Category: Website Builders

Best for AI fans

Hostinger pricing: $2.99 to $3.99 per month, billed annually

Read our Hostinger website builder review to find out more

Hostinger’s website builder plans range from $2.99 to $3.99 per month (billed annually). To unlock Hostinger’s full suite of AI tools and ecommerce features, you’ll need the $3.99 Business Website Builder plan.

However, the majority of core website features, such as a free domain name and marketing integrations, come with the cheaper plan.

I used Hostinger’s AI tools, such as its AI Section Creator, to help me build my site. Source: Website Builder Expert

Is Hostinger Good Value for Money?

Hostinger performed well in our value for money research. Still, it’snot as cost-effective as GoDaddy or Squarespace which offer a better quantity and quality of features for their price points. Hostinger is let down by its tunnel vision on AI tools, such as its AI Heatmap to help you track user engagement and AI Blog Generator to support content creation. These are incredibly useful, especially for beginners, but it means other fundamental features, such as email marketing, have been neglected.

Additionally,Hostinger’s cheap introductory deals don’t last forever. The initial $2.99 per month on the Premium plan jumps up to $9.99 per month when it’s time to renew. Still, that introductory price is worth it, since Hostinger is considerably cheaper than other builders, costing just $2.99 per month (billed annually).GoDaddy’s cheapest plan is more than double the price of Hostinger!

Hostinger doesn’t offer a free plan, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee and you can get up to threemonths for freeif you choose the 48 month subscription.

Plus, you can test the AI website builder for yourself with Hostinger’s30-day free trial.

Hostinger is a fantastic option if you’re looking to build a website on a budget! Its plans are so affordable compared to other builders, but don’t compromise on great features and Hostinger will give you the freedom to create a great-looking website.

Ollie Simpson
Research Executive

Best for online stores

Shopify pricing: $5 (with Shopify Starter) to $299 per month, billed annually

Read our Shopify review to find out more

Shopify’s pricing ranges from $29 to $299 per month (billed annually). Now, these might seem expensive, especially when compared to cheaper options like Hostinger, but you don’t have to spend this immediately. Luckily, the $5 per month Shopify Starter plan exists!

If you’re simply interested in selling via social media platforms – and don’t need to build an entire online store – then the$5 per month Shopify Starter plan is an affordable entry point to our top-rated ecommerce website builder. The Shopify Starter plan offers:

• Social selling on platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp through product links
• A Linkpop page to drive customers to products
• Basic inventory management tools
• Analytics to monitor selling
• Customer support from Shopify

When you’re ready, you can upgrade to one of Shopify’s fully-fledged commerce plans – you’ll need this if you want advanced selling features like abandoned cart recovery and greater customization options to showcase your brand. While the full website builder plans start from $29 per month, you can get your first month for just $1.

Shopify’s onboarding asked me basic questions about my business to understand my website needs. Source: Website Builder Expert

Is Shopify Good Value for Money?

Shopify doesn’t perform well in our value for money testing – it’s the weakest option out of the five builders mentioned in this list due to its expensive prices and the fact that not everyone needs its suite of ecommerce features. If your business requires ecommerce functionality, Shopify is a top website builder and worth the cost, but there’s no need to splurge on a Shopify plan if you’re not looking to build an online store.

Given the high costs, Shopify does give you access to powerful ecommerce features from its cheapest plan. The same can’t be said for other website builders, like GoDaddy or Squarespace.

Keep reading to see our Q&A with a real Shopify business:

Peter Martinzez

Co-Founder & Fashion Stylist

Leather Skin Shop is a thriving online leather fashion brand with a vast variety of apparel and accessories for men and women made from the highest quality real leather. Besides their ready-to-wear collections, they offer impeccable customization services for leatherwear.

Choosing the right Shopify plan was crucial […] we carefully evaluated features and pricing to find a plan that perfectly fit our needs and growth projections.

Q&A

1. What did you initially think about Shopify’s pricing, and how did you decide that it was a good fit for your business?

Initially, Shopify’s pricing structure felt very reasonable, especially considering the features offered. We started with the Basic Shopify plan, which was perfect for launching
our online leatherwear store
. We could showcase as many products as we wanted, track our inventory across multiple locations, and still have good checkout capacity on big sales events. 

As our sales grew, upgrading to the Advanced plan provided the additional features we needed to manage inventory and discounts more effectively. The feature of localized selling with custom markets with the advanced plan was a huge plus, allowing us to scale our business growth.

2. Which Shopify features do you think are great value for money?

Several Shopify features have been immensely helpful for us. The built-in abandoned cart recovery has been fantastic for capturing missed sales, and the discount code functionality allows us to run targeted promotions that resonate with our customer base. We also find the ease of adding high-quality product photos and descriptions to be invaluable. It allows us to showcase the rich textures and craftsmanship of our leather goods beautifully.

Customizing our selected Shopify theme, Turbo!, to align with our store’s unique style and objectives proved to be an invaluable investment. The ability to tailor every aspect to our brand’s vision not only justified the cost but also enhanced the overall shopping journey for our customers, ensuring a seamless and delightful experience from start to finish.

3. Do you have any budgeting tips when using Shopify?

Here are a couple of budgeting tips we’ve learned along the way:

We embraced a “start small, grow big” mentality. We began with a modest budget, focusing on core functionalities rather than fancy extras. This allowed us to test the waters and refine our approach before scaling up our spending alongside our business growth.

Choosing the right Shopify plan was crucial. We didn’t get swept up in the most expensive option.  Instead, we carefully evaluated features and pricing to find a plan that perfectly fit our needs and growth projections. This ensured we maximized the value we received from Shopify’s platform.

Shopify offers a treasure trove of free apps and tools. We took full advantage of them to enhance our store’s functionality without breaking the bank. We only invested in premium apps when they addressed a specific need that couldn’t be met with a free alternative.

Keeping a watchful eye on inventory costs has been essential. We’ve implemented strategies to avoid both overstocking and understocking. This helps us minimize carrying costs and ensure we always have the right products in stock to meet customer demand.

Visit Leather Skin Shop here

Best for portfolios

Pixpa pricing: $8 to $25 per month, billed annually

Pixpa’s plans range from $8 to $25 per month. But, if you’re happy to commit to a two-year subscription, you can get Pixpa’s cheapest plan for just $3 per month!

The cheapest website builder plan, Basic, offers the following features:

• 10 website pages
• Up to 200 images
• Password-protected pages
• A free SSL certificate
• SEO tools
• Social media integration
• Ecommerce functionality

I was impressed that you can sell online with Pixpa’s cheapest plan, especially since this costs less than $10. For example, with GoDaddy, ecommerce tools will set you back $20.99 per month.

I could access basic SEO settings on Pixpa’s cheapest plan, but I needed to upgrade if I wanted advanced tools, such as 301 redirects. Source: Website Builder Expert

Is Pixpa Good Value for Money?

Pixpa’s Basic plan does offer a lot of the standard features you’d expect from a website builder, such as SEO, which is good considering the low price point. But you’ll need to upgrade to at least the Creator plan ($15/mo) for unlimited website pages and images, blogging functionality, a free domain name, advanced SEO like 301 redirects, and additional selling tools, such as coupons. For advanced features like abandoned cart recovery, you’ll have to sign up for the Advanced plan, which costs $25 per month (billed annually).

To get the most out of your money,I recommend choosing the Professional plansince this unlocks almost every feature – this will cost you just $10 per month (billed annually) since you can get 50% off with a yearly subscription.

Best for beginners

GoDaddy pricing: $9.99 to $20.99 per month, billed annually

Read our GoDaddy review to find out more

GoDaddy offers three plans, ranging from $9.99 to $20.99 per month (billed annually). Not only is GoDaddy incredibly cheap for a website builder, but it’s also one of the best options if you’re looking to get online quickly – I got my test website up and running in less than 30 seconds.

GoDaddy’s cheapest plan, Basic, includes:

• Free SSL certificates
• Website analytics to track performance
• GoDaddy Payments integration
• Marketing tools, such as business listing management and email automation

You’ll need to upgrade to the $14.99 per month Premium plan to offer appointments online orchoose the $20.99 per month Commerce plan to start selling online. But, if you’d like to test things out before spending a cent, you can try out GoDaddy’s editor and features with its free plan.

However, GoDaddy’s free plan is a little limited. It includes basic features, such as email marketing and website security, but your website will have a GoDaddy banner ad at the top of the page.

GoDaddy made the onboarding process quick and easy, asking me questions about what I wanted on my site. Source: Website Builder Expert

Is GoDaddy Good Value for Money?

GoDaddy’s plans are very affordable, and it recently dropped the price of its Basic plan from $10.99 to $9.99 per month (billed annually). This cements its position as the best value for money builderon this list! You get a decent amount of features for the price point, and its ecommerce plan is a cheaper alternative to builders like Wix or Squarespace.

Plus, GoDaddy offers afree plan which you can stay on for as long as you’d like. However, I’d recommend upgrading to remove ads and unlock additional features, such as ecommerce.

Best for creatives

Squarespace pricing: $16 to $52 per month, billed annually

Read our Squarespace review to find out more

Squarespace is one of the more expensive website builders on this list, but you get a lot of bang for your buck. Squarespace’s four plans range from $16 per month to $52 per month (billed annually) – you can get the cheapest plan for just $14.40 if you use our code “WBE10” at checkout.

Squarespace’s cheapest plan, Personal, includes:

• Free custom domain
• Unlimited bandwidth
• SEO features
• Free SSL security
• Email marketing tools

This is a good starting point, butyou’ll need to upgrade to the Business, Commerce Basic, or Commerce Advanced plans to sell products or services online.

I used Squarespace’s newly improved Blueprint AI to build my website. Source: Website Builder Expert

Is Squarespace Good Value for Money?

