Website Builder vs. Aida AI Website Builder
We can't stop talking about the Aida AI Website Builder - and for good reason! But what exactly sets it apart from our classic Website Builder? In this article, we break down the key differences - from drag-and-drop vs. conversational AI editing to plan options - and how each can help grow your business.
- Different products - different plans
- Drag-and-drop vs. conversational AI
- Different editor experiences
- Next best actions vs. guided in-editor advice
- Modernisation and rebranding options
Different products - different plans
As the tools are two different products, they also come with different sets of plans.
The classic Website Builder is featured in the Website Builder hosting plans Mini, Business and E-commerce or in the add-on plans Starter, Premium and Business + Ecommerce.
The Aida AI Website Builder is part of the hosting plans Portfolio, Booking and Commerce.
You can read more about what's included in each plan in these guides:
- Classic Website Builder: Which features are included in each Website Builder plan?
- Aida AI Website Builder: Aida AI Website Builder plans and feature overview.
Drag-and-drop vs. conversational AI
Our two website builder tools take fundamentally different approaches: the classic Website Builder uses drag-and-drop, while the Aida AI Website Builder is powered by conversational AI.
Drag-and-drop gives you a visual canvas where you place and arrange pre-built elements (text blocks, images, buttons, forms) by clicking and dragging. You see exactly what you're building in real time - it's hands-on and visual, but requires you to make every design decision manually.
Conversational AI lets you describe what you want in plain language ("Build me a portfolio site with a dark theme and a contact form"), and an AI generates the layout, copy, and structure for you. It's faster to get a starting point, but you may need some back-and-forth rounds to fine-tune the result.
In short: drag-and-drop is a design tool for building your own site without coding; a conversational AI builder is like a personal web designer that quickly creates what you need.
With Aida AI Website Builder, you primarily build your website through conversation with AI, while still having the flexibility to make smaller manual changes yourself, like editing text, formatting content, or adding sections.
Different editor experiences
Since one tool is built around drag-and-drop and the other around conversational AI, the two products also have quite different editor experiences.
In the classic Website Builder, you work from a template-based workspace, building your site by selecting components from a panel on the left. Think of it as a workbench where all your tools are visible and available at any time.
In the Aida AI Website Builder, there is no visible workbench. Instead, your main interface is a chat window where you talk to Aida and ask it to make changes. The same website elements from the classic Website Builder are all there - and more - but they're hidden and managed by Aida. This means you still have a workbench, but you also have an assistant who knows how to use every tool on it and puts them to work whenever you ask.
That said, not everything must go through Aida. You can still navigate between different sections of your site (shop, booking admin, blog), and a smaller component panel is available for quick, manual section-level edits.
Next best actions vs. guided in-editor advice
Your online presence should grow, and both our classic Website Builder and the Aida AI Website Builder have ways to help you achieve this.
The classic Website Builder will present you with suggestions for 'next best actions', which you can see as cards in your Website Builder dashboard.
In the Aida AI Website Builder, you can get direct in-editor guidance by asking Aida for suggestions on what to do next. It will analyze your current site and return a list of recommendations. From there, you can discuss the options with Aida and ask it to execute whichever action you decide on.
Modernisation and rebranding options
You may already have a website and want to combine your existing content with a fresh new design.
The classic Website Builder offers a broad selection of modern, professional templates that will surely satisfy the aesthetic eye. However, if you would like to rebuild an existing website in the classic Website Builder, then you will have to build it from scratch.
With the Aida AI Website Builder, you can use the Modernize option to quickly give your existing website a new look. Just enter the URL of your website, and Aida will produce a modern and refreshed version of it.
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