Showit Pros and Cons for Authors & Book Editors [2026 Review]

If you’re in the market for a new website, you may have heard of a website platform called Showit. Showit is hailed as a no-code, drag and drop website builder specifically for creative entrepreneurs. Whether you’re a debut author or established book editor, Showit offers a level of creative freedom that has not been seen on many competing platforms. Showit is currently the main web design platform I use for client work. Though there are many benefits of using this website builder compared to others I’ve tested like Squarespace and Webflow, every platform has it’s cons too. Here are my favorite (and least favorite) things about Showit.

What is Showit? A Quick Overview for Literary Professionals

Before we dive into the pros and cons, let me give you the quick rundown if you’re new to Showit.

Showit is a drag-and-drop website builder designed specifically for creative entrepreneurs who want complete design freedom without touching code. Unlike template-based platforms like Squarespace or Wix, Showit gives you a blank canvas to create truly custom websites.

Here’s what makes it unique: Showit handles your website design (the pretty front-end), while WordPress powers your blog behind the scenes. This hybrid approach gives you the best of both worlds—creative freedom for your site design and robust SEO capabilities for your blog.

Showit offers three plans as of 2026 (monthly pricing shown, save 20% with annual billing):

Showit: $27/month

• 1 live website
• No blog included
• Regular design backups
• Best for: Simple sites that don’t need a blog

Showit & Basic Starter Blog: $34/month

• Everything in Showit plan, PLUS
• WordPress blog integration
• Up to 10K blog visits per month
• 1 WordPress user
• Pre-installed plugins for basic blogging
• Best for: Most authors and book editors who are wanting to start a NEW blog

Showit & Advanced Blog: $49/month

• Everything in Basic Starter Blog plan, PLUS
• Up to 25K blog visits per month
• Unlimited WordPress users
• Thousands of WordPress plugins available (including e-commerce)
• Free advanced blog migration from WordPress or Squarespace
• FTP access
• Best for: High-traffic blogs, transferring an existing blog, or complex WordPress needs

My recommendation: Unless you have a blog or are planning to start one, the basic Showit plan is enough for most literary professionals ($27/month). You get the blog integration you need for SEO without paying for features you won’t use.

The Pros of Showit

The Learning Curve

I personally think that Showit is the EASIEST website builder to learn right now. Hey, maybe I’m biased 🤷🏾‍♀️. I came from a more technical platform like Webflow over to Showit, but the learning curve was very low comparatively. Here’s a video from their public video bank that shows how the builder is laid out:

Your list of elements and navigation hang out on the left hand side, while the customization arena lives on the right. What makes this platform so easy is the fact that you don’t need any coding knowledge to get started. No JavaScript, no HTML, no CSS. All you need is a mind for design and a willingness to “click around” (one of my personal mottos) until you get the hang of things.

The Creative Freedom

As I mentioned above, Showit is a drag and drop website builder. You may be thinking “well, how is this different from something like Squarespace?” Valid question since Squarespace is another d-and-d builder. The difference, from my perspective, is that Squarespace only allows you to build from a template. Showit gives you the option to build from a completely blank canvas.

Someone leave a comment if they’ve changed this, I haven’t been on Squarespace since pre-pandemic 🙃

Another key difference? Showit doesn’t force you to place design elements in certain places. You can literally move the element around ANYWHERE on the canvas. Move it, overlap it, rotate it – I mean anything. There is no restriction in where or how you place an element on a page. THIS is the feature that had me starry-eyed when I first got my hands on the platform.

The Template Marketplace

Okay now this is a pro I honestly don’t take advantage of enough, but Showit has one of the best website template marketplaces around. The designs are actually.. well, cute! If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense considering that their target market is primarily creatives. How do you get creatives on board? First and foremost, make it ✨aesthetic✨

In addition to having really beautiful designs, the price of those templates have a great range from free.99 all the way up to $1200. There’s something for everyone and every budget.

Complete Mobile Design Control

Here’s something most website builders don’t offer: Showit lets you design your mobile version separately from your desktop site.