If you’re looking for a cheap website builder,Squarespace is great value for money, sitting just behind GoDaddy in our research. On paper, this might seem surprising considering its cheapest plan is more expensive than Hostinger or Pixpa. But, you get a lot for your money with Squarespace – the majority of features, besides ecommerce, are available on the cheapest Personal plan.

Plus, Squarespace’s pricing doesn’t leap up when upgrading. Despite pricing increases in April, Squarespace’s most expensive plan only costs $52, whereas Shopify’s top plan costs $299 per month (billed annually).

Read the Q&A below to discover an insightful first-hand experience with Squarespace:

Lauren Galvez

SEO Consultant

Lauren Galvez is an SEO marketing consultant for small businesses and she runs her business from her website built on Squarespace. She’s been a Squarespace fan for the last 5 years having tried many popular CMSs (Wix, Weebly, Duda, WordPress, and Shopify).

Take advantage of Squarespace’s 14-day free trial and see how you like using their platform.

Q&A

1. What appealed to you the most about Squarespace’s pricing?

I found Squarespace’s pricing to be competitive with other popular hosted CMSs and it was easy to get started with the 14-day free trial. It’s also not hard to find Certified Squarespace users who advertise their 20% discount offer for your first year.

2. Which Squarespace features do you think are great value for money?

My favorite things about Squarespace are its ease of use and aesthetic design elements. Squarespace offers just enough customizability without overcomplicating the web design process. As someone who has analysis paralysis, this was just what I needed to get up a beautiful and professional website quickly. I enjoy being on the Squarespace platform because of its user-friendliness and this is one less potential headache for all that comes with managing a business.

3. Do you have any budgeting tips for other businesses who are considering using Squarespace?

Take advantage of Squarespace’s 14-day free trial and see how you like using their platform. Experience what it will be like designing or making edits to your website by trying the different design blocks. Explore Squarespace’s settings and business integrations to ensure it’ll have everything you need to manage your unique business. Compare your experience to the free trials with other website builders. If you commit to using Squarespace, find a discount for your first year and consider paying annually for more savings.

Check out Lauren’s website here

Thinking about building a website? A cheap website builder is a great place to start since you won’t break the bank as you figure things out.

You’ll want to take alook at the website builder’s pricing and plans. Is there an affordable option that suits your needs? Is there a free trial or plan to test things out first? You should also check out the website builder’s scalability – is there a steep price increase between plans or can you upgrade steadily?

Irecommend thinking about your website’s “must-haves”. For example, if you want to create an online store, you’ll need a plan that lets you accept payments. Thinking about writing content? Then your plan should include blogging tools. Shop around to find the right fit for your needs, or consider upgrading to a higher plan if you need access to certain features.

You’ll also want toassess which website builder suits your style of learning and skill level. Is the website builder easy to use? Are there templates that you like? Can you design the website you want to create with the builder’s editor? Is there support available if you need a helping hand?

These are all important areas to consider when choosing a website builder, cheap or not.

In the table below, you can see how these five cheap website builders compare to one another when it comes to value for money and the website features they offer:

Our in-house research team examined the value for money of each website builder and the quality and quantity of website features available. Source: Website Builder Expert

Should You Choose a Free Plan?

Of the five builders in this list, GoDaddy offers a free plan. A free plan will save you more money than a cheap plan, but you’ll miss out on a lot of features. Depending on the website builder, this could mean no ecommerce tools or SEO features. Usually, free plans come with ads that take attention away from the content on your site, and you won’t be able to connect a custom domain name until you upgrade.

For a more professional look and better backend management, I recommend opting for a paid plan as soon as possible. But you can take a look at our list of the best free website builders to see what’s out there.

We put every website builder through our rigorous testing process to create our data-backed recommendations. We want you, our readers, to have all of the information you need to make an informed decision when it comes to deciding what website builder to pick.

Our research is broken down into seven categories: website features, sales features, design functionality, help and support, user experience, customer score, and value for money.

To determine our list of the cheapest website builders, we’ve assessed the average pricing plans for each builder and reviewed thecheapest introductory deals on the market.

Are you looking for an affordable way to get online? Or, maybe you think you’re paying too much with your current website builder and want to find a cheaper alternative? I’ve shared the cheapest introductory deals across five top website builders to help preserve your budget.

Hostinger is the cheapest website builder out there, starting from $2.99 per month with its Premium Website Builder plan. And, its very affordable $3.99 Business plan includes a suite of AI features and ecommerce functionality – because of its easy-to-use platform, I highly recommend Hostinger for beginners.

Just remember to keep an eye out for renewal prices and upgrade costs. The cheapest plan might only offer some of your website or business needs, but it can be a great place to start!

• Best value portfolio plan: Light plan, $17 per month (billed annually)
• Read our full Wix review

Editor’s Choice

Wix

Our top choice for portfolios

Outstanding

4.8

out of 5

• 800+ templates on offer
• Very intuitive to use
• Generous free plan

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $17 – $159 / month

Pros

• High level of customization
• Templates for a wide range of industries
• Drag-and-drop editor

Cons

• Expensive premium plans
• Storage caps on all plans
• Can’t switch templates once site is live

Wix Review

Use code TAKE10 for 10% off!

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Based on our in-house testing, Wix is the best overall portfolio website builder. It’s the number one choice if you need a portfolio when applying for jobs, while it’s also the most versatile builder thanks to its numerous website and design features.

With over 800 professionally designed templates across multiple industries, Wix websites can be built to suit different kinds of portfolios. Also, if you want more choice over your portfolio’s design, Wix’s ADI feature uses artificial intelligence to design a personalized website for you – simply answer Wix’s short questionnaire first.

I found a variety of templates on Wix, which are adaptable for different creative fields like graphic design, photography, performing arts, and more. Source: Website Builder Expert

After choosing our Wix template while building a test portfolio, we went to Wix Marketplace and installed the free Wix Portfolio app. The tool enables you to display your projects on a professional portfolio page that’s tailored to your needs.

From the editor, we could set up our portfolio using one of Wix’s AI tools. It asked us to describe what kind of work we wanted to showcase and upload our project photos. Then, it tailor-made us a page based on the information we had given it.

I uploaded two projects to Wix Portfolio, which then appeared on the portfolio page the AI had generated for me. Source: Website Builder Expert

From Wix’s Portfolio app, we could also:

• Edit a portfolio’s SEO (search engine optimization) settings to improve its visibility on search engines.
• Change a portfolio page’s text, which includes project names and descriptions.
• Add more information about each portfolio project. We could mention the project’s date, location, key contributors, and more.
• Upload and manage photos from Wix’s Media Library and change what imagery is displayed on the portfolio page. Additionally, Wix optimizes any photos that are uploaded to your website, so you can best display your work through high-quality imagery.

If you’re interested in a hybrid portfolio that also offers ecommerce, Wix will let you transition your portfolio website into an online store. This is useful if you ever decide to start your own business – think of it like an investment, rather than a single-use site.

Getting your portfolio noticed on the web won’t be an issue either. You can add live social media feeds to your website and connect platforms like Instagram or Facebook, create and share social media graphics from your dashboard, and track how well your portfolio is performing with Wix’s analytics.

Because of these unrivalled features, Wix’s website builder gives you the strongest chance of increasing your portfolio’s visibility – regardless of your industry.

I could drag social media feeds onto my test website’s portfolio page. However, I’d need to spend some time arranging them to make them look nice! Source: Website Builder Expert

Though Wix excels with its website features, the sheer number of them can be overwhelming for first time users, especially if you only need a simple portfolio. For a more straightforward experience, we recommend Squarespace instead. Though it doesn’t have as many features as Wix, our research demonstrates that it’s the easiest website builder of them all.

What’s the Best Value Wix Plan?

Wix’s pricing consists of four premium plans:

• Light – $17 per month (best value for a portfolio)
• Core – $29 per month
• Business – $36 per month
• Business Elite – $159 per month

Wix’s plans can be expensive for just a portfolio. These prices are the average monthly price for a year-long subscription paid in full. The longer the subscription you pay, the cheaper the monthly price. For an affordable alternative, try GoDaddy with its first plan starting from $9.99 per month, or Hostinger with its even cheaper plans starting from $2.99 per month (both billed annually).

Wix does have a free plan, but you’ll have to contend with Wix banner ads and a Wix domain name, which can make you look unprofessional to potential employers or clients.

Our recommendation is the Light plan. You can’t sell products on this plan, but for a professional portfolio, you probably won’t need to. Plus, we have a unique 10% off at checkout offer if you use “TAKE10” at checkout.

• Best value portfolio plan:Personal plan, $16 per month (billed annually)
• Read our full Squarespace Review

Squarespace

For art and design portfolios

Excellent

4.6

out of 5

• Award-winning designs
• Ideal for creatives
• High-quality features

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $16 – $52 / month

Pros

• Beautiful templates
• Unlimited storage on all plans
• Enhanced third-party apps

Cons

• No free plan
• Customization slightly limited
• No 24/7 live chat

Squarespace Review

Use code WBE10 for 10% off

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If you’re in an art or design field, be it illustration or graphic design, your artistic talents should extend to your website, which should follow a clear design philosophy that mirrors your work. Clients want to be impressed by your creativity, and no website builder has more impressive creative functionality than Squarespace, having the most design-centric portfolio templates we’ve seen.

I chose Squarespace’s Novo template. It’s brilliant for highly visual portfolios, with a clear and scrollable gallery layout and headings that appear when you move your cursor over each image. Source: Website Builder Expert

As well as having exquisitely designed templates, Squarespace is so easy to use that you won’t need to spend hours perfecting your portfolio’s look. Its drag-and-drop editor lets you place elements wherever you want, and from our own experience, it’s actually difficult to make a bad-looking website since the builder’s grid overlay keeps everything in alignment.

