Showit vs WordPress: How to Decide Which is Best for Your Creative Business

Let’s chat about Showit vs WordPress, and how you can decide which to use for building your website. This episode is part 4 of a series I’m doing on website platforms. If you haven’t listened yet, I’ve also talked about:

Showit vs Shopify | Showit vs Wix | Showit vs Squarespace

Showit vs WordPress: Overview

I’m not here to bash any website platform and tell you that you have to use Showit. I see pros and cons to all of the options I will talk about.

It’s my hope that as I’m sharing my thoughts, you can take what I’m saying with a grain of salt as you make the decision about what is best for you.

WordPress is a free content management system. It includes a website builder that supports templates (known as themes) and blogging capabilities. According to their website, it is “the world’s most popular website builder.”

Showit is a drag + drop website builder that was created with photographers in mind. It now serves creative entrepreneurs of all kinds. Showit’s newer than some of the other options out there, and is known for the creative freedom it allows. Showit actually integrates with WordPress for blogging, which I’ll explain in a bit. 

When you have a website, you also have a domain name (the address that people type in to get to your site, like mayapalmerdesigns.com), the platform your site is built on, and a website host. Several of the platforms out there, like Showit, Squarespace, and WIx serve as both the website builder and host. 

However, when you have a WordPress site, you use WordPress to build the site, then pay for a host (like SiteGround) separately. I just wanted to clarify that from the get go. 

But let’s dive a little deeper, shall we? To explain how Showit and WordPress are similar and different, and why you might choose one over the other, let’s break these platforms down in terms of Price, Quality, Customization, and Convenience.

Showit vs WordPress: Price

As we dive into price, I want to say that a website is an investment that should serve your business well, not just another expense. Also, the saying “you get what you pay for” is true when it comes to web design.

I include price in my comparison because we all have budgets to stick to, but I encourage you to consider the other factors we’ll talk about, and not just price, when choosing a platform.  

The Investment for a WordPress Site

Okay, let’s tackle the investment for having a WordPress site, first. This can get a little tricky, and will vary from business to business. But because I serve creative entrepreneurs, I’m going to focus on the options that would most likely serve your business types.

So, let’s get a little techy again. WordPress itself, which the site is built on, is free. There are paid plans available, but most people that I’ve talked to have a free WordPress plan.

In the WordPress world, templates are called themes. There are free themes available, and the premium options vary in price. One of the most popular themes out there is called Divi. In fact, Elegant Themes, which created Divi, states on its website that Divi is “the most popular theme in the world.” 

WordPress Theme Example: Divi

At the time that I’m recording this episode, Black Friday deals are happening. Elegant Themes is currently offering a deal to get access to 3 of their themes for $67/yr, or you can pay $187 one time for lifetime access. And both those prices are after the 25% off deal. While this is just one option for a theme, hopefully that gives you some idea of how much they can cost. 

WordPress Hosting Example: SiteGround

Like I mentioned earlier, when you have a WordPress site, you have to pay for hosting separately. There are several options for hosting out there, but one well-known option is SiteGround, so let’s talk about their pricing. 

They are also having Black Friday deals at the time that I am doing my research, but it says that the regular price for their StartUp WordPress hosting plan is $14.99/mo, and that supports hosting for one website.

So to recap, with WordPress you can pay for just the hosting at the very least, and use a free theme. But if you want something with more customization capabilities, there’s the option to pay for hosting and a theme. 

It’s common to pay a developer or designer to create your WordPress site for you, and costs for custom design will vary based on the designer’s experience level and the specific needs of your project. On average, expect that hiring a WordPress designer to cost at least several thousand dollars.

The Investment for a Showit Site

Let’s talk about Showit’s pricing now!

Showit’s Basic Plan is $24/mo. However, if you want to have a blog on your site (which I recommend) the Showit + Basic Blog plan is $29/mo. There are higher-priced plans available, but for most businesses who are just switching from their first-ever site, I suggest starting with the Showit + Basic Blog. Of course, if you are a blogger, or just have lots of blog posts to transfer over, then the Showit + Advanced Blog might be best for you, which is $39.mo. 

