Today, anyone has the ability to create a website. Thanks to the development of nocode, it only takes a drag-and-drop approach to build web applications. In this market, many platforms are competing against each other. Today, we will break all of this down for you and provide a simple and visual comparison of these nocode tools.
Comparative Infographic of All Platforms
Here is a general infographic comparing all the nocode website creation platforms:
Description of Platforms One by One
1 - Webflow
Webflow is THE nocode website creation platform. Thanks to its advanced features, it allows you to create fully customizable and personalized websites. With Webflow, your only limit is your imagination.
Webflow is aimed at anyone looking to create a site, as this platform requires no coding knowledge. Everything is done through a combination of different blocks. To create a page, one simply needs to use the “drag-and-drop” method.
However, the platform may not be very intuitive for beginners. In fact, the numerous features available in the interface can be overwhelming. Hence, it is particularly specialized agencies or web designers who use Webflow to create custom websites for their clients.
Regarding integrations with other tools, the possibilities are also vast. Indeed, this platform can connect with tools like Coda, Airtable, Slack, Integromat, and many more. Thus, it is possible to create a powerful e-commerce site with automated processes.
Finally, talking about pricing, Webflow offers various customizable plans!
If you want to create a personal website, a blog, a showcase site, etc., you can opt for one of the following choices:
- Basic Plan: $12/month for sites with minimal content
- CMS Plan: $16/month for content-driven sites
- Business Plan: $36/month for sites with high traffic
If you wish to develop your e-commerce, the following plans are available:
- Standard: $29/month for a “small” operation (500 items)
- Plus: $74/month for a growing business (1000 items)
- Advanced: $212/month for a large operation (3000 items)
Digidop can help you create your Webflow website that reflects your image!
2 - Wordpress
Wordpress is arguably the most well-known CMS in the world. In fact, 40% of global websites use Wordpress. This CMS enables the creation of sites in a very simplified manner without necessarily needing to know how to code (although for more "advanced" sites, modifying the code may be necessary).
Wordpress is used by the majority of people because its interface is truly intuitive. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, you can create various static or dynamic pages. This platform primarily operates through the use of templates (or themes) to customize your site. Although there is less freedom in terms of design compared to Webflow, your site can still be a reflection of your personality.
Another aspect of Wordpress concerns plugins. Indeed, Wordpress largely relies on these extensions. Initially, this platform only has basic functionalities. To add new features, you can install plugins of all kinds. There is a multitude of plugins available to assist you in designing your site.
In addition to all these points, there are numerous online resources (videos, tutorials, blogs, tips, etc.) available in French to help you create your site from scratch.
Concerning the price, it is essential to differentiate between Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org.
Indeed, wordpress.com is a web hosting platform that has various paid plans:
- Personal: €4/month, ideal for a personal site (but no plugins)
- Premium: €8/month, perfect for a blog (but no plugins)
- Business: €25/month, for your professional activity
- E-commerce: €40/month, for your e-commerce catalogs
On the other hand, wordpress.org is a free version of the CMS that you install after subscribing to a type of web hosting. It is a completely free solution once you have paid for your domain name and hosting.
You still need to be cautious, as additional costs may arise for premium themes (like Elementor or Divi for custom sites) and paid/freemium extensions.
2 Bis - Woocommerce
Woocommerce is not really a platform like the others. Indeed, Woocommerce is a plugin for Wordpress that allows you to manage your online store. In this sense, Woocommerce is completely free if you do not take into account hosting fees.
The interface of the plugin is user-friendly: you simply fill in the explicit fields for the different categories. The setup is accessible to everyone!
Regarding design, there is no difference from what has been said about Wordpress. You need to use a theme and customize it. However, for more advanced designs, you will likely need to hire a web developer to modify the code.
You have many options, but limited flexibility (checkboxes) to manage your online business. A learning curve will be necessary to master the plugin and handle the Wordpress interface in case of issues.
You can combine the plugin with others to generate statistics or acquire additional features, but be wary of potential bugs.