While the builder doesn’t have a true ADI feature like Wix and GoDaddy do, Squarespace Blueprint is a feature that can build you a personal template for your portfolio based on your answers to a few questions.

I could drag and drop social links and a contact form. Thanks to the grid overlay, I could make it look neat on the page. Source: Website Builder Expert

For an art or design portfolio, you’ll need plenty of image and video space to showcase your work on. Luckily, Squarespace gives its subscribers unlimited storage across all of its plans. You also get an allowance of 30 minutes when it comes to video storage – and this is available from Squarespace’s cheapest plan at $16 per month (billed annually). You can get more video allowance by upgrading to pricier plans.

Wix – our highest-rated provider for portfolios – starts you out with a storage limit of only 2GB on its $17 per month plan, so Squarespace is more ideal for content-heavy websites.

I could edit my test portfolio’s imagery in galleries. This photography was well optimized, while I could also add image hyperlinks and descriptions. Source: Website Builder Expert

However, all this storage space for lots of content is a double-edged sword. Though Squarespace websites are aesthetically pleasing, they can be prone to slower page load times, which we found during testing. Be aware of this as you add content to your portfolio, and remember to test website speeds as you go. If this is a deal-breaker for you, we recommend portfolio website builders Wix or GoDaddy, which both boast speedier page load times.

What’s the Best Value Squarespace Plan?

Squarespace’s pricing comes in four premium plans:

• Personal – $16 per month (best value for a portfolio)
• Business – $23 per month
• Commerce Basic – $28 per month
• Commerce Advanced – $52 per month

We recommend the Personal plan for creative portfolios. You’ll get unlimited storage to share as many images as you need, plus a 30-minute allowance for video. There’s a 14-day free trial you can use so you can test its features, and once you do decide, at Website Builder Expert we’re currently running a 10% discount for our readers if you use the code “WBE10” at checkout.

• Best value portfolio plan:Premium plan, $14.99 per month (billed annually)
• Read our full GoDaddy Review

GoDaddy

For marketing portfolios

Very Good

4.2

out of 5

• Get online quickly
• Best value for money
• Ideal for basic portfolio

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $9.99 – $20.99 / month

Pros

• Very beginner-friendly
• Plenty of must-have features
• ADI website builder

Cons

• Templates can be slightly restrictive
• Designs can look quite similar
• No mobile editor

GoDaddy Review

Visit Site

If you need a marketing portfolio to display recent projects and get potential clients to reach out to you, GoDaddy provides a solid solution from only $9.99 per month. On the platform, you’ll receive a responsive page to showcase your services on, and will have access to GoDaddy’s marketing suite, including social media and email.

While you set up, you can use its ADI software to build a personalized portfolio template for you. During the process, you can briefly describe your business in a few sentences and assign your website to the marketing category. This will help the software create a marketing portfolio that’s  truly catered to your needs.

After answering a few questions, GoDaddy’s ADI put together this marketing portfolio page. Not all of the content was relevant to my needs, but I could easily replace it in the editor. Source: Website Builder Expert

However, these customized designs and premade templates aren’t on the level of Wix’s or Squarespace’s, because they lack the same professionally-made aesthetic quality. There are also fewer features offered, including no SEO on the Basic plan. That being said, if you are short on time, GoDaddy may be the builder for you. GoDaddy’s editor is so streamlined that you can have a functional portfolio ready in under an hour.

In the editor, you can then start adding additional elements to your website to showcase your projects and experience. This might include:

• Social media links – This allows you to showcase your work across other platforms, especially useful if your main focus is social media marketing.
• Files upload – You can let clients download files relating to your business, such as CVs, media packs, or service lists.
• Logo gallery– To showcase the brands you’ve worked with.
• Different content blocks – Depending on how you want to showcase your marketing projects, you can experiment with GoDaddy’s various blocks and see which one best represents your work.
• Online bookings – You can add one appointments section to your website, allowing potential clients to book one of your services.

I could choose from a decent range of GoDaddy elements, which included PDFs that allow people to download important docs like media packs. Source: Website Builder Expert

If you do pay extra for SEO, you’ll be given some truly great marketing and SEO capabilities, like email automation and the ability to integrate Google’s Business messages. If you need an example of a marketing project for your portfolio, you can track your own website’s success as proof of your abilities. Talk about two birds with one stone!

After I’d customized my site’s design, I explored the settings and quickly found where I could manage my inbox and connect Google’s Business Messages. Source: Website Builder Expert

What’s the Best Value GoDaddy Plan?

GoDaddy’s pricing comes in three premium plans, plus its free plan:

• Basic – $9.99 per month
• Premium – $14.99 per month (best value for a portfolio)
• Commerce – $20.99 per month

We recommend the Premium plan. For only a few dollars more than the Basic plan, you get additional marketing capabilities, such as email marketing tools. This is crucial for showing your prowess in marketing and getting your portfolio seen by as many eyes as possible.

• Best value portfolio plan: Premium Website Builder plan, $2.99 per month (billed annually)
• Read our fullHostinger Review

Hostinger

For student portfolios

Good

4.1

out of 5

• Suitable for simple sites
• Affordable plans
• Easy to use

Paid Plans: $2.99 – $109.99 / month

Pros

• Drag-and-drop editor
• 24/7 live chat
• Get online quickly

Cons

• Limited room to grow
• Very basic templates
• Difficult to create a unique portfolio

Hostinger Review

Use code WBE for 10% off!

Visit Site

If you’re a student and need a simple portfolio on a budget, Hostinger could be the builder for you. From only $2.99 per month, you can have a perfectly functional portfolio website – and if you sign up now for a 48-month plan, you can get the first three months free. Its handy suite of AI tools is also a huge time-saver if you’re balancing multiple projects at once alongside your studies.

I chose Hostinger’s Felicity template to get started because of its portfolio focus. Source: Website Builder Expert

Hostinger’s cheap starting price makes it perfect for student portfolios, since it’s a super affordable way to create an ad-free website that looks professional and can be displayed to professors, universities, or prospective employers.

It’s certainly not the most powerful builder on the market, with limited features compared to Wix and Squarespace (no email marketing tools or app market, for example), meaning we don’t recommend it for a growing business’s portfolio. But if you need something simple and affordable, Hostinger is a smart choice.

With a few keywords, I could use Hostinger’s AI text generator to create content and copy for my test portfolio. Source: Website Builder Expert

Like Wix and GoDaddy, Hostinger uses AI to build you a personal template based on your answers to a questionnaire. In testing, Hostinger created our demo site in less than 30 seconds!

Hostinger’s ADI is newer than that of Wix and GoDaddy, but if you like AI website builders, Hostinger is a major forerunner. It has an AI assistant, AI meta tags, AI writer, AI logo maker, AI SEO support, a really helpful AI chatbot, and even an AI heatmap that tells you where your visitors have clicked.

From Hostinger’s editor, I could tweak my test portfolio’s SEO settings with ease. Source: Website Builder Expert

What’s the Best Value Hostinger Plan?

Hostinger has two paid plans:

• Premium Website Builder – $2.99 per month (best for a portfolio)
• Business Website Builder – $3.99 per month

For a simple student portfolio, we recommend the Premium plan. It has everything you need to show off your skills, while also being easy on the wallet. You can also take advantage of 10% off using the code “WBE” at the checkout.

• Best value portfolio plan:Website & Marketing plan, $21.99 per month (billed annually)
• Read our full Web.com review

Web.com

For Copywriting Portfolios

0

out of 5

• Quick to set up
• User friendly dashboard
• Generous free trial

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $1.95 – $24.95 / month

Pros

• Innovative marketing calendar
• Impressive integrated blog
• Variety of engaging elements

Cons

• Slightly unintuitive at times
• Limited control when editing
• No social media scheduling on basic plan

Web.com Review

Use code BUILD50 for 50% off!

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As a writer, you’ll want your website to be eye-catching, but minimalistic enough that your writing is the focal point. Web.com is a website builder with 17 portfolio templates that strike this balance well, through simple designs and engaging elements.

The 17 portfolio templates vary in style, and so cater to a lot of different portfolio types. Source: Website Builder Expert

Because Web.com won’t allow you as much creative control over your website’s design as Wix and Squarespace, we wouldn’t recommend it for complex, design-heavy websites. Instead, Web.com’s strengths lie in creating simple multimedia sites and managing digital platforms.

As a copywriter, you need to post your work on your platforms regularly and consistently to remain visible among the competition and attract new clients. Web.com’s color-coded marketing calendar is an efficient tool to help you keep on top of this task.

You’ll be able to create X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn posts from your dashboard, schedule them in for specific days, and keep track of these posts through your calendar, too. Web.com also has an inbuilt blog, which is a perfect place to show your creative writing. These posts can also be scheduled and added to your calendar.

The calendar layout gave me a clear overview of my previous, current, and future marketing endeavors. Source: Website Builder Expert

Web.com’s drag-and-drop web page editor comes with plenty of engaging elements that you can use to demonstrate the different projects you’ve worked on, like images, videos, text, and widgets that integrate your social media feeds. There are even some made for written content, like a progress bar.

What’s the Best Value Web.com Plan?

Web.com has three core plans:

• Website – $15.99 per month
• Website & Marketing – $21.99 per month (best value for portfolio)
• Ecommerce – $29.99 per month

We recommend the Website & Marketing plan for a copywriting portfolio. For the slight price jump, you’ll unlock access to marketing features designed to increase your visibility. Specifically, this plan will give you access to the marketing calendar tool, which will streamline your social media and blogging processes.

