13 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Website Builder

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Picking a website builder feels simple until you’re two years in, your site is slow, your SEO is tanking, and you realize you can’t move your content anywhere else without rebuilding from scratch. I’ve been through it. These website builder questions are the ones I wish somebody had handed me before I chose my first platform. They would’ve saved me about $3,000 and six months of frustration.

The market is packed with options (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, WordPress, Webflow, and a dozen more), and they all look great in a 2-minute promo video. But the differences between them matter enormously depending on what you’re building. These 13 questions will help you find the builder that actually fits your needs.

Before You Start Comparing Platforms

These five prep steps take 30 minutes and save you weeks of backtracking later.

Define your website’s primary purpose. Is this a portfolio, a blog, an online store, a lead generation site, or a business directory? The answer eliminates half the options immediately. A platform built for e-commerce is overkill for a personal blog. A blogging platform will frustrate you if you need a full online store.
List every feature you need on day one. Contact form, blog, online scheduling, product catalog, membership area, image gallery. Write them down. Then star the ones that are absolute deal-breakers versus nice-to-haves. This keeps you from getting distracted by flashy features you won’t use.
Set your budget including ongoing costs. Website builders charge monthly, but hosting, domains, email, premium templates, and plugins add up fast. Know what you can spend per month, not just upfront.
Decide how much technical work you’re willing to do. Be honest. If you’ve never touched code and don’t want to learn, that rules out some platforms and makes others obvious choices. There’s no shame in wanting a drag-and-drop builder. A web design book can help you understand basic principles even if you never write a line of code.
Research your competitors’ websites. Look at 5 to 10 sites in your industry that you admire. Use BuiltWith.com to see what platform they’re running. If three of your competitors built great sites on Squarespace, that’s useful data.

Templates and Design

1. How many templates are available, and can I customize them fully?

Template quantity matters less than template quality. A platform with 50 polished, responsive templates beats one with 500 that look like they were designed in 2015. More importantly, ask how deeply you can customize. Can you change fonts, colors, and layouts freely? Or are you locked into the template’s rigid structure? Some builders (like Squarespace) make it easy to customize within their design system. Others (like Wix) give you more freedom but make it easier to create something that looks messy. Test the actual editor, not just the template gallery.

2. Are the templates mobile-responsive out of the box?

Over 60% of web traffic is mobile in 2026. If templates don’t automatically adapt to phone screens, that’s a dealbreaker. But “mobile responsive” doesn’t mean “looks good on mobile.” Preview your chosen template on an actual phone during the trial. Check that text is readable, buttons are tappable, images resize properly, and the navigation isn’t buried. Some templates technically work on mobile but provide a terrible user experience.

3. Can I switch templates after my site is live without losing content?

This is where platforms diverge sharply. Squarespace lets you switch templates and keeps your content intact. Wix historically made template switching nearly impossible without rebuilding. If there’s any chance you’ll want a design refresh in a year or two, this feature is critical. Ask specifically and test it during your trial.

SEO and Performance

4. What SEO features are built in?

At minimum, you need the ability to customize page titles, meta descriptions, URL slugs, image alt text, and heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3). Also ask about: sitemap generation, robots.txt control, canonical URLs, structured data/schema markup, and page speed optimization. Some builders handle these automatically (good). Others require plugins or workarounds (acceptable). A few make basic SEO changes impossible (walk away). Check whether the builder generates clean HTML or buries your content in bloated JavaScript that search engines struggle to crawl.

5. How fast are sites built on this platform?

Page speed directly affects your Google rankings and your visitors’ patience. Ask the vendor, but also verify independently. Use Google PageSpeed Insights on 5 to 10 live sites built with the platform. If they consistently score below 60 on mobile, the platform has a performance problem that no amount of image optimization will fix. Wix has historically struggled here. WordPress depends entirely on your theme and hosting. Webflow and Astro tend to score well.