In summary, Woocommerce has the advantage of being free and allows you to set up your store quickly, but it has many limitations in design management and in creating a personalized e-commerce site.
3 - Wix
Wix is truly THE intuitive solution for creating your website. It is a platform that operates similarly to Webflow but provides a simple-to-use interface. Thus, an average user can create their own site in just a few hours.
Wix offers the ability to directly use a template to develop your site. There are numerous different templates available to ensure your site reflects your identity. Once the template is selected, you can modify texts, images, videos, etc., without coding. It is also a “drag-and-drop” solution!
There are many features for customization, although Webflow offers more. However, to enrich your site, you can install extensions similar to Wordpress.
Like Wordpress, many resources in French guide you step-by-step from the creation to the publication of your site.
Wix offers various pricing plans based on your needs.
If you wish to create a website:
- Domain Connection: €5.40/month, for a small personal site (contains Wix ads)
- Basic Plan: €10.20/month, for a blog, for example (limited storage)
- Unlimited Plan: €17.40/month, for a professional site (unlimited bandwidth)
- VIP Plan: €31.20/month, for your business/company (+ more storage space)
For an e-commerce site:
- Basic Business: €20.40/month
- Unlimited Business: €31.20/month
- VIP Business: €42/month
4 - Shopify
The Shopify interface is somewhat similar to that of Wordpress but is truly geared towards online commerce. Indeed, Shopify is one of the leading platforms for developing your online sales activity. Thus, you have access to a relatively easy-to-use interface with various features. Adding new products and categories is very intuitive.
As for design, similar to Wordpress, this platform also offers themes for customization. Creating a site that truly reflects your vision is a bit more challenging because web design functionalities are limited. However, you can install plugins to gain more freedom and options. The “drag-and-drop” solution is also available.
Shopify is often referred to as the Wordpress of e-commerce! Shopify is the platform specialized in online sales (automated payments, fee management, cart management, etc.).
Regarding pricing, you have several options for your e-commerce site (the differences mostly concern the number of employee accounts and transaction fees):
- Basic Shopify: $29/month
- Shopify: $79/month
- Advanced Shopify: $299/month
5 - Prestashop
Prestashop is an open-access e-commerce platform (open-source). This software allows you to create online stores to generate sales.
To use Prestashop, you need to subscribe to web hosting that offers the installation of this CMS. After that, just like with Wordpress(.org), you install the CMS and have access to the software interface.
The interface is similar to that of Wordpress. You have more options in terms of designing your site, but this will require more advanced knowledge. For a “large” e-commerce site, hiring a developer may become necessary. Nevertheless, you can manage your inventory and products quite intuitively (although a learning period will be necessary). Furthermore, reports on your objectives are accessible and visually presented.
You can install plugins on Prestashop, but the downside is that these may conflict with your theme or other plugins.
In terms of pricing, Prestashop is completely free (after securing web hosting) and does not take commissions on your sales. However, you may want to budget for the theme you will use, as well as some modules.
6 - Squarespace
Squarespace is a nocode online website creation software. You can quickly build your site even if you are a beginner. The platform uses a drag and drop system. Squarespace is quite a comprehensive platform that offers features such as newsletter sending and a statistical overview.
In terms of user-friendliness, Squarespace is truly an easy tool to handle. However, to delve further into development, training will be necessary to grasp all functionalities. On the e-commerce side, modifying your code will be needed to customize product pages.
Regarding design, you can use templates. Generally, this platform is known for allowing the creation of professional minimalist designs. Of course, the designs are responsive, and you have access to a mobile view. Additionally, there are section models that can be directly integrated into your pages. The freedom of creation is quite extensive, even though not everything is fully customizable. The animations on your pages are also very limited.
Regarding pricing, four plans are available:
- Personal: €11/month (only allows 2 collaborators and no e-commerce)
- Business: €17/month
- Basic Commerce: €24/month
- Advanced Commerce: €36/month
7 - Bubble
Once again, we are dealing with a nocode software that holds significant weight in the web domain. Once again, you create your pages using a more advanced system than the drag and drop. Indeed, you select an element which you can fully modify (size, color, ...) as with Webflow.
