Website builders are a perfect solution for individuals, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to start a website without hiring a developer. However, finding the best website builder can be tricky for beginners.
There are so many website builders on the market. So, how do you know which one is the right solution for you? The true answer to the best website builder question will vary based on your specific needs.
In this article, we will help you choose the best website builder by going over the pros and cons of the most popular options.
We will be comparing the following website builders in this article. If you are interested in a particular website builder, then just click on the name to skip ahead:
Choosing the Best Website Builder – What to Look For
Before comparing the top website builders, we recommend that you write down what you want to do with your website. What are your goals, and what features would you like to see on your website?
For example, you can write down things like: have a blog section, photo gallery, online store (eCommerce), reservation system, contact form, SEO features, social media features, etc.
If you are unsure about what you want, then check out your competitors or other websites for inspiration.
Most website builders offer an intuitive drag and drop user interface to build your new website without coding knowledge. You can take advantage of the trial accounts (free plans) or the generous money-back guarantee to test drive before you make your final decision.
Next, you need to consider your growth options. Will you be adding regular updates to your website? Do you need a blog section? Would you be selling more products on your website in the future?
You need to make sure that the website builder you choose is capable of handling your needs as your business grows.
Criteria for Our Best Website Builder Review
We have helped over 800,000+ users start a website and, over the last two decades, have tested just about every website builder on the market.
We look at several different criteria when reviewing the best website builder picks for each use case, but our top five elements are:
- Ease of Use – We want to ensure that the website builder is easy to use for absolute beginners (non-techy users). It must come with a customizable drag-and-drop builder, powerful editing tools, and other design customization options.
- Pricing – Since it’s a competitive space, we look at which website builder offers the most value for the price. We ask questions like does it offer a free domain, free SSL, free business email, free eCommerce features, and so on. If not, then how much would a small business owner have to spend on additional extras / hidden costs?
- Design & Features – We want to ensure that the website builder offers a good selection of professional website templates along with the flexibility to add additional features like Google Analytics, CRM, third-party marketing tools, etc.
- Customer Support – While we expect website builder software to offer an intuitive user-friendly interface, we want to make sure that 24/7 customer support is available when needed.
- Data ownership & portability – Often, beginners don’t think about this, but being in the industry for over two decades, we pay extra attention to terms of service and privacy policy to ensure that you own your data and it’s portable should you need to switch.
That being said, let’s take a look at the best website builder software to start your website without hiring a developer or coding HTML from scratch.
1. WordPress
WordPress.org (also known as self-hosted WordPress) is the world’s most popular website-building platform. Over 43% of all websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.
It’s important to note that there are two versions of WordPress, self-hosted WordPress CMS and WordPress.com. We will talk about WordPress.com later in this article. You can also read our WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com comparison for more details.
The self-hosted WordPress content management system (CMS) tops our list of best website builders due to its popularity, powerful features, scalability, and ease of use.
WordPress is a free and open-source website builder. This means that you have maximum control over your website compared to any other online website builder in this list.
With WordPress, you have full ownership of your website without any third-party control, so it gives you maximum privacy.
This is why many popular websites like WhiteHouse.gov (US Government), CNN, The New York Times, Microsoft, and countless other small businesses use WordPress as their website builder.
Unlike other website builders in our list, you will need a WordPress hosting account and host your own website (this is a lot easier than it sounds). We have detailed instructions on how to get started with WordPress below.
Pros:
WordPress gives you complete control over every aspect of your website and online presence. It can be used to build any kind of website. For example, an eCommerce store, community forums, a social network, a membership website, a business / corporate website, landing pages, and more.
There are thousands of high-quality pre-made WordPress themes that you can use for your website’s design.
You can also use one of the popular drag and drop WordPress page builders like SeedProd and Divi, which allow you to easily create your own custom website designs using a drag-and-drop editor (no coding needed).
Another big advantage of WordPress is that you get access to more than 60,000 free WordPress plugins.
Plugins are like apps for WordPress that let you add additional features and functionality to your website, such as a shopping cart, contact forms, Google Analytics, a photo gallery, social media tools, live chat, CRM, CSS customization, etc.
WordPress plugins also make it easy for you to connect & integrate your website with popular business tools, so you can automate and streamline your daily operations.
Another big reason why WordPress is popular across the world is that their website builder is fully translated into over 75+ languages, and it allows you easily create multilingual websites.
When you consider all the above benefits, WordPress is by far the most powerful website builder in the market.
It also comes with robust SEO tools that search engines love, and this ensures your website will always get the highest rankings in search engines. We use and recommend the All in One SEO plugin for WordPress because it will help you outrank your competitors in Google.
For all the reasons above, our experts rate WordPress as the #1 website builder and content management system for business owners, bloggers, web developers, and web designers.
Cons:
You will have to manage your own website, which means you will need to familiarize yourself with a new system. This slight learning curve is easily overcome by most users, but it does feel a bit difficult in the beginning.
You will also have to keep up with WordPress updates, plugin updates, and create website backups. All of this can be automated by your WordPress hosting provider.
Pricing:
While WordPress is a free website builder, you will need a domain name and web hosting to get your website live, which typically costs $14.99/year and $7.99 per month, respectively.
Fortunately, we have worked out a special deal for WPBeginner readers. You can start a website for only $2.75 per month with Bluehost, an official WordPress-recommended hosting provider. They are offering our users 69% off on web hosting that comes with a free SSL certificate, free domain name, great uptime, and 24/7 phone support.
With this special pricing, WordPress is one of the cheapest website builders in this list for small businesses.
For more details, see our guide on how to make a website with step-by-step instructions (including a video tutorial).
Note: WordPress works with all popular web hosting services, and it’s actually recommended by many other companies, including GoDaddy, SiteGround, DreamHost, Hostinger, and more.
Ready to get started but don’t have a business name idea yet? Use our smart A.I-powered business name generator tool to come up with your brand name idea.
2. Web.com
Web.com is one of the original and most popular website builders for small businesses. They offer easy-to-use website-building tools at a very affordable price, so anyone can build a website without having to know how to code.
Pros
Web.com offers a powerful drag & drop web builder that’s beginner friendly and suitable for non-techy business owners.
You can pick from their thousands of beautiful pre-made website templates and customize the design to match your brand needs with just point and click.
The builder comes with all the powerful features you would expect, including the ability to add photo galleries, videos, testimonial sliders, contact forms, map locations, social media buttons, and more.
You can add unlimited pages to your website and customize the design of each website page individually. All their website templates are 100% mobile-friendly, and they also let you customize the design for different devices (desktop, tablet, and mobile devices).
Their eCommerce tools let you add up to 50 products, securely accept credit card payments online, track & manage orders, offer discounts, and more.
All Web.com plans come with a free domain name, business email address, autosave & backup features, website security solution, SEO tools, website analytics, and other powerful website tools.
They also offer unlimited chat and phone support, so you can talk to their web experts when you need help.
Aside from the website builder, they also offer custom web design services where an expert can design your entire website at a very affordable price.
Cons
While Web.com offers all the tools you need to build a small business website, it lacks some of the powerful features that you may want as your business grows.
For example, the blogging functionality on Web.com is very limited and nowhere close to the power of what you get with WordPress.
Their eCommerce plan restricts you to only 50 products which is more than enough for most small businesses. However, if you’re looking to create a robust online store, then you may want to look at other website builders in our list, such as WooCommerce or Shopify.
