setting up your SEO-optimized URLs.

5. If You're Building a Fully Customizable and Scalable Website...

"What is the best web design platform for me if I want complete freedom of customization and if I'm planning to scale my website over time?"

It's... Drupal, again.

From all the most popular web development platforms out there' Drupal sets itself apart as:

the most flexible one: there's a module for any customization work that you might want to do on your website
the most scalable one: Drupal's designed to scale up, seamlessly, to accommodate huge loads of content and traffic

6. If You're Building an eCommerce Website...

What platform should you power your eCommerce goals with?

Well, it depends greatly on whether it's a powerful "selling machine" that you're planning to build or an online store for your start-up business in eCommerce.

Magento

If you have a huge product inventory (maybe even a multi-source one), Magento's your best option. Here's why:

it's robust: Magento's built to cope with an intricate and heavy infrastructure of multiple stores, currencies, languages...
it's feature-packed
it's scalable: feel free to start with a small online store and to grow it into a complex multi-store network; Magento's designed to accommodate your growth plans, no matter how ambitious

Shopify

If you need a website for your start-up eCommerce business and you don't want to get tangled up in customization, a hosted platform like Shopify is the best option:

it's SEO-friendly
it provides you with unlimited bandwidth
it adjusts to your specific eCommerce business model: POS, dropshop, subscription-based...
it provides affiliates capabilities, purchase buttons, Facebook selling support, etc.

Word of caution: do keep in mind that, if you decide to migrate your online store to another platform, it's just your product information that you can export from Shopify.

In other words: don't expect to be able to transfer your user interface and your website design, as well.

7. If You Need a Beautiful Site but Have no Web Design Experience...

"What is the best web design platform for me if I want to create an eye-catching website but... I'm a non-developer?" you wonder.

"Oh, yes: and I want to build it fast and easy, if possible?" you ask.

It's Wix.

From the best web design platforms in 2019, Wix suits your needs and limitations perfectly:

you get a user-friendly WYSIWYG interface
it "spoils" you with a rich template collection
it's easy to learn and even easier to use
it "tempts" you with both free and low-cost options

In short: Wix is for anyone with close to zero web design experience who wants the freedom to set up, customize and further update his visually-appealing website himself.

8. If You're Building just a Small, Reference-Driven Website...

What if you just need to put together a basic business website to showcase your services? Nothing fancy, just a small website that should provide more detailed information to your potential new clients.

And that should fit your budget...

Then, what you need is the best website builder software that helps you get your site up and running in no time and grants you full control over its code and design.

And there are quite a few great ones:

Site Manager
Weebly
SiteBuilder
Shopify if it's a no-fuss eCommerce website
Wix, again

The END!

Have you found that type of website that you're planning to build listed here?

Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash

We do Web development

Go to our Web development page!

Visit page!

