Small-business website builders, chip by chip
Plain write-ups on the platforms a small business builds its site on — what each editor lets you move, what the plan really costs, and what you keep if you leave.
Ref BWL-00 · drawn chip · 9 fields cutThis deck is new and nothing is published yet. No write-ups, no comparisons, nothing to read here today — the fields below are the ground the site is being cut to cover.
Nine fields cut into this deck
Each chip is one subject the site is being built around. None of them opens onto anything yet — they are listed so you can see what will be here before deciding whether to come back.
Drag-and-drop builders
The editors themselves — how much layout control each one gives you, and where the template stops bending.
Templates and themes
What a starter template actually locks in, and how far a small business can take one before it needs custom work.
Selling and checkout
Carts, payment processing and transaction cuts, for shops small enough that the cut matters.
Domains and hosting
What is bundled, what is billed separately, and what you keep if you leave the platform.
Plans and what they cost
Where the tiers split, which features sit behind the next one up, and what renewal looks like.
Speed, SEO and structure
Page weight, metadata control, redirects and the parts of the URL structure a builder will not let you touch.
Moving a site in or out
Exports, content portability, and what a platform hands back when you take the site elsewhere.
Booking, forms and email
The built-in tools a service business ends up needing, and when a separate tool is the cheaper answer.
Building it or hiring it out
Where a builder stops being the sensible option and a designer or a developer starts.
No scores on any chip
Reference codes mark a chip’s place in the deck and nothing else. Where builders get ordered here, they are ordered in words with the reasoning shown, and no chip is printed as the best of the deck.
Prices quoted, not guessed
Plan prices, limits and transaction cuts move constantly. Anything stated will come from the vendor and carry its date, or it will be described in words rather than a number.
Affiliate links disclosed
Some links earn a commission. That never sets the order of the deck, and it is stated on every page where it applies.