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17 Best Website Builders: Wix, Squarespace, and More (2021)
Picking the best website builder can be hard, as there are 74 popular choices to select from.
In this guide, I ranked and reviewed the best website builders to make a web site based on cost, reliability, web hosting services, technical assistance, site speed, SEO, features, ease of use, template design, and much more.
We’ll also compare:
The ideal website builders for small companies.
The best free and affordable options.
Those with the best SEO.
The best platforms with online store capabilities.
The very best builders for agencies.
And the best options for photographers and artists.
What is the Best Website Builder?
Using a website builder is a fast and easy way to build a presence for your brand or online business. These tools simplify your website management by combining domain registrationhosting, and website design into one platform.
If you’re not too knowledgeable about web design and development, you will want to go with a simple drag and drop editor.
The choice is up to you.
Here are my top picks for the best site builder to use this season.
Wix.
Best Website Builder for Small Business ($13/month)
Wix is the most popular website builder available on the market, with over 100 million consumers.
They have 500+ ready-to-use templates to design your website in any business. These templates are mobile-optimized and have 100 fonts to choose from (or you can upload your own).
Their designs also look beautiful, with scroll effects, and advanced design features like animation and video backgrounds.
If you already have a domain name on GoDaddy or need to register one at Wix.com, they make it super simple. Additionally, if you want to add e-commerce to your website so you could sell online, plans begin a $20/month.
If you’re a small business, I urge Wix as the best online store builder. You don’t necessarily need a platform with more advanced options like BigCommerce and Shopify. Wix website owners that want to bring an e-commerce store can find these great new features.
Wix is the most user-friendly website tool on the market. You can almost endlessly customize the appearance and feel of your site with no programming knowledge.
They also have a tool called Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) — the first artificial intelligence site builder. Wix ADI learns about your website and uses that information to design a website tailored to your specific needs.
This tool leverages AI choosing from countless combinations of pictures, text, layouts, and contact forms.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for the best site builder for small companies, Wix is the best option.
Read my whole Wix review for more in-depth analysis.
Get started with Wix.
Best Modern Website Builder with Free Plans (free — $3.49/mo)
Zyro is a site builder with a mission to assist local businesses to tell their unique stories on the web.
Overall, they are famous for speed and simplicity.
With Zyro, you may make a business site fast and easily with no coding required. Your website also loads fast due to the light frame and looks great on all apparatus.
With a strong set of tools, Zyro helps grow your online business with pre-made design templates, AI-driven text, an intuitive drag-and-drop tool, mobile-readiness, and more than one million stock pictures to select from.
One of their standout features is their AI Content Generator, which provides SEO-friendly content ideas based on your industry and specific business type.
To get started with this tool, you choose your type of business, then write 2-3 sentences describing your brand and context. Then you adjust your AI settings and customize them based on duration, expertise, and creativity level. Last, you click on the Generate button and see your uniquely created content.
Since content generation is a challenge for many site owners, this tool generates new paragraphs for you which can rank better in search and increase conversion rates.
Another excellent features include:
Built-in SEO tools to improve your search rankings.
A free SSL certificate and custom domains.
An AI-driven logo and slogan manufacturer.
24/7 customer support via email and live chat.
AI heatmaps to increase website conversions and forecast visitor behaviour.
Mobile-optimized, fast-loading website layouts.
Free website design templates for various industries like creative agencies, startups, fashion brands, health businesses, bakeries, and much more.
Zyro offers three main pricing programs — a free plan, a mid-tier”Basic” program at $1.99/month, and their high-tier”Unleashed” plan at $3.49/month.
Their free program doesn’t include a custom domain name but does provide 99.9% uptime, an SSL certificate, 500MB of bandwidth and 500MB of storage.
Their “Basic” plan allows you to connect your domain name, increases bandwidth and storage, and includes extra features like ad removal and integrations with tools such as Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, and Facebook pixels. This is a very popular plan that’s most suitable for small and medium-sized companies.
Finally, their “Unleashed” program provides every Zyro attribute and gives unlimited bandwidth and storage. At such an affordable price of $3.49/month, it makes sense to go for this program and enjoy the unlimited features if you’re planning to have a lot of content on your website.
Overall, Zyro is best for small businesses looking to create and grow a website quickly, save money on writing and logo-making with their AI tools, rank high on search engines, and increase conversion rates with high-quality, mobile-friendly design templates.
You can begin with Zyro free of charge to test out their platform, then upgrade to a paid program when you’re ready to grow your internet business.
Get started with Zyro and begin building your site today.