Recommended Stories

Drupal Tips

Key Steps to Migrating from WebSphere to Drupal10

As technology continues to evolve, businesses are constantly seeking more efficient and flexible solutions for their web platforms. One popular migration path is transitioning from WebSphere to modern CMS platforms like Drupal 9 or 10. Drupal, renowned for its robust features and flexibility, offers a powerful and scalable framework for building dynamic websites and applications. In this article, we will explore the key steps involved in successfully migrating from WebSphere to Drupal10. Step 1: Evaluate and Plan Before embarking on any migration project, it is essential to conduct a thorough evaluation of your existing WebSphere system. This evaluation should identify the specific features, functionalities, and content that need to be migrated to Drupal. Take note of customizations, themes, modules, and any third-party integrations that are currently in place. Once the evaluation is complete, develop a comprehensive migration plan. Identify the goals and objectives of the migration, set realistic timelines, and allocate appropriate resources. Creating a prioritized list of tasks and determining the necessary budget for the migration process is also important at this stage. Step 2: Content Analysis and Migration One of the critical aspects of migration is content analysis. Evaluate the content structure in your WebSphere system and map it to the Drupal data model. Determine how your existing content types, taxonomies, and hierarchies can be translated into Drupal's entities, vocabularies, and menus. Next, extract the content from your WebSphere system using various migration tools or custom scripts. Transform the content into a format compatible with Drupal's structure and import it into your Drupal site. Ensure that all metadata, images, and other associated assets are correctly migrated and linked to the respective content items. Step 3: Design and Theming During migration, take the opportunity to refresh the look and feel of your website by leveraging Drupal's powerful theming capabilities. Identify the existing themes in your WebSphere system and recreate them in Drupal using the appropriate theming framework, such as Drupal's default theme engine or popular base themes like Bootstrap. Customize and fine-tune the theme to match your brand identity, ensuring consistency and responsiveness across different devices and screen sizes. Implement any required design modifications, such as layouts, typography, color schemes, and navigation menus, while adhering to Drupal's best practices. Step 4: Functionality and Module Integration WebSphere often includes custom functionalities and integrations that need to be migrated to Drupal. Analyze the existing modules and extensions in your WebSphere system and explore Drupal's extensive module ecosystem to find suitable alternatives or custom development options. Identify Drupal modules that offer similar functionalities to the ones used in WebSphere. Install and configure these modules in your Drupal environment, ensuring they meet your requirements. If no direct replacements are available, consider developing custom modules or engaging Drupal development experts to assist in replicating specific functionalities. Step 5: User Training and Testing Migrating to a new CMS requires training your content authors, editors, and administrators to ensure a smooth transition. Familiarize them with Drupal's interface, content management workflows, and administrative tasks. Provide comprehensive documentation and conduct training sessions to ensure your team is proficient in using Drupal. Conduct extensive testing throughout the migration process to identify and rectify any issues. Test the migrated content, functionalities, forms, and integrations to ensure they function as expected. Perform user acceptance testing (UAT) to obtain feedback from key stakeholders and make necessary adjustments before going live. Step 6: Go Live and Post-Migration Support Once all testing and refinement processes are complete, it's time to deploy your Drupal site and make it live. Coordinate with your IT team or hosting provider to ensure a seamless transition. Optasy is a leading Drupal development agency that specializes in assisting companies with seamless and successful Drupal migrations. With our extensive expertise and experience in Drupal, we offer comprehensive migration services tailored to meet the unique needs of each organization. Our team of skilled professionals meticulously evaluates the existing systems, designs a strategic migration plan, and executes the migration process with precision and efficiency. Optasy ensures a smooth transition from legacy systems like WebSphere to the latest versions of Drupal, including Drupal 9 and 10. We provide end-to-end support, from content analysis and data migration to theme customization, module integration, and post-migration support. Contact us for more information. Photo credit: Pixabay.... Read more