This isn’t just responsive design that shrinks everything down. You’re literally creating a custom mobile experience. That means:

• Different layouts optimized for thumb navigation
• Reordered content prioritizing what mobile readers need first
• Custom button sizes and spacing for touchscreens
• Hidden or simplified elements that don’t work well on phones

Why this matters for authors and editors: Your audience is overwhelmingly on mobile devices. Being able to create a mobile experience that’s actually designed for phones (not just a squished desktop site) means better user experience, which means people stay on your site longer and are more likely to sign up for your list or buy your book.

Most platforms just auto-shrink your desktop design. Showit treats mobile as its own canvas 👩🏾‍🎨

Integrates with Platforms Authors & Editors Actually Use

Showit plays nicely with virtually every tool literary professionals rely on like:

Email & Communication:

• ConvertKit, Flodesk, Mailchimp, Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
• Discord servers (embed invite links)

Reader Engagement:

• Patreon (embed membership tiers)
• Kickstarter campaigns
• Google Forms (ARC signups, beta reader applications, street team signups)
• Newsletter signup forms

Business Tools:

• Calendly, Acuity (consultation bookings)
• Stripe, PayPal, BookFunnel

Shop Integration:

• Shopify Buy Buttons for merch
• WooCommerce via WordPress
• Book sales links (Amazon, B&N, etc.)

If there’s an embed code, iframe, or link, you can probs add it to your Showit site.

The Cons of Showit

Integrations Galore

Now with all of these great things I mentioned, you may be wondering “what could possibly be the con here?” Welllll. My biggest point of contention with Showit is the fact that it requires SO. MANY. INTEGRATIONS for extra features. Aside from a blogging platform (Showit integrates wonderfully with WordPress), everything else like e-commerce functionality or an email list has to be embed into the site.

Of course, this is great for some because it doesn’t restrict what services you can use. If you prefer Shopify over Thrivecart or Flodesk over ConvertKit, you can put the thing you love most right into your Showit site as long as it has an embed code like I mentioned above.

So what’s the issue? For me, the ability to add anything to the site means that I have to pay for, as well as maintain, things like extra subscriptions, integrations, etc. just to have a functional store in Showit, for example. I tend to get overwhelmed when I have too many things in too many places. If I can get most everything I need under one roof like a blog, shop and email list (without compromising style), sometimes I prefer to go that route.

Higher Learning Curve Than Template Platforms

Let me be real with you: Showit is easy to learn, but it does technically has a steeper learning curve than Squarespace or Wix.

With template-based platforms, you’re essentially filling in pre-designed sections. With Showit, you’re starting with a blank canvas (even if you buy a template). You need to understand:

• How layers work
• How to make designs responsive for mobile
• How animations and hover states function
• How to connect your WordPress blog

My take: If you’re design-averse or extremely time-crunched, this might not be the platform for you to DIY. But if you’re willing to invest 10-15 hours learning the system (via their excellent tutorials), the payoff is a completely unique website.

Showit vs. Other Platforms: Quick Comparison

Now just because I work primarily with Showit doesn’t mean I’m not familiar with other platforms. Here’s a quick rundown on when to choose what, the same one I use when guiding clients on if Showit is right for them.

Choose Showit over Squarespace if:

• You want complete design freedom (not template constraints)
• You have a developed brand identity and professional photos
• You’re comfortable with a learning curve
• Your website is a key business asset (not just an online business card)

Choose Showit over Wix if:

• You care about design quality and brand perception
• You want stronger SEO capabilities (via WordPress blog)
• You’re building a premium brand

Choose Squarespace over Showit if:

• You want beautiful templates with minimal customization time
• You prefer all-in-one simplicity (email, analytics, shop all built-in)

If you want to see a FULL breakdown comparing Showit and five of the other most popular website platform options for authors and book editors, I dropped a full comparison guide for 2026 here.

That’s it friends! A short and sweet article for a change. Are you tired of reading the word Showit yet? I’m sure tired of typing it 😂. But regardless, I hope this read helped you learn a little more about Showit. Do you have the same pros? What about a different con or none at all? I’d love to hear (read?) all about it in the comments. You can also shoot me a message on Instagram because I truly live on that platform now.

Stay tuned.

Enjoy this read? Learn something new? Tell me everything in a comment below! And remember, it takes no effort to be kind 😊

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Disclaimer: The information in this post is for entertainment & subjective educational purposes only. It is not meant to serve as business, legal, medical, marketing, or sales advice.

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