What content management system should I choose when building a website for my yoga business?

Starting your yoga business can seem a little bit scary. There are quite a few things to be aware of before you think about the colours and fonts that make up your brand. That’s why we decided to write some business blog posts. Today, we will be talking about different types of website content management systems. We have reviewed three of the leading website creation platforms to help you understand which would be most suitable for your yoga business.  We have compared WordPress, Squarespace and Wix. Keep reading to find out more about them.

WordPress

WordPress is driven by its virtually unlimited functionality and low cost. However, new users typically find that WordPress’s impressive power comes with a steep learning curve compared to platforms like Wix and Squarespace. You’ll spend some time learning the WordPress platform — but it’s worth the effort if you need a website with unlimited capabilities.

WordPress is a standalone platform that works on your choice of hosting service, such as GoDaddy, Bluehost etc… but be mindful that WordPress isn’t an all-in-one solution website platform like Wix and Squarespace. When it comes to a WordPress website, you will need to ensure that you have already purchased your domain name as well as hosting separately (every hosting costs a different amount).

You are able to use a number of plugins in WordPress which add all types of functionalities which is great for personalising your website. Also, free e-commerce themes deliver endless design possibilities too. Pairing WordPress with various plugins and design themes allows you to create anything imaginable on the internet. Influencer blogs, e-commerce stores, promotional websites, affiliate marketing websites, video lesson portals, and membership sites (the list is endless) can all be powered by WordPress. Always ensure that your theme is mobile responsive. This means that your website will be compatible with mobile devices as well as desktop/laptop devices.

If you are however just starting out with websites and perhaps don’t understand coding, WordPress may not be a solution for you (unless you have someone to help support you with the website build)

WordPress pricing: From £0 - £15 per month (billed yearly)

Squarespace

Squarespace is an all-in-one website platform. Creating a visually stunning website is important for your brand. If you don’t mind investing a bit more time to make sure your site is perfect, Squarespace’s inbuilt tools and beautiful designs will suit you perfectly and you don’t even need to understand how to code.

In recent years, Squarespace has made some big improvements to its editor, resulting in an impressive 15% increase in its ‘ease-of-use score’. It’s now much more accessible even for those that don’t have a lot of time to spend learning the ins and outs of a platform!

This, combined with its sleek designs, makes Squarespace a very popular choice. It might take slightly longer to master than Wix, but there’s no coding involved and when all is said and done, you’ll have a beautiful end product. As with everything, you will learn many new things along the journey (its part of the process!).

Also, Squarespace offers excellent support via email, live chat, and social media (there's no phone support).

Trust us – you’ll have a hard time convincing people your site wasn’t designed by professionals!

Squarespace Pricing: from £13 - £37 per month. The annual plans are also available and work out to be cheaper.

Wix

Wix is an ideal platform for anyone new to website building and in need of a simple, economical and functional promotional website or online store. We use it for our yoga studio www.edenhotyoga.co.uk.

Of the three, only Wix offers a completely free plan, however, the free site displays Wix’s network ads and doesn’t support a unique domain name. For a fully branded website, you’ll need a paid plan, so it may always be better to invest in the paid plan unless you are on a restricted budget.

Wix delivers an incredibly user-friendly solution with website hosting, design templates and website functionality — like e-commerce and other online sales features — it really is an all in one tidy package. The only limitation which you may come across is the design versatility. While you have many customisation features within the template you select (endless!!), once you publish your website, you can’t swap it over to a completely new look ( you can still customise it though as many times as you want to), it’s something to bear in mind.

All themes are fully mobile responsive, meaning they look just as good being viewed on a phone as they do on a laptop screen. Plus, if you’re feeling confident, you can select a blank template and let your creative juices flow and put your own stamp on your website.

Wix Pricing: From £3.50 - £19 per month

Overall, these three website platforms have pros and cons. Before setting up a website, we would recommend researching fully to understand what each platform can do for your business and what exactly you need from these platforms.

Hopefully, this overview has helped you to understand these platforms better. If you are thinking of becoming a yoga teacher then you should definitely check our yoga teacher training courses or simply drop us an email at info@yogacourse.com.