Raluca Olariu / May 24'2023

Drupal

Everything You Should Know About Drupal for Enterprise

Drupal is a free and open-source content management system, and one of the most popular CMSs used by big companies in North America. It has been around since 2004 and it’s still growing fast. Drupal is an excellent digital solution if you want to build a website that can grow with your business. Drupal enterprise is built on top of Drupal core, which means that all features are available in both versions. The difference between them is that the enterprise version comes with additional modules and themes. If you need more functionality than what is included in the standard version, then you should consider using the enterprise version. If you want to use Drupal for big companies, then you should look into the enterprise version. This allows you to create a custom theme or module for your company logo, colors, etc. Why CTOs of Big Companies Choose Drupal? Drupal has been adopted by some of the biggest names in technology. Here are just a few examples: Yahoo! - Yahoo uses Drupal to deliver its email service, Flickr photo-sharing service, and many other products. The New York Times - The New York Times uses Drupal to publish its news stories online. Facebook - Facebook uses Drupal to manage its social network. Twitter - Twitter uses Drupal to manage its microblogging service. LinkedIn - LinkedIn uses Drupal to manage its professional networking service. Salesforce - Salesforce uses Drupal to run its CRM product. Why are these big companies choosing Drupal? Let's look at some of the top benefits of Drupal for enterprises. Key Benefits of Drupal Enterprise When used for big companies, Drupal can provide competitive advantages like: Scalability and flexibility. Drupal Enterprise is highly scalable, allowing organizations to handle large volumes of content and high-traffic loads efficiently. Its modular architecture and flexible API enable seamless integration with existing systems and third-party applications, making it an ideal choice for enterprise-level projects. Robust content management. Drupal Enterprise provides a robust content management system (CMS) that empowers organizations to manage and publish content easily. It offers advanced content creation, editing, and publishing capabilities, supporting multiple content types and workflows. With its granular permission system, Drupal Enterprise ensures secure access and control over content management processes. Extensive module ecosystem. Drupal Enterprise benefits from an extensive module ecosystem, providing a wide range of pre-built modules and integrations. These modules allow organizations to add additional functionalities and features to their websites without the need for custom development, saving time and effort. Multisite and multilingual support. Drupal Enterprise excels in managing multisite architectures, enabling organizations to manage multiple websites from a single Drupal installation. This capability is particularly beneficial for businesses with diverse brands, regions, or departments. Additionally, Drupal Enterprise offers comprehensive multilingual support, allowing organizations to create and manage websites in multiple languages effectively. Security and reliability. Drupal Enterprise prioritizes security and has a strong track record in protecting websites against vulnerabilities and threats. The Drupal Security Team actively monitors and addresses security issues promptly, ensuring a secure environment for enterprise-level applications. Regular security updates and a dedicated community contribute to the ongoing reliability and stability of Drupal Enterprise. Customizability and extensibility. Drupal Enterprise provides extensive customization options, allowing organizations to tailor their websites to specific requirements. Its modular architecture and theming capabilities enable organizations to create unique and visually appealing websites. Additionally, Drupal's API-first approach facilitates integration with other systems, providing the flexibility to extend functionality as needed. Community support and collaboration. Drupal has a vibrant and active community of developers, designers, and users. Organizations using Drupal Enterprise benefit from the collective knowledge and expertise of this community. The community actively contributes to the platform's development, shares best practices, and provides support through forums, documentation, and events. Why the Drupal Enterprise Needs Acquia? If you're looking for an easy way to deploy a new project, Acquia offers a complete solution for managing all aspects of your Drupal deployment from planning through production. And if you need to add features or fix bugs, we have a team of experts ready to assist you. We are one of the most reliable Drupal service providers on the market and we want to ensure that you get the right support when you need it. That means providing you with everything you need to get started quickly and efficiently. Our expert consultants are always available to answer questions about how to get the most out of our solution. How to Use Drupal Enterprise As an enterprise solution, you need to have a good understanding of how your business works, what problems you face, and how you want to solve them. You should also know how your organization uses IT resources, including people, time, money, and other resources. Before you start working with Acquia, you may want to talk with someone who has experience working with enterprises, such as a CIO, a Chief Marketing Officer, or another senior executive at your company. This person could serve as a mentor, helping you understand how to leverage Acquia to meet your needs. The following are some tips to consider when planning your deployment: Know your data. Before you deploy Drupal, you must first determine whether your data is stored locally or remotely. If your data is stored remotely, you might need to set up a secure connection between your local computer and the remote server where your data resides. Understand your budget. It's important to know how much money you're willing to spend before you buy Drupal. Depending on your current technology stack, you might be able to find free solutions. However, if you don't have a lot of money, you might need to evaluate alternative options. For example, you might choose to migrate your existing application to Drupal instead of buying new software. Know your timeline. When deciding how long it takes to implement a project, keep these factors in mind: Your team size (the larger your team, the longer it generally takes to complete a project), your skills (some projects take less time than others because they require fewer skills. For example, if you already have a custom database schema, you won't need to learn how to build one from scratch.), your expertise (some projects take less than others because you've done similar things before). Learn about Drupal. To ensure that you fully understand Drupal, you should read the documentation, attend training classes, and ask questions. You should also work closely with a Drupal expert during the implementation process. Is Drupal the Right Choice for Your Intranet? Drupal can help you create an engaging user experience by providing content that is relevant to users' interests. By using features like views, blocks, and dynamic menus, you can easily organize information into specific areas of your site. In addition, Drupal offers many modules that allow you to customize your site to fit your unique needs. If you’re looking for a platform to support your internal communications, then Drupal is a great option. With its robust feature set, Drupal provides a variety of tools to help you manage your content effectively. Whether you’re looking to provide employees with a way to share ideas internally, or you’re looking at ways to improve customer service, Drupal can help. Conclusion The key to choosing the right CMS for your organization is understanding what you want out of your website and how your business will use it. This guide has provided some insight into each type of CMS so you can make an informed decision when selecting which solution best fits your needs and supports your open-source project. What are your experiences with different types of CMSs? Share them below! Photo credit: Unsplash.... Read more