Best Website Design for Personal Sites ($12/month)
When I think of Squarespace, my mind goes directly for their beautifully designed home page. They truly know how to create beautiful, high-quality websites that look great for both small businesses and personal websites alike.
With over 100 design templates to choose from, they lead the pack when it comes to design. Squarespace templates appear excellent down to every detail. The fonts, color schemes, and imagery all mesh perfectly for any website.
Besides design, their platform is wonderful for bloggers. I tested out their WYSIWYG blog editor, and it’s very intuitive.
You drag elements like images, headings, and text onto the page and place it where you want. They also offer multiple user permissions, Google AMP performance, and you can schedule your articles:
A few small SEO limitations hold Squarespace back from being #1 on this list. To begin with, my XML sitemap pulled in two versions of every page with and without a trailing slash”/.” This dual indexing may potentially result in SEO and duplicate content issues down the road. They didn’t have an easy fix the last time I checked.
Secondly, your site headlines always become your meta titles, so be cautious when adding your headlines for SEO. You can read more in my full Wix vs Squarespace review.
Other terrific features make up for these drawbacks. Their ease of use is top-notch — websites are elementary to build with their editing tools. In-built analytics tools provide continuous data onsite traffic if you are not using Google Analytics. Plus, it’s tough to go wrong with a beautifully-designed website for only $12/month.
Monthly prices range from $12/month for their Personal plan up to $40/month for their Online Store (Advanced) plan. Monthly prices are based on a one-year contract, and Squarespace includes a free domainname. The Personal plan provides a free domain name, unlimited bandwidth and storage, free SSL, and 24/7 customer service.
In general, if you’re a small business that needs first-rate web design or a blogger who wants your content to look great, Squarespace is a reliable choice.
Best Free Website Builder (Free — $25/month)
Weebly powers over 530,000 domain names and is known as the simple website builder of choice for people without much technical experience. They offer a great deal of great features. If you’re a blogger, you can use Weebly.com to select a domain name and use their editor to add your own text, pictures, and content.
They also have a mobile program to track your site’s performance on the go. And email marketing tools allow you to send newsletters to your subscribers from within their tool.
They have a free plan which comes with 500 MB of storage, a free SSL certificate, and a domain name with Weebly branding. You can use a custom domain with this plan but are made to have Weebly branding throughout your website. Also, the free program only comes with chat and email support, but no phone support.
Weebly’s paid plans vary from $5 to $25 per month. On the high end, their Business Plan gets you advanced e-commerce functionality, a free domainname, and $200 of Google ad credits.
Their e-commerce features include product options/variants, coupon codes, inventory management, a shipping calculator, shipping labels, and the ability to accept payments through Square and other providers.
The degree of customer support you get is based on your subscription level. You can find assistance yourself in several areas, including their blog, support center, community forum, social networking, and developer documentation. They also have live chat, email, and telephone support.
If you’re looking for a simple website creator to get up and running, I recommend you get started with Weebly.
Best Site Builder for Ecommerce ($29/month)
Shopify is a favorite ecommerce platform used by over 800,000 online companies so sell products online. They were founded in Canada in 2004 and quickly became a powerhouse because of their simple dashboard and integrations with thousands of app partners.
While not every website owner needs product-selling functionality, I added Shopify into the list because almost any small business could use them to install their website.
Take a salon for instance.
With Shopify, not only could you set up a quick site including a site, a map of your location, contact info, and appointment scheduling (with an app), but you could also sell hair care products online. This creates not only a website but another online source of revenue for your business.
Shopify has a great deal of features you’d come to expect from other tools on this listing, such as hosting, your own domain name, 70+ professional themes, a free SSL certificate, and promotion and SEO features.
They also offer mobile commerce, 100+ payment gateways, automated carrier shipping rates, automated tax rates, and the full checkout experience. Plus, you can enjoy omnichannel selling across Facebook, eBay, Amazon, Instagram, and much more.
If you’re establishing a new website and think that you may choose to sell products online in the future, it is better to get started with Shopify instead of another tool that doesn’t take online shopping as seriously.
They offer three plans ranging from $29/month to $299/month. The $29/month Basic Shopify Plan should give site owners everything they want, including a complete website, an internet store with unlimited products, blog features, 24/7 support, and more.
If you want to give Shopify a try, they give a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Best For Professional Designers ($16 a month).
Some of its other Important features include:
You can edit and add content to your live website.
Invite other group members to collaborate on a single dashboard.
Add up to 100 pages to your website.
99.9% uptime guaranteed and SSL certificate.
Automated backup.
Custom fonts available.
Create custom 404 pages.
Customer support through email, Webflow community forum, and help center.
Integration with Zapier enables you to connect with tools like Slack, MailChimp, and Asana.