Lastly, since Web.com is a proprietary website builder, you will not be able to easily switch to a different platform should you want to do so in the future.
Pricing
Web.com pricing plans start at $1.95 per month for their website starter plan, which comes with their drag & drop website builder, hundreds of beautiful templates, thousands of stock images, and a free domain.
Their marketing plan starts at $2.95 per month, and it includes additional SEO features to help you rank higher. Lastly, their eCommerce plan starts at $3.95 per month, which includes eCommerce tools like the ability to accept credit cards with a secure shopping cart, sell up to 50 products, track & manage your orders, and more.
Web.com site builder allows you to create a business website at a very affordable price.
3. Wix
Wix.com is another popular cloud-based website builder software. It offers ease of use combined with a powerful set of features to easily build your website. Over 1.9% of all websites use Wix as their website builder.
Pros
Wix website creator is a fully hosted platform, so you will not have to pay for hosting. You get access to hundreds of templates to choose from for your website’s design. Each template is fully editable with its intuitive drag and drop site builder.
Wix has also built an artificial design intelligence (Wix ADI) that can design a beautiful website for you.
Aside from tons of templates, Wix also comes with dozens of free and paid apps that you can install on your website. These apps allow you to add new features and functionality to your website. Some of them are created by Wix, and others are created by third-party developers.
Wix offers a free plan with limited bandwidth and storage. However, you can use this plan to test drive their drag and drop website builder. It does not include a domain name, so if you decide to keep your website, then you may want to upgrade to a premium plan.
You also get a free SSL with all Wix plans, but you will need to turn it on for your website.
Cons
Free and Connect Domain plans will show Wix-branded ads on your website. You’ll need to upgrade to their Combo or Unlimited plan to remove those ads.
If you ever decide to move your website away from Wix, then you will find it quite complicated to do so.
Their Connect Domain plan, which costs $9.16 per month, only lets you connect a custom domain name, so you’ll still have to buy a domain name separately.
Pricing
Wix offers a limited free version with a Wix-branded subdomain. You can connect a domain for $9.16 per month. Their combo plan starts at $14 per month and will get you a free domain name. The eCommerce plan for online stores starts at $23 per month.
If you are interested in how it stacks up against WordPress, then see our comparison of Wix vs. WordPress.
4. HubSpot Website Builder
HubSpot Website Builder is a powerful content management platform that’s built for marketers and small business owners. It combines the power of their drag & drop website builder, marketing automation tools, and CRM, so you can deliver a personalized digital experience to your users.
Pros
HubSpot is known for being one of the world’s leading marketing automation and CRM platforms in the world. After listening to small business concerns, they have decided to create an all-in-one website builder that helps you create a website in minutes (without hiring a developer).
You can use their conversion-optimized website templates to quickly build a website that delivers results.
Alternatively, you can use their easy drag-and-drop editor to create a custom website design within minutes.
The best thing about HubSpot’s website builder is that they let you do adaptive testing, so you can choose up to five variations of a page, and HubSpot will monitor & serve the best-performing option.
HubSpot website builder seamlessly integrates with their CRM platform, so you can leverage the customer data to create a completely personalized digital experience for each website visitor.
It comes with many other powerful features, including SEO tools, powerful analytics, blogging tools, live chat software, email marketing feature, multi-language content support, and more.
Considering the features of their integrated marketing platform, HubSpot is one of the best professional website builders in this list for marketers and small businesses.
Cons
While HubSpot allows marketers to build personalized digital experiences, the platform is best suited for landing pages and simple business websites. For online stores and advanced business websites, you’re better served with WordPress.
The good thing is that HubSpot recognizes this as well, and this is why they have a free WordPress plugin that allows you to seamlessly integrate with WordPress to offer the best of both worlds.
HubSpot is a very powerful platform that comes with a lot of features. This can be intimidating for small business owners who’re just getting started. As long as you are committed, their account executives will work with you to ensure that your business succeeds online.
Pricing:
HubSpot offers a powerful free website builder that not only allows you to create a website but also gives you a suite of marketing automation tools like CRM, email marketing, live chat, and more.
You can get started for free, and as your business grows, you can choose from the package that best suits your needs.
Their paid plan prices start from $45 per month for the Starter plan, which gives you all their business tools including: CMS (website builder), marketing hub, sales tools, and business operation tools.
All plans come with 24/7 live chat and phone support, and their support team is really helpful.
HubSpot is a great choice for small businesses who are looking for an integrated website builder platform that has all the small business tools they need.
5. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce website builder on the planet to start an online store. It’s an open-source eCommerce software built on top of WordPress.
According to our expert research, 8.8% of all websites are using WooCommerce as their eCommerce website builder, making it twice as large as Shopify.
Pros
WooCommerce is the best website builder for eCommerce sites because it gives you complete control over your website.
It comes with every feature you could possibly imagine for running a successful online store.
You can accept online payments using WooCommerce Payments or integrate with over 83 other payment options, including Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, AmazonPay, AfterPay, Klarna, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more.
Unlike Shopify, WooCommerce doesn’t charge extra transaction fees if you choose to use other payment solutions.
They also offer dozens of extensions to help you with shipping, delivery, fulfillment, sales tax management, inventory management, and just about every aspect of store management.
You can build custom sales funnels and product landing pages using SeedProd, create an affiliate program using AffiliateWP, show real-time social proof with TrustPulse, offer free shipping or run BOGO deals using Advanced Coupons, set special wholesale prices with WholeSale Suite, add order bumps and upsells with FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels), and do basically everything else you can imagine.
WooCommerce seamlessly integrates with all popular email marketing services, analytics platforms, live chat software, helpdesk software, and conversion optimization tools.
You can reduce cart abandonment and boost sales conversions by adding gamification from the OptinMonster plugin for WooCommerce.
Aside from that, WooCommerce is extremely SEO friendly, and you can further improve your eCommerce SEO by using the AIOSEO plugin.
The amount of freedom and flexibility WooCommerce offers simply cannot be put into words. For more details, see our full list of the best WooCommerce plugins and best WooCommerce themes.
For all the reasons above, our experts rate WooCommerce as the best website builder for eCommerce.
Cons
Just like WordPress, WooCommerce is a self-hosted eCommerce platform which means you will need to familiarize yourself with a new system.
You will be responsible for keeping WooCommerce updated, creating website backups, and performing routine website maintenance tasks. Most of these tasks can be automated by WooCommerce hosting providers like SiteGround, Bluehost, WP Engine, and others.
Pricing
WooCommerce is a free eCommerce website builder, but you will need a domain name and web hosting to get your online store live.
This cost will vary based on your website traffic and popularity.
You can start as low as $2.99 per month with SiteGround Startup Plan, which comes with WooCommerce pre-installed, a free SSL certificate, daily website backups, free CDN, auto-updates, and enhanced security.
→ Click here to Claim this Exclusive SiteGround offer ←
Alternatively, you can also use the Bluehost premium WooCommerce plan, which costs $12.95 per month, but it comes with several premium WooCommerce extensions such as subscriptions, online booking & appointments, and other premium features (valued at over $1000 if you purchased separately).
Really high-traffic WooCommerce site owners end up using WP Engine for managed WooCommerce hosting, and their pricing starts at $30 per month.
For more details on this, see our complete breakdown of how much eCommerce websites really cost.
6. Gator by HostGator
Gator is a popular online website builder created by HostGator, one of the largest web hosting providers in the world. The Gator builder is an all-in-one website building & hosting solution, which makes it a perfect website builder for small businesses.
