How can you determine the most suitable choice for your cannabis company?
The straightforward response is that choosing the right platform depends on your website requirements.
From straightforward landing page designs to highly detailed e-commerce menus for your online dispensary, our agency’s web development services continually stay updated on the latest website platforms, providing effective website construction for each of our distinct clients.
Whether you’re planning to create a website from the ground up or revamp your current cannabis business website, think of this as your ultimate resource for evaluating and selecting the optimal website platform for your cannabis business.
The Best CMS Platforms
With a wide array of website development options and software available to individuals of all skill levels, creating a webpage offers limitless possibilities. For cannabis brands, websites serve various functions and must adhere to both federal and private platform regulations.
Content management systems, commonly referred to as CMS, are essential for managing digital content creation and editing. When it comes to CMS platforms, numerous user-friendly plug-and-play alternatives are available. Let’s delve into some of the key CMS platforms that cannabis businesses should consider.
Wix & Squarespace
Wix and Squarespace share similar styles and setups, making them popular choices for those embarking on their website journey. Their wide range of customization options and templates empowers users to craft their website layouts effortlessly. Additionally, both Wix and Squarespace offer free starting points and affordable monthly plans.
✅ Pros: These CMS platforms are exceptionally user-friendly, catering to users of all skill levels. Their free plans are budget-friendly for budding businesses.
❌ Cons: Opting for the free plan on either platform means you won’t have control over your domain name. Consequently, all your search traffic will be directed to the website platform itself, which doesn’t contribute to building domain authority.
Shopify & Hubspot
Shopify and Hubspot stand out as significant CMS platforms frequently employed by businesses due to their integrated marketing tools and resources. When it comes to e-commerce websites, Shopify shines as an excellent CMS platform, enabling effortless promotion and sale of products, both online and in retail stores.
Hubspot, on the other hand, is a highly favored CMS platform known for its scalability and comprehensive offerings, encompassing inbound marketing, content marketing, email automation, social media analytics, and more. These versatile marketing tools prove invaluable in helping businesses of all sizes boost traffic, enhance visibility, and convert leads – all within a unified platform.
✅ Pros: Particularly for a comprehensive marketing platform like Hubspot, this CMS platform can be seamlessly integrated, providing real-time analytics and marketing strategy tools in one convenient location.
❌ Cons: It’s important to note that due to the stringent and evolving federal regulations governing cannabis retail and e-commerce, some CMS platforms like these may have guidelines that discourage the sale of cannabis products online. This could potentially result in the platform terminating your site.
CMS platforms like Shopify, Hubspot, Wix, and Squarespace are categorized as software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms primarily due to their incorporation of valuable marketing tools directly within the website. In essence, the platform hosting your cannabis website offers a comprehensive solution, housing content, marketing resources, and analytics all under one roof.
Open-Source Solutions for Your Cannabis Website
When it comes to website development, open-source software refers to any program with source code accessible for users or developers to use and modify as they see fit. Unlike proprietary CMS platforms, open-source software is created as a collaborative effort open to the public, designed to be freely available for editing and use.
Open-source software offers a diverse selection of templates and plug-ins, providing your cannabis business with extensive customization and optimization options for your website.
Here are a few popular open-source software choices frequently favored by cannabis businesses:
Drupal
As a free and open-source website platform, Drupal is a popular choice for cost-effective and efficient website development. Its robust platform empowers users to easily build websites while retaining the flexibility to modify and adjust.
Pros: Drupal excels in website accessibility, ensuring a solid web design experience for all viewers and users, regardless of their device or technical proficiency.
Cons: Among open-source software options, Drupal can pose challenges for non-technical web developers or users. For example, if you’re creating a cannabis website that requires a Drupal feature not already available or updated in your module, you may need a web developer to realize the website’s full potential.
Joomla & Magento
Joomla is an all-in-one e-commerce solution boasting open-source software with customizable features and analytical tools that empower your cannabis website with valuable insights. It comes equipped with advanced marketing and tracking tools, enabling you to expand your customer reach and assess your website’s performance.
Magento, another open-source option, offers straightforward installation and perhaps the broadest selection of free, customizable features, including over ten native themes and 3,800 extensions. When comparing the two, Magento offers a simpler configuration and setup, while Joomla excels in user-friendliness, particularly for newcomers.