• Best value portfolio plan:Creator plan, $15 per month (billed annually)

Pixpa

For photography portfolios

Good

3.5

out of 5

• Great for photographers
• Very affordable plans
• Connect with socials

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $8 – $25 / month

Pros

• Mobile-friendly templates
• Specialist website builder
• Galleries for sharing and proofing

Cons

• No free plan
• Limited photos on cheapest plan
• Restrictive website editor

Visit Site

Unlike the other platforms on this list, Pixpa is a dedicated portfolio website builder with a special focus on photography. You have access to over 25 options when it comes to gallery layouts, as well as exclusive features such as Progressive Image Loading, which reduces the slowdown that can occur on your site if you have too many high-quality images.

Pixpa immediately directed me towards choosing a template for my portfolio after signing up. I had many professional options to choose from. Source: Website Builder Expert

Pixpa also has over 150 mobile-friendly templates to choose from across industries like Wedding Photography and Fashion, and to protect your images from potential plagiarists and thieves, you can use Pixpa’s watermark feature. However, if photos aren’t the main focus of your portfolio, then you’ll find Pixpa very featureless – its starting plan lacks features like blogging, a domain name, and custom fonts.

To display photography, I could choose from a range of gallery layouts to add to my test portfolio. Source: Website Builder Expert

Additionally, for a portfolio website builder, it is disappointing that there’s even a limit on how many images you can upload (200 on the Basic plan). However, Pixpa’s prices are more affordable than Squarespace’s and Wix’s. Overall, Pixpa may be lacking some features, but for photography portfolios it’s still the best option, as no other builder is as tailored to this particular medium.

I loved how tailored Pixpa’s settings are for photographers, with detailed download settings and permissions at my fingertips. Source: Website Builder Expert

What’s the Best Value Pixpa Plan?

Pixpa has four premium plans:

• Basic – $8 per month
• Creator – $15 per month (best for a portfolio)
• Professional – $20 per month
• Advanced – $25 per month

We recommend the Creator plan for creative portfolio users – the image limit on the Basic plan holds it back from being able to show the full breadth of your creativity, while the Creator plan allows you to upload an unlimited number of images. Pixpa’s average price is also still cheaper than many on this list, and it serves as a great alternative to Squarespace.

• Best value portfolio plan: Basic plan, $14 per month (billed annually)
• Read our fullWebflow review

Webflow

For website development portfolios

Above Average

3.3

out of 5

• Advanced customization
• Strong design options
• Lots of free templates

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $14 / month

Pros

• No ads on free plan
• Good for experienced builders
• Lots of free templates

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• No drag-and-drop editor
• Not beginner-friendly

Webflow Review

Visit Site

Webflow is a web development platform that, unlike Wix or Squarespace, doesn’t simplify the website building progress. Instead, it’s tailored to users in professional web development. As such, it can have a steep learning curve – but for those who want to show off their coding or web design skills, it’s perfect.

Webflow’s templates are simple, but I chose the basic portfolio theme to get started. Source: Website Builder Expert

What makes Webflow perfect for technical portfolios is its advanced customization, letting you integrate skills or demos onto your website as long as you can code them.

You can add code to your website in three key ways via the “Code embed” feature:

1. HTML:To organize the structure of your website and its content
2. CSS: To structure your website’s pages and tweak the design
3. JavaScript: To add dynamic content to your website, like image animations or interactive pages

You can also get access to Webflow’s marketing of user-created content. From templates to animations and features, users can share their creations with each other.

I could add three different galleries to my Webflow website. Though it’s not a huge amount of choice, you can easily edit them if you know the right code. Source: Website Builder Expert

Compared to the novice-friendly Squarespace, Webflow is only really suited to users who are proficient in coding or possess advanced design skills, as you do get more control over your site’s design.

Webflow has over 2,000 templates to choose from across a spectrum of industries, with most of them being free. It also has a free plan you can use, and unlike Wix, Webflow’s free plan has no ads, so you can use it and still be professional – though you’ll be limited to 1GB of storage and 1,000 visitors per month.

I could access tutorials directly from Webflow’s editor. Even if you’re experienced in web dev, it’s helpful if you need to brush up on your skills. Source: Website Builder Expert

What’s the Best Value Plan?

Webflow has five premium plans, split between general and ecommerce plans – plus its free plan:

• Basic – $14 per month (best value for a portfolio)
• CMS – $23 per month
• Standard (ecommerce) – $29 per month
• Business – $39 per month
• Plus (ecommerce) – $74 per month
• Advanced (ecommerce) – $212 per month

Depending on the size of your website, we recommend either the free or the Basic plan. They have low storage and traffic limitations, but if you’re using your portfolio just for job-hunting, then you’ll find it suitable. If you want a home for all your projects, you may need to upgrade your plan for bigger storage.

While we’ve shown you the best portfolio website builders, we understand you may still need a bit of direction on how to pick the right one for you. Your choice will differ depending on your needs, but we’ve broken it down into three essential goals that every portfolio should accomplish:

1. Showcasing – Are you able to show off your best work on your portfolio? Whether this is simply through images and video or specific integrations like with programs, your portfolio needs to be able to present your work in an engaging and professional manner – whatever the medium.
2. Storytelling– Are you able to tell a convincing story through your portfolio’s presentation? Whether you want to show how your achievements grew in past roles or your creative evolution as an artist, a portfolio website builder needs to have an easy-to-use editor you can use to present yourself in the best way possible.
3. Searchability – Are you able to be found online through your portfolio? The benefit of an online portfolio is that it exists for all to see, and with good SEO tools, your portfolio can be found by the right person at the right time, perhaps leading to opportunities you never saw coming.

Before we can confidently make any recommendations on the best portfolio builder, we carry out in-depth website builder testing. This is an important step – we want our articles and reviews to be data-led and based on experience with the platforms.

We analyze builders in six key areas and then give each a score out of five, which averages out to an overall score. However, because portfolios are different from online stores, so are their users’ demands. Therefore, different categories will have different weighting when it comes to their overall score to reflect the actual wants and needs of our readers.

Here are the unique weightings for our portfolio category:

1. Design Functionality – 35%
2. Website Features – 30%
3. User Experience – 20%
4. Help & Support – 5%
5. Customer Score – 5%
6. Value for Money – 5%

A portfolio can be used to present your body of work professionally to employers or clients, or just as a place to hold all of your previous work. Either way, you will need a website builder that can showcase your own inherent creativity, but also build a presence and bring a certain level of professionalism.

For that reason, Wix is our best overall portfolio website builder. It allows you to make a portfolio that will impress your clients or employers, while also giving you fantastic freedom of choice in its creation.

Of course, any of the other best website builders we’ve covered could also be a good fit for your portfolio based on your needs. Here’s a quick recap:

• Squarespace: Ideal for art and design professionals, Squarespace’s stylish templates make it easy to showcase your portfolio with creative flair.
• GoDaddy:With a wealth of marketing tools and a beginner-friendly editor, GoDaddy is brilliant if you’re a marketing professional who’d like to showcase your projects with ease.
• Hostinger:The platform’s budget friendly plans, from $2.99 per month (billed annually), are suitable for students who need to rustle up a quick portfolio.
• Web.com: This website builder has brilliant integrated social media and blog post scheduling, which makes it perfect for copywriters active on multiple platforms.
• Pixpa:This platform is most suitable for photography portfolios, with optimized image uploading tools and watermarks to protect your photographs.
• Webflow:The most advanced builder on this list, Webflow is best for web development portfolios. Users will need an understanding of code and web design to get started.

Need some tips on how to make your portfolio shine? Learn how to make an online portfolio with our guide.

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Get all of the key information at a glance with our helpful comparison table:

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BEST IN TEST
Wix	GoDaddy	Square Online	Pagecloud	Webflow
Overall Rating 4.8	Overall Rating 4.3	Overall Rating 3.6	Overall Rating 3.5	Overall Rating 3.2
Cheapest plan $17 $15.30 with code ‘TAKE10’	Cheapest plan $9.99	Cheapest plan $29	Cheapest plan $20	Cheapest plan $14
Number of free templates 900+	Number of free templates 200+	Number of free templates 50+	Number of free templates 50+	Number of free templates 40+
Storage space on free plan 500MB	Storage space on free plan Unlimited	Storage space on free plan 500MB	Storage space on free plan Unlimited	Storage space on free plan 1GB
On-site ad on free plan Sticky top banner	On-site ad on free plan Top banner	On-site ad on free plan Bottom banner	On-site ad on free plan Footer disclaimer	On-site ad on free plan Limited ads
Visit Wix	Visit GoDaddy	Visit Square	Visit Pagecloud	Visit Webflow

Prefer to have someone talk you through the key highlights, pros, cons, and pricing of each builder? Check out our video comparison!

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Editor’s Choice

Wix

Best overall website builder with a variety of free features

Outstanding

4.8

out of 5

• 900+ customizable designs
• Easiest builder to use
• Tons of creative freedom

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $17 – $159 / month

Pros

• Plenty of features on the free plan
• 250+ apps to add more power to your site
• Free SEO wizard helps gain more traffic

Cons

• Free plan ads are very noticeable
• Can’t switch templates after publishing
• Cheapest upgrade costs $17/month

Wix Review

Visit Site

If you’re looking to make the best website for free, I can’t recommend Wix enough. While all the free plans on this list come with some limitations, it’s the versatility of the Wix editor that makes even its free plan head and shoulders above the competition!

To see a free Wix website in action, check out my demo site: carnagelucy.wixsite.com/lucyscupcakes 

I created a free Wix website for an imaginary business called Lucy’s Cupcakes. Click the image to see it in action! Source: Website Builder Expert

My Experience With Wix

On the free plan, you’ll get a choice of over 900 impeccably designed templates, ranging across a number of varying industries. When testing, I used Wix’s AI website builder which created a custom website template for me.

From Wix Booking, Wix Menu, Wix Video, Wix Forms, and a whole host of other free-to-install apps, Wix sets itself apart by giving you the best variety of features to use and make your website your own – no matter what type of website you want to make.

