Editor-style website builders versus a builder that writes the pages

Where an editor is the better choice

Start here, because it is the honest place to start. If you want to place every element yourself, an editor is the better choice. That is what a canvas is for.

The same goes for an online store, a blog you want to write today, or a site in a language other than English. Website Builder Studio does not offer those today, and we would rather say so now than after your trial.

• Pixel-level control over layout, spacing and type
• An online store with checkout on the site
• A blog you plan to write this month
• Pages in a language other than English

Who writes the pages is the first difference

With an editor, you write the pages. You open a template, replace the placeholder text, and decide what each heading says. The words are yours to find.

Here the pages are written from a conversation. You answer questions in a chat about your services, your areas, who you serve and what makes you different. The builder writes the titles, descriptions, headings, copy, an answer capsule near the top, and the questions people ask, from those answers.

Before the build runs you see the planned pages and what the build costs, and you approve it. Nothing is written until you say so.

What checks the pages is the second difference

In an editor, you decide when a page is ready and you press publish. Whether it is genuinely useful, and whether it reads as a copy of another page, is your call to make.

Here every page passes a check validated against Google Search Essentials and modern web standards. A page that fails does not publish, and the assistant says why.

One part of that check strips city, state and industry names before it measures how alike two pages are. So a page that is the same words with the town swapped scores as a copy and fails.

Where a builder that writes and checks pages fits

It fits a business that needs real pages about real services and real areas, and does not want to write them. A plumber with a page per service and a page per area. A practice with a page per treatment. A company with a site per location.

It also fits anyone who wants the check. If you would rather a page fail before it publishes than find out later, that is the whole point of the product.

Sites are up to 100 pages each, with their own page structure and internal links, and plans run from 10 to 300 websites. A lead form sits on every page, and each submission goes to your CRM, Slack, Microsoft Teams, SMS, email or any webhook.

What you can change without a canvas

No canvas does not mean no control. The in-app assistant is on every screen. Ask it to edit copy, set your brand color, logo and hero image, or set the footer links. Ask it to add a hero video from a YouTube or Vimeo link, or to add a page.

You can also add a page of your own. Write it yourself in plain paragraphs at no charge, or give one line about its purpose and the assistant writes it. Either way it passes the same check.

What you cannot do is drag a block across the screen. If that is the part you enjoy, see the editor section above.

What you keep if you leave

You can export every lead across every site to a spreadsheet in one click, as CSV or Excel. After your first payment you can download your site files, and published sites stay live for 30 days after you cancel.

Every publish keeps a version you can roll back to, and your legal pages publish exactly as you upload them. Ask any editor-style builder the same questions. The answers are worth knowing before you build.

How to decide in one afternoon

Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial. A card is required, and if you cancel before day 15 you pay nothing. Run the chat, look at the planned pages and the cost, and approve or walk away.

If you find yourself wishing for a canvas, you have your answer. If you find yourself relieved that the pages are written and checked, you have it too.