✅ Pros: Both Joomla and Magento provide robust online visibility and search engine optimization tools to assist you in optimizing pages throughout your cannabis website.
❌ Cons: Neither platform is particularly user-friendly and may require some computer coding or technical support for optimal website development.
WordPress
Whether you’re a seasoned web development expert or a tech novice, WordPress stands as one of the best and most widely used website platforms, offering a plethora of free and paid themes and plugins.
Despite being open-source software, WordPress is renowned for its user-friendliness, making it accessible to non-technical users. It also has a reputation for being cannabis-business friendly, making it an attractive choice for business owners seeking a cost-effective and easily accessible option for creating a cannabis website.
✅ Pros: WordPress is an ideal choice for both web developers and business owners due to its user-friendly nature and its functionality for technical coding and development. The platform’s accessibility enables anyone to modify sites, upload new content, or access analytics anytime.
❌ Cons: Given the numerous plugins available to enhance website functionality, WordPress can be resource-intensive.
Selecting a Website Platform: Understanding the Differences
Even after delving into the details of various website platforms, it can still be a daunting task to determine which software suits your cannabis business best.
Much like the diverse range of cannabis products catering to various consumer needs, a similar diversity exists when it comes to choosing the right cannabis website platform.
Revisit your objectives for establishing your cannabis website:
- Are you planning to sell products or services?
- What type of content will populate your site?
- What level of marketing and SEO resources will your website require?
- Do you prefer a user-friendly interface or a more intricate and customizable one?
By considering these factors, you can decide on the most suitable website platform for your cannabis business. This will ultimately lead to a cost-effective solution that enables you to create a website and content that reflects your company with pride!
Caution for Online Cannabis Businesses
The dynamic landscape of the cannabis industry calls for caution when selecting platforms, as some may have guidelines and terms of conditions that conflict with cannabis sales or legalization.
For example, a dispensary business on a corporate platform like Shopify might run afoul of the platform’s policies regarding online cannabis sales. Conversely, if your site is built on an open source like WordPress, your cannabis business will have complete control over the files and full ownership of everything.
However, it’s worth noting that open-source software lacks a direct owner, which means there is no company support center or official help resource available for assistance when you encounter challenges. In such cases, your business will need to find its own solutions. This is where CannaMack comes in to provide the necessary development and support services to help you navigate the intricacies of the cannabis industry successfully.
CannaMack: Transforming Your Website Vision into Reality
As a leading digital marketing agency specializing in cannabis brands, what sets us apart in our web development services is our strategic use of WordPress and other available resources. The outcome? An efficient, uniquely-branded website aligned with your cannabis business objectives.
When you partner with us to plan and create the ultimate website for your cannabis enterprise, you can rely on our agency to implement the best web development practices:
- Custom-Coded Website Themes: For each client, our web team crafts a one-of-a-kind, custom-coded website theme, ensuring pixel-perfection and alignment with approved branding designs.
- Handpicked Plug-Ins: Our expert team hand-selects plug-ins from a curated list of standard options, tailored to the specific needs of each cannabis business we serve. If a site requires a more unique solution, our web development team explores all available options to find the best fit.
- Local Cannabis SEO: Following the initial website build-out and launch, our SEO team optimizes the website with local cannabis SEO techniques to enhance visibility in search engine results.
- User-Friendly Backend: We strive to simplify the website’s backend, making it easy for clients to access and update their content whenever necessary.
- Dedicated Hosting: All our websites are hosted on dedicated servers, ensuring fast page loading speeds and dependable website uptime.
- Thorough Quality Checks: After the launch of each new site crafted by our team, we meticulously go through a checklist to ensure that every detail is seamlessly integrated into the final result of your business website.
Launching a new business website entails many tasks and responsibilities, and selecting the right website platform is a crucial piece of the puzzle. While the abundance of SaaS and CMS website software options may seem overwhelming, it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons of each to determine how they can best serve your cannabis brand and business.
Once a robust website platform is in place, your cannabis business is poised to explore various marketing strategies to elevate your brand and promote your products or services. Whether you kickstart an SMS marketing campaign, update your online dispensary menu, or continue crafting content that aligns with your brand identity, CannaMack is here to support you every step of the way.
With decades of experience and a track record of serving numerous clients nationwide, the CannaMack team is well-equipped to assist in turning your cannabis business website vision into a reality. Contact us today to discover how we can help you achieve your goals.