Key Takeaways
- Shopify is the most searched for website-building platform in Canada (1,889,290) and the United States (8,457,800) in 2022.
- GoDaddy is small-business leaders' favorite website builder to use and was perceived as the most secure platform.
- 75% of small-business leaders plan to change website-building platforms, with Shopify (19.1%) being the top choice for the switch.
Creating an Online Presence
It's getting easier and easier to create an online presence. Once upon a time, you had to know how to write code to create your own website. Today, creating a website is as easy as choosing a website builder. These platforms take care of the coding and design for you with pre-built templates you can customize to meet your or your business's needs. But choosing the right website builder isn't always easy.
To narrow the playing field for which website builder is best for small-business leaders, we looked at website builder popularity around the world and within individual countries. We then surveyed 1,163 small-business leaders who have personally built or hired someone to build a website for their business using a website builder. Keep reading to see what we discovered.
Popular Website Builders in Canada
First, we looked at each platform's search volume across all provinces and territories. We determined which website builder was most popular in each area based on their search volume compared to the national average. Let's see which ones won the popular vote.
As the map shows, each province or territory had a clear favorite website builder in terms of search volume. For instance, Ontario was most associated with Webflow, while Quebec was most associated with IONOS. Weebly had above-average search volume in most provinces, but it ranked fourth on the list for overall search volume.
While the highest search volume in six Canadian provinces was for Weebly, the top website builder across Canada was Shopify, a well-known and respected e-commerce platform. Shopify had nearly 2 million searches in 2022, nearly double the next most searched website builder, Wix, which had just over 1 million searches. Weebly came in at under 164,000 total searches.
Wix and Squarespace were also popular website builders within individual provinces and territories. One of the top three, Wix had 31 million new users join in 2020 alone. On the other hand, Squarespace had an estimated 3.7 million unique subscribers by the end of 2020.
Popular Website Builders in the U.S.
Website builder popularity in the U.S. was similar to Canada's, but we saw clear favorites in states where search volume exceeded that of the rest of the nation.
As in Canada, Weebly was the website builder with the most above-average searches by state. Seventeen states, including Maryland, West Virginia, Georgia, Arizona, and both Dakotas were most associated with Weebly in that regard. However, New England was more associated with Squarespace and WordPress, while Webflow was more popular in the West.
Overall, Shopify was the most searched for website builder in the U.S., seeing nearly 8.5 million American searches in 2022. The second most searched for platform was Wix, followed by Squarespace and WordPress. Wix fell within the top three most searched web builders in all 50 states, while Squarespace ranked in the top three in 48 states.
Most Popular Website Builders Worldwide
Shopify might be the most popular website builder in Canada and the U.S., but what about the rest of the world? We looked at the global search volume for each website builder to get a worldwide perspective. The results were surprising.
Wix had the highest worldwide search volume in 2022, with over 30 million searches around the world. It was the most searched for website builder in 38 countries, including Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. Shopify ranked second, with almost 29 million global searches in 2022. Countries that searched the most for Shopify include India, Australia, Italy, and of course, Canada and the U.S.
Less popular website builders included Webnode and one.com, with less than 2 million total global searches in 2022. Webnode was the most searched for website builder in only two countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. One.com was the top-searched website builder in only Denmark and Sweden.
Some continents tended to gravitate toward one website builder. For example, Shopify was the clear favorite in North America based on search volume, while South America leaned more toward Wix. Similarly, WordPress got the most above-average search volume in Africa.
Website Building for Business
After widening our scope to encompass the entire world, we zeroed in on one population segment: small-business leaders. We looked at which website builders they used most often and which was the fan favorite. We also considered what features small-business leaders want most in a website builder.
The most common website builder used by the small-business leaders we surveyed was Web.com: 38.6% had used this platform to build (or have someone else build) their website. The next most common were WordPress (32.1%) and GoDaddy (30.8%).
Despite being the most searched for website builders both in North America and globally, Shopify and Wix were less popular among small-business leaders: only 30.5% used Shopify, and 26.7% used Wix.
Website security is an important consideration for Canadian enterprises, which tend to lag in cybersecurity. While Web.com was the most used website builder, small-business leaders preferred to use GoDaddy, which they also felt was the most secure option.
When selecting which website builder to use for their company, small-business leaders claimed that the platform's ease of use (47.3%), selection of templates (40.7%), and responsive options (38.9%) were the most important. These preferences may explain why 75% of small-business leaders are planning to switch builders.
The top choice for a switch was Shopify, the platform for which more than 19% were planning to jump ship. The top reason for the switch among small-business leaders is the platform's selection of templates (60.1%). Wix was the second top choice for a switch due to the platform's ease of use (63.2%). Many who initially chose different website builders may have regretted the decision after all.
More changes appear to be on the horizon for small-business leaders: 39.7% said they plan to revamp their website in Q4 of 2022, and another 41.7% plan to do so in Q1 of 2023. They were also willing to pay more for a revamped site in the new year, with their 2023 Q1 budgets averaging about twice that of their 2022 Q4 budgets.
The Right Online Presence for You
An online presence is essential for a business to thrive in today's e-commerce-driven world. According to Salesforce data, 85% of consumers do research before making an online purchase, with nearly 3 in 4 using websites to do so.
A strong online presence depends on the foundation of a great website builder. According to our research, Shopify and GoDaddy are both strong favorites among small-business leaders. GoDaddy is considered the most secure website builder of the bunch — something which can't be overlooked. Cybersecurity is an integral part of any web experience for both you and your customers, and the best way to improve cybersecurity is to stay informed.
Methodology
Using Google AdWords, we gathered country-level search volume for different popular website builders since January 1st, 2022. Additionally, we gathered state and province-level search volume in Canada and the United States.
We supplemented our search volume findings with a survey of 1,163 US-based small-business leaders who have personally built or had a website built using a website builder. The most common industries these small-business leaders work in are Information Services and Data Processing (26.7%), Technology (21.4%), Manufacturing (7.7%), Arts and Entertainment (7.6%), and Marketing and Advertising (5.3%).
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