Hosting and Technical Infrastructure

6. Is hosting included, or do I need to arrange my own?

All-in-one builders (Squarespace, Wix, Shopify) include hosting in the subscription price. Open platforms (WordPress.org, Astro, Hugo) require you to find and pay for hosting separately. Neither approach is inherently better, but the costs differ. Included hosting is simpler but gives you less control. Separate hosting lets you optimize performance and costs but requires more technical knowledge. Understand which model you’re getting into.

7. Does the platform support custom domains and SSL certificates?

Every serious website needs a custom domain (yourbusiness.com, not yourbusiness.wixsite.com) and an SSL certificate (the padlock icon, which means HTTPS). Most modern builders include free SSL and support custom domains, but check whether connecting your domain is straightforward or requires DNS configuration you’re not comfortable with. Also confirm that the builder doesn’t plaster its own branding on your site unless you pay for a higher tier.

E-Commerce Capabilities

8. If I need to sell products, what are the transaction fees and payment options?

This question matters even if you’re not selling anything today. You might add a product, a course, or a digital download later. Shopify charges 0.5% to 2% per transaction on top of payment processor fees unless you use Shopify Payments. Squarespace charges 3% on their basic commerce plan. Wix charges nothing extra on their business plans. These percentages seem small until you’re doing $10,000/month in sales and losing $200/month to platform fees. Ask about supported payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, Square) and whether you can add others.

9. What e-commerce features are included versus paid add-ons?

There’s a big difference between “we support e-commerce” and “we have a full e-commerce platform.” Check for: inventory management, abandoned cart recovery, discount codes, shipping calculators, tax automation, digital product delivery, and subscription/recurring payment support. On some platforms, these are built in. On others, each one requires a paid app or plugin that adds $10 to $50/month to your costs.

Content Management and Flexibility

10. How easy is it to add a blog, and how robust is the blogging system?

If content marketing is part of your strategy (it should be), the blogging system matters a lot. Test the blog editor during your trial. Can you format posts easily? Schedule them in advance? Add categories and tags? Optimize each post’s SEO settings individually? WordPress is still the gold standard for blogging. Squarespace is decent. Wix has improved but can feel clunky for long-form content. Some platforms treat blogging as an afterthought, and it shows.

11. Can I add custom code if I need to?

Even if you’re not a developer, there will come a day when you need to paste in a tracking code, embed a third-party widget, or add a custom script. Make sure your builder allows you to add custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Some builders restrict code injection to premium plans. Others don’t allow it at all on certain page types. This is also relevant for adding Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any marketing tool that requires a code snippet.

Portability and Long-Term Viability

12. Can I export my content and data if I decide to leave?

This is the question vendors don’t want you to ask, and it’s one of the most important. If you spend two years building content on a platform and then need to leave, can you take your blog posts, product data, images, and customer information with you? Some platforms let you export everything as standard files (CSV, XML, HTML). Others give you a proprietary backup that’s useless outside their ecosystem. Wix has notoriously poor export options. WordPress excels here. Test the export feature during your trial and verify the output is actually usable.

13. What’s the platform’s track record for stability and continued development?

You’re picking a platform to build on for years. Check whether the company is profitable or burning through venture capital. Look at their release notes and changelog. Are they actively improving the product, or has development stagnated? Read community forums for common complaints. A platform that’s been around for 10+ years with steady development (like WordPress or Squarespace) is a safer bet than a flashy newcomer that might pivot or shut down.