Pros
Gator is a fully hosted platform, so you don’t have to worry about the software, updates, or backups.
You get an easy website builder that lets you choose from 200+ professional website design templates. Each design comes with simple customization options that you can configure from the builder itself.
You can edit any item on a page with a simple point-and-click interface. You can also drag and drop commonly used items like images, videos, photo galleries, text, columns, maps, and contact forms.
Gator also gives you access to a built-in stock photo library, so you can find and add beautiful photos to your website.
All paid plans include a free custom domain name for your website. The eCommerce plan also comes with the ability to set up an online store and sell your products online.
Since Gator is a paid product, they don’t sell your data or show any ads on your website.
Cons
Unlike some of the other options in the list, Gator doesn’t have a free plan. They also do not offer a free trial.
Like other proprietary website builders on the list, you cannot hire a developer to help you significantly modify your website design or add new features.
Pricing
Gator is offering 55% off to WPBeginner readers, so their pricing plans start from $3.46 per month for Starter, $5.39 per month for Premium, and $8.30 for the eCommerce plan. It is one of the cheapest website builders on the list.
Gator can be used to build a small business website, a store with limited items, or a photo gallery. However, it is no match for the power of the most popular website builder, WordPress.
7. Hostinger Website Builder (formerly Zyro)
Hostinger Website Builder, formerly Zyro, is a powerful and affordable website builder for beginners. They offer an easy-to-use drag & drop website builder tool with free hosting and 81% off premium plans using the WPBeginner Hostinger coupon code.
This makes Hostinger an excellent choice for those looking for a cheap website builder to start their website.
Pros
The Hostinger Website Builder allows you to create a website without design or coding skills. Their easy-to-use and powerful design tools make it easy for anyone to build visually stunning websites.
It comes with a logo maker, useful AI tools, and tons of pre-made website templates that you can start with.
You also have access to over 1 million high-quality images for free.
The best part about Hostinger Website Builder is the affordable pricing. If you are an artist or a small business on a budget, then Hostinger is your best bet. Their Single website builder pricing starts at $1.99 per month.
But don’t let the low pricing think that this isn’t a powerful website builder platform. They offer great uptime and reliability.
With each plan, you get new powerful features. For example, on the Premium plan, you get marketing integrations like Google Analytics, Facebook retargeting, visitor remarketing, etc.
They also have eCommerce plans that allow you to add unlimited products, accept online payments, offer discount coupons, order management, inventory management, and even connect your store with Amazon, Instagram, and Shopify.
Cons
It’s not easy to switch templates once you choose one. Also, since Hostinger is not open source, it lacks the third-party integrations and add-ons that WordPress offers.
Their starter plan is a bit limited in features and does not include a free domain, but it has all the essentials you need to build a website.
While Hostinger offers blogging features, it’s not a true blog platform, so they lack features like the ability to schedule blog posts, etc.
Pricing
Hostinger pricing starts at $1.99 per month for their Single plan, which does not include a free domain name. The Premium plan starts at $2.79 per month and comes with a free domain. The Business plan starts at $3.99 per month and includes advanced features. You can get a discount on any of these plans using our Hostinger coupon code: wpbeginner.
8. Domain.com Website Builder
Domain.com is one of the best domain registrars on the planet, and they offer a range of website solutions, including web hosting, a website builder, business email, and more.
Their drag & drop website builder lets you create a small business website, blog, and even an eCommerce website with just a few clicks.
Pros
Domain.com offers an easy drag-and-drop website builder to create your website. You can start with one of their hundreds of professionally designed templates and customize it using a simple drag-and-drop interface to match your brand.
All Domain.com website builder templates are optimized for mobile, tablets, and desktop computers. This means that your website will look great on all devices.
It comes with all the powerful features you’d expect from a well-known website builder, including website analytics, eCommerce functionality, the ability to add a blog to any website, and a free SSL certificate with all plans.
With their eCommerce plan, you also get inventory management, tax management, coupons & discounting, and many other powerful features.
They also offer live chat and telephone customer support for technical assistance, so you can easily get started.
Cons
Unlike other popular website builders, the Domain.com website builder does not have a free website builder option. They also do not offer a free trial. However, they do offer a money-back guarantee in case you aren’t happy with the product.
Their extension ecosystem is small, and you won’t be able to hire a developer to build advanced features like WordPress because it’s not open source.
Since it’s a proprietary platform, migrating your website away from the Domain.com website builder will be difficult.
Lastly, their starter plan restricts you to only a 6-page website. For unlimited pages, you need at least their business plan.
Pricing
Domain.com Website Builder plans start from $1.99 per month for Starter, $6.99 per month for Business, and $12.99 per month for eCommerce plan.
All plans have a free SSL certificate, unlimited storage, blog features, and phone support.
You can also use our Domain.com coupon code to get 25% off domain registration.
If you are looking for a professional website builder, then Domain.com website builder is an excellent option.
However, if you want advanced features and more control over your content, then nothing will beat self-hosted WordPress (the #1 option in our list).
9. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a popular eCommerce website builder that allows you to easily create an online store that scales. It comes with all the essential features built-in, so you can keep your overhead low and margins high.
Pros
BigCommerce is a fully hosted eCommerce solution, so you don’t have to worry about website speed, security, or updates. They handle the server and technical side for you, so you can focus on growing your business.
Unlike other hosted eCommerce solutions, BigCommerce has native integration with WordPress, which allows you to leverage the flexibility of WordPress while taking advantage of the headless eCommerce power of BigCommerce. In simple terms, your website will be fast and secure no matter how much traffic you get.
BigCommerce integrates with all popular payment gateways, including Stripe (credit cards and ACH), PayPal, Apple Pay, Square, Amazon Pay, Visa Checkout, Chase Pay, Ayden, and more. Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce doesn’t charge a transaction fee for you to use these payment gateways.
You can start with one of their many pre-made website templates and customize it to match your needs using their easy drag & drop website builder.
BigCommerce has many built-in features to handle conversion rate optimization, such as cart abandonment, improved product search, product reviews, coupons, and more. You can connect with third-party applications from their app store for additional features.
Pro Tip: You can use the OptinMonster app for BigCommerce to add personalized messages and boost your eCommerce conversion rates.
The best part is their dashboard, which lets you see the metrics to help you confidently grow your business.
Cons
If you are just starting out, you will find BigCommerce pricing a bit higher than other website builders.
Since it’s a proprietary platform, migrating away from BigCommerce will be difficult.
Pricing
BigCommerce comes with a 15-day free trial for all plans. Their basic plans start at $29.95 per month, which comes with all the essential features that you will need. You can upgrade to the plus plan, which costs $79.95 per month for additional conversion optimization features. Their pro plan costs $299.95 per month, which has all the advanced features you may need.
The best part about BigCommerce when compared to Shopify and other third-party eCommerce platforms, is that they have a seamless integration with WordPress, which can be a huge plus if you want to combine the flexibility of WordPress with the power of BigCommerce.
This is one of the reasons why we have BigCommerce listed as high in our best eCommerce website builder list.
10. Shopify
Shopify is another popular eCommerce website builder designed specifically for online stores and eCommerce websites. It powers millions of online stores across 175 different countries. Over 400 Billion dollars worth of products have been sold on Shopify’s platform.
According to our expert research, 4.4% of all websites on the internet are using Shopify as their eCommerce website builder.
