How to Choose the Right Website Platform for Your Small Business

One of the first questions we hear from small business owners in the Morongo Basin is: “What should I build my website on?” It’s a fair question, and the answer isn’t always obvious. There are dozens of website platforms out there, each with its own strengths and trade-offs.

The truth is, there’s no single “best” platform. The right choice depends on what your business actually needs. Let’s walk through the most popular options and when each one makes the most sense.

WordPress

WordPress powers roughly 40% of all websites on the internet, and for good reason. It’s incredibly flexible, has thousands of plugins and themes, and can handle everything from a simple five-page business site to a full-blown e-commerce store.

Best for: Businesses that want maximum control and flexibility, plan to blog regularly, or need specific functionality (booking systems, membership areas, custom forms).

Things to know: WordPress requires hosting, and it needs regular updates and maintenance to stay secure. It’s not difficult to manage, but it’s not zero-effort either. If you’re not comfortable with occasional technical upkeep, you’ll want someone to handle that for you.

For most small businesses in Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley, WordPress is a strong default choice — especially if you want a site that can grow with you over time.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a hosted, all-in-one platform known for beautiful templates and a polished editing experience. Everything — hosting, security, updates — is handled for you. You pick a template, add your content, and you’re live.

Best for: Creatives, artists, photographers, and businesses that want a great-looking site with minimal technical involvement. If your website is mostly a portfolio or a simple presence with a few pages, Squarespace is hard to beat.

Things to know: Squarespace is more limited in terms of customization. If you need a feature that Squarespace doesn’t offer out of the box, you’re mostly out of luck. It’s also a monthly subscription that can add up over time, and you don’t truly “own” your site in the same way you do with WordPress.

For artists and gallery owners in the Hi-Desert — and there are a lot of them — Squarespace is often a great fit.

Shopify

If selling products online is a core part of your business, Shopify is purpose-built for exactly that. It handles inventory, payments, shipping, taxes, and all the other e-commerce details that would take serious effort to set up on your own.

Best for: Retail businesses, makers, and anyone who needs a full online store. If you’re selling handmade goods at the Joshua Tree farmers market and want to reach customers beyond the Hi-Desert, Shopify is worth a look.

Things to know: Shopify is excellent at e-commerce but less ideal as a general business website. If you only sell a handful of items and your site is mostly informational, Shopify might be overkill. It also charges transaction fees on top of its monthly plan unless you use Shopify Payments.

How to decide

Here’s a simple framework:

1. Are you selling products online? Look at Shopify first.
2. Are you an artist, photographer, or creative? Squarespace is probably your best bet.
3. Do you want maximum flexibility and plan to invest in your site long-term? Go with WordPress.

And honestly? Don’t overthink it. The best platform is the one that lets you get a good site live without standing in your way. You can always migrate later if your needs change.

Still not sure?

If you’re a business in the Morongo Basin and you’re stuck on which direction to go, we’re happy to talk it through. At HoverState, we work with multiple platforms and can help you figure out which one actually fits your business — no sales pitch, just honest advice.