Whether for work or school, somewhere down the line you will probably have to dabble in building a website.
Choosing the right website builder can be a difficult process. There are so many factors to consider. Things like price, functionality, and compatibility can make your site sink or swim. If you don’t know what you’re doing, your site can stumble right out of the gate.
Thankfully, we’ve done the legwork for you. Below you’ll find the best web builders out there, along with what makes them good and what limitations they have.
Best sites to build your website
WordPress
If you’ve ever designed a website, you’ve probably heard of (if not used) WordPress.
Definitely the most powerful web building tool you can find, WordPress actually comes in two variants depending on what you need. WordPress.com is typically more useful for blogs, while WordPress.org is much broader.
You can pretty much do anything with WordPress.org, making it the most customizable and adaptable web builder. However, this customizability comes at a price, with so many features, it can be a bit overwhelming to use and is not recommended for people who aren’t willing to learn a lot about the WordPress system.
Both variants have free plans that limit the features you have available to you. With a variety of different plans to choose from, you will open more features with each upgrade. We recommend trying the free version first before deciding to move up to a bigger plan. You can also design your website through WordPress, but host it through a service like GoDaddy.
WordPress is so popular that even business like Disney and PlayStation and celebrities like Beyoncé and Snoop Dogg use it. Millions of WordPress users can’t all be wrong, so it might be the right solution for you.
Shopify
As the name implies, this site is all about e-commerce.
As such, the main people who benefit from building a website through Shopify, are people looking to sell a product. They have a huge range of options when it comes to setting up an e-commerce shop, and even have third party e-commerce integration.
They make everything easy for sellers, as they have built-in features to track your inventory and stats. If you’re looking to build a site to sell a product, then Shopify will make this easier than any other web builder you could possibly find.
This ease of use comes at a bit of a steep price, ranging from $30 a month to $300 depending on the plan you choose. However, Shopify offers a free trial so you can see if this is the service for you.
Weebly
Most web builders require some basic knowledge of code to format pages and create your own features. WordPress doesn’t require coding knowledge, but it certainly comes in handy to reach the next level. Weebly provides a good looking website with no coding knowledge necessary.
Although this does mean you won’t be able to create any unique features or use a third party to add anything that Weebly might lack. However, Weebly provides enough features in its page builder that you may not need to get additional help.
Weebly plans range from free to $25 a month. These plans vary based on the features you want.
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Although it might not be your first choice for your search engine, Yahoo! could be your first choice for a website builder.
The website offers different packages depending on what you’re looking to create. For a basic website for beginners, there is a free version. If you are looking to create something more, there is a professional version for less than $10 per month.
The service has a library of themes for you to pick and choose. You can even host your website through WordPress is you prefer.
Squarespace
One of the most secure and easy-to-use web builders, Squarespace is the perfect choice for anyone with limited web design skills. There is no complicated hosting process, and no programming knowledge is necessary to get to work on the site.
There are dozens of pre-built templates with each being very easy to edit. Also, since it has its own e-commerce program, you’re able to create a store on your site without any third-party programs.
No other web builder can beat Squarespace in terms of how easy it is to use compared to how professional your end result website will look.
The price ranges anywhere from $12 per month to $40, depending on the plan.
The only downside to Squarespace is that it lacks third-party integration. Also, the built-in e-commerce program is restricted to a few sources like PayPal. However, the service provided may prove to be more than enough for you and your site.
Wix
Wix is a great and easy choice if you’re looking for a minimal effort web builder. It has templates for any kind of page you could possibly want, with a drag-and-drop feature that makes it feel just like a word processor.
It removes all the hassle of building a website while keeping a professional look. You even gain access to a large variety of apps and extensions you can add to your site from Wix partnerships.
The only major downside it’s a pretty complicated process to get your own domain from their site. Your site will also not be easily exported to a new hosting site from Wix since it lacks a lot of copyable code.
Wix offers a free plan, but you will be restricted to using their domain name if you stick with it. To gain your own domain it is about $10 per month, and to have an e-commerce plan it costs $27.
Designing a winner
Each website builder has its own unique benefits, so think carefully before deciding which you feel is the best for you.
You need something cheaper to dip your toe into the web design community, or something professional for your business. At the end of the day, you have options.
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