One of the major advantages of this platform is the assistance provided. Bubble guides you in the step-by-step creation of your site. When you create a new app, an assistant aids in the overall configuration.
The interface of Bubble is quite intuitive, although the number of features available may seem overwhelming at first. The menu is comprehensive for developing a high-performing site tailored to your needs. To assist you, Bubble offers a grid view to arrange elements as you wish. It is a bit easier to grasp than Webflow, but Bubble does require more creativity than other platforms.
Another significant advantage is that this website builder allows you to easily create workflows directly from its menu. Bubble integrates well with other applications thanks to the platform's API connector. The database menu provides a clear view of your data, which you can modify easily. You can also monitor your site's performance through the “logs” menu and thus optimize it.
To make a rough comparison, it is somewhat like a lite version of Webflow, but more accessible.
The platform offers various plans for website creation:
- Free
- Personal: $25/month
- Professional: $115/month
- Production: $475/month
8 - Weebly
Weebly is one of the many nocode website creation platforms. It adopts the same “codes” as some of the previous platforms with its “drag and drop” system.
The interface of Weebly is ultra-simple. You can easily and quickly create a site by dragging different types of blocks onto your pages.
Weebly is a good alternative to Wix or Webflow, but your creative freedom is very limited. You can, of course, use themes as a starting point, but customization remains limited afterward.
Weebly has a free plan for basic use of the software. Otherwise, the following plans are available:
- Personal: $6/month (personal site like a blog, for example)
- Professional: $12/month (professional site for your business and brand)
- Performance: $26/month (plan that includes e-commerce)
9 - Softr
Softr allows you to easily create your website without code. The platform is somewhat similar to the previous platforms. To summarize, it features the drag-and-drop system for creating blocks, and there are templates available, along with a clear interface.
Nonetheless, there are two points where Softr excels compared to a platform like Weebly:
- There are many more possibilities and freedom in choosing blocks
- Softr offers a system for integrating with other applications directly through its interface menu (thus, it is possible to use Airtable to build more “complex” sites like e-commerce)
Regarding pricing, Softr offers:
- Free
- Starter: $24/month
- Professional: $65/month
- Business: $165/month
10 - Builder
Builder is also a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) platform. In itself, the platform is quite similar to other nocode website creation solutions. However, you can add code more easily (custom CSS and JS) at the push of a button. You also have more freedom regarding site animations. However, you will need more time to master the interface and the various features.
Additionally, you have the option to integrate Builder with Shopify to create your e-commerce store.
Builder offers different plans:
- Free
- Basic: $20/month
- Growth: $40/month
- Enterprise: custom
Bonus - Typedream
Create a site like you would create pages with Notion or Coda using Typedream. Utilize templates and craft a site with a minimalist design.
You can quickly create landing pages for your business. However, the freedom in terms of design is very limited, and the same goes for functionalities. In fact, you can only create static pages.
The creation interface thus resembles that of Coda or Notion, and you simply need to integrate blocks.
Typedream is a highly accessible platform as it only offers two plans:
- Free (only one page can be published)
- Launch: $12/month (Unlimited pages + SEO + code + Team)
The Best Platforms According to 4 Criteria
There you go, a brief overview of the various website creation platforms you can find. If we had to choose a winner based on each differentiation criterion, here is what we would select:
- Value for money: (Wordpress & Woocommerce, as these software are open-source and still allow for the creation of professional sites)
- Simplicity: Weebly (despite the few features, this platform enables you to create sites even if you have no prior knowledge)
- Design: Webflow (with this nocode platform, you can truly create everything to reflect your image; your site is 100% customizable, even if the learning curve is steep)
- Functionality: Webflow (the integration possibilities are numerous; you can automate your activity and create various site types: E-commerce, Blog, Showcase, Web app...)
