Top Website Builders
Publishing a website is still more complicated than it should be, but the best website builders speed up the process. Instead of dealing with multiple files on a server and learning the ins and outs of networking, website builders do exactly what it says on the tin. Piece by piece, using a drag-and-drop interface, you can design your website the way you want with immediate feedback, rather than wasting time buried in code and waiting for it to come out the other end.
There are dozens of website builders, and most of them range from decent to downright bad. Any host with a little ambition has a website builder floating around, even if it’s slow, clunky, and lacking in features. I’ve focused on finding the best tools for building your website that go beyond just an add-on, and these are my favorites. If you’re looking for something simpler than a full-blown website, check out our list of the Best Portfolio Sites.
Index
Best website builder for most
Squarespace by Jacob Roach
You’ve heard of Squarespace countless times, I’m sure, and that’s no accident. It’s an inviting website builder that has stood out with bold and striking templates. Underneath the veneer of attractive yet deceptively simple websites, you’ll find one of the most capable website builders on the market. This balance between power and usability is what sets Squarespace apart.
It feels like a creative tool. While other website builders take their time and stutter to get a new element onto your page, Squarespace feels fluid. Its dashboard gives you quick access to editing your site, and at every turn, Squarespace feels designed so you never have to look for a tutorial. I started a simple photography website and within an hour I had a custom course page set up, an appointment scheduler with automated confirmation emails, and services (with pricing and the ability to accept payments) set up.
Squarespace isn’t cheap, but it also doesn’t stray into restrictive, low-cost plans. Even on the Basic plan, you have access to ecommerce tools and space for multiple collaborators.
Squarespace Pricing and Plans
Best cheap website builder
Hosting by Jacob Roach
Hostinger is best known as a web hosting provider, but it has a surprisingly robust website builder that you can use on its own or for free as part of a hosting package. You don’t get the same world-class template design and dense feature set as a more expensive builder like Squarespace, but that’s okay. Hostinger’s website builder will only cost you a few dollars per month, and based on my testing, it seems heavily aimed at newcomers.
You sacrifice some power for convenience, but there’s a lot you can accomplish with Hostinger. Integrations with PayPal, Stripe, and Square let you quickly set up ecommerce. WhatsApp add-ons offer live chat features, and Printful support means you can sell printed goods on demand. And, if you get past the website builder, Hostinger lets you export your website content to WordPress.
Where Hostinger wins for me is through its AI tools. Almost every website builder these days has AI integrated in some way, but it’s around every corner at Hostinger. You need to pay more for some of these AI features – the logo generator, for example, requires credits – but they provide a great starting point for simulating the look and tone of your site.
Hostinger Pricing and Plans
Best for Small Businesses
Wix by Jacob Roach
Wix is without a doubt Squarespace’s biggest competitor, and I had a hard time putting one above the other. Ultimately, Wix ended up on the back burner due to higher prices and a slightly less intuitive interface. This is partly due to how powerful Wix is. Rather than corralling you into an elegant (albeit restrictive) website-building workflow, Wix gives you tons of options.
First, models. You can get a few hundred elsewhere, but Wix offers over 2,000 templates. At the time of writing, there are 223 pages of them on the Wix website. Not all are winners, but I was able to create a quick photography portfolio website in a few minutes by browsing the templates and uploading a few photos.
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