However, there are some drawbacks to the free plan. You’re limited to only 500MB of storage, meaning your site cannot be too large to have too many images. Additionally, while you do get a lot of customization options, I found Wix’s editor a little overwhelming with too many creative options at times – even on the free plan! If you do get stuck, Wix’s Help Center can guide you through its handy search bar directly in the editor.

A banner ad on my Wix demo site. As you can see, it takes up a lot of space and distracts from my website’s design. Source: Website Builder Expert

Upgrade Cost: $17 per month

Wix’s pricing begins with the Light plan for $17 per month, billed annually. This plan removes any ads from your site, lets you use a custom domain, and increases your storage to 2GB.

If you’re looking to sell, you’ll need to upgrade to the Core plan, which begins at $29 per month.

These plans are slightly more expensive than others on this list, so I understand you may not be entirely convinced to upgrade. But with all the features on offer, our research shows that Wix is still great value for money.

If you love getting deals, use the code TAKE10 at checkout to get 10% off your Wix plan.

More Information

• See Wix’s potential for an online store with our Wix Ecommerce Review.
• What’s better? Wix AI vs Wix Editor? See our detailed breakdown to find out.

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GoDaddy

Best for getting online quickly for free

Very Good

4.3

out of 5

• User-friendly with ADI
• Quickest builder to use
• SEO Wiz to help optimize

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $9.99 – $20.99 / month

Pros

• Plenty of features on the free plan
• Switch templates when you want
• Improved site performance

Cons

• Lack of creative control
• No mobile editor
• Upgrade for custom domains

GoDaddy Review

Visit Site

GoDaddy is a lot like Wix in that it comes with plenty of features and templates, even on the free plan. GoDaddy also features an AI builder and suggested I use it before looking at its templates. Ease of use is the name of GoDaddy’s game, and thanks to its AI functionality, the builder even matches Wix for user experience in our research.

To see a free GoDaddy website in action, check out my demo site: samspetgrooming.godaddysites.com

This is what the final design of my demo website homepage looks like. Click the image to see it in action! Source: Website Builder Expert

My Experience With GoDaddy

With the support of AI and a breezy editor, I could build a polished GoDaddy website in under an hour.

But this does reveal a weakness of GoDaddy’s, which is its lack of customization options. This can appeal to beginners who may agonize over creative choices with a builder like Wix or Webflow, because GoDaddy gives you a much more limited array of options for creating a website. However, I don’t recommend it if you’re looking for lots of creative freedom.

I was impressed that, on the free plan, I could utilize the basic features of GoDaddy Studio to create visual content for my sites. Plus, I was able to send marketing emails – albeit with a default GoDaddy domain. Its range of features,  as well as how easy it is to use, makes GoDaddy a great option if you want to experiment with website building for free before starting to sell online – which you’ll need to upgrade to GoDaddy’s Commerce Plan for.

I was able to access the SEO features from the editor – but saw that to use more advanced SEO features I would have to upgrade. Source: Website Builder Expert

Upgrade Cost: $9.99 per month

GoDaddy’s pricing begins at $9.99 per month, when billed annually with the Basic plan. With this plan, you get access to a custom domain, no ads, plus improved marketing capabilities like advanced SEO and the ability to send 100 emails per month for your business.

If you want to dive into the world of ecommerce, the dedicated Commerce plan is your go-to, setting you back $20.99 per month. It has everything you need – from selling on Facebook and Instagram to connecting with marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy.

More Information

• Everything you need to know about building an online store in a flash with our GoDaddy Ecommerce Review.
• We compare the differences between Wix and GoDaddy to help you decide.

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Square Online

Best for selling online for free

Good

3.6

out of 5

• Sell online for free
• Speedy set up
• Mediocre templates

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $12 – $79 / month

Pros

• Good value for money if upgrading
• Simple to navigate dashboard
• Unlimited products on free plan

Cons

• Hard to customize
• Pay for the best features
• Weak design options

Square Online Review

Visit Site

Square Online is the only builder on this list that lets you sell for free. This is a huge advantage for those who want to create an online store without breaking the bank in website costs.

To see a free Square Online website in action, check out my demo site: lucys-cupcakes.square.site

My finished Square Online homepage is pretty simple in nature. Click the image to see it in action! Source: Website Builder Expert

My Experience With Square Online

With Square Online, I was able to access basic SEO tools, integrate social media, and choose from lots of widely accepted payment types – all for free. This builder does charge transaction fees for each purchase made on your site, meaning you’ll have to pay 2.9% + 30¢ on each transaction. However this is a common occurrence with most builders, and being able to make a profit (transaction fees notwithstanding) for free is an incredible feature, and one not shared by any other on this list.

Unfortunately, Square Online’s editor and design customization are some of the weakest I’ve tested. Unless you upgrade, you won’t be able to access themes, remove Square Online ads, use custom fonts, or connect a custom domain.

Once I uploaded a handful of products, I could then add sections for featured items or categories to the page. Source: Website Builder Expert

Upgrade Cost: $29 per month

Square Online’s pricing begins with the Plus plan for $29 per month, when billed annually. This plan is more expensive than others on this list due to the fact Square Online is primarily an ecommerce platform, meaning it needs a wider range of features to accommodate businesses. These features include accepting PayPal, scheduled product drops, subscriptions, and personalized ordering – as well as giving users custom domains and no ads.

More Information

• Read our How to Customize a Square Online Website to get the most out of your plan.

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Pagecloud

Best for one-page websites

Average

3.5

out of 5

• Not ideal for beginners
• Lots of customization
• Drag-and-drop editor

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $20 / month

Pros

• Unique website elements
• Build with other people

Cons

• No autosave feature
• Difficult to navigate

Pagecloud Review

Visit Site

Coming in fourth place on our list of the top five free website builders is Pagecloud. When building my demo website with Pagecloud, the editor and dashboard were fairly easy to navigate but it didn’t feel as intuitive or user-friendly as other builders, such as Wix.

To see a free Pagecloud website in action, check out my demo site: lucys-cupcakes.mypagecloud.com

Setting up my homepage with Pagecloud was pretty easy with the template it provided. Click the image to see it in action! Source: Website Builder Expert

My Experience With Pagecloud

I faced a lot of slow loading times when editing, and some steps felt unnecessarily complicated. For example, I could edit text directly on the page, but editing an image opened up a separate menu, which was very frustrating.

Pagecloud’s free plan feels more like a free trial; it’s incomplete, and geared towards pushing you to upgrade to a paid plan. For example, it only lets you publish one page. One-page website builders do exist, but they’re limiting in terms of the type of website you can make. Plus, you’ll be capped at 10 blog posts and 1,000 website visitors per month – limits that will be problematic for many ecommerce and personal sites.

That said, Pagecloud’s free plan would be a solid choice for certain types of portfolio websites – such as for a presentation or school project – that work well with the one-page format and won’t require a high volume of site traffic.

Pagecloud placed a small banner at the bottom of my website featuring “Powered by Pagecloud”. While not too big, it could still affect my professionalism, especially if I created a portfolio. Source: Website Builder Expert

Upgrade Cost: $20 per month

Pagecloud’s pricing begins at $20 per month, billed annually on the Launch plan. With this plan, you get 100 pages, redirects, no ads, a custom domain, plus free Google Workplace (priced at $72 value).

While the Launch plan is closer in price to an ecommerce plan, it doesn’t have sales features. If you require ecommerce functionality, Pagecloud’s ecommerce pricing begins with the Starter plan for $29 per month.

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Webflow

Best free plan with limited ads

Above Average

3.2

out of 5

• Advanced customization
• Section block editor
• Industry-specific themes

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $14 / month

Pros

• Virtual design assistant
• Ideal for experienced builders
• No ads on free plan

Cons

• Overwhelming for beginners
• No drag-and-drop editor
• Hardest free builder to use

Webflow Review

Visit Site

Webflow is a website builder with advanced customization features and superb-looking templates, plus its free plan has the least amount of ads on it – a small, unintrusive “Powered by Webflow” at the bottom of the page!

To see a free Webflow website in action check out my demo website: lucys-cupcakes-e53b96.webflow.io

A Webflow demo site for Lucy’s Cupcakes. Click the image to see it in action! Source: Website Builder Expert

My Experience With Webflow

Webflow’s advanced customization features are pretty technical, and I had trouble feeling comfortable when using the builder. Webflow is designed with professional web developers in mind. In my experience, I found the lack of a drag-and-drop editor to be a struggle. For beginners, Webflow is difficult to get to grips with.

But, if you have web developer experience (or just the patience to learn), Webflow’s free plan will give you a great-looking website for free with limited ads.

Although its editing capabilities are strong, Webflow’s free plan also caps your site at 1,000 monthly visitors, like Pagecloud. You’ll also only have 1GB bandwidth to work with, making it best suited to simple static sites. I wouldn’t recommend Webflow’s free plan if you’re looking to build a content-heavy site, as it won’t be able to handle much traffic.

The editor of Webflow can seem a little overwhelming at first, but after a few tutorials I got the hang of it. Source: Website Builder Expert

Upgrade Cost: $14 per month

Webflow’s pricing is split between two types of paid plans: General and Ecommerce plans.

Of the general paid plans, the Basic plan costs $14 per month (billed annually). You’ll get:

• A custom domain
• No ads
• Increase in traffic allowance from 1K visitors to 250K
• 150 pages to edit instead of just two

If you want ecommerce, the Standard plan starts at $29 per month, when billed annually. The plan gives you access to over 500 product slots to sell – this is disappointing when compared to Square Online which, for the same upgrade cost, gives you unlimited items to sell.

More Information

• See which of these website builders wins the battle of design in our Squarespace vs Webflow head-to-head.