What to Prepare Before Evaluating Website Builders

Have these ready before you start your trials:

A written list of must-have features ranked by priority, with clear dealbreakers identified
Your budget breakdown covering monthly platform costs, domain registration ($10 to $20/year), premium templates if needed ($0 to $200), and any plugins or apps
Three to five example websites you admire, with notes on what specifically you like about each one (layout, features, speed, design)
Your content (or at least an outline): page structure, blog post topics, product information, images. Building a test site with real content tells you more than playing with placeholder text
Your domain name, either already purchased or verified as available. Most builders let you buy through them, but purchasing independently (through Namecheap or Cloudflare) gives you more control
A list of third-party tools you need to integrate, like email marketing, scheduling, analytics, CRM, or payment processing

Typical Cost Range and Factors

Website builder pricing in 2026:

Free plans (Wix, WordPress.com, Weebly): $0/month, significant limitations (platform branding, no custom domain, limited storage)
Basic/Personal plans: $10 to $20/month, custom domain, basic features, limited storage and bandwidth
Business plans: $20 to $40/month, removes platform branding, more storage, basic e-commerce on some platforms
E-commerce plans: $30 to $80/month, full online store functionality, no extra transaction fees
Premium themes/templates: $0 to $200 (one-time), depending on platform
Plugins and apps: $0 to $50/month each, costs add up quickly
Custom domain: $10 to $20/year
Professional design services (if needed): $500 to $5,000+ (one-time)

What drives the price up: E-commerce requirements, premium plugins, high storage or bandwidth needs, removing platform branding, and custom design work.

What keeps costs low: Using built-in features instead of plugins, choosing platforms with generous free tiers, annual billing (typically 20 to 30% cheaper), and doing your own design with stock templates.

Red Flags vs. Green Flags

Red Flag	Green Flag
Free plan requires platform branding with no option to remove it	Free plan available with reasonable limitations and a clear upgrade path
No content export feature or proprietary-only format	Full content export in standard formats (HTML, CSV, XML)
Page speed scores consistently below 60 on live sites	Live sites consistently score 80+ on Google PageSpeed Insights
Template switching requires rebuilding the entire site	Templates can be changed while preserving existing content
SEO settings are limited or require paid upgrades for basics	Full SEO control (titles, descriptions, slugs, alt text) included on all plans
No custom code injection allowed	Custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript supported on all plans
Company has unclear financials or recent negative press about viability	Established company with a track record of consistent updates and growth
E-commerce comes with hidden transaction fees on top of payment processing	Transparent pricing with no extra transaction fees on commerce plans

Money-Saving Tips

Use the free trial fully before paying anything. Most builders offer 7 to 14 day trials. Build a real test page (not just the homepage) with actual content before you decide. You’ll discover limitations that marketing pages never mention.
Buy your domain separately. Platforms charge $15 to $20/year for domains they resell from registrars that charge $9 to $12. Buy from Namecheap, Cloudflare, or Google Domains and connect it yourself. It takes 10 minutes.
Choose annual billing once you’re committed. The savings are real (20 to 30% on most platforms), but only lock in after you’ve validated the platform with a monthly plan first.
Resist the plugin trap. Every $10/month plugin you add chips away at your budget. Before buying a plugin, check if the feature exists natively, if there’s a free alternative, or if you can accomplish it with a simple code snippet.
Use free stock photos instead of premium ones. Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay offer high-quality free images. You don’t need to pay for a stock photo subscription unless you have very specific brand requirements.
Skip the premium template on most platforms. Free templates on Squarespace, WordPress, and Wix are surprisingly good in 2026. A $200 premium theme rarely provides $200 worth of additional value over a well-customized free template.

Quick Reference Checklist

Bring this to every website builder evaluation:

Glossary

SSL Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer): A security technology that encrypts the connection between your website and your visitors’ browsers. It’s what puts the padlock icon and “https” in the address bar. Google considers SSL a ranking factor, and modern browsers flag sites without it as “Not Secure.” Every legitimate website builder includes free SSL in 2026.

CMS (Content Management System): The backend interface where you create, edit, organize, and publish your website content. WordPress is the most well-known CMS. Most website builders include their own proprietary CMS with varying levels of capability.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results. In the context of website builders, SEO capabilities include control over page titles, meta descriptions, URL structure, heading hierarchy, and site speed. Better SEO features mean more potential organic traffic.

Responsive Design: A web design approach where pages automatically adjust their layout, images, and navigation to look good on any screen size (desktop, tablet, phone). In 2026, responsive design isn’t optional. It’s a baseline requirement.

