How I test tools

First-hand use, and where it stops

I'm a working designer, but I haven't built everything I write about. I used Adobe Portfolio for years, built a small portfolio in Framer, and helped a developer on Webflow client sites, updating content on them without setting up their CMS. Those parts of an article are written in the first person and say what I did.

When an article covers a tool I haven't used myself, such as Wix Studio, Squarespace or WordPress, or the parts of Webflow I haven't built, it says so, and that side of the comparison is based on the company's own pages and documentation. I don't describe how a tool feels to use unless I've used it.

How prices are checked

• Every price comes from the company's own pricing page, not from other review sites. The date it was checked appears in the article.
• Prices are US list prices. Some companies show different prices by country, so when a price could only be checked from one region, the article says which.
• Where a figure only comes from a third party, it's labelled that way until it's confirmed.
• Renewal prices are listed next to first-term deals, because the renewal is what you'll keep paying.
• All current prices, their dates and their sources are collected on the price tracker, with a log of changes.

What a verdict is based on

Each comparison starts from the job a designer needs done, such as a personal portfolio, a client site the client will edit, or a cheap first site. The verdict names the tool that does that job best, at what cost, and says who should pick something else. What I look at for each builder:

• The cheapest plan that allows your own domain, and what it leaves out.
• CMS limits, because case studies and blog posts live there.
• What a client can edit, and what extra seats cost.
• Bandwidth, page and storage limits that could force an upgrade.
• How hard it is to leave: exporting, moving a domain and keeping your URLs.

Screenshots

Screenshots are taken from my own accounts. Personal details and private client work are removed or replaced before they're published.

Money and independence

The site earns from affiliate links and display ads. No company pays for a review, sees an article before it's published, or decides a ranking. A tool without an affiliate program can still win, and theaffiliate disclosure explains how the links work.

Updates and corrections

• Articles are re-checked when a tool changes its plans, and the "Updated" date at the top shows the last change.
• If something is wrong, it's fixed as soon as it's confirmed. Material corrections, such as a changed price or verdict, are noted in the article.
• Found an error or a price that has changed? Send it through the contact page, with the article and, for prices, your country.