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When choosing a free website builder, you must first accept that you’ll be receiving a lesser product than if you paid for it. Website builders are businesses after all, and they charge a subscription fees so they can make a profit where no one else can.

That being said, it doesn’t mean you should lower your standards when looking for a free website builder. You can have it all if you know what to look for. That’s why we’ve come up with three important questions you should consider when looking over the potential candidates for your free website builder:

• Do the limitations outweigh the benefits?
• Will there be any other costs?
• Would you be better off with a paid subscription?

You should consider each of these carefully when choosing. For instance, if you want to build a free online store with Square Online, you have to take into account that its customization is weak and you’ll still have to pay transaction fees. In the end, it may be worth just spending the money for a full ecommerce platform subscription.

Can You Actually Make a Website for Free?

Yes, as long as you’re fine with the limitations. It all depends on the type of website you want to make. If you want to start a business with a professional website front, then I recommend shelling out a bit to make sure you look like a trustworthy business someone could spend money with.

But if you just want a website to journal thoughts, post art, or info-dump on niche topics, a free plan on any of these builders mentioned is absolutely fine for that purpose. Ads, non-custom domains, and limited design options won’t matter if the website is predominantly for you – and if you can’t accept the ads or non-custom domain, the builders tend to do a thorough job of directing you to the upgrade button!

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At Website Builder Expert, we pride ourselves on sharing data-led recommendations with our readers. To bring you the best free website builders on the market, our in-house research team has put over 50 builders through our expert research methodology.

While the most important aspect was whether they had a free plan or not, we also wanted to evaluate each free plan by its own merits. This involved changing the weighting of our research categories, so that website features and sales features counted the same because being able to sell for free is a significant advantage for a website builder.

Here is the full list of our unique category weightings for free website builders:

• Website Features – 25%
• Sales Features – 25%
• Design Functionality – 15%
• Help and Support – 12%
• User Experience – 10%
• Customer Score – 8%
• Value for Money – 5%

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To recap, I recommend Wix as the best free website builder. While its ads and no custom domain can be annoying, the free plan offers the best features and editing tools of any builder on this list. You can truly build an extremely professional website with Wix, even for free.

It’s possible to create a website for free – as long as you don’t mind the limitations. They may not seem like much in the beginning, but they can lead to further frustration down the line once your website takes off.

That’s why I suggest you make the most of the free plans by building, playing, and experimenting with the different website builders, but I don’t recommend staying on a free plan forever. There’s no time limit for the free plans, meaning you can have all the practice you need to nail the look and purpose of the website before upgrading to a paid plan.

So enjoy trying out our favorite free builders – come back and let us know which one you liked the most!

• Wix Pricing:Free – $159 per month, get 10% off with our code “TAKE10”
• Read our Wix Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Editor’s Choice

Wix

Best overall website builder

Outstanding

4.8

out of 5

• Caters to all industries
• For new businesses
• For building novices

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $17 – $159 / month

Pros

• Best website features
• Easy drag-and-drop editor
• 900+ template designs

Cons

• Can’t switch template once live
• Overwhelming choice of options
• Expensive upgrades when scaling

Wix Review

Use code TAKE10 for 10% off

Visit Site

Wix is the best website builder, offering a great range of designs, features, and support for people looking to build a website and grow online. Wix takes the top position in our website builder research for the ninth year in a row, scoring a near-perfect rating of 4.8 out of 5. So, why is Wix our favorite website builder? And who should use it?

My Experience With Wix

I had no trouble getting set up with Wix – the onboarding process took less than a minutewith the help of Wix’s AI chatbot, creating a tailored website and dashboard based on my responses. If I wanted to choose a template myself, I could filter the 900+ professionally designed templates by industry, such as “Wellness” or “Restaurant”, or simply browse the entire library.

I could choose from a variety of pre-designed elements, like subscription boxes, and then simply drag them onto the page. Source: Website Builder Expert

Once in the editor, I had complete creative control – Wix let me drag and place elements wherever I wanted them to go. This can be overwhelming at the start, especially for individuals who don’t feel confident designing.

While it can be easy to go overboard with the design elements using Wix’s editor, the drag-and-drop formatis really easy to get to grips with, regardless of your skill level. I found Wix to be very user-friendly, providing more freedom and opportunities to customize than the likes of Squarespace or GoDaddy.

Wix offers tons of built-in features – I could create social media posts from the Wix dashboard. Source: Website Builder Expert

To complement its impressive design options, Wix includes a vast number of built-in features with its plans – these are the best features of any website builder I’ve tested. For example, you can sell online with Wix Ecommerce, take appointments from customers with Wix Bookings, and grow your online presence with Wix’s SEO tools. Additionally, you can download third-party apps if you need further enhancements, such as Klaviyo for email marketing.

While you might need a higher-tier plan to access certain features, like unlimited storage space (available with the Business Elite plan), the majority of Wix’s features are included with the cheapest plan.

How Much Does Wix Cost?

You can get started with Wix’s free plan, but it does come with limitations, such as ads that make your site lack professionalism. That being said, you can stay on the free plan for as long as you’d like, so it’s a great place to familiarize yourself with Wix’s editor and dashboard before spending any money.

To unlock Wix’s full catalog of features, you’ll need to upgrade to one of Wix’s premium plans. Wix’s pricing ranges from $17 to $159 per month (billed annually). If you want to sell online, you’ll need at least the Core plan which costs $29 per month.

Hear from a real Wix user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with Wix…

Dr. Rachel Lowe

Obesity Medicine Specialist

Dr. Rachel Lowe is an Obesity Medicine Specialist from Utah. The practice is centered on offering personalized medical care and lifestyle counseling aimed at facilitating sustainable weight loss and improving overall health.

I can say that I admire the flexibility of design customization in Wix.

Q&A

When did you start using Wix? How long did it take to build a website?

I desired a website that would give my patients easy access to information about my services, book appointments with me, and read some health-related articles. I chose Wix because it has an easy-to-use system and many customizable templates that suit medical practices.

I started using Wix in early 2023. It took me about two weeks to choose an appropriate template to personalize it by adding content as well as images of myself. Through the intuitive drag-and-drop interface, this process was smooth and efficient at all times.

What do you like most about Wix?

I can say that I admire the flexibility of design customization in Wix. They have a lot of templates and it is easy to plug in some apps like online booking and contact forms which are very helpful to my practice. Besides, using SEO tools has improved how visible my website is.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend Wix to others?

I am extremely happy with the Wix website I developed for me. It has made a difference in terms of patient activity, allowing individuals to interact more effectively over the web. Consequently, Wix is a good recommendation to anyone who finds it hard to create an attractive website without any technical background.

• Squarespace Pricing:$16 – $52 per month, get 10% off with code “WBE10”
• Read our Squarespace Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Squarespace

Easiest website builder to use

Excellent

4.6

out of 5

• For creatives
• For visual sites
• For beginners

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $16 – $52 / month

Pros

• Easiest website builder
• Booking tools to offer services
• Includes ecommerce functionality

Cons

• Grid structure limits creative freedom
• No autosave when editing
• No free plan

Squarespace Review

Use code WBE10 for 10% off

Visit Site

Squarespace is the easiest website builder to use. Its editor is incredibly user-friendly, and the available templates are stylish and aesthetically pleasing – all customizable to suit your brand. And, like Wix, Squarespace caters to a wide range of users with its built-in features, offering tools to support individual portfolios as well as businesses. So, who do I recommend Squarespace for?

My Experience With Squarespace

When I tested Squarespace, the onboarding process was smooth and straightforward. The website builder is well-known for its stunning templates and design elements.

I could choose from over 150+Squarespace templates – less than Wix’s 900+ themes. However, Squarespace’s designs are of a similar quality to Wix and cover a wide range of industries, including “Weddings” and “Food”.

I liked Squarespace’s grid structure since it helped me align elements when dragging new items to the page. Source: Website Builder Expert

Because of Squarespace’s focus on exceptional visuals, I highly recommend the website builder for creatives and design-focused websites. Thinking about building an artist website, for example? Squarespace’s templates provide a solid foundation for users to build on and enhance.

Squarespace’s overall interface is intuitive and beginner-friendly – the drag-and-drop editor means you can customize your pages to your liking. Plus, the grid-style framework will help you avoid cluttered or messy-looking sections.

I could tweak my available times and set new appointment types in the Acuity Scheduling dashboard. Source: Website Builder Expert

I was impressed by the range of built-in features to help you market your business and sell online, such as Squarespace Email Campaigns to target your audience effectively and branded invoices for client engagement. You can also elevate your website with add-ons – Acuity Scheduling lets you offer bookable services to clients and its plans start from $16 per month.

The seamless journey between the editor and backend dashboard makes it easy to monitor and manage your Squarespace website, too. That said, if you do feel like you need an extra helping hand, Squarespace provides 24/7 live chat support and a Knowledge Center full of tutorials and guides.

How Much Does Squarespace Cost?

Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial, but you’ll eventually need to subscribe to one of four premium plans, ranging from $16 to $52 per month (billed annually). To sell online, choose the $23 per month Business plan (Squarespace’s best value plan) or one of its more advanced commerce plans which start from $28 per month.

Read our Squarespace Pricing Review for more help choosing the right plan for your needs.

Hear from a real Squarespace user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with Squarespace…

Tyler J. Jensen

Owner

Tyler J. Jensen is a private practice owner and psychotherapist that constructed a website in the hope of reaching people seeking mental health therapy and to share mental health resources within the local community.

… Squarespace won me over with its ability to feel like I was already a product expert that very first week.

Q&A

When did you start using Squarespace? How long did it take to build a website?

I wanted to build a website because I was forming a mental health private practice, and a clinician’s ability to reach its community is only as good as their website. I chose Squarespace because it was extremely user-friendly, intuitive, and had a stellar reputation within the small business space I live in. It had all the correct features, and enough customizability to really make it my own.

