Tool
Platform Selection Wizard
Six questions about what the site must do and who will run it. The wizard weighs your answers against published scores for each platform and explains its three suggestions.
Six questions about your site
Three starting points
These are starting points based on the rules below, not a ranking of quality. Read each platform guide before deciding.
How the wizard decides
The wizard looks at six qualities of a platform: how easy it is for non-technical editors, how much design control it gives, how well it handles selling, how well it handles large or structured content, how portable it is, and how much upkeep it takes off your hands. Your answers set a weight for each quality. Each platform has a score from 0 to 3 for each quality. The wizard multiplies weights by scores, adds them up, and shows the three highest totals with the two qualities that contributed most.
One extra rule applies: if selling online is the main job, platforms with a selling score below 2 are left out.
| Answer | Weights added |
|---|---|
| Main job: enquiries | Ease +2 |
| Main job: publishing | Content +3 |
| Main job: selling | Selling +3 |
| Main job: several channels | Content +2, Design +2 |
| Upkeep: nobody technical | Upkeep +3, Ease +1 |
| Upkeep: someone part-time | Upkeep +1, Ease +1 |
| Upkeep: developer or agency | Design +1, Content +1 |
| Design: template is enough | Ease +2 |
| Design: designer wants control | Design +3 |
| Moving later: a lot | Portability +3 |
| Moving later: somewhat | Portability +1 |
| Content: under 30 pages | Ease +1 |
| Content: dozens of pages | Content +1 |
| Content: hundreds of items | Content +3 |
| Editors: one or two | Ease +1 |
| Editors: several with permissions | Content +2 |
| Platform | Ease | Design | Selling | Content | Portability | Upkeep handled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress (self-hosted) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| WordPress.com | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Webflow | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Wix | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Squarespace | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Shopify | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| WooCommerce | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Drupal | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Joomla | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Headless CMS | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Where the scores come from
The scores are our reading of each platform's documented features, not test results or user ratings. Portability follows the export rules in each platform's own help pages: Wix scores 0 because Wix states that sites must stay on its servers, while self-hosted software scores 3 because you hold every file. Upkeep reflects who applies updates: hosted platforms do it for you, self-hosted software leaves it with you or your host. Ease, design, selling and content scores are judgments explained in each platform guide. If you weigh a quality differently, the tables let you redo the sum by hand.
Use the result as a shortlist
The wizard narrows the field; it does not make the decision. Read the guides for your three suggestions, check the exit rules, and cost the first year with the cost calculator before you sign up.
Sources for this page
- WordPress.org: About. Official source, read November 4, 2026.
- WordPress.com (Automattic): WordPress.com Pricing. Official source, read November 4, 2026.
- Webflow Help Center: How do I export my Webflow site code?. Official source, read November 4, 2026.
- Wix Help Center: Exporting or Embedding Your Wix Site Elsewhere. Official source, read November 4, 2026.
- Squarespace Help Center: Export your site content. Official source, read November 4, 2026.
- Shopify: Plans & pricing. Official source, read November 4, 2026.
- Drupal.org: Drupal core release schedule. Official source, read November 4, 2026.
- Joomla developer manual: Software Release Cycle. Official source, read November 4, 2026.
Questions
Stuck between two platforms?
Send the shortlist and what the site has to do. We answer questions about choosing a CMS by email, and we check any price or fact you report.