Raluca Olariu / May 24'2023

Drupal Drupal 8 Tips

How to Find the Best Drupal Developer for Your Needs

Building a robust Drupal development project that supports your business objectives can be challenging and time-consuming. But with the right Drupal partner that has the experience and expertise needed to help you build a website that will meet all of your needs, you will find this process a lot easier. This article talks about the competitive advantages of hiring Drupal developers and how you can find the best fit that meets your Drupal project needs. The benefits of hiring Drupal developers Hiring a Drupal developer is an investment in your company's success as it provides plenty of competitive benefits that set you apart from the competition. These advantages include: Building highly-personalized Drupal projects that boost your brand awareness and increase sales. Designing and developing custom Drupal features and functionalities that suit your project requirements. Dedicated support for your Drupal project throughout its lifecycle from content migration and system integration to API design and web accessibility. Having access to ongoing updates and continuous maintenance and support. Reduced costs and increased ROI by having a dedicated team working on your project. What are some of the challenges of hiring Drupal developers? When hiring Drupal developers, there are several challenges that organizations may encounter. Here are some common challenges associated with hiring Drupal developers: Drupal-specific knowledge. Drupal is a complex content management system with its own specific architecture, concepts, and terminology. Finding candidates with in-depth Drupal expertise can be challenging, as it requires knowledge of Drupal's module system, theming, configuration management, and custom module development. Technical skills. Apart from Drupal-specific knowledge, Drupal developers should have a strong foundation in web development technologies such as PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and databases. Assessing candidates' technical skills and ensuring they are up to date with the latest Drupal version can be a challenge. Experience and expertise. Drupal development experience is valuable when hiring developers. However, experienced Drupal developers are often in high demand, making it competitive to attract and retain top talent. Finding developers with a proven track record of successful Drupal projects can be a challenge, especially for organizations that require specific domain expertise. Community involvement. The Drupal community is active and vibrant, and participation in the community can indicate a developer's commitment to learning and staying up to date with Drupal best practices. Evaluating candidates' involvement in the Drupal community and their contributions is many times a real challenge. Scalability and performance. Drupal websites can vary greatly in terms of size and complexity. Hiring developers who understand how to build scalable and performant Drupal applications is essential, as performance issues can arise when handling large amounts of content or high traffic volumes. Assessing candidates' ability to optimize Drupal websites and troubleshoot performance problems can be challenging during the hiring process. Communication and collaboration. Drupal developers often work in teams, collaborating with designers, front-end developers, project managers, and stakeholders. Finding candidates with strong communication and collaboration skills, who can effectively work in an agile environment and contribute to project success, is not always easy. To address these challenges, organizations can adopt strategies such as conducting thorough technical assessments, reviewing candidates' portfolios and past projects, leveraging Drupal community resources, seeking recommendations from trusted sources, and providing opportunities for continuous learning and skill development. How to spot the right Drupal partner for your business requirements There are several things you should consider before hiring a Drupal developer. Here are some tips to help you identify the right Drupal developer for your project: Do your research first and gain a good understanding of what a Drupal developer is and what are their responsibilities. A Drupal developer has plenty of duties like conducting research and installing Drupal modules that best fit your needs, extending existing modules so their functionality increases, managing how your website looks and works for high-quality user experiences, migrating existing websites and content, architecting Drupal projects and web infrastructures, etc. Also, a Drupal developer can have three main roles that you should pay attention to: Drupal Front-End Developer. A front-end developer is responsible for designing and building the interface of your site using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Foundation or any other framework. This includes elements such as buttons, forms, navigation menus, or tables and also includes how your page looks. Drupal Back-End Developer. A back-end developer is responsible for programming the logic behind your site's functions and processes. This includes writing code that handles database queries, creates pages, manages users, and more. Drupal Theme Developer. A theme developer is responsible for styling the look and feel of the entire website including the layout, colors, fonts, images, and anything else that makes up the overall appearance. They will work with the front-end developer to ensure that everything on the site matches and flows well together. 