Things to consider when choosing a website design and template service

To help you understand the pricing scales of different web design services, we’ve compared the prices of the leading web design packages for small to medium-sized e-commerce sites, blogs and boutique business websites. We’ve provided information about monthly plans and yearly contracts as well as about setup fees and commissions, so that you can evaluate the merits of each plan for yourself and choose one that is right for your website and your budget.

While every do-it-yourself web design service should be both intuitive and user-friendly, our tests concluded that this is not always the case. Some services, such as Wix and Yola provide easy-to-use drag and drop website editors, while others, such as AllOwned, are nearly impossible to navigate without assistance. When possible, we recommend testing out a free version of the website builder before committing yourself to a paid subscription.

Although it’s certainly important to choose a convenient website editor, it is also important to consider the service’s other features. If you’re building an e-commerce website, for example, you’ll want a web design service that offers e-commerce abilities such as multiple shipping options, tax calculators and inventory updates, such as BigCommerce or ProStores. If you’re looking to set appointments on your website, you should look for a web design service that offers an appointment book, such as Yola. We’ve compared the features offered by the top web design services so that you can see for yourself which services offer useful features and which ones may not be worth the added expense.

We tested the customer support teams of the top web design services to see which ones provided dependable customer service. We sent emails, called the customer service centers and used the tutorials provided by each of the top web design services, and recorded all of our findings to help you determine which ones offer the best customer support for your needs. Although a do-it-yourself web design service should be intuitive enough to limit your dependency on their support staff, it's advisable to make sure that when you do need, you will find reliable support.

Launching a website with a clear goal will help you determine which web design service will best meet your needs. If you’re looking to showcase your portfolio with an impressive, unique website, you may want to choose Wix for its Flash template options and expansive customization options. If you want to create a professional e-commerce website, consider choosing a web design service that offers multiple shopping cart options and tax calculators, such as BigCommerce or ProStores. We've compared the top web design services and given a breakdown of which services are best for the various types of websites.