Pros
Shopify is an all-in-one fully hosted eCommerce software, this means you don’t have to worry about managing software, installing updates, or keeping backups. Shopify does all that for you.
It offers an integrated payment solution called Shopify Payments which lets you accept credit cards. You can also add third-party payment gateways to accept payments.
As an eCommerce website builder, Shopify comes with full inventory management, unlimited products, powerful stats, and easy marketing solutions, all neatly wrapped under one roof. They have hundreds of designs to choose from, and you will never need to add code.
With its intuitive drag and drop interface, Shopify makes it super-easy to create a full-fledged online store.
They also offer in-store POS, which allows you to sell products at your location while accepting all credit cards and taking advantage of Shopify’s inventory, shipping, marketing, and stats management tools.
Cons
Shopify forces you to use its Shopify Payment platform. If you want to use your own payment processing solution, they charge an additional 2% transaction fee which is really high.
If you are just starting out, then you may find Shopify’s pricing a bit higher than some other website builders in this list. For more details, see our Shopify vs. WooCommerce comparison.
If you ever want to move your website away from Shopify, you will find it quite difficult to do so.
Update: Due to popular request, we have created a step-by-step tutorial on how to switch from Shopify to WooCommerce. Our team built a free migration tool that does the work for you.
Pricing
Shopify’s basic plan will cost you $29 per month. You can upgrade it to Shopify for $79 per month or Advanced Shopify for $299 per month. Shopify also offers a Shopify Lite plan for $9 per month, which basically allows you to add a buy button on any website.
If you want a hassle-free eCommerce website builder, then Shopify may be the perfect option for you.
11. WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a blogging platform and website hosting service run by Automattic. It is created by Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress open-source software, hence the name WordPress.com.
To learn more, see our article on how are WordPress.com and WordPress.org related.
WordPress.com is not the same as the self-hosted WordPress.org that we mentioned as our #1 website builder. Instead, this is a customized hosting solution primarily focused on blogging. Please see our comparison of WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org for more details.
Pros
WordPress.com is a website hosting service built on top of the same WordPress software but with a totally custom user experience. You don’t have to worry about the software and backups, as WordPress.com takes care of it.
Their free and paid plans have a different set of features. All plans allow users to choose from hundreds of free and paid WordPress themes. You can then use the built-in customizer to add your site title, use widgets, add navigation menus, and so on.
It doesn’t offer the same drag-and-drop functionality as other website builders. However, you can easily customize designs to a certain extent.
It does come with powerful editing tools that bloggers find really helpful.
Cons
You cannot install custom plugins or themes unless you upgrade to their business plan.
Premium and lower plans do not have eCommerce features or third-party ad network support. With the business plan, you can use WooCommerce, install WordPress plugins, and third-party ad networks. However, you will still have to follow WordPress.com’s terms and conditions.
Pricing
The WordPress.com free plan is extremely limited. Their personal plan starts at $4 per month, billed annually, and includes a custom domain. The premium plan costs $8 per month, billed annually, and it gives you the ability to monetize your site and advanced design customization.
But to really build professional websites, you’ll need either their Business plan ($24 per month) or their eCommerce plan ($45 per month), which is far more expensive than self-hosted WordPress.
12. Squarespace
Squarespace is a popular professional website builder known for its great designs and ease of use. According to W3Techs, roughly 1.8% of all websites are built with Squarespace.
Pros
Squarespace comes with enterprise-grade infrastructure for hosting your website. This secure and robust platform allows you to focus on growing your business without worrying about hosting.
Squarespace includes tons of website designs to get started. All of these designs are completely ready for all types of content. They are fully editable, and Squarespace even allows you to use multiple templates for the same website at once.
Adding content to your website is very easy on Squarespace. Just point anywhere on your website and start typing.
You can easily drag and drop items on pages to create your own layouts in minutes.
Squarespace also has an eCommerce plan which allows you to add an online store to your website. It offers a friendly interface to manage your products, inventory, orders, coupon discounts, and more.
Cons
Squarespace offers limited integrations with third-party services, which can be a hurdle in growing your business.
Their eCommerce plans only allow Stripe, Apple Pay, and PayPal for payment processing. You cannot add additional payment gateways.
Pricing
Squarespace websites start from $12 per month and $18 per month. Their online stores start from $26 and $40 per month.
Squarespace is a beautifully designed platform that offers very easy-to-use features. It can be perfect if you just want to quickly build a website.
If you are wondering how it stacks up against WordPress, then take a look at our comparison of Squarespace vs. WordPress.
13. Weebly
Weebly is an easy website builder software with tons of great designs and functionality. It includes a beautifully crafted page builder that allows you to edit your website without learning any coding skills.
The popular payment platform Square acquired Weebly to offer a more integrated website builder solution for local businesses.
Pros
Weebly is a fully hosted platform, so you don’t need to install and manage any software. They take care of hosting your website and managing all the software that runs in the backend.
It comes with dozens of website designs to use as a starting point for your website. These gorgeous designs are fully editable using Weebly’s live page editor.
Weebly also comes with built-in support for eCommerce. This allows you to easily create an online store and start selling.
Each Weebly site has built-in features for contact forms, photo galleries, sliders, and more. This allows you to easily add features to your website without any complicated setup process.
Given the ease of use and great features, Weebly is consistently rated among the best DIY website builders for beginners.
Cons
Weebly.com offers a fully hosted platform, so you are locked to the features they offer. You cannot hire a developer or designer to add new functionality or feature to your website.
Weebly will show Square ads on your site on both Free and Personal plans. You have to upgrade to their Professional plan to remove ads.
Pricing
Weebly comes with a very basic free plan. Their paid plans start from $6 per month, billed annually. The pro plan costs $12 per month, and the business plan costs $26 per month.
If you are wondering how it stacks up against WordPress, then check out our comparison of Weebly vs. WordPress.
Often beginners start with Weebly and then end up wanting to switch to WordPress. To help with that, we have created a free importer tool called WeeblytoWP that lets you easily move from Weebly to WordPress.
14. Dreamhost Website Builder
DreamHost website builder is a new website builder software that is built on top of WordPress. It is available as part of all DreamHost hosting plans, which starts as low as $2.59 / month with a free domain making it one of the cheapest website builders on our list.
Pros
DreamHost WP website builder is built on top of WordPress, and it is powered by BoldGrid, so you get full advantage of WordPress with a customized user experience. DreamHost’s website builder allows you to choose a professional design from their gallery of themes.
After that, you can customize those designs with a drag-and-drop customizer. You can point and click on any item in the preview section to edit its properties.
You can change colors, fonts, layouts, navigation menus, and widgets with ease.
Need a staging website? DreamHost’s BoldGrid builder creates one for you with a single click. This allows you to test out your new designs, layouts, plugins, and themes before making it live for everyone to see.
It also comes with a full WYSIWYG page editor. No more guesswork when editing your pages in WordPress. You’ll get exactly what you see on your page editor window. You can also use GridBlocks to simply drag and drop elements to your page and build your own layouts from scratch.
DreamHost WP site builder can be used to create any type of website with a custom domain name. Since it’s built on WordPress, it’s easy to add blogging functionality, powerful SEO and social media features, eCommerce features, and more.
All DreamHost website builder themes are ready for WooCommerce. This allows you to easily create a storefront using their drag and drop website builder (see our list of the best WooCommerce hosting companies).