You can add up to 3000 products on your site with eCommerce support.
Finest WordPress Themes for Photography and Creative Websites ($279 one-time).
Flothemes is a business that provides customizable WordPress themes. These templates help you build sites inside of WordPress without the need for custom coding. It is powered by Flex block, a powerful free stream page builder, providing limitless customization options.
All the templates and themes come with premade designs and content blocks. You may also customize colors, fonts, the arrangement of the page, and more.
Flothemes help you build your website in a few steps, including:
Register a domain name and hosting service provider for your website. You can even check Flothemes cloud hosting services, starting at $26 a month.
Install WordPress.org and join it to your web site hosting. Fortunately, most hosting services offer a one-click WordPress installation.
Finally, select a theme for your site or portfolio.
You’ll be able to watch several how-to tutorials by Flothemes or contact the customer care team.
If you need help setting up the whole website, you can drop a message, and their team will do everything for you.
Flothemes will allow you to set up your site for just $499-$1999. Besides setting up your site from the start, they also provide services like page loading speed optimization, SEO, styling, etc.. In addition, you get two screen sharing sessions of 45 minutes each with experts and one SEO consultation call of 45 minutes. All in all, you get six rounds of implementations.
Additionally, Flothemes provides features like SSL implementation, WordPress installation, Typography, color scheme stylization, and much more. You also get complete design freedom, SEO options, and a dash.
Pricing:
While their subjects cost a one-time $279, Flothemes offers three pricing plans for their website setup services, including:
Simple Installation Bundle: $499
Advanced setup packs: $999
Pro Installation packs: $1,999
The Easy Setup Package can help you skip the technical components and jump straight to adding content and personalizing your motif. It offers features like WordPress installation, site layout setup, theme setup, WordPress transfer, site launch, etc..
The Advanced Setup Package includes full assistance with site setup, styling & launching, site speed optimization & an search engine optimization consultation. Additional features include typography & color scheme stylization, SSL implementation, speed optimization, etc..
Pro Installation Package includes all of the features in the Advanced Setup Package along with the tailored mockup & execution for your homepage.
Best Website Tool with Integrated CRM Tools
HubSpot is a topnotch CRM tool that also has a full-featured CMS and website builder. Using their platform, you can create website pages, blog posts, landing pages from scratch or using their pre-built templates.
Their drag-and-drop editor uses responsive design that will assist you create webpages that look great on any device. Where HubSpot stands out is its personalization and integrations.
Unlike other tools on this list, HubSpot comes integrated with a wide assortment of marketing software, including tools to manage email advertising, get found online, and capture, engage with and understand leads.
For instance, when you make a webpage, you may add calls-to-action and forms that convert visitors into leads. Then, when you know your visitors, you can dynamically create content unique to site visitors based on their location, device, speech, traffic source, or any other detail you choose to catch in your HubSpot CRM.
This integrated marketing suite covers all parts of the customer lifecycle:
Types, live chat, and conversational chatbots capture prospects.
Email advertising, retargeting, and messenger integrations send customized messages to your prospects.
Their contact builder, analytics tools, and list segmentation help you understand your prospects.
Personalized experiences, calls-to-action, and smart content turns leads into clients.
Overall, if you are looking for a website builder that also comes with a full-featured set of CRM and marketing tools, HubSpot is your best alternative.
The World’s Most Popular CMS
Easiest Free Website Builder for Small Sites
Best Digital Marketing Website Builder for Local Businesses
A Personalized Website with the Power of AI
Best for Enormous Online Stores
Great for Photographers and Artists
Best for startups that want to create bootstrapped sites
Best Website Builder for Agencies and Multilingual Websites
What is a Website Builder?
A website builder is a tool which allows anyone to manage a site and domain name without manual programming. In other words, a website builder is a tool or software application to help you build a web site.
In the old days of the net, programmers needed to understand HTML and CSS to make a website. Today, if you wish to code a website, there’s a steep learning curve — you want to have extensive knowledge of JavaScript and PHP. Not so with website builders.
These tools help everyone from small businesses and bloggers to news websites and ecommerce companies easily create sites in minutes.
How much does it cost to build a website?
Is Wix better than WordPress?
How much does a website cost monthly?
Does Google have a website builder?
Can I get a free website for my business?
There you have it — my list of the top website builders. Because there are 74 options out there, I have condensed the listing down to the very best so you may choose the option that is right for your business or online brand.
If you’re looking for the very best site builder overall, I recommend you get started with Wix.
For the best designs and templates, take a look at Squarespace.
If you will need an e-commerce website to sell products online, Shopify is a good choice.
What site builder do you use?