Estela Perez

Web and content strategy specialist with over 11 years of experience helping small businesses start and grow their online presence.

How GenAI Is Changing User Search Behavior

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How genai is changing user search behavior 2025

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is changing users’ search behavior through chatbots and AI-powered search tools that deliver fast, concise, and personalized information. As a result, users are clicking less traditional search results causing a significant drop in websites’ traffic. In light of genAI’s disruption, how to increase search visibility? Understanding how users are searching for … Read more

7 Effective Lead Magnets to Bring New Customers to Your Email List

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7 Effective lead magnets to bring new subscribers to your email list in 2021 by Stella Web Copywriting Services Montreal Canada

Want to grow your email list with an effective lead magnet? Want to give value to your dream clients so they gladly sign up to your newsletter? Then, you came to the right place. In this post you’ll find 7 effective lead magnets to bring new customers to your email list. Plus, you’ll learn what … Read more

How to Write Easy to Read Blog Posts —7 Copywriting Tips

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How to write easy to read blog posts with 7 proven copywriting tips

Looking to make your visitors actually read your blog posts? Then you need to simplify your web copy. In this post I’ll show you how to write easy-to-read blog posts with 7 proven copywriting tips. But first, some basics… Why You Need to Simplify Your Web Copy? Because when users land on a website, they … Read more

9 Website Copywriting Hacks You Need to Sell More

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Website Copywriting Hacks You Need to Sell More

Do you have a website but not selling much from it? I hear you. Sometimes you can have the most beautiful, interactive, state-of-the-art website. But if it’s not converting (a.k.a. selling, generating leads, or getting subscribers), then what’s the point of it? See, when this happens it’s usually because the copy of your website isn’t … Read more

How to Do a SWOT Analysis for Your Blog [Free Template]

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How to do a SWOT Analysis for Your Blog Free Template by Stella Web STudio

Growing a blog nowadays can be challenging. With so many competitors and generative AI taking away users’ clicks from search engines, website traffic is disappearing. Given this new reality, is blogging still worth it? Yes. But you have to be strategic about it. Performing a SWOT analysis will help to identify your blog’s strenghts, weaknesses, … Read more

What’s the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org

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What's the key difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org

Are you ready to build your website with WordPress but are confused between the .com and the .org version? Don’t fret, in this post I will tell you what’s the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org.

Knowing the key differences between the two versions will save you time and money. Let’s get started!

As you may know WordPress is one of the most popular platforms for building websites. Its flexibility for design and functionality has no match. This is why it’s my #1 recommendation for my clients.

WordPress itself is free. But when choosing a hosting service, you can decide to either host it yourself (wordpress.org) or do it under their domain name (wordpress.com).

Here are the key differences:

What’s the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

  • With WordPress.com it’s them who host your site for free (though they also have paid plans). Creating a basic website is easy, but you have less flexibility to grow and monetize your site.

Your domain name will look like this: www.mycoolsite.wordpress.com

  • With WordPress.org you have to shop for a quality domain and hosting service. There’s a learning curve, but in the long run it’s more flexible for growing, customizing and monetizing your website. See wordpress.org

Your domain name will look like this: www.mycoolsite.com (personally, I think this looks more professional).

What's the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org

When to use WordPress.com

If you want to set up a basic website without the trouble of getting a hosting, and don’t want to grow or monetize it , then wordpress.com is right for you. Their free plan includes up to 3GB of data, a subdomain and includes wordpress.com ads.

But if eventually you want to grow it, add functionality and make business with it, then:

  • You have to pay a costly business plan that allows you to install plugins (for more functionality) or themes (to change your your site’s appearance).
  • You may need to hire someone to help you migrate from wordpress.com to your own hosting service.

When to use wordpress.org

If you want to grow your website through a blog, make business with it and have the flexibility to change its appearance, then using wordpress.org is the best choice.

Keep in mind though that there’s a learning curve and you have to shop around for quality hosting. But the investment in time and money is worth it. You’ll end up getting full control over your site.

To sum up

WordPress is a great platform for building websites. But when choosing between free or paid hosting, it’s best to think about your goals first.

If you need a basic website, the tech side overwhelms you, and you don’t want to grow or monetize it, then host it on wordpress.com.

But if you want to grow your site, monetize it and gain full control of it, then I recommend you to choose a quality hosting service an build it with wordpress.org.

That said, consider long term goals so you can choose the right version for your needs.

I hope you found this post useful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away on the comment section below.

To your success, 🍷

Estela.

How To Choose The Best Website Builder For Your Business

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How to choose the best website builder with 5 factors to consider

So you want to create your own website for your blog or business, but don’t know which website builder is the best for your project? I get you. Choosing a platform to set up your website can be tricky, there are simply endless options to pick from! WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace are the top platforms … Read more

What Platform Should You use to Build Your Website?

