Top 3 WordPress Alternatives

We’ll all agree that WordPress has a lot to offer when you want to build a website. With all the themes and plugins out there, you have a nearly endless supply of choices as far as style and functionality. With that being said, WordPress isn’t for everyone. WordPress was created and built with the idea of blogging in mind, but some businesses need something that has more functionality right out of the box while others need something even simpler.

If you’re looking for alternatives to WordPress, here is our list of the top 3 to choose from.

1. Medium

If you’re looking for a bare bones blogging tool, then consider taking a look at Medium. Medium is a rare breed in the publishing world that makes it easy to create content that is beautifully presented with no coding required. Their main phrase for the platform is “Anyone can write on Medium” and as a free platform, they really do mean it.

Simply sign up on the platform, fill out your profile information and get right to writing your story.

Contrary to popular belief, you can use a custom domains for Medium, but you’ll need to setup a Medium Publication and walk through the steps they give on their site, which isn’t the easiest thing to do.

While Medium has a lot to love about it, it’s good to keep in mind that this has limitations. For example, you can’t integrate pop ups that get people to sign up for your email list and you can’t integrate contact forms.

Medium has a lot to for your inner writer and sharing your thoughts and stories with the world. Many people have found success using it. Depending on what you want to do with it, it could be the blogging tool for you.

2. SquareSpace

Want the blogging ease of WordPress but the design capabilities of drag-and-drop? Then you’re in luck because SquareSpace is just that. Whether you’re an artist looking to display your work or you’re a blogger looking for something less complicated to design compared to WordPress, this platform has something for you.

To get started with a website will cost you $12 per month and you have over 40 templates to choose from for your site. They also have ways to add pop-ups and third-party tools to allow email signups so that you can build your email list. For example, you can integrate a popular tool like LeadPages with with your SquareSpace site.

The drag-and-drop interface is easy enough to use, but will still take some time to learn the intricacies of all the features available. You can sign up for a free trial to get a feel for how the site builder works. While SquareSpace can work for ecommerce, the price goes up to $26 per month and limits the template options quite a bit.

3. Duda

If you’re a web designer or digital agency that specializes in PPC, restaurant or small business sites, then consider taking a closer look at Duda’s responsive drag-and-drop website builder. Of all the WordPress alternatives listed, Duda’s website builder is the only one to use adaptive design and has a built-in website personalization tool.

With the adaptive design feature, you can edit your content based on the device it will be viewed (desktop, tablet, phone) giving you even more control on the content and layout. They also have SSL certificates included with every site that can be installed with a simple click of the mouse, and integrated with tools like OpenTable, Yelp, PayPal and a few other

As with any drag-and-drop page builder, learning all the features and how to use them takes some time. Agencies who switched from WordPress to Duda found they saved around 75% in dev time among other things.

The price for a website on Duda is $19 per month or you can buy the site for life at just $299.

Bonus: Shopify for Ecommerce

While WooCommerce for WordPress does give you an easy way to setup an online store with a WP site, there are things lacking in the tool for the platform. Shopify can actually be a better, less expensive option for online stores when compared to the WooCommerce plugin.

As soon as you take a look at Shopify’s platform, you can tell it was build with the ecommerce store owner in mind. The visual page builder is easy to navigate, all the designs available help move people through your site into the cart and checkout, and managing products in the backend is made easier than you’d expect.

They also have 24/7 through email, phone and online chat which means as a customer of theirs you’ll always have someone on hand to help when you need it – and you’ll need it eventually. They also have free SSL certificates and tools like Buy buttons for Facebook or Pinterest.

Price for an online store with Shopify starts at $29 per month and you can sign up for a free trial to test it out before you go all in. If you’re serious about starting an online store, then take a closer look at this option.

That about wraps up our top choices for alternatives to WordPress. Have you used any of these before?

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