Cons
DreamHost WP website builder runs on top of WordPress, so you will still need a self-hosted WordPress.org website to use it.
But the good part is that WordPress comes pre-installed with all DreamHost plans. You also get other powerful features included with DreamHost as well.
DreamHost does not come with a free plan, but they do offer a 97-day money-back guarantee.
Pricing
DreamHost WP website builder is available as part of all DreamHost plans starting as low as $2.59 per month for one website.
WPBeginner readers also get a free domain, free SSL certificate, and free domain privacy with the Starter DreamHost plan, which also comes with a 97-day money-back guarantee.
This makes DreamHost one of the most affordable website builders in the market.
15. GoDaddy Website Builder
GoDaddy is one of the largest domain name registrars and web hosting service providers in the world. While many business owners use GoDaddy to host WordPress websites, they also offer a simple online website builder for those who don’t want to use WordPress.
Pros
GoDaddy Website Builder is a simple and easy tool to create professional-looking websites. It comes pre-loaded with several ready-to-use blocks that you can drag and drop to build different layouts.
It also has an integrated photo library with professional images from Getty Photography that you can use on your website. You can also upload your own photos and create image galleries.
GoDaddy website builder works on smaller screens too. This allows you to work on your website on the go using your mobile phone or tablet.
Cons
It is not as feature-rich and flexible as most other website builders on this list. It offers a limited set of features with fewer design options.
It is quite difficult to move your website from GoDaddy Website Builder to WordPress.
Pricing
GoDaddy website builder pricing starts at $6.99/month for the basic plan, $10.49/month for the standard plan, and $14.99/month for the eCommerce plan. All plans are billed annually.
GoDaddy Website Builder can be used for a simple website with a few pages. However, it is not a good choice to build content-rich websites.
Our Pick for the Best Website Builder
After carefully evaluating all the popular online website builders, we believe that WordPress.org outperforms all website builders in overall performance, ease of use, price, and flexibility.
WordPress is an excellent choice for beginners, personal websites, and business websites. Some of the world’s top brands are using WordPress on their websites. See all the reasons to choose WordPress as your website builder.
If you want to build your website with the best website builder, then get started with WordPress by using Bluehost. It is definitely our #1 choice.
You can read our step-by-step guide on how to make a website for detailed instructions.
Looking for business name ideas? Try our A.I-powered business name generator tool to find creative brand name ideas.
If you arelooking to build an online store (eCommerce website), then we recommend WooCommerce as the best eCommerce website builder because it offers all the features that you will need at the best price.
If you want a WordPress alternative, then we recommend using either Web.com or HubSpot.
Web.com is one of the original website builders, and they offer very affordable prices for small businesses. You can get started for as low as $1.95, and it comes with all the powerful features, including a free domain.
HubSpot offers a free website builder along with a suite of marketing automation and CRM tools to grow your business. It also seamlessly integrates with WordPress should you want to switch later.
We hope that our website builder reviews helped you choose the best website builder for your project. You may also want to see our list of tools to help you grow your website.
Website Builder FAQs
Having helped over 800,000+ users start their websites, we have answered quite a lot of questions. Below are some of the answers to the most frequently asked questions about website builders.
Are website builders worth it?
Yes, overall, website builders are an extremely cost-efficient way to build a website. Instead of paying thousands of dollars to hire a web developer, you can use the easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface that website builders offer to build your own website for a low monthly fee.
Which website builder software do professional web designers use?
These days even professional web designers use a website builder like WordPress to build their client websites because they can build any type of website using WordPress plugins and themes.
The drag-and-drop WordPress page builders make it easy for professional web designers to create custom websites for clients while saving time, which allows them to serve more clients and make more money each month.
Is it better to code your own website than use a website builder?
In the old days, knowing how to code a website from scratch was worth it, but these days almost all professional developers and designers use a website builder platform or open-source CMS software to build websites.
Website builder platforms have gotten really good, and they simply let you do more in less time.
Can I switch my website builder software later?
No, with the exception of WordPress, most website builders make it really hard to switch away from them. This is why it’s extremely important to choose the right website builder that you can grow with.
There are third-party services, tools, and tutorials that can help you switch website builder software with varying degrees of success.
For example, you can use our Weebly to WordPress migrator to switch from Weebly to WordPress.
We also have detailed tutorials on:
- How to switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
- How to switch from Blogger to WordPress
- How to switch from Wix to WordPress
- How to move from Squarespace to WordPress
- How to move from GoDaddy website builder to WordPress
- How to move from Joomla to WordPress
- How to move from Medium to WordPress
- How to move from Shopify to WooCommerce
Is WordPress really free? What’s the catch?
Yes, WordPress.org is an open source software that’s 100% free for everyone to use. It’s built by a community of developers under the guidance of the non-profit WordPress foundation.
WordPress is licensed under GPL, which means anyone can use it, modify it, and redistribute it. It gives you full freedom and ownership over your website content.
The only catch is that to use WordPress, you need to have a domain name and web hosting, which is true for all websites.
You can learn more about why is WordPress free and what are the costs.
How do other free website builders make money if I use it for free?
Most free website builders make money by selling ads on your website. For example, if you use the free Wix plan, then they will show ads on every page of your website. This does not look professional.
Outside of that, most website builder software offers limited freemium versions to get customers to try their platform, and they make money when you upgrade to their paid plans.
Only WordPress.org offers the full-featured website builder for free, and since it’s an open-source project, they do not show any ads on your site.
How can I create my own website for free?
If you want to start a website for free, then you can use HubSpot website builder. You can sign up for a free account (no credit card needed).
You can use their smart templates and drag & drop editor to create a completely custom web design.
They also offer powerful business tools such as CRM, email marketing, live chat, marketing automation, and more, so you can quickly grow your online presence.
How can I get a free domain name?
The best way to get a free domain name is to choose a website builder platform that offers a free domain as part of their paid plan.
Here are the best website builder platforms that offer a free custom domain:
For more details, see our guide on how to register a domain name for free.
Do I need a custom domain to build a website?
No, you do not need a custom domain to build a website, but having one does help boost your credibility.
Often free website builders will give you a branded subdomain like yoursite.wix.com, but this does not look professional.
This is why we recommend everyone get a custom domain name, especially if you’re serious about your online presence.
Do I need to buy web hosting to build a website?
Yes, all websites need web hosting because that’s where your website files are stored. When you purchase a website builder subscription, you’re technically buying web hosting from them.
As your website grows and gets higher traffic, most website builder platforms will ask you to upgrade your subscription to a higher plan.
See our comparison of the best WordPress hosting companies for more details.
Are there any hidden costs to building a website?
The hidden costs of building any website are addon services such as email marketing services, business phone services, a professional business email address, SEO tools, and other third-party extensions / apps that you may need (varies based on the type of site).
We have written a detailed guide on how much it costs to build a WordPress site (with tips on how to keep it low budget).
Other typical hidden costs in website builders are storage space, bandwidth, domain renewal costs after the first year, higher renewal pricing on some platforms, and aggressive upsell from the sales team.
Which is the best website builder for SEO?
We believe that WordPress is the best website builder for SEO. We use it to build all our websites, and we’re not alone.
Every SEO expert agrees that WordPress is the most SEO-friendly website builder, and this is why over 43% of all websites use WordPress.
Learn how to make a WordPress website (step by step).
Which is the best website builder for eCommerce?
Just about every website builder claims to have eCommerce features, but we believe that WooCommerce (WordPress), BigCommerce, and Shopify are the best website builders for eCommerce.
