Showit

Showit is a visual website builder aimed at creatives who want total design freedom — no grid constraints, no fixed templates. Authors describe it as "Canva meets WordPress": drag anything anywhere on the canvas, then connect an optional WordPress blog backend for advanced blogging. The platform has a strong following among romance, literary fiction, and photographer-adjacent authors who treat their website as part of their brand identity.

What You Get#

• Blank canvas design: Every element — text blocks, images, buttons, decorative shapes — can be placed freely on the page. There are no locked columns or grid systems.
• Custom mobile design: Desktop and mobile layouts are designed separately. You control exactly how the mobile site looks, rather than accepting an auto-collapsed version of the desktop.
• WordPress blog backend: Plans Tier 2 and Tier 3 include a hosted WordPress blog. Tier 2 caps at 50 posts; Tier 3 (Advanced Blog) is unlimited with access to custom plugins.
• Template store: Showit offers pre-built author and creative templates purchasable from their store, which are then customized in the drag-and-drop editor.
• 14-day free trial: No credit card required.

Who It's For#

• Design-driven authors: Writers who want a site that looks like it was built by a professional designer, and are willing to spend time getting every pixel right.
• Romance and literary fiction authors: Showit is especially popular in these communities, with a template store stocked with visually rich author templates.
• Authors hiring web designers: Showit has a large freelance designer ecosystem; if you're paying someone to build your site, many author web designers specialize in Showit.

Pricing (2026): Tier 1 (no blog) ~$22/month on annual billing ($259/year) or $27/month on monthly billing; Tier 2 (Basic Starter Blog, ≤50 posts / 10K monthly visits) ~$27/month annual ($326/year) or $34/month monthly; Tier 3 (Advanced Blog, unlimited posts + thousands of plugins) ~$39/month annual ($470/year) or $49/month monthly. High-traffic tiers run $79–$149/month for blogs above 50K monthly visits. Annual billing saves roughly $60/year across all tiers. This renders as a callout block.

Strengths#

• True design freedom: No other mainstream website builder gives comparable pixel-level control without requiring code — not Wix, not Squarespace.
• Author-specific design community: An active Facebook group and ecosystem of Showit-specialist designers make support accessible; author templates are specifically designed for bookshelf layouts and reader-focused pages.
• WordPress plugin access: On the Tier 3 plan, any WordPress plugin (subject to Showit compatibility) can extend blogging functionality — including WooCommerce for ebook sales, MemberPress for membership communities, and SEO plugins like Yoast.

Limitations#

• No native ecommerce: Showit has no built-in cart or payment processing. Authors selling ebooks directly must embed third-party tools like Shopify Starter ($5/month), ThriveCart, or Gumroad — adding complexity and cost.
• Manual mobile design: Because desktop and mobile are designed separately, skipping mobile optimization will leave a broken-looking site on phones. Every change to desktop requires checking mobile separately.
• Plugin restrictions on lower tiers: Only Tier 3 allows custom plugins. Tier 2 (Basic Blog) restricts you to Showit's approved plugin list, which may not include the tools you want.
• No built-in ecommerce on any plan: Even with WooCommerce via Tier 3, the product and cart experience sits inside WordPress and requires additional configuration.

Alternatives#

Ghost is simpler if your priority is a clean, fast blog over design expressiveness. Squarespace offers a structured design system that's faster to build but with grid constraints Showit doesn't have. For authors who just need a professional site without the design investment, Wix or Tertulia ship faster.