Agencies and freelancers take an existing web builder and brand it as their own. The concept of white labeling is not new.
It began in the 1970s with vinyl records when labels would send unreleased albums to DJs in a simple white sleeve instead of the final artwork for promotion.
Today, white-label solutions come in all forms. These website-building tools are designed for professionals and agencies.
Say, you are walking your customer through a mockup and showing them how you bring their idea to life with your design.
And on that mockup is a WordPress, Wix, or Magento logo. It doesn’t make for a very impressive showing and hemorrhages trust.
A white-label website builder, on the other hand, would erase all their own branding, allowing you to add your own logo, brand name, and colors.
So, when you pitch to a client, you do it impressively.
Why Opt for a White Label Website Builder?
When a client approaches you to design a website for them, they are likely to compare your services to at least 2 to 3 other web design agencies. That is the unchangeable nature of the beast. The deciding factors for the client would be quality, price, and timelines.
Since quality is subjective, what you see as great design, another may consider average. Let’s keep it aside for the moment. That leaves the price and the timeline. It is with these two factors that you can edge out the competition. Assume a client wants you to build an eCommerce site.
You quote them $26,000 and another agency with an as impressive portfolio as yours quotes $19,000.
Given that they have no idea what it takes to design a site, who do you think they will choose?
Let’s expand this example. You tell the client it will take 7 weeks to hand code and deliver the site.
The other agency promises to deliver the project in 3.5 weeks. Which one becomes the obvious choice now?
This is where a white label website builder with CMS comes in.
First, with white-label solutions, you don’t have to build every site from the ground up. This reduces the turnaround time significantly.
The easy drag-and-drop function ensures that agencies can deliver sites and landing pages in as little as a day instead of spending weeks on coding them.
Moreover, it is more cost-effective as there are no additional development costs attached to each new project.
Think how much it would cost you to hire in-house staff specializing in different languages. Now imagine designing dozens of sites without a single coder on your team.
Faster time to market and cost-effectiveness are two of the biggest benefits of white-label solutions offered by no-code site builders. But what makes them stand out is their easy branding. It allows agencies and professionals to add more value to the services.
Think of what happens when a client logs in to the site you built for them for the first time and sees the logo of a third party.
Or by the "made with" tag on their footer. It confuses them. Inversely, if they see their own logo, it becomes a major selling point.
What Should You Look For When Choosing a White Label Website Builder?
Suffice to say, a white label website builder helps agencies prove their skill as web designers.
The tool equips you with every functionality you may need while removing the effort of designing every site from scratch.
It’s for this reason that there are an eye-watering number of white-label website builders available today. With so many choices, it can become a challenge to pick the right one.
Against this backdrop, this article compiles a list of factors you should consider when looking for a white label solution for your web design agency.
1. What use cases does it offer?
The first factor to consider when narrowing down your list of white-label website builders is the use cases. Ensure that the website-building tool caters to all the services you provide.
Check if it allows you to design portfolio websites, designing for eCommerce sites, one-pagers, blogging sites, and more.
Also, double-check how many custom domains and pages it offers, especially if you build sites for enterprises.
2. Is it easy to use?
In an era of drag-and-drop editors, opting for a white-label solution that requires you to code doesn’t make sense. So that’s the next factor when looking for a white-label website builder.
Look for customizable templates, plugins, and widgets that make it easy to design and require no coding.
In case your agency does have web developers with some coding experience, look for a tool that gives you the freedom to edit the code.
Essentially, you should have the best of both worlds so non-coders can build a site as easily as developers.
3. Does it fit the budget?
The third factor, and often the deciding one, when searching for a no-code website builder that also offers a white-label solution is the cost.
Not all the top website builders offer complete white labeling, which is ideal for agencies. One example is Wix.
So, dive into the pricing plan and see if they offer agency customization, along with how many custom domains, pages, collaborators, custom fields, bandwidth, storage, etc. come with the plan.
It makes sense to compare pricing plans after you’ve narrowed down the list, rather than blindly opting for the most expensive or most affordable option.
4. What features and integrations do it have?
Features of a website builder platform must be considered when looking for a white-label website builder. Plus, you should consider its extensions, integrations, etc.
For instance, if you cater to clients who need blogging support, then look for a white-labeling solution with a CMS, subscription list building, memberships, gated content, and comment moderation features.
Similarly, if your clients largely need online stores, then a white label solution with eCommerce functionalities like shop cart recovery, inventory management, and payment integrations with Gumroad, PayPal, or Stripe is a better choice.
The key here is to understand the use cases of your clients to determine the functionalities you will need out of the website builder.
Don’t overlook third-party integrations. Most websites need to connect with online tools like Airtable, MailChimp, and Zapier to perform at their best.
So, ensure that the white label solution you choose is compatible with popular platforms.
5. Is it secure?
A website is a digital storefront and is frequently the first place customers interact with a business.
So, it has to prompt trust in the users. For that to happen, the site itself has to be safe and secure.
That means the white-label website builder you pick must build and host every site with an SSL certificate.
It’s an essential feature, and for online stores, the builder should offer PCI compliance, guaranteeing sensitive, and personal information like bank details are secure at all times.
6. Does it offer support?
The goal of any no-code website builder is to allow people to efficiently create completely new sites without coding a single line.
But while convenient onboarding, ease of use, and quick implementation are good to have features, at times, what an agency needs are problem solvers.
So, look for a white label solution that is not just committed to the product but also equally dedicated to you.
That means the website building tool should come with support and community, with extensive documentation on how to get started as well as how to design and customize your website.
If the tool also offers live chat support channels and dedicated online forums to communicate with other users, even better.
It ensures that if you stumble upon a glitch while designing a site for your client, you can quickly type in the problem and get a solution.
7. What are the reviews?
Features and pricing plans show only half the picture. If you really want to find the right white-label website builders with the fastest turnaround times and no hidden fees, look at their "wall of love," i.e., customer reviews.
Go through the socials of all the no-code website builder contenders. It’s your best chance to read real reviews by real people.
Another is to look for articles that list such tools and then scroll through the comments to get unbiased reviews of how good the builder is.
8. Try the free trial
There is no dearth of no-code website builders that can give you a functional site in less than 24 hours. Plenty of them also come with a comprehensive white label option.
So, after you’ve combed through the features, pricing plans, extensions, and customer support and are still unsure of which one is the right fit, take a trial.
Even if you’ve already filtered it down to one choice, don’t jump onto a tool based solely on what you have read. Most of these no-coding website builders offer at least one free plan.
Sign up for it and design a site to check if the website builder meets your needs. This will tell you if the tool works for you before you invest a lot of time, money, and effort into it.
White Label Website Builders Are Powerful Tools
Whether you are a small digital agency or an established web design firm, white-label website builders can definitely help you grow faster.
They can support your business in any number of ways besides simply bringing your unique design ideas to life with speed and without any coding skills.
But that does not mean every no-code builder is built equally or that each offers the right white-label solution for you.
So, before you spend a fortune on the wrong plan, let the right platform be its own advocate. Take a demo where possible or give the trial plan a whirl.
One such platform is Dorik - a white label CMS and the best alternative of Webflow.
The white-label solution from Dorik comes with fantastic features. For freelancers, Classic Dorik Plans are the best choice for building landing pages and static sites.
For agencies that need to build many sites, the CMS Pricing Plans are the better fit for designing dynamic sites. You can opt for a plan that completely removes Dorik branding or pick a plan that comes with agency customization.