Which is the best website builder for A/B testing?
You can do A/B testing on just about every website builder. To do this, you’d need third-party tools like OptinMonster, Google Optimize, etc.
Some website builders like WordPress, Shopify, and BigCommerce make it easy to set up A/B testing compared to others.
What is the best website builder for small businesses?
The best website builders for small businesses are WordPress, Web.com, and HubSpot. If you’re looking for an eCommerce website builder for small business, then we recommend using WooCommerce.
Are there any website builders in this list that you would personally avoid?
We typically do not like closed website builder platforms because they lock you in and make it harder to switch. If we had to pick one to avoid, then we’d say avoid Wix because it’s the hardest platform to switch away from. They aggressively try to upsell every step of the way.
We’ve been building websites since 1998 and have tried many platforms. For the last decade, we always favor WordPress because it’s open source and gives you full ownership of your content.
What is the best tool to create a website?
The best tool to create your website is WordPress, along with the design tool SeedProd which lets you build your website using a complete drag & drop interface (no coding needed). You can use SeedProd to create completely custom WordPress themes and layouts with just point and click.
For a more comprehensive list of design tools, see our comparison of the best web design tools.
Why is WordPress so popular?
WordPress is the most popular website builder used by over 43% of all websites because it’s easy to use and flexible enough to make different types of websites. That’s the main reason why WordPress has grown so much in popularity.
For more details, see our complete guide on the most important reasons to use WordPress.
Which are the top 3 best website builders in your opinion?
Our top 3 choices for the best website builder software are:
- WordPress – Best website builder (overall).
- Web.com – Best website builder for small business (great price).
- WooCommerce – Best eCommerce website builder for online stores.
No, this last question is not a joke. We seriously get this question even after referring people to this guide.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Disclaimer: To help avoid choice paralysis, we only compared the top 15 best website builder platforms. This list doesn’t include other website builder software like Site123, Duda, Jimdo, SiteBuilder, Webflow, Format, Carrd, Ucraft, Google Sites, Webs, IONOS by 1&1, Adobe Muse, Yola, Webnode, etc because we believe the solutions mentioned in this article are simply better.
Syed Balkhi says
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Betsy Perez says
Great article. I am undecided on what I really need to run an online small business for handmade diaper cakes, baby shower and weddings crafts including invitations and etc. Any suggestions?
WPBeginner Support says
As a WordPress tutorial site, our opinion tends to be biased toward WordPress
Admin
Vivien says
My boss wants me to create a simple elegant website for his jewellery business customers to view. No e-commerce function needed. Every jewellery piece has a code. He needs the ability to type that code into his online website to bring that jewellery piece up into view.
I’ve got enough computer literacy to admit that I know nothing about databases and prefer website templates that aren’t too rigid when it comes to the placement of text and/or graphics.
Any suggestions?
WPBeginner Support says
You could create a custom post type for the pieces so they can be searched: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-create-custom-post-types-in-wordpress/
Admin
Shiri says
Thank you for the article! It was very informative even with the bent. I want to create a website that is essentially a digital library. I want to be able to charge to use the site but not actually sell anything on the site itself. Could I actually create something like this with WordPress?
WPBeginner Support says
For what it sounds like you’re wanting, you would want to create a membership site using a plugin from our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/5-best-wordpress-membership-plugins-compared/
Admin
voGGio says
Great article! Even with the bias the pros and cons on all options seems well thought of.
I have been a long time ecomm lurker, but recently felt the need to do more research and actually start, this gave some clarity.
I recently read about bluehost.com(might have been here somewhere?) – this seems like a great offer as well.
My biggest concern is the speed of all these platforms, and how mobile site viewing is compared. This is holding me back on pulling the trigger and starting.
Keep on banging out these wonderful write-ups @Editorial staff.
WPBeginner Support says
Thank you for the feedback and kind words
Admin
Joseph Bosteder says
Hey thank you so much for this article! It was really helpful. I do have a question regarding what platform I should use for my business venture though. I currently have a premium plan with Wix that I use to promote myself as an artist/ performer. I have loved working with Wix, but I am starting a marketing business online and want something that allows me to build websites for other businesses quickly, and be able to do a broad range of things since I would be building for other people I would need that flexibility. Also does Wix or WordPress offer any sort of click funnel? Thank you and look forward to hearing from you soon.
WPBeginner Support says
It would depend on what you’re looking for in terms of your click funnel, for a starting point you may want to take a look at OptinMonster.
Admin
Prakash says
I had a website with domain and hosting at godaddy. My site was deleted completely by godaddy due to a problem in payment processing of my hosting fees. I do have a backup of that website on my desktop. My domain is still registered with godaddy. My question is: I want to revise my site on my desktop before uploading to any hosting provider. I want to make it a responsive design and mobile friendly site. How can I do the revision of my old site on my desktop so that I can finally upload it to my hosting provider?
WPBeginner Support says
You can follow our guide to install WordPress locally on your computer here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/how-to-install-wordpress/#installlocal
Admin
Brandi says
Hello,
I am looking to build a website that serves as a flight deal hub. I want the main content of my site to feature daily flight deals aggregated from multiple external websites. I’m not sure what the technical term is called, but are there any web platforms on this list that would enable me to have content from other websites automatically uploaded on my website?
WPBeginner Support says
From the sound of what you’re wanting, you would want to take a look at RSS aggregators: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-create-an-autoblog-in-wordpress/
Admin
Prabin says
How to create a new e-commerce website like Amazon ?
WPBeginner Support says
You would start by creating a store which we have an article on how to do here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-start-an-online-store/
Once you set that up you can use dropshipping for functionality similar to Amazon.
Admin
hayley says
im currently with wix but looking for a website that supports afterpay or zippay? thanks
WPBeginner Support says
You would want to check with the support for ecommerce plugins if they have an integration depending on what you’re wanting to accept payment for: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/best-wordpress-ecommerce-plugins-compared/
Admin
Drexler says
Thank you for a great article.
I’m just starting my therapy practice and I want to just promote myself with few videos and posts and connect them to Facebook and other social networks.
I can’t see myself selling anything from website.
What would you suggest?
WP seems to be the strongest platform but I really don’t know much about site maintenance and those drag and drop platforms look appealing.
WPBeginner Support says
As we are a WordPress tutorial site we are slightly biased toward WordPress but WP should be able to handle what you’re wanting to do
Admin
Tracy Lee says
So very thankful to find this article!! I have been using Blogger for two weeks and am finding it so plain and am ready to upgrade to a real site. It is possible to move an existing Blogger site to WordPress? I also already have a domain purchased from Google, would I need to purchase a new one when I sign up for a hosting site? I’m so ready to go with a more professional looking blog that doesn’t show up as a blogspot URL. Thank you again….
WPBeginner Support says
Yes you can move an existing site to WordPress, we have an article covering the steps involved here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-switch-from-blogger-to-wordpress-without-losing-google-rankings/
Admin
Sherry Pierce says
Starting a website that I prefer would be hosted with security features… a combination blog/website with “tab” for online store for a few items (or that would link to an Etsy store) accepting payments by Paypal, Visa/Mastercard. Also a “tab/dropdown” for ability to select videos that I will be posting on you-tube. I don’t want to do any coding, so drag and drop to a template plus ability to add in my own photos and SSL certificate are primary concerns. Is this all possible with wordpress choices?
