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Why build another website builder?

makeswift.com

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Re: Why build another website builder?

#51

Post by pier25 »

apledger3 wrote: post #45
pier25 wrote: post #38

How does this compare to other solutions in this space like WebFlow, Squarespace, or Wix?

I like to say it's 75% easier to learn than Webflow with 80% of the capabilities. Over time, we want to get that up to 95%. Webflow has an amazing product if you already know how to code. You can make award winning websites in Webflow, but it will take you time. Makeswift sites may not be winning any AWWWARDS (yet), but you'll be able to build something good in a fraction of the effort. In addition, other people on y…

Thanks for the detailed answer.

From your comment and article it seems you're focused on marketing teams rather than a general purpose website builder. It would be great if you communicated this in your homepage. I know a couple of marketing teams using WP just to use themes and building landing pages.

Re: Why build another website builder?

#52

Post by robertlagrant »

migueloller wrote: post #10
detritus wrote: post #7

From https://www.makeswift.com/early-access : > Can I host a Makeswift site elsewhere? > Makeswift code can't be exported. Every page created in Makeswift is securely hosted and served via Google Cloud. I'm sorry, maybe I'm just being absolutist and cranky, but this doesn't sound to me like it's a 'website builder' - it's a tool that allows users to create presentations that can be displayed on the web. I get why you…

I don't think you're being absolutist or cranky at all. I think there's valid reasons why you would want to export your site. I guess the reason we call ourselves a "website builder" is because Makeswift lets you build, well, websites. As for "presentations that can be displayed on the web", it's a bit more powerful than that. All components use to build Makeswift sites are React components and we are planning on ope…

> All components use to build Makeswift sites are React components and we are planning on opening that up so that third-party developers can create components any Makeswift user could drop in to their website

I'm being a bit facetious, but why would you need this if marketers can control everything already? :-)

Re: Why build another website builder?

#53

Post by jarvar »

codegeek wrote: post #16

So is it like a WebFlow competitor ? I would love a website builder that has Drag Drop CMS capability for non technical users (kinda like page builders in WordPress) but allows clean static HTML export finally (kinda like static site generators). The problem is we either have the WordPress or static site gens.

I built one that does exactly that: http://luminaldev.com

Re: Why build another website builder?

#54

Post by migueloller »

OutsmartDan wrote: post #27

Developers hate these tools for a reason: they're the ones maintaining it after it's been deployed. The whole concept of "no-code website builder" ultimately goes back to "where is the code and how do we modify or integrate it with our current systems". Maybe if it was marketed as a "fast prototyping" tool, I'd be more on board with the product.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Why would developers have to maintain a website that's not hosted by them?

If the issue is maintainability once the website has been extended (i.e., with custom code and integrations), then it's all about _that__ experience. I think in those cases, the mistake is to come up with some sort of bespoke abstraction that the developer now has to learn and that is different from everything else they're used to.

With the way we've designed Makeswift, once we open up extensibility, you'll just use regular old code (e.g., React, Vue, Angular components, or plan HTML and JS), in a repository that's version-controlled, that lives with the rest of the code.

To make that a bit more concrete, today, Makeswift components are just React components. So Makeswift's API is just passing props to your component. That's what we plan to open up eventually.

Re: Why build another website builder?

#55

Post by mrnothing_123 »

it seam awful, the templates are the fucking same as other platforms, as person in business i would say i dont care which technology make the job if the job is done, in general this is define for the lowest price posible or for advertising, maybe make price for use the service and export to third party hosting but i don see this, knowing that WordPress is free and have a bunch of cheap labor who can tailor your website and host in a cheaper host

Re: Why build another website builder?

#56

Post by migueloller »

robertlagrant wrote: post #52
migueloller wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you're being absolutist or cranky at all. I think there's valid reasons why you would want to export your site. I guess the reason we call ourselves a "website builder" is because Makeswift lets you build, well, websites. As for "presentations that can be displayed on the web", it's a bit more powerful than that. All components use to build Makeswift sites are React components and we are planning on ope…

> All components use to build Makeswift sites are React components and we are planning on opening that up so that third-party developers can create components any Makeswift user could drop in to their website I'm being a bit facetious, but why would you need this if marketers can control everything already? :-)

Hah, all good. We give them _visual_ control of everything. But say you wanted to make a component that pull the last 10 tweets from an account or a Stripe Checkout button or some other custom component, then you can.

Any React component is already a Makeswift component, the question is, how do you get the props? Well we've got a whole bunch of what we call prop controllers for basic stuff like numbers, colors, images, padding, margin, etc. You can also make your own. For example, in the Twitter feed component, you might make a panel that lets you search for tweets and then once you pick the account it passes the Twitter username to the component as a prop. The component can then fetch the tweets using the Twitter API, etc.

We have plans to open source all of our components as a reference for third-party developers building their own custom Makeswift components. Also, if you're a company that already has an internal design system built in React, your marketing team can just drop those in to your Makeswift site (constrained by the props the developers decide to expose).

This is all internal right now, though. I can't wait until we can release this API to the public, haha.

Re: Why build another website builder?

#57

Post by fizixer »

teilo wrote: post #28

I realize this sort of tool targets a completely different audience, but what we desperately need is not more no-code builders, but a robust, DB-backed builder with an object-based workflow, and with code-behind for custom workflow logic. Like something that can compete with Zoho Creator, but is actually engineered in a sane manner, and offered at a sane price. It would take the market by storm. Most of the solutions…

> ... code-behind ...

> We need an Access for the web, but nothing comes close.

You're using ASP.NET terminology (code-behind) and implying that Access was some sort of DB revolution on the desktop.

About time to get out of your bubble.

Re: Why build another website builder?

#58

Post by sfaruque »

teilo wrote: post #28

I realize this sort of tool targets a completely different audience, but what we desperately need is not more no-code builders, but a robust, DB-backed builder with an object-based workflow, and with code-behind for custom workflow logic. Like something that can compete with Zoho Creator, but is actually engineered in a sane manner, and offered at a sane price. It would take the market by storm. Most of the solutions…

> what we desperately need is not more no-code builders, but a robust, DB-backed builder with an object-based workflow, and with code-behind for custom workflow logic

Have you looked at PHPMaker?

https://phpmaker.dev/features.php

Re: Why build another website builder?

#59

Post by migueloller »

webase wrote: post #46

I built the website builder in WeBase [1] mainly because I felt like current solutions were just so bloated. Another reason I think WeBase is unique is that it also supports custom data models (think Airtable) that you can integrate with a website which often requires multiple tools with other platforms. Even in mature markets there can be great opportunities for innovation. All the best with Makeswift! [1] https://w…

Thanks!

Re: Why build another website builder?

#60

Post by josefresco »

>For one, the template never lasts as long as you need it to. You realize the design isn't working, or your competitor just unexpectedly made a move. So you start trying to make changes. Swapping out the text and images comes easy, but as soon as you start adjusting the layout, frustration begins to set in. You've got a million other things to do and for some reason you can't get the page to look right on mobile.

I've seen this pain first hand when I "rescue" clients from DIY website builders or am forced to use one myself. It remains one of the main reasons our clients graduate from DIY solutions to working directly with a professional. How are your templates (https://www.makeswift.com/templates) different?

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