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What platform should I use to build my website

Looking to build your own website in 2023, but there are so many options to pick from? I get you, this decision can be tricky.

Luckily, you came to the right place. In this post I’ll tell you the 3 most popular platforms for building websites, their pros and cons, and who are they best for.

Then, to wrap things up you can get a personalized recommendation through my free quiz.

Are you ready to choose the right platform to build your website? 😎

Let’s get started!

What are the 3 Most Popular Platforms for Building Websites?

What website builder should I use to build my website in 2023. Comparison of the 3 most popular website builders.

As of 2020, WordPress, Squarespace and Shopify are the 3 most popular website builders. Many successful websites have been built on them.

Keep in mind that if you’re looking to DIY, there’s going to be a learning curve. There will be a lot of things that you have to learn by yourself or to hire someone to help you out. The good news is that you can find online a lot of easy to use tools to help you set up a professional-looking website.

That said, before choosing a website builder make a careful assessment of your goals, budget, time and willingness to learn. Next, get informed on the pros and cons of each platform you’re considering.

To help you get started, I’ve prepared a list with all the details of the 3 most popular website builders mentioned here.

Let’s get started!

1. WordPress

What website platform should you use to build your website in 2023

WordPress is the industry standard for website platforms. Nowadays 36% of all the websites in the world are made with WordPress. Its user-friendly interface allows you to grow and customize your website however you’d like.

WordPress itself is free, but you will have to pay a third party for hosting. See What’s the key difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org

That said, WordPress is my #1 recommendation to my clients because it offers the most flexibility for both design and functionality.

WordPress advantages:

  • Easy to install and upgrade;
  • inexpensive;
  • highly customizable with endless options for themes;
  • flexible to start a blog;
  • in constant development;
  • supported by a global community who publishes online free documentation. This is very helpful for solving technical issues;
  • thousands of available plugins (free and paid) for more functionality;
  • good for showing up on Google’s search results through SEO;
  • has specific themes available for podcasters and/or Youtubers.

WordPress cons:

  • Not an all-in-one option, which means you have to shop around for hosting and premium plugins;
  • requires more technical skills than either Squarespace or Shopify.

WordPress is ideal:

  • if you feel comfortable enough with technology to figure things out yourself;
  • if you want the ability to customize your design;
  • for bloggers, podcasters and freelancers.

Squarespace is a sleek all-in-one option for building and hosting your website. Its user-friendly platform allows you to create nice landing pages, a clear customer “journey map” and a professional, yet easy to maintain site.

2. Squarespace

Squarespace website builder

You can take a look at their Business plan for all pro users of Squarespace, which gives you unlimited (ish) pages and all of the features of Squarespace.

Squarespace advantages:

  • Easy to use;
  • has beautiful templates;
  • all-in-one option for domain, hosting, and design, allowing you to get up and running quickly;
  • includes options for eCommerce.

Squarespace cons:

  • More expensive than WordPress;
  • not fully customizable;
  • most templates are for setting up websites, not blogs;
  • not ideal for setting up podcasts.

Squarespace is ideal:

  • for brochure or information style websites.
  • if you want to go online as quickly as possible, and don’t want to be overwhelmed by options;
  • for beginners or anyone who feels intimidated by technology.

3. Shopify

What are the best website builders in 2023

If your main goal is to sell goods online, you can’t go wrong with Shopify. It is an easy-to-use eCommerce platform designed foremost to help you sell products and manage your inventory. It offers thousands of themes, most of them including the ability to add a blog.

There are a number of apps you can add to the system to improve the shopping experience for your customers. Many of Shopify’s features (such as auto-categorization of new items) can make large inventories easier to manage.

Shopify advantages:

  • Easy to use;
  • has lots of beautiful themes to choose from;
  • designed to showcase and sell your products (both physical and digital);
  • ecommerce options already built-in.

Shopify cons:

  • Expensive;
  • more focused on eCommerce than blogging;
  • extra paid apps & plugins used to add functionality can add up costs quickly.

IDEAL…

if you already have an inventory of products to sell.

What platform should you use to build your website?

Deciding to set up a website is a smart first step into building your online credibility. But when you’re in front of so many options, things can get tricky. Don’t fret! Remember to:

  • make a careful assessment of your goals, budget, willingness to learn ;
  • compare the top platforms for building websites which are WordPress, Squarespace and Shopify. For sure there many other options (free and paid) that you can check out in this guide.

I hope this article and my quiz help to take a better decision. If you have any questions send me an email.

How to Create an Environment to Work at Home – 14 Tips

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How to Create an Environment to Work at Home for Productivity 14 Tips by Stella Web Studio

Are you permanently working from home and would like to make some changes to be more productive, focused, and creative? Say no more. In this post I’ll share with you 14 tips to create an effective environment to work from home. Here’s the thing: as a freelancer myself, I know from experience that working from … Read more