DNS (Domain Name System): The system that translates human-readable domain names (like askchecklist.com) into the IP addresses that computers use to locate websites. When you “point your domain” to a website builder, you’re updating DNS records to tell the internet where your site lives.

Helpful Tools and Resources

Our Pick

Web Design Fundamentals Book

Understanding basic design principles (layout, typography, color) helps you make better template choices and create a more professional-looking site, regardless of which builder you use.

Our Pick

Drawing Tablet for Graphic Design

If you plan to create custom graphics, icons, or illustrations for your website, an affordable drawing tablet gives you much more control than a mouse for design work.

Our Pick

27-Inch Monitor for Web Design

Building and testing a website on a small laptop screen is frustrating. A larger monitor lets you see your full layout, preview mobile and desktop views side by side, and catch design issues faster.

Google PageSpeed Insights - Test the speed of any website for free. Use it to benchmark live sites built on the platforms you’re evaluating. Real performance data beats marketing claims.
BuiltWith - Enter any website’s URL and see what technology it’s built with, including the platform, hosting, analytics tools, and plugins. Great for researching what your competitors use.
WebPageTest - More detailed performance testing than PageSpeed Insights, including waterfall charts that show exactly what’s slowing a site down. Useful if you’re comparing the technical performance of different platforms.
Tooltester Website Builder Comparison - Independent, regularly updated comparison of major website builders with side-by-side feature tables and honest assessments of strengths and weaknesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which website builder is best for SEO?

WordPress.org (self-hosted) still leads for SEO because of its flexibility, plugin ecosystem (Yoast, Rank Math), and clean content structure. Among all-in-one builders, Squarespace and Webflow have strong SEO fundamentals. Wix has improved significantly but still has some quirks with JavaScript rendering that can affect crawlability. The truth is, any major platform can rank well if you handle the basics correctly. No builder will rank your site for you.

Can I move my site from one builder to another?

Technically yes, practically it’s painful. Content (text and images) can usually be migrated manually or with import tools. But your design, layout, custom functionality, and URL structure won’t transfer. Expect to essentially rebuild the site on the new platform, which typically takes 20 to 60 hours depending on site size. This is exactly why the export question matters so much before you commit.

Do I need a website builder, or should I hire a developer?

If your site is primarily content (blog, portfolio, small business presence), a builder is almost always the right call. If you need complex custom functionality (advanced web apps, unique user interactions, custom databases), you’ll eventually need a developer. A solid middle ground: build the site yourself on a flexible platform like WordPress or Webflow, then hire a developer only for the specific custom features you can’t handle.

Is WordPress still worth it in 2026?

For flexibility and control, absolutely. WordPress powers over 40% of the web for good reason. But it’s not for everyone. You need to manage hosting, updates, security, and plugins yourself (or pay someone to). If you want to focus on content and not on maintaining infrastructure, an all-in-one builder like Squarespace is simpler. If you want maximum control and don’t mind the maintenance, WordPress is hard to beat.

How long does it take to build a website with a builder?

A basic 5-page website (home, about, services, blog, contact) takes most people 10 to 20 hours spread over a week or two. An e-commerce site with 50+ products takes 30 to 60 hours. The actual building is faster than you’d expect. What takes time is writing the content, choosing and editing images, and tweaking the design until it feels right. Don’t rush the content. A beautiful site with weak content won’t convert visitors.

Next Steps

You’ve got 13 questions that will reveal whether a website builder deserves your money and your time. Sign up for free trials on your top two or three options and build a real test page on each one. Not just the homepage. Build an interior page, a blog post, and (if relevant) a product listing.

The builder that feels natural to use and doesn’t fight you on basic tasks is probably the right one. The builder that requires workarounds for features you assumed would be standard is the wrong one.

For more technology decision guides, explore our Questions to Ask Before Using AI Tools for Business and Questions to Ask Before Choosing a CRM. Browse all our checklists in the Technology category.