A Scottish technology firm, uSkinned, which specializes in website-building software, has been awarded the title of best website builder globally by its users. The company secured the top spot at the CMS Critic People’s Choice Award earlier this month. The award recognizes uSkinned’s efforts in providing accessible website-building tools.
Founded by Technical Director Marc Love and Creative Director Paul Daly, uSkinned was born out of a shared vision to empower entrepreneurs, businesses, and digital agencies. Their goal was to enable these groups, regardless of their technical skills, to design and customize their own websites.
Daly explained the company’s origins: “Marc and I worked together at various digital agencies over the years. Our skillsets complement each other, so we were confident that, with our shared knowledge and passion, we could create a product that would empower individuals and businesses to build their own websites, with no technical expertise required.”
Initially, the duo developed content-managed themes for the open-source Umbraco content management system (CMS) in 2014. This was geared towards freelance web developers and digital agencies, allowing them to customize client websites. The uSkinned package rapidly gained popularity among web developers on the Umbraco CMS platform.
“Umbraco is open-source software, which allows people to use it for free, and expand on it,” Daly said. “Marc and I initially created a plug-in for the Umbraco CMS platform that makes it really easy for web developers and designers to create and customise websites for their clients.”
The shift to a user-friendly website builder was spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden need for businesses worldwide to establish an online presence created a surge in demand for easy-to-use, reliable website-building solutions. uSkinned responded by pivoting to develop a platform that caters to anyone, regardless of technical expertise.
Love elaborated on the company’s evolving focus: “The goal was to make a platform that anyone could use, from individuals, who just need a website that works, to small businesses and larger enterprises. We wanted to take Umbraco’s flexibility and make it accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical skills.”
Launched in 2021, the uSkinned Site Builder offers a range of features tailored for online business operations. These include e-commerce capabilities, membership logins, software integrations, a blogging platform, accessibility features, search engine optimization tools, 24/7 support, and regional cloud hosting. Digital agencies can utilize these features to enhance their service offerings and boost profitability.
The website-building platform offers design themes inspired by Scottish islands and boasts a library of over 25,000 fonts. Currently, the platform serves entrepreneurs, digital agencies, and businesses across more than 90 countries.
Love highlighted the impact of uSkinned’s platform: “We’ve seen digital agencies that have built their entire business around uSkinned Site Builder and customised Umbraco sites, including a digital agency overseas that builds huge public sector websites, and has become the dominant provider in its market.”
Daly concluded, “Winning the CMS Critic Award was a huge moment for us because we were up against the biggest website-builder brands in the industry, and the winner is decided by users. It felt like real recognition of the value that we bring to people worldwide. We’ve seen businesses of all sizes, from entrepreneurs to global brands, using uSkinned to build websites that help them grow.”
