Wix vs. Weebly vs. Squarespace vs. Morweb: The Best Website Builder for Nonprofits

Original article published at https://morweb.org/blog

Website management is a challenge that many nonprofits struggle with. Most nonprofit professionals are not coding experts so they rely on a non-technical website builder to design their website and keep it up-to-date.

Open source CMS platforms like WordPress and Drupal are often too challenging for nonprofits to use without the help of a developer. Many nonprofits opt for proprietary CMS platforms with drag-and-drop functionality so they can make edits on the front end of their website.

We’ve compared features of the top website builders for nonprofits; Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, and Morweb to help you choose the right site builder for your organization.

Can’t see this image on mobile? Click here to view.

1. Morweb.org

Overview of this Nonprofit Website Builder

Morweb is a website builder specifically for nonprofits and associations. This CMS comes packed with essential features that nonprofits need to build a strong online presence. Choosing from one of Morweb’s nonprofit website themes, you can customize your website using an intuitive drag-and-drop editor. Morweb’s themes have built-in design elements for nonprofits like a donate button in the navigation, impact numbers, a member map and upcoming event previews.

Morweb is unique in that it takes an agency approach to nonprofit web design. Rather than just purchasing a plan and building your website on your own, Morweb will work with you to develop a content strategy and take care of the initial set-up and customization. This is great for nonprofits who want more of a hands-off approach to website design.

Morweb will customize your website to match your branding, migrate your content and ensure your vision is communicated effectively. Your team will get full training on how to use the Morweb platform to maximize the benefits of your website. You’ll also get live support by chat, email and phone with Morweb’s team of experienced web designers and developers to assist with the continual maintenance of your website.

Top Nonprofit Website Builder Features

• On-site donation form: Collect donations directly through your nonprofit’s website using Morweb’s user-friendly and mobile responsive donation page templates. Customize your donation form to add suggested donation amounts, recurring donations, tribute gifts, and allocate to designated funds. Morweb’s donation forms integrate with popular payment providers like Stripe for secure payment processing. Once donations are made, customized thank you emails with a receipt are sent automatically to your donors.
• Events management: Sell tickets and accept registrations to your nonprofit’s events. Create attractive event pages using Morweb’s templates and set dates, ticket prices, seat count and coupons.
• Private pages (Intranet): Make any page or section of your website password protected. Manage user logins and share private information with your staff, members or board.
• Website accessibility: Make your website ADA compliant with Morweb’s accessibility features. Users can adjust settings on your website to increase font size, highlight links, adjust contrast or change the font.

Cons of This Website Builder

• No domain purchasing: You’re responsible for registering your own domain name. You can buy your domain through a domain registrar like GoDaddy. If you already have a website, you’ll just have to point your domain to Morweb’s servers.
• Manual theme switching: If you decide later on that you want to use a different theme for your website, you will need to request Morweb to change it for you. However, Morweb’s themes are extremely customizable so if you want to add a design element or new feature, it is easy to do.

2. Wix

Overview of this Website Builder

Wix is a website builder that has gained popularity for its simple interface and easily customizable templates. Wix offers a wide range of templates and website apps to build and grow your brand online. Wix is great for beginners because it is so easy to use. However, their editor has a bit too much flexibility. Without any guidelines or restrictions, you need to have a bit of an eye for design to create a professional looking website. Because of this extreme customizability, Wix has evolved into a web design tool for many experienced designers.

Wix plans allow you to get your site up and running quickly without any technical knowledge required. You can even buy your domain name through Wix.

Top Nonprofit Website Builder Features

• Private pages: A member’s area lets visitors sign up and gain access to members-only pages on your website. After signing up, members can log in and out using the login button. You can decide whether new members get approved automatically or manually.
• Events management: Create and display multiple events on your site, sell tickets, collect RSVPs, send invitations, email reminders, create waitlists, and manage your guest list.
• Donation app: If you want to accept donations through your website, you can add the Get Funding Wix app to your website. The downside of this feature is that it requires the user to register for a Paypal account and it has limited customization options. Alternatively, you can embed a Donorbox form, add a Paypal button on your site, or add a button to link to a third party fundraising platform.