WPBeginner Support says
Yes, with plugins you are able to do that with WordPress. For the tab for YouTube, I am unsure what you mean.
Admin
maryam says
best article, i want to have corporate site and its design is very important for me
, which theme is better for corporate site
WPBeginner Support says
For questions about themes, you would want to take a look at our different theme articles: https://www.wpbeginner.com/showcase/best-corporate-wordpress-themes/
Admin
Sam says
I’m using wix right now for my own personal blog. I know I don’t have my own domain name and the wix add is always on my website, however, the page can still be easily reached and I will be able to add basic content like article entries and videos. Products or merchandise and affiliate links could still also be used without having to pay a premium for a registered domain and hosting service. Pay feature may possibly be enabled as well, depending on how you set it up, so that no percentage would be deducted from sales through the site or from a sales widget.
WPBeginner Support says
While you could use affiliate links or link to other locations to sell your products from, to create a store directly on the site you would need their ecommerce plan
Admin
Tia says
This is great information, thank you for this article. I’m just being pulled in too many directions with what to chose. I’m building a website for my blog and podcast. I already have a hosting site for my podcast but I also want a site for my blogs and about me for my followers to reference too. I want all my social media links along with my buzzsprout link to my podcast. Which website builder would you recommend? I would like to have a player on my site if possible.
WPBeginner Support says
Our recommended website builder will be WordPress, for creating a site like what you’re wanting you would want to take a look at: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/step-by-step-guide-how-to-start-a-podcast-with-wordpress/
You can skip the steps you have completed but later in the article, it explains how to have embeds on your site
Admin
Favour Joshua says
Wow! I love your posts so greatly. You know how to excavate those hidden treasures in WordPress.
I have a question; how can you add big company logos to your website not as picture. For instance; “As featured in Forbes, Yahoo, Entrepreneur. This is my first question and I would cherish immediate response.
WPBeginner Support says
There are a few methods to do so, normally through CSS or JS to hide that they are images rather than them not being images. If you take a look at sites using that with inspect element it should give you an idea of how that site is setting it up![:)](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%200%200'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/basics-of-inspect-element-with-your-wordpress-site/
Admin
BNG Kumar says
I want to have my website to promote my Tuition Classes. I would also like to build this website though i have no technical expertise. Should i just blindly go in for WordPress.com ? I am also confused with this WordPress.org. Which one should i go for ? Further once the site is up, should i need to promote the site on the internet/on google and what will the associated costs to setup and also the annual maintenance costs ?
WPBeginner Support says
For these questions about WordPress, you would want to take a look at our article comparing the two here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-free-wordpress-com-infograph/
Admin
jamie says
Hi there!
I love your list, but of course you will select WP as the top platform. Hey, I love it too!
I have a WordPress site that I am seriously considering shutting down. I love that i get to work with my creativity building sites, but I don’t love that I have been in a cycle of getting the site up, after a month or so, I start getting those Jetpack notifications that my site is down, it’s still not loading, it’s back up. I mean I’ve gotten at least 50 in the last couple of days. I can never figure out what’s wrong with the site so I end up stripping or deleting the whole site and and starting over. I don’t use a lot of plugins (the basics security, backup, some kind of form, elementor, etc). I’d really love to believe that the benefits outweigh
I don’t want to leave WP, but I am seriously considering some of those other options. Got any idea out keep Jetpack happy?
WPBeginner Support says
Sadly, you would want to reach out to Jetpack for that question, there are multiple possible reasons their plugin could be giving you that warning while your site is still up.
Admin
Mark says
I am a designer that wishes to place my portfolio on the web and have the option to accept cryptocurrency as well as fiat currency. What would you recommend?
WPBeginner Support says
Depending on the currency, you may want to take a look at: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-accept-bitcoin-payments-in-wordpress/
Admin
Shaunnette says
Hi. I want to start a review site that incorporates videos and actual reviews by normal people. It should have categories and an awesome search function. And allow links back to actual shops. Could you please advise on a theme? Thank you.
WPBeginner Support says
While we may not have a review theme at the moment, you should be able to find a theme you like then use plugins to add the functionality you are looking for. You may want to take a look at: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-create-a-reviews-site-with-wordpress/
Admin
Rachel Bristowe says
Hi
Looking to build a website for a excavation company we just started. Would WP be good for this? It is imperative that we get good Google rankings due to competition in area, does WP automatically do this or do I need to know how technical stuff like how to code etc to get a good ranking?
Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Rachel,
WordPress is powerful and is SEO friendly. However, chances are that most of your competitors will also be using WordPress.
The good news is that there is so much more you can do in WordPress to beat the competition. For instructions, see our ultimate WordPress SEO guide for beginners.
Admin
Ary says
Hi I’m tour organizers in Bali I would like to build up my website to get more tours,can I have more info.
Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Ary,
WordPress has tons of plugins that you can use for example manage online bookings, accept credit card payments, display events calendar, sell tour packages and more.
Admin
LEE says
Everyone look no further. Just use WordPress I can see in the comments it’s recommended majority of the time. Also, I have some experience with WordPress and it’s definitely worth trying. It has serval templates and plugins to use. You can also customize it with using a little code.
Raymond Watkins says
Nice Blog. Thanks for sharing the best way to choose the Website Builder. I really appreciate your work. Keep up to the great work
Diego Volpe says
Hello, first of all amazing job with this article, is full of condensed information, straight to the point. I loved it.
I’m working with a real estate agency, airbnb “wannabe” and I’m doing a research on the most famous and useful website builders, but I still don’t seem to understand if any of these would work to showcase the properties I have in stock for possible tenants. Would you recommend any of these? And, if that’s the case, which one would you recommend?
Thanks a lot in advance!
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Diego,
We would recommend WordPress. There are several real estate plugins that can be used to create something similar. how to create a real estate website using WordPress
Admin
Shannon Sequeira says
I want to build a website to showcase my work. I’m a baker and cake decorator. And would want a website mainly to display my work to interested parties as well as some terms and conditions that apply on placing an order with me. And just some more photos and general information about myself and my company.
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Shannon,
WordPress is perfect for that and many cake decorators and bakers already use it. See our list of best WordPress themes for bakeries for some ideas.
Admin
Alana says
Hello I am trying to start a website where I blog and do reviews of products that are of course not my own, just for giving information. I also plan to try and find advertising sponsorship so I can earn some income through my site at the same time, as well as I want to sell a few things I have created myself on the same site. I have zero knowledge of how to build my own site, no skill when it comes to coding or even what it is, and am new to all of this but still want to do so. What should I do and who do I use as the website builder? I want one that does a lot for you easily, but to blog and add my own photos for reviews. To have the ability to accept advertising on my site for revenue, and ability to sell my own items and accept PayPal or another common trusted credit card or online pay service for payment. Please can you give me a detailed answer or advice exactly what company to use? I am not so much concerned with monthly cost as I am with upfront year being paid at once, that’s a lot of money at once for me. Please help?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Alana,
You can do all that using WordPress. You can easily start a blog, online store, or reviews site and then expand it using other plugins and tools.
Admin
Richard Blodgett says
At one time I had an online eBay store for about 6 years and did alright but I would like to start another one with merchandise from a company that drop ships everything and has a very extensive catalog. Which website would compliment my eBay store?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Richard,
We would recommend WordPress due to its flexibility.