I started using Squarespace in January 2022. It took me less than a week to initially design and create my first version of my website; it really was that easy.

What do you like most about Squarespace?

What I like most about Squarespace is that I have always felt that they have provided me with more than ample amounts of freedom to make a website uniquely mine, coupled with the fact that the user experience is so intuitive. When I was looking at different website builders, Squarespace won me over with its ability to feel like I was already a product expert that very first week.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend Squarespace to others?

I am extremely proud of the website that I was able to make from the ground up with zero previous website development experience, and I would wholeheartedly recommend and advise other people curious about Squarespace to take the plunge like I did!

• Shopify Pricing:$29 – $299 per month
• Read our Shopify Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Shopify

Best ecommerce website builder

Great

4.4

out of 5

• Ideal for online stores
• For big inventories
• For expanding businesses

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $29 – $299 / month

Pros

• Better for experienced builders
• Expanding suite of AI tools
• Huge app store

Cons

• Reliant on third-party apps
• Limited customization
• Handful of free templates

Shopify Review

Visit Site

Are you looking to sell products online? Shopify is the bestecommerce website builder on the market, providing a dedicated platform for online stores to get started and expand. So, if ecommerce functionality is a key priority for you and your business when choosing a website builder, consider Shopify.

My Experience With Shopify

When I first got set up with Shopify, it immediately directed me towards adding products to my inventory, as opposed to the usual instruction of designing a website first. I highly recommend following this instruction because it’ll help to have products readily available when you start editing your pages.

The product page form is simple to fill out, and I made the most of Shopify Magic – Shopify’s AI tool which helps with text generation for product descriptions. This helps you save time during setup, and it’s easy to tweak if your products evolve.

I only had a few free templates to choose from since most Shopify themes come with a one-time fee. Source: Website Builder Expert

Unfortunately, the design process with Shopify is a little complicated thanks to its section-based editor and limited free templates. Shopify and Squarespace are closely matched in a lot of our research areas, but when it comes to ease of use, Squarespace takes the lead without question since Shopify isn’t the most user-friendly builder.

Plus, Shopify has a heavy reliance on third-party apps, meaning additional costs can add up quickly, especially if you’re having to pay for a premium template as well.

I could choose from 100+ payment options to add to my Shopify store. Source: Website Builder Expert

Shopify offers a huge variety of payment options andunmatched sales features, such as multichannel integration so you can start selling on platforms like TikTok, as well as abandoned cart recovery to improve customer retention. Shopify’s suite of quality tools makes it ideal for businesses looking to sell online.

If you don’t want to sell products, you don’t need to shell out for a Shopify plan. But if you have a complex or large inventory – more than 10 products or so –  Shopify’s sales features and dedicated ecommerce resources are worth the price point.

And, as I already mentioned, Shopify’s app market is used to bolster its in-house offering, meaning merchants can pick and choose which features they need to grow and support their business.

How Much Does Shopify Cost?

Shopify’s three plans range from $29 to $299 per month (billed annually). This is considerably more expensive than other website builders, but that’s a consequence of Shopify’s ecommerce focus. For example, Squarespace’s ecommerce plans start at $23/mo.

Fortunately, you can try Shopify’s 3-day free trial to help you get to grips with the builder, and you can get your first month for just $1. Shopify is built with businesses in mind, so it won’t be the right fit if you don’t need to sell products. I recommend it for growing or expanding businesses, especially given the higher price point.

Read our Shopify Pricing Review for a more detailed breakdown of its costs.

Hear from a real Shopify user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with Shopify…

Bela Gyarmati

Co-Founder

Mermaid Cove is an eco-conscious cosmetic company currently focusing on body products such as soap, cream, and shampoos. Mermaid Cove is devoted to taking a portion of every product purchased and contributing it to organizations protecting marine ecosystems.

These features have allowed us to elevate the professionalism of our small business.

Q&A

When did you start using Shopify? How long did it take to build a website?

I wanted to build a website to expand my cosmetic business’ reach and provide an easy-to-navigate platform for our customers. I chose Shopify because of its robust inventory database, seamless shipping label creation process, and overall accessibility, which made it an ideal choice for our needs.

I started using Shopify during the pandemic when we launched our cosmetic business. It took a few months to organize all the graphic design assets and other elements necessary to create a cohesive and attractive website.

What do you like most about Shopify?

I truly appreciate Shopify’s efficient order processing system, its accessibility, and how user-friendly the platform is. These features have allowed us to elevate the professionalism of our small business.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend Shopify to others?

I love our website and would highly recommend Shopify to anyone looking to start an ecommerce business. I invite you to visit our site to see the quality and functionality that Shopify supports.

• Hostinger Pricing: $2.99 – $3.99 per month, get 10% off with our code “WBE”
• Read our Hostinger Website Builder Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Hostinger

For time-saving AI tools

Very Good

4.3

out of 5

• For beginners
• For budget-conscious
• For simple website needs

Paid Plans: $2.99 – $109.99 / month

Pros

• Easy to use
• Suite of AI tools
• Ecommerce included

Cons

• Poor scalability
• Simple templates
• No app market

Hostinger Review

Use code WBE to get 10% off

Visit Site

Hostinger is another easy website builder to use, sitting just behind Squarespace in our user experience tests. Hostinger offers a plethora of AI tools, including an AI website builder, to help users get online quickly and easily. Plus, Hostinger’s pricing is the most affordable of the bunch, starting from just $2.99 per month. Should you use Hostinger’s website builder?

My Experience With Hostinger

Hostinger gave me a range of options to get started, but the three step AI website builder got me up and running in less than under 60 seconds. The form requested basic information like “Brand name” as well as a brief description of the website, and following a quick loading screen, Hostinger presented me with a tailored template to edit.

I could set up a website in seconds using Hostinger’s AI builder form, though the website template it created was a little boring. Source: Website Builder Expert

Unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed by what Hostinger’s AI created – it lacked the quality and sleekness of Squarespace’s templates. That being said, it’s a great option if you’re looking to get online quickly.

Within the editor, I could add new elements or sections, such as galleries and contact forms. And, like Squarespace, Hostinger has a drag-and-drop editor that features a smart grid. However, the grid framework is only there to guide, so you still have the freedom to move elements anywhere you like, similar to Wix.

I found Hostinger’s AI Writer useful, but you’re limited by the available prompts. Source: Website Builder Expert

Hostinger has improved considerably since last year’s research, securing its new position in our top five thanks to its ease of use and AI features. I tried a few of these out for myself when building my test website. The AI Heatmap can give you a great visual indication of where visitors or customers are engaging with your site, and the AI Blog Generator is a beneficial resource if you want to boost your site’s content.

While its AI tools are fairly well-developed, it’s clear that Hostinger has prioritized these developments over other core functionalities or design options. For example, there are no email marketing tools which is surprising when that’s a standard website feature available from the other website builders in the list.

How Much Does Hostinger Cost?

Hostinger’s the cheapest website builder on the list, with plans starting from $2.99 per month(billed annually). There are two plans to choose from, with the more expensive Business Website Builder plan ($3.99) having been introduced in early 2024.

For core website features, including Hostinger’s AI website builder, you’ll be comfortable with the Premium plan. But, to unlock ecommerce features and AI tools, including the AI Text Generator and AI Heatmap, then you’ll need the Business Website Builder plan.

Unfortunately, Hostinger doesn’t offer a free plan but you can test the AI website builder using Hostinger’s 30-day free trial. The cheapest pricing is available if you choose the 12, 24, or 48-month subscription, rather than paying monthly. If you choose the 48-month plan, Hostinger often gifts you a month or two for free; in the past I’ve seen up to three months free!

Hear from a real Hostinger user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with Hostinger…

Rafee Rahman

Owner of SOLD Corp Watches

SOLD Corp Watches is a blog site that focuses on affordable watches for men. Rafee’s goal is to help people decide what watch to buy without spending too much money since fashion should be accessible to everyone.

It is a great tool for beginners to easily start their own website…

Q&A

When did you start using Hostinger? How long did it take to build a website?

I wanted to build a website for several reasons. I was highly passionate about watches and wanted an outlet to express my opinions. I want to help people understand more about watches and give exposure to those brands that offer quality at an affordable price point. I also wanted the learning experience of building my own website, as it is a valuable skill to have nowadays. I chose Hostinger because of its solid reviews, easy-to-use structure, and low starting prices. I didn’t want to invest too much in the beginning out of caution, so Hostinger’s low yearly prices were a big draw for me. It’s easy to use and comes with lots of useful features, like a free domain registration.

I started using Hostinger in September 2023. It took me about three days to build my website. It was my first time using WordPress to build a website, so there was definitely a steep learning curve. However, the process is easy with Hostinger and I designed my site the way I wanted in just a few days.

What do you like most about Hostinger?

The thing I like most about Hostinger is the custom email domain capabilities. You can very easily create multiple custom email addresses with your website’s domain as part of your plan. I have created
[email protected] and
[email protected]. It makes outreach more professional and more organized. It is very easy to access these emails directly from your Hostinger profile too. Other great features include the ability to test your website’s speed easily and the AI logo maker.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend Hostinger to others?

Yes, I was satisfied with the website I made and I would definitely recommend Hostinger to others. It is a great tool for beginners to easily start their own website, and it has the functionality and capabilities to continue serving you as you gain more experience and knowledge. It isn’t really bad at doing anything. The web hosting is reliable which is very important. You don’t want your website going down all the time. All in all, Hostinger has been a great service for me.

