If you’re looking for a way to design your new website, there are plenty of possibilities you could go with. For example, you can code it by yourself (or hire someone) using HTML and CSS, or create it using a website builder platform like Wix or Sitejet; another possibility would be to create yourself a website and use WordPress platform for building.
As you probably already know, in this article, we’ll take a look at 2 methods listed right above: the Sitejet site building tool, and the WordPress Content Management System (CMS). These are easily 2 of the most popular methods used by modern websites.
More than 25% of all websites online today, are powered by WordPress. And think that there are literally millions of websites existing today. The point is, that WordPress is a widely used platform by all types of people for all types of websites.
But what about Sitejet? This is a service that aims to take on WordPress in being one of the most popular site management tools ever created. That isn’t a small goal to achieve. However, the service is quickly becoming more and more popular due to its simplicity and modern features. So, it is a worthy competitor.
What will we talk in the case of both platforms? The first thing we’ll cover is functionality. After that, we’ll also take a look at user friendliness and as a last aspect, we’ll mention the pricing as well. Let’s jump in!
I’ll start with WordPress:
WordPress – Functionality
When we talk about functionality, we have to mention what are the things you can accomplish using the platform. In the case of WordPress, we can summarize using only one word: everything. I’m not making WordPress seem too good. You really can do pretty much anything related to any sort of website.
A lot of this is due to the multitude of themes available for use in the WordPress template section. You can choose from thousands of free and premium themes for your liking.
The best thing about almost all of them, is the fact that they are responsive. So, you don’t have to bother about making your website look good on all devices. This is a standard that comes with using WordPress.
When you install a new theme, the process is seamlessly fast and simple. All you have to do, is click the themes section, choose the right one for your needs, and click install. If you want to, you can even preview what your site will look like, so you don’t waste time customizing a template that would not work out in the end.
Another important feature that comes with using WordPress is the huge amount of prebuilt plugins. Basically, these are small programs created to take care of certain tasks a website might need.
For example, there are plugins built to handle emailing, selling (ecommerce sites), login forms, SEO, writing, video and image processing and many others.
There’s one thing you should keep in mind though about plugins: you must only install the ones that are necessary for your website to work properly. If you install too many of them, they could slow down your website significantly. So, take this into consideration when building a site with WordPress.
Sitejet – Functionality
Sitejet Features & Functionality
Now, let’s talk a little about Sitejet too regarding functionality. For start, we should point out that Sitejet is a WYSIWYG CMS. What does this mean?
The abbreviation stands for ‘’What you see is what you get’’. The idea is pretty self-explanatory: the whole site building process is happening live. Any change or modification can be seen directly in the browser. This can make the whole process go faster and more efficiently.
Just like WordPress, Sitejet also comes with many prebuilt templates, that are easily installed and changed at will. The good news is, they are all responsive. Actually, this feature is becoming more and more a standard these days. But still, it’s a welcomed addition to the package.
Sitejet also lets you fully customize the source code behind the website at hand. More specifically, you can change or add new HTML, CSS and JavaScript code to your website. This allows for a much better personalization, because you can create elements solely specific to your website in use.
There’s a very interesting and modern feature built into Sitejet: it’s called Corporate Identity Detection. What is this more exactly? If you already own a company, you can upload its logo to your Sitejet account. Once that is done, you can opt to adapt automatically the website’s design after the logo you previously uploaded.
Simply put, all your corporate identity (which includes your website) will be adapted after your main logo. How awesome is that? You’ll have your own brand set up in no time!
WordPress – User Friendliness
Now it’s time to talk about another aspect for both platforms: user friendliness. Or with other words: how easy it is to use the platform.
This is actually a very important aspect. After all, using a website builder, means that you shouldn’t need to possess too much technical knowledge. This is one of the main reasons site builders were created in the first place; so even non-techy people could design and develop their own website without the need of coding.
So, what can we say about WordPress? Once you get the hang of it, it’s quite easy and simple to maintain your website in shape. Of course, it takes a little time to know all the ins and outs, but it’s totally worth your time.
WordPress is a complex platform that supports all types of websites, not just blogs. But even so, you can learn all about its functioning relatively quickly.
I say relatively quickly, because having so many features and options at your disposal, it can take a bit of time getting used to. For example, here are some of the features available only on the main menu bar (on the left): main dashboard, posts, pages, media (images, videos, audio), comments, appearance, plugins, tools and settings. Of course, all these options have other properties too.
Sitejet – User Friendliness
When we talk about ease of use, Sitejet is a top platform on the list. I mentioned above that WordPress is quite easy to learn and master, but Sitejet is even easier. All the features and building tools were created with simplicity in mind.
For example, the editor is used as a drag-and-drop tool to create your website. You can choose from tens of pre-created elements, that are ready for use. Of course, you can customize them further, if that’s what you want.
But, if a template from their store is what you want, your job becomes even easier. Just choose the one that fits your liking and activate it on your website. Any theme is open for modifications. So, if something needs further personalization, that is also easily handled using the drag-and-drop feature, from before.
Everything in the editor is clearly marked and its purpose is pointed out, so you’ll know your way around in the platform without much difficulty.
Now, it’s time to talk about the pricing for both these site builder platforms:
WordPress – Pricing
This platform is totally free to use. You’ve read that right. If you download WordPress from WordPress.org, you can use it entirely free of cost. After all, it’s an open source tool, which means that you can freely use and modify it however you want.
The only service you have to pay for, is the web hosting which every website needs to have, in order to be online on the web. I highly recommend HostGator, for building and hosting WordPress websites.
Sitejet – Pricing
Sitejet Pricing
While most website builders offer a free plan, Sitejet does not have any free plan available. The best and most reasonable for someone without a company, is the first plan that is called Professional.
This one costs $7/month, or $5/ month if you pay for 1 year upfront. Every feature that Sitejet makes available is included in this package + hosting for 1 website for free.
If you want a free to use platform for your website building project, then WordPress is the one for you. But even like that, you still have to pay for web hosting, which for new websites (with shared hosting) costs between $3 – $10/month. As mentioned above, for WordPress sites I recommend HostGator, which starts at $2.75 / month.
So, in terms of pricing, you would end up spending almost the same amount for both tools. The only difference is, that you pay that money to different companies.
Conclusion
All in all, both WordPress and Sitejet are top-notch site builders. Choosing one over the other, really depends on your personal needs and liking.
With WordPress, you have a complex CMS to use for site management, when Sitejet is more of a drag-and-drop site builder, which has amazing in-built features, but you are limited compared to WordPress.
If you use them wisely, any one of the two could make your website become its own brand. Your choice really depends on your needs. I recommend WordPress for blog-type websites and Sitejet for small company websites. If you run your website on WordPress, you will constantly need to keep on eye on updates and security. With Sitejet you don’t need to worry about all these things.
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