Beyond code: a comprehensive study on website builders, their limitations, and opportunities for innovation

Abstract

The rise of website builders has simplified online presence creation for individuals and businesses. However, existing platforms face limitations which hinder broader adoption. This study investigates the current landscape of website builders through case studies and user surveys, uncovering common limitations such as customisability and lack of versioning tools. The study further explores innovative opportunities to tackle them from these insights, such as a Large Language Model (LLM) powered frontend UI generation functionality, a Plugins-of-Plugins system, an HTML importation system, and an automated documentation generation feature. This study then proves these features' technical feasibility through metric evaluation and implementation by building a proof-of-concept website builder.