2. Identify and examine your project needs. Now that you know in more detail what a Drupal developer does, it's time to understand your project needs and what you require from a developer's services. Key questions to ask at this stage are: Do you need a back-end expert or a full-stack developer? Do you only need Drupal maintenance? Do you need a whole new enterprise-grade Drupal solution? Would you like to hire a freelance developer or a contract-to-hire? Do you just have a rough idea of what you’d like him/them to develop? What type of experience do you want them to have? How much time would you be willing to spend working with them? How many hours per week would you be able to dedicate to the project? 3. Know where to look for talented Drupal developers. Top channels to consider for passive searches: job portals like LinkedIn, Monster, Glassdoor, Indeed online Drupal (or PHP) communities freelance platforms like Upwork, Toptal, Scalable Path Top channels for your active searches: social media Drupal groups local IT communities LinkedIn (when you start analyzing particular profiles on LinkedIn your passive search becomes active) Drupal.org (select the top Drupal profiles there and start evaluating them against your own requirements) developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow 4. Ask the right questions. Among the most important questions to ask potential Drupal partners are: How long have you been working with Drupal development solutions? What Drupal experience do you have? Are you familiar with my business model? Can you provide references? What Drupal skills do you possess? What Drupal technologies do you use? 5. Evaluate your potential Drupal partner carefully. Essential things to consider are: How experienced they are in working with different Drupal versions What their technical expertise is / How skilled they are at Drupal module development Their GitHub Profile (how much time they spent on different projects, samples of their written code, details on their contributions) Their involvement with the Drupal community What past clients say about working with them Optasy's team of experienced Drupal developers is here to help you We are a development company and we are ready to leverage and to "fuel" your project with all that Drupal expertise that we've been gaining as a Drupal firm during these +10 years: whether it's custom module development, Drupal migration, AI implementation, or any type of new feature integration with Drupal that you need us to do. We're web developers, but with a mobile-first approach to our website development projects, in fact: we commit to helping you deliver the message to your users in an intuitive, effective, and nonetheless appealing way, on all devices. We'll be in for the long run: our Drupal development services include 24/7/365 support & ongoing maintenance, which means much more than just rolling out patches and updates; we'll ensure that your OPTASY solution (be it Drupal, Laravel, WordPress, Magento, React or Angular-based) keeps meeting your goals, that it continues to remain relevant in the context of future technology changes. From structure planning, to Drupal website development, all the way to maintenance and long-term support, we've got your back; stay assured: full-cycle projects are our specialty as a Drupal 8 agency. As a development company in Toronto we have the experience and the expertise to handle your most specific requirements: back-end development: we design and develop the custom features and functionalities that suit your project requirements front-end development: from custom themes to user-friendly Uis, to user experience design, to designing responsive layouts content migration system integration API design and development web accessibility website maintenance: pass over the maintenance burden on our shoulders; we provide ongoing updates and continuous maintenance and support For more information on how our talented Drupal experts can help you build a robust project for your web development needs, contact us. Photo credit: Unsplash.... Read more

Raluca Olariu / May 23'2023

What Is the Best Web Design Platform for... You? For the Type of Website that You Need?

1. If You're Building a Low-Maintenance, User-Friendly Website...

2. If You're Building a Visually-Appealing Website...

3. If You're Building an Enterprise-Level, Complex Website...