• GoDaddy Pricing: $9.99 – $20.99 per month
• Read our GoDaddy Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Best Value For Money

GoDaddy

Best value for money

Good

4.3

out of 5

• For speedy set up
• For budget-conscious
• Good for beginners

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $9.99 – $20.99 / month

Pros

• Get online in seconds
• Excellent 24/7 support
• Editor tutorial available

Cons

• Restrictive editor
• Not ideal for complex designs
• Lacks quality templates

GoDaddy Review

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GoDaddy is the quickest and most cost-effective way to get online in 2024. From our pricing research, GoDaddy came out on top as the best value for money. Not only does it offer a free plan, but GoDaddy’s premium plans are very affordable, especially for beginners or businesses working with a limited budget. Is it the right website builder for you?

September update: GoDaddy’s Basic plan has dropped in price, changing from $10.99 per month to $9.99 per month, further cementing its position as the best value builder in our list.

My Experience With GoDaddy

When I tried building a website with GoDaddy, I managed to complete the onboarding process in under 30 seconds. This makes it the ideal choice if you’re looking for a speedy website builder to get online quickly.

GoDaddy’s onboarding asked me three simple questions before offering suggested sections for my test website. Source: Website Builder Expert

GoDaddy’s editor is simple to use, using a section-based layoutand offering users a variety of pre-designed elements to add. I could also use GoDaddy’s AI builder and AI content generation tools to support the design process.

However, the options are far more basic than the likes of Wix. There are 14 section categories in comparison to Wix’s 20. So, your choices are limited with GoDaddy. If you’re struggling to choose between Wix or GoDaddy, Wix is the better website builder overall, especially when it comes to designing a website.

While GoDaddy offers less creative freedom than Wix or Squarespace, where you can drag items around anywhere, you can reach out to GoDaddy’s expert help team if you ever need a helping hand. Plus, GoDaddy has recently launched GoDaddy Airo to support small businesses getting online, an AI-powered free tool that can help with building a website, generating marketing campaigns, and more.

GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone and live chat support, so you can address any problems immediately. And, if you want to boost your website builder knowledge or brush up on a topic like SEO, then GoDaddy’s knowledge center provides you with the reading material to get started.

I was impressed to see online tutorials to help me get to grips with GoDaddy’s editor and settings. Source: Website Builder Expert

How Much Does GoDaddy Cost?

GoDaddy’s free plan is a good starting point, but it comes with ads and standard features, like website security. I recommend upgrading to one of the three premium plans to remove ads, ranging from $9.99 to $20.99 per month (billed annually).

Simple or informational websites will be content with the cheapest plan, Basic, which includes built-in SEO tools for website visibility and email marketing tools to connect with your audience. But, you’ll need to upgrade to the $20.99 per month Commerce plan if you want ecommerce tools.

Read our GoDaddy Pricing Review for a closer look at the builder’s plans.

Hear from a real GoDaddy user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with GoDaddy…

Nathan Mason

CEO

Attention2Detail is a company of local painters and decorators, offering exceptional painting and decorating services to residential and commercial properties.

… the ability to work on my website from anywhere has been a game-changer, enabling me to make updates on the go and seize opportunities as they arise.

Q&A

When did you start using GoDaddy? How long did it take to build a website?

After a decade of experience as a painter and decorator, I decided to take my skills and passion to the next level by establishing my own business. Recognizing the importance of a strong online presence, I turned to GoDaddy to create a website that would showcase my expertise and attract potential clients.

I chose GoDaddy as my website builder due to its reputation for ease of use and its comprehensive suite of tools. My journey into website creation began in August 2022, and the process spanned approximately three months. During this time, I meticulously crafted each page, ensuring that every element aligned with my vision and effectively conveyed my brand’s essence. Even after a year, I continue to refine and enhance my website, reflecting my commitment to providing an exceptional user experience.

What do you like most about GoDaddy?

GoDaddy has proven to be an invaluable asset in my website building endeavors. Its user-friendly interface and intuitive tools have streamlined the process, allowing me to focus on the creative aspects without getting bogged down by technical complexities. Additionally, the ability to work on my website from anywhere has been a game-changer, enabling me to make updates on the go and seize opportunities as they arise.

While my primary focus lies in providing painting and decorating services, I do utilize my website to showcase my expertise and attract potential clients. GoDaddy’s ecommerce tools have been instrumental in facilitating this aspect of my business, enabling me to seamlessly manage online enquiries and bookings.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend GoDaddy to others?

I wholeheartedly recommend GoDaddy as a website builder for small businesses seeking to establish a strong online presence and expand their brand awareness. A well-crafted website can significantly enhance your CTR (click-through rate), driving traffic to your business and, ultimately, leading to success.

Whether you’re looking to build a website for the first time, or you want to make the switch from your current website builder to another, it can be tough to know where to start and what to look out for.

It depends on your needs and requirements – I recommend building a checklist of criteria that you want from a website builder, or you can use our expert tips below to help shape your search.

• Building a small business website?Look for ecommerce capabilities with a website builder’s plans. What payment options are available? Is there room to grow your business if you’re successful? Are you limited by the number of products you can sell? Are there marketing tools to help promote your shop? Can you sell across other platforms, like social media?
• Want to showcase your work? If you’re building an online portfolio website, I recommend examining the design elements and features available to see how you can visually present your work best. Are there tools to help share your website with clients? What SEO features are included with your plan? Can you install third-party apps or integrations? Are your creative needs met with the website builder?
• Looking for a cheap website builder? Review a website builder’s plans to see what features are available for different price points and where you can get the best deal for your money. Is there a free website builder plan or free trial available? Does the price jump massively between plans if you need to upgrade?

Can I Switch Website Builders?

You can always migrate your assets over to another website builder if you’re looking to make a change. This will require some additional steps, such as backing up and transferring your work.

If you choose to do this manually, switching can be a long process and can require a lot of hard drive space. However, automatic migration services are available, but these can cost between $300-$400 each time.

We put 16 leading website builders through an in-depth testing process to determine our rankings and recommendations. Our research team conducted over 200 hours of research to bring you our shortlist of the top website builders, covering 398 areas of investigation in total.

We want to make sure our recommendations accurately reflect the builders and market, so we regularly review our research to make sure our pages are up to date.

When testing website builders, we focus on six core categories and add unique weighting to each area to reflect what our readers value the most:

• Website Features: 30%

We examine the quality and quantity of website features, such as SEO, storage space, AI, and scheduling tools.

• Design Functionality: 25%

Our research covers a website builder’s aesthetic capabilities and template options.

• User Experience: 17%

We test each builder ourselves to assess its ease of use and accessibility – this helps us speak from experience when recommending a platform.

• Help & Support: 10%

Looking at a website builder’s support options and responsiveness.

• Value for Money: 10%

We review the pricing of each website builder to see what you get for the money you pay.

• Customer Score: 8%

We test how a website builder performs in the wider market to see how it compares to competitors.

Each website builder is then awarded a star rating out of five based on its performance in our six core research categories.

Our research process has determined the top five website builders of 2024, and Wix is the best website builder overall. When testing it myself, I found it offers high-quality features and beautiful design options that cater to a wide range of users, whether you’re looking to build a blog or start selling online.

Each website builder has its strengths – and weaknesses – so I know Wix won’t be the right fit for everyone. Looking for the best value? Consider GoDaddy. Maybe you want to set up an online store? Shopify is the best option. If you’re unsure of where to start, I recommend checking out a builder’s free plan or free trial (if available) to figure out what works best for you.

Unsure which website builder to choose for your small business? You should identify your priorities and needs before committing to a plan.

• Looking to sell online? Consider Shopify, which comes jam-packed with powerful ecommerce features to help you sell and market your products to customers.
• Want to grow your audience? Wix is your best bet for impressive marketing tools and personalized SEO support.
• Is a stylish website a priority? Squarespace’s gorgeous designs make producing a stunning website easy.
• Need a helping hand? If all of this seems overwhelming, try a website builder like GoDaddy that offers expert guidance.
• Want AI support? Hostinger’s time-saving suite of AI tools makes it easy for beginners, side hustles, and small businesses to get online quickly.

Another key factor for beginners or small businesses just starting is affordability. You don’t want to make a large dent in the budget right away, and there are plenty of cost-effective website builders to choose from. You can review the cheapest premium plans of our top choices in the table below:

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Shopify	Wix	Squarespace	GoDaddy	Hostinger
Starting from $29 $1 for first month	Starting from $17 $15.30 with code ‘TAKE10’	Starting from $16 $14.40 with code “WBE10”	Starting from $9.99	Starting from $11.99 Early bird Black Friday price: $2.49 + 3 months free (for 48-months)
Value for Money 3.2	Value for Money 3.7	Value for Money 4.0	Value for Money 4.2	Value for Money 3.7
Free plan or free trial 3-day free trial	Free plan or free trial Free plan	Free plan or free trial 14-day free trial	Free plan or free trial Free plan	Free plan or free trial 30-day free trial
Visit Shopify	Visit Wix	View Squarespace	Visit GoDaddy	Visit Hostinger

As you can see, GoDaddy is the best value for money, with its premium plans starting from $9.99 per month (billed annually). But, depending on the needs of your small business, we recommend checking out more premium options, such as Shopify or Wix, if you want access to advanced features or ecommerce functionality. You can also check out our list of small business website examples for inspiration.

Take our short quiz to receive a personalized website builder recommendation:

Shopify

Best for selling products

Excellent

4.9

out of 5

• Simple product backend
• Extensive app store
• Good for scalability

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $29 – $299 / month

Pros

• Sell on socials like TikTok
• Ideal for complex inventories
• Manage business bills easily

Cons

• Not suitable for small-scale stores
• Lack of tutorials
• Heavy reliance on apps

Shopify Review

Visit Site

If you need your small business website to focus on showcasing products and converting traffic into customers, you’ll want a powerful ecommerce website builder that offers high-quality sales features, such as inventory management tools and multichannel integration. You might already be signed up to a website builder, so it’ll just be a case of upgrading to an ecommerce-friendly plan.

To cut to