Rafomac News, Tech & Trends That MatterBuilding a website sounds simple—until you try doing it 20 times on 20 different platforms. That’s exactly what one person did to find the perfect website builder. The results? Surprisingly insightful and a few unexpected revelations.
Why Build the Same Website 20 Times?
When the website for Bamboo, a rock band with over a decade of history, unexpectedly died, its member realized the chance to test a long-held curiosity: which website builder is actually the best? Choosing a band website made the task manageable—it needed only basic pages, stylish photos, and simple navigation, just like many small business or personal sites.
After writing a band bio and gathering visuals, the real work began with a list of 20 website builders. The plan was to build the same site on each platform to compare the experience and final results.
Spotting the Duds: The “Definitely Not” Builders
Four builders landed straight in the ‘definitely not’ pile. GoDaddy immediately raised red flags by sneaking a Microsoft 365 email subscription into the checkout—an unwanted add-on that would silently start charging $130 a year later. That deceptive trick alone disqualified it.
Mailchimp wasn’t any better, opting its users into marketing emails by default and charging fees earlier than agreed. Google Sites was honest and free but brutally limited — no way to move elements, frustrating default image filters, and odd mobile navigation icons locked in place. It’s a decent no-cost option for very simple sites, like academic pages, but not much beyond that. These experiences show that a good website builder is about more than price—it’s trust and flexibility.
Why a Blank Canvas Isn’t Always Best
Canva took a unique position as the only ‘blank canvas’ editor. It lets you drag any element anywhere, breaking away from typical site structure. It’s like working with a document where you drop words and images wherever you want. That freedom sounds great—until you try making a responsive website that works together on phones, tablets, and laptops. Because Canva lacks that basic structure, resizing the screen just shrinks everything awkwardly, making menus tiny and page elements disappear. A website needs rules, and Canva’s freeform style just doesn’t cut it.
Section Editors Feel Handy but Limiting
Section editors, such as Square, let you add pre-designed blocks like text with images or links. At a glance, this speeds things up. But the catch is you can’t rearrange or add new components inside these blocks. Want to tweak the footer or reposition a button? Tough luck. This approach quickly feels cookie cutter—fine for those who want a fast website but stifling if you want to stand out. The ideal builder needs to blend simplicity and customization.
Almost There: Builders That Are Just Okay
Builders like Wix delivered on most features but came with quirks. Navigating Wix’s system of ‘strips’ and ‘columns’ took trial and error, especially trying to get everything to display properly on all screen sizes. Despite adjustments, some text disappeared on smaller devices—a big problem for responsive design. Other builders—Duda, Oneinone, WordPress.com, and Web.com—worked, but user frustration was common due to confusing menus and unintuitive controls.
Wix, by the way, is ironically the highest paying affiliate for the reviewer, and yet it didn’t make the top pick. It’s a clear sign that real quality for users doesn’t always align with commercial incentives.
How AI Fared in Website Building
AI-driven builders are all the rage, with new platforms like Durable promising to whip up entire sites from simple prompts. However, reality is underwhelming. Durable’s AI-generated site for the band was off the mark—missing the core message and vibe. Squarespace’s and Wix’s AI tools created generic designs, while Framer’s AI looked a bit better but still felt unfinished. AI shines not in building websites yet but in generating content like text. Almost every builder now includes AI for writing copy, which is practical and genuinely helpful. AI images, though, often felt like bland stock photos—use sparingly.
Budget Builders: Cheap but With Trade-Offs
Hostinger impressed with its price—only $2.99 a month if you pay four years up front. But the feature set is minimalist, missing finer controls like adjusting button padding. Card is even cheaper at $19 per year, but that’s for one-page websites only. If your site fits on a single page, nothing beats that price, but it’s definitely a niche solution.
For Designers: The Power and Pain of Advanced Tools
Web Flow and Framer offer near-complete control, giving access to developer-level CSS adjustments. Users can achieve slick, custom websites—some have even replicated Apple’s site. But the learning curve is brutal. Mastering concepts like flexbox and positioning is essential, turning these tools into investments of weeks or months. Designed for professionals or those with patience, they overwhelm users building something straightforward like a band page.
Finding the Goldilocks Website Builder: Squarespace
After weeks of testing, the winner emerged clearly. Squarespace strikes a rare balance between ease and customization. It lets users build exactly what they want without the cookie-cutter feel of section-only editors. You can pick from pre-designed blocks but also customize by moving elements or adjusting styles in detail when needed. Even better, the site is fully responsive, flawless on mobiles and desktops alike.
Small things stood out, like neat highlight effects that made the band’s homepage slogan pop or clean mobile navigation that stayed functional after tweaks. It’s not perfect—don’t expect to build Apple-level designs without effort—but for typical portfolios, small businesses, and yes, band websites, Squarespace fits just right.
The Takeaway From This Website-Building Marathon
Building 20 versions of the same website with 20 different tools taught that experience quickly reveals a builder’s strengths and shortcomings. Whether you want simplicity, freedom, deep customization, or affordability, knowing your needs makes the choice easier. For most, the sweet spot lies between limiting but easy and powerful but complex.
Now live, Bamboo’s new website reflects a band still taking its first steps towards more shows, with a platform ready to grow. And if you want to see the final design or test other builders yourself, a full list of websites and notes is available for those curious.