Admin
Hyguncia says
Hi I’m planning to sell men and women clothing /shoes which website that will help me
Nicolas says
Wix owns your website and will remove it without notice if it receives any complaint, justified or not.
kerry says
Hi. I m looking to start my own food & restaurant blogging. I can not seem to find a website that is easy to install yet make money from..
Bopane says
Hi,
Thanks for the article. As new to wehostings, I want to start a discussion blog and sell ads on my website but need a reasonable monthly pricing as a starter, which can you advise. And if I decide to move from one website to another will i be able to stop payment authorisation
jack says
Hi guys, found this website and like your article.
What you would recommend is best for a Doctor website? I Want to make a website for my friend who is a doctor to promote him. I do not know much tech but can learn easy. fast learner.
David Sosnovskiy says
Hello,
I am planning to create my own contest. This is an online based singing competition based on the popular Eurovision Song Contest. A summary of the contest is this: Fans of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) would apply for a spot, they would each represent a country of their choice in Europe, and would choose a contestant from that country that would represent them with a song. I want this contest to be based on all platforms. (Social Media, YouTube, and it’s own website). I am planning a lot of graphics to be added that I will need to create, and there will be polls, and videos from YouTube attached to this page. I want there to be multiple sections of the website, and for it to be accessible both on computer and on mobile. I also want to create a voting section of the website, where fans that aren’t in the contest would be able to vote in the contest as well. I am a beginner to all of this website and graphics stuff, so my intentions may seem very ambitious, but I need a website that could eventually hold all of these things. What would you recommend? I am also on somewhat of a limited budget, so I would like to keep costs as low as I can, but still create a sleek and quality website. Could you please help and give me some input?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi David,
Obviously, your website will need extensions to connect with your social media accounts, add voting plugin, save user account details, and more. For all that you will need a platform that can be extended to meet your needs, and WordPress makes all this super easy. You may also be able to find free plugins to do a lot of things which will help you keep the costs in check.
Admin
Kimberly Mitchell says
So with most of these, you are billed annually. They won’t let you pay monthly and for those who do like go Daddy, you get restricted on some content to use.. Meaning you can’t use them.
Bridget says
So if I purchase my domain names from godaddy, I can’t use them with WordPress?
WPBeginner Support says
You can use your domain on GoDaddy for a WordPress site
Admin
Tawnya Ennis says
Thank you for the article. One question as I would like to have an online store on my website , which would be best so I can have two options for payment, one as PayPal and also one for credit card ie Visa/Mastercard check out as well?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Tawyna,
You can have them both, this gives your users more options to purchase.
Admin
Mark says
Hi!
I want to create a website that promotes a drugless, non-surgical service for patients in pain and weekend warriors. I want my site to have video testimonials, information about services, inquiries for consultations and possibly the ability to schedule appointment for service. Essentially we need a web presence for this service that drives traffic to us, demands them to take action to increase sales (who doesn’t, right?) Recommendations? Thanks.
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Mark,
We will recommend WordPress.org. It gives you access to all the features you need videos, testimonials, services, and more. It is flexible enough to accommodate changes you will need in the future as your website grows.
Admin
Heather Walsh says
I’m looking to create a website for my home cleaning business. I’d love a clean looking website (no outside ads cluttering it), with the option for clients to easily pay online for services. I’m somewhat tech savy but don’t speak tech lingo and would love an easy to navigate & manage website builder. Which builders do you recommend?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Heather,
We will recommend WordPress. It not only allows you to create clean beautiful websites, you can also use it to sell services online.
Admin
Tyesha Sosa says
Hi,
I’m currently using WIX.com to create my CPT & fitness nutrition specialist web page. For some reason I saw theses other options and now I have choices. Also I sell nutrition but addition of having a store I would like to have link also to connect people to the nutrition web page. which web page builder is better option for me?
W. James Rapp says
So far I have not yet found ANY of the DIY platforms that can complete the functionality of my simple website. Without the required payment method that my site needs I can not use ANY of these DIY platforms.
tine bhatia says
i am launching a line of fine jewelry and would like to have the option to sell from my website.
my current hosting is media temple.
which builder should i go with?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi,
We recommend using WordPress with WooCommerce. See our guide on how to start an online store for step by step instructions.
Admin
Ferdinand says
Please. i am a graphic designer and i wish to build a website to showcase my jobs and also talk about my brand. What website builder do you advise i use ? Have it in mind that i have little knowledge about website designs and all.
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Ferdinand,
We will recommend WordPress.org, it has tons of themes (website designs) some are designed specifically to create a portfolio website.
Admin
omen says
hi, i want to build a website for on line technical training ( i being the trainer) for students. i have my own designs and contents without much major changes in the future. which platform should i choose?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi,
We would recommend using WordPress. It comes with great membership and LMS plugins that will help you offer courses and training materials more easily.
Admin
Ian Boniface says
Does WordPress, or any of the other website builders have drop in booking systems for home lets?
April farrall says
I am wanting. Needing to build a website for my small brick and mortar studio and will be wanting to sell products online in near future. I am not very tech savvy at all. Which platform would be easiest for me to build and maintain. WordPress. Wix or weekly are the 3 I have looked at
Thank you
WPBeginner Support says
Hi April,
If you intend to sell products on your website then you’ll need an ecommerce solution like Shopify or WooCommerce.
Admin
Janine Brancale says
I am moving all my sites from WIX to WordPress. Wix doesn’t have responsive design. It is sort of mobile optimized but not good enough. Super easy to use but the mobile options need to be better.
WordPress with a good builder plugin (I use Beaver Builder) helped me transition.
James Nguma says
I recently acquired the free wordpress.com website for my creative writing blogs. I am a beginner and less knowledgeable about the whole website stuff. I need to earn from my blogs, what do I need to do?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi James,
Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Admin
Marina says
Thank you for a helpful article. One thing makes me hesitate before choosing wordpress. It’s a zero maintanence platform, isn’t it? So i’ll have to take care of my website myself in case of any hacker’s attacks. As a complete beginner I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do that.
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Marina,
Yes, you are right. You will have to maintain your website and protect it. It is not as difficult as it sounds, many beginners successfully keep their websites secure and up to date. See our WordPress security guide for beginners for more information.
Admin
Tatjana says
Hi there and thank you wor this fantastic WP resource. So much useful information. I have a question, though, I am not finding an answer anywhere but I’m sure you’d be able to point me in the right direction. I have a webpage that I had built with weebly time ago but I finally have time and wish to turn it into a more professional site and blog. I want to move to WP.
So I’d like to use the same domain name I purchased with weebly:
But for as long as my new WP site is not ready I want my old weebly site to go on existing. Is it possible to first build the new site and only then, when it is ready, link it to my domain name?
When you register to WP they ask you for your domain name and I do not want to change it or buy another one.
How can I go around this problem?
Thank you so much!
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Tatjana,
Yes it is possible. When signing up for your WordPress hosting account, you can use the temporary domain provided by your host. Once your website is ready you can change your domain name settings and point it to your hosting provider.
Admin
Robert says
Elegant Themes: Divi?
WPBeginner Support says
Hey Robert,
Sure, Elegant’s Divi is another good page builder for WordPress.
Admin
Tia says
Thank you for you’re article. I am looking to start blogging soon…would you say word press will be the best for it as a beginner? As I am split between Wix, Weebly and Word press
Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Tia,
Yes, self-hosted WordPress.org is the best option for beginner bloggers. Please see our guide on how to start a WordPress blog if you need help setting it up.
Ken says
Lol WordPress always the best la