One website building tip a day | Understand in 3 minutes: A comparison of the 4 best independent website building platforms for beginners (super practical!)

For website building beginners, one of the most frequently asked questions is:

Which platform should I use to build my independent website?

Don't worry, this article will help you thoroughly understand the four most commonly used website building platforms for beginners in just 3 minutes : Shopify, Wix, WordPress, and ABke.

We will provide a practical comparison from the perspectives of website building difficulty, cost, functionality, and target audience to help you avoid wasting money and taking unnecessary detours. Recommended reading: A website building tip a day | What are the essential things to do before building a website?

💡I. Shopify – The "top choice" for independent e-commerce websites

✅ Suitable for:

For beginners selling products, doing cross-border e-commerce, and needing shopping carts and payment systems.

👍 Advantages:

• The templates are plentiful and can be adapted to almost all e-commerce industries;

• Built-in payment system (Shopify Payments), convenient logistics integration;

• Supports multiple languages ​​and major global currencies;

• A well-developed plugin ecosystem (over 8,000 plugins available on the App Store).

• The interface is user-friendly and can be used without technical knowledge.

👎 Disadvantages:

• The high cost of monthly fees plus plugins puts a heavy financial burden on beginners.

• SEO optimization offers limited flexibility .

• There are many templates available, but most of the truly attractive ones require payment.

• It has limited customization options and is not well-suited for content-driven or brand websites.

💬 Practical suggestions:

If your main goal is to sell products and generate revenue , you have a sufficient budget, and you want to quickly launch your product site, Shopify is the most direct choice .

However, if you prefer "brand building + content marketing", you may want to look at the following platforms.

🧩II. Wix – Drag-and-drop operation, the most user-friendly "visual website building" for beginners

✅ Suitable for:

Websites showcasing personal profiles, studios, resumes, or portfolios.

👍 Advantages:

• A drag-and-drop interface allows you to build your website like assembling building blocks.

• The template is aesthetically pleasing and has excellent visual effects.

• A free trial version is available.

• The backend is simple and has a very low learning curve;

• The new AI assistant (Wix ADI) can generate a basic website in minutes.

👎 Disadvantages:

• International access speeds are generally slow.

• SEO optimization capabilities are relatively weak ;

• The e-commerce functions are relatively simple;

• The website has poor portability (locked into the Wix system);

• The free version will have a Wix ad watermark.

💬 Practical suggestions:

If you are a complete beginner and just want to "get a website first" to get started, Wix is ​​a great option.

However, if you plan to build a long-term brand website or independent website for traffic generation and conversion, it is recommended to consider a solution with stronger SEO capabilities.

⚙️III. WordPress – The Most Flexible "King of Free Website Building"

✅ Suitable for:

Users with some technical skills who want to build a long-term brand website, content website, or blog website.

👍 Advantages:

• Free and open source, highly customizable;

• Strong SEO potential;

• The global plugin ecosystem is extremely rich (tens of thousands of plugins to choose from);

• They have complete control.

• It can be paired with various themes and templates, offering the highest degree of freedom.

👎 Disadvantages:

• It has a relatively high technical barrier (requires some knowledge of domain names, servers, theme installation, etc.);

• Setting up a multilingual website is cumbersome;

• High update and maintenance costs;

• Loading speed is easily slowed down by plugins;

• Security needs to be maintained by yourself.

💬 Practical suggestions:

If you have a certain level of technical expertise and want deep customization and free SEO layout , WordPress is a good choice.

However, the initial learning cost is indeed not low for beginners.

🤖IV. AB Customer – An AI-powered website building platform and content factory specifically designed for foreign trade.

✅ Suitable for:

Foreign trade B2B companies, factories, machinery/industrial exporters, and foreign trade teams looking to generate Google inquiries.

👍 Advantages:

• One-click AI website building, launch a multilingual website group in 60 minutes (supports 47+ languages).

• Automatically generate content (product pages, SEO articles, meta tags, etc.);

• Built-in foreign trade SEO logic (automatic matching of keywords and country/language);

• It integrates website building, SEO, and content marketing.

• No code or plugin maintenance required;

• Designed specifically for converting foreign trade inquiries (including online forms, WhatsApp, email follow-up, and other functions).

👎 Disadvantages:

• Not applicable to retail or cross-border e-commerce (primarily B2B foreign trade);

• It is only suitable for companies with export needs.

💬 Practical suggestions:

If you're in foreign trade and don't want to deal with technical stuff or SEO, but still want to get overseas inquiries, AB Customer is currently the most practical solution.

Especially suitable for small and medium-sized B2B enterprises, it can handle the three major links of website building, exposure and inquiry with one click.

🧭V. Summary and Comparison: Which one is most suitable for you?

🧩 VI. Final Advice for Beginners

👉 If you just want to quickly launch and showcase your brand , Wix is ​​sufficient;

👉 If you want to sell goods across borders or run an e-commerce business , Shopify is the most stable option;

👉 If you want content accumulation and long-term SEO strategy , WordPress is worth investing in;

👉 If you want to acquire customers in foreign trade, gain multilingual exposure, and use AI-driven content , then ABK is definitely the most convenient choice.

💬 One last honest thought:

Website building platforms are just tools; the real key is what goals you want to achieve through your website .

Don't immediately focus on which platform is best; instead, ask yourself these three questions first 👇

What: I want to build a website to sell products? Showcase products? Acquire customers?

Who: Who are my target users? In which country?

Why: Why do customers choose me over others?

Understanding these three questions will save you 90% of the trouble you've taken.

Building a website is never about technical skills, but about having a clear goal and strong execution .