You can totally sign up for a Showit account and create your own site from scratch at no extra cost! But many people who aren’t designers prefer to hire a professional to design their site, or go the DIY route with a template.

As far as Showit templates go, there are free options out there, but there are a lot more premium templates. Premium Showit templates typically cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to $1000+, depending on what you’re looking for in a template. 

Similar to WordPress, the investment for hiring a Showit designer to customize your template or build a custom site will vary based on designer experience and your needs. But on average, expect it to be at least several thousand dollars.

We just talked a whole bunch about some of the costs associated with website design. I hope this has given you an idea of what you are looking at spending for a WordPress site vs. Showit site. 

Let’s go ahead and move on to the more fun topics of Quality & Customization.

Showit vs WordPress: Quality

The quality of your website matters. Research says that when a person is browsing on the internet and clicks on your site, they will make the decision to stay or leave in a matter of seconds. You want to make a good first impression!

What affects a site’s quality? A combination of structure, intentional design, and well-written copy (the text on your site) determines a site’s quality. You want a website that is:

• Easy for visitors to use on desktop and mobile
• SEO-optimized so that you can get found on Google
• Isn’t just pretty, but converts browsers into fans and eventually, paying customers or clients 
• Reflects your brand well

The good news is that both Showit and WordPress offer the features you need to check all of these off your list! You just have to put in the work to customize the templates for your business. 

I will mention that depending on your WordPress theme, it might take a little more work to get it to be mobile friendly. 

One neat thing is that because Showit integrates with WordPress for blogging, Showit users can actually use the popular plugin Yoast for helping with SEO.

Showit vs WordPress: Customization & Convenience

Customization and ease are major reasons why business owners choose Showit over WordPress, so let’s spend some time on this topic.

WordPress is amazingly powerful – that’s why it’s so popular, and that’s why Showit integrates with WordPress for blogging power. However, WordPress sites are also notorious for being hard to edit for the average person. Even as a website designer myself, I used to dread having to edit clients’ WordPress themes. 

Showit Sites are Easier to Edit Than WordPress Sites

That’s why I love using Showit. While there’s still a learning curve, it’s so easy to use compared to other options and I can train my clients on using their website without things getting too complicated. 

Showit offers so much freedom design-wise. You can click and drag anything to any spot on the page. There are no blocks and very little rules. The mobile site customization is unlike anything else I’ve use, it can be customized as much as you’d like and doesn’t have to look just like the desktop version! Showit definitely isn’t perfect, but I personally prefer it.

Elementor – an Option for Making WordPress Sites Easier to Edit

Elementor is a website builder for WordPress sites that make them easier to edit. But similar to options out there like Squarespace, it’s a block editor where every item on the page is contained in a box.

Showit Integrates with WordPress for Powerful Blogging Tools

One of the selling features of Showit is that it integrates with WordPress for powerful blogging without the hard to edit site. Let me explain how that works, briefly.

Your site design, including the blog page layouts, are all created in the Showit editor. But when you write blog posts, you will hop over to WordPress. You can also add plugins to add more functionality to what your blog pages can do, just like if you had a WordPress site.

All in all, I’d say that both WordPress and Showit sites are plenty customizable. Showit sites are more customizable than some of the more limited WordPress themes. 

Because Showit is easier to edit, I’d say it’s more convenient. 

Showit vs WordPress: Conclusion

Well there you have it, my thoughts on Showit vs WordPress. I prefer Showit, and I believe that it’s easier to use for the average small business owner. But I’m not trying to say that WordPress is bad. There’s a reason why it’s the most popular website builder in the world, and why Showit integrates with WordPress for blogging. 

Again, these are just my opinions, please take what I’m saying with a grain of salt and do what’s best for you and your business! 

Looking for a designer to help you switch to Showit?

If you’re interested in switching to Showit, check out my website design services. I offer packages for both template customization, as well as completely custom design. No worries if you’re not sure which is right for you yet, the process starts with a complimentary discovery call so that we can chat about your needs!

If I can answer any questions for you about websites, templates, choosing a platform, etc. feel free to DM me on Instagram @mayapalmerdesigns or send an email to maya@mayapalmerdesigns.com. I’m happy to help!