Another day, another website: The future is bright for ‘no code’ website builders.
Another day, another website:
The future is bright for ‘no code’ website builders.
Today, Mailchimp joined the likes of Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, Webflow (oh, and even Google) in launching its own ‘no code’ website builder.
Currently in Beta and available to select few, the web service looks to be filling a considerable gap in their already broad gamut of marketing offerings (email being their origin). Indeed, the tools available to marketers and business owners have multiplied exponentially in recent years, but with all this ‘power’ within reach, it’s never been so tempting for business owners to cut corners to save coin. And with more and more websites being launched daily, it’s never been so important for your website (the store front of the digital era) to stand out in the crowd.
Not all platforms are built equal.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a take down piece. Far from it. At Creature we love website builders. In fact, we’ve built a business on providing the vital expertise needed to break the shackles imposed by templates and deliver unique, responsive and search optimised user experiences. And now, with the aid of website builders like Squarespace (our personal favourite), we’re able to deliver best-in-class websites with a bunch of bells and whistles and integrations at a fraction of the cost.
To a marketer and business owner like myself, the utopian allure of ‘fully integrated everything’ is the stuff of dreams... but unsurprisingly, the Squarespaces of the world are great at marketing themselves, and the reality of working within such platforms is far from dreamy. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, something we consider before recommending any web solution, let alone website builder.
Some, like Mailchimp, are restrictively simplistic and encourage an army of generic content distribution with little chance of standing out on any given Tuesday. And I’m talking about their core email offering... and judging by the three almost identical example websites on display, one can only imagine their new website offering will be quite the generic affair.
At the other end of the spectrum, products like Webflow are oriented towards visual differentiation. But (there’s always a but) IMHO it is overly complex to truly fly the ‘no-code’ flag. For any business owner without a savvy designer/developer-type on staff, I’d guarantee it will prove a time and budget black hole. Saying that, for businesses where slick animation and transition effects are key to making the right impression, it’s a tool that is sure to impress.
