Strikingly Vs. WordPress for Websites and Blogs
Strikingly’s Simple Blog and WordPress are two of the most popularly used tools for creating a blog or multi-purpose website. To-date, both come highly recommended for the novice and the seasoned individuals and businesses alike. But which one should you choose? It all comes down to what you need.
Strikingly
Strikingly is a Shanghai-based website builder that made its debut in beta version in 2012 and has continued to gain distinction ever since. As a free online website builder, Strikingly focuses on one-click building across social media with little downtime, where you are able to build a live website or blog in as little as 15 minutes. All you do is pick your theme, add content, click to publish, and you’re done.
While you can have a free website of up to 5 GB of bandwidth per month, you can pay for a Pro or Limited package (billed by the year or every 2 years) which are as follows:
- Pro. For $14 per month for 2 years, or 16 per month for 1 year, you get a free, custom domain name and free email forwarding for as many as 3 accounts, up to 3 sites with pro features, an unlimited number of free sites and bandwidth, the ability to sell up to 20 products on a site, use of Strikingly’s app store, mobile call to action features, code embedding (for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) onto your site, ability to remove the Strikingly brand from your site and replace with your own, password protection, and the ability to collaborate with your team by assigning them access as admin, editor, or blogger.
- Limited. For $7 per month for 2 years, or $8 per month for 1 year, you get a free, custom domain, up to 2 sites with limited features, an unlimited number free sites, up to 50 GB of bandwidth per month, and the ability to sell up to 5 products on a site.
Reviews continue to be highly favorable toward Strikingly, and about the only drawbacks are that if you want to do something more advanced, their service may be too basic for you, and that the ability to remove branding is not 100% achievable, as there are some areas where Strikingly’s logo may be present across certain types of websites. Still, it makes for a quick and professional site builder for you to utilize and help you get up and running even if you are a novice at it.
WordPress
WordPress has been around since 2003, offering free blogs and websites with plug-ins that incorporate the ever-increasing latest technology trends. As part of their free service, you get a WordPress domain, up to 3 GB of storage space, and community support. However, the downside to a free page or blog is that since there are ads that constantly display, there are those for which you have no control over. However, by choosing the Premium or Business options, you do enjoy a few perks:
- Premium. For $99 per year, you get a free site with a custom domain and advanced features, the ability to store videos, up to 13 GB of storage space, and receive direct email support, all without the hassle of ads.
- Business. For $299 per year, you get a free site with a custom domain and advanced features and no ads, plus unlimited storage space and videos you can store, over 150 premium themes, live chat support, and Google analytics for keeping track of your site’s statistics.
Because WordPress has been around longer, they are well-known in the industry for easy-to-work with features. As a free website building tool, they still offer you a lot. It’s just that when it comes down to having your site or blog in the long-term, one of the paying packages would be necessary, making it about the only drawback to their services.
Conclusion
If cost is a factor, a free website or blog are good starting points with either Strikingly or WordPress. But for lasting value, a paying package on either site builder that has the features you need the most is well-worth the money you’ll spend if it means your brand receives the recognition and customer-base it deserves.