Cons of This Website Builder

• Difficult to switch platforms: While drawing you in with the free version of their platform, Wix makes it impossible to migrate your website elsewhere. If you decide later that you have outgrown the platform, there is no way to export your data. The same goes for switching Wix templates; you have to manually copy your content over.
• Technical limitations: While the Wix App Market offers tons of apps to suit the needs of the majority of users, if you require a feature that is extremely custom, you may be out of luck. Additional code is difficult to add and may require the help of a developer.
• Limited navigation menu: Wix isn’t ideal for large nonprofit websites because it only allows for two levels of navigation.

3. Weebly

Overview of this Website Builder

Weebly makes it easy for anyone to build an attractive website, blog or online store. Choosing from one of their responsive website themes, you can customize your website using their simple drag-and-drop editor. Weebly’s themes are more structured offering basic guidelines to follow when building your nonprofit’s website.

Weebly offers a wide range of built-in features and an App Center for added functionality. Weebly has more of an eCommerce focus than some of the other website builders. They offer themes for many different types of websites, however they only have one theme for nonprofits.

Top Nonprofit Website Builder Features

• eCommerce: Weebly’s eCommerce platform allows you to manage and track your inventory, track coupon stats and performance, and sell physical or digital products and services. Their shopping cart feature is very user-friendly and gives users the option to purchase online or pick up in store.
• User registration: Add members by entering their information manually or uploading a CSV. You can allow anyone to become a member by signing up on your website. You can approve new sign-ups automatically or manually and segment users into groups.
• Email marketing: Weebly’s Promote feature offers pre-made templates for different types of emails including newsletters, promotions, product announcements and events. This feature allows you to upload your email lists or sync with member groups. It also gives you detailed email stats.
• Mobile app editing: Weebly’s mobile app allows you to edit your site, publish blogs, and get detailed stats right from your smartphone.

Cons of This Website Builder

• No donation forms: Weebly doesn’t have built-in donation pages. If you want to accept donations through your website, you can create donations as product options, download the Weebly Donorbox app or add a button to link to a third party fundraising platform.
• Poor events management: Weebly’s events management isn’t as sophisticated as some of the other website builders. If you want to offer events on your nonprofit website, you can download or purchase an app from the Weebly App Center.
• Less range of customization: Weebly templates are more restrictive than other website builders. If you want to change things like column width or background design, you may need the help of a developer to add code through the HTML/CSS editor.

4. Squarespace

Overview of this Website Builder

Squarespace is a website platform with beautiful website designs and templates for a professional looking website, portfolio or online store. Their attractive website templates and stunning using of imagery is great for showcasing your brand in a good light. Squarespace offers a wide variety of features which can be used by nonprofits to keep supporters engaged.

Squarespace’s drag-and-drop editor offers many options for customization, although it’s not as straightforward to use as some of its competitors. Nonprofits can build upon stylish templates to create an appealing website for their cause.

Top Nonprofit Website Builder Features

• Donation blocks: Squarespace’s donation blocks appear as ‘donate’ buttons on the page. When a visitor clicks the button, they will be taken to a checkout page where they can enter and submit their donation. You can customize the button text, add suggested donation amounts, and change the button design. Donation blocks work through Squarespace’s eCommerce platform using Stripe or Paypal to accept payments.
• Events calendar: Add a calendar or list of events to your nonprofit’s website. Set event times, a description of your event, and social media sharing buttons. Unfortunately, the events page doesn’t support registration or ticket purchasing.
• User data collection: Squarespace supports over 15 different data types, such as addresses, currency, and emails from your site visitors. Collect newsletter sign-ups and build your mailing list on Mailchimp.

Cons of This Website Builder

• No recurring donations: Squarespace’s donation blocks don’t currently allow for recurring donations. If you want to offer this option for your donors (and you probably do!), you can embed a Donorbox form on your Squarespace website.
• Fewer SEO options: Squarespace’s SEO options are more limited than other website builders. For example, you can’t edit your meta descriptions on blog posts. If you want to add an alt tag to an image (which is crucial for accessibility), you have to add a caption to your image then select an option not to display captions.
• Limited template customization: Many templates are tightly locked down requiring you to add your own CSS if you want to change the styling. If you do choose to add custom CSS, the Squarespace support team reserves the right to limit the amount of support they give you.

The Verdict: Best Nonprofit Website Builder

When it comes to building a strong online presence for your nonprofit, Morweb has the most advanced features for your website. Morweb is the only website builder on this list that was built specifically for nonprofits.

While the other website builders offer many features that are useful for nonprofits, these platforms are mostly catered to individuals and small businesses. With Morweb you get more than just the software, you get a dedicated team of experts to help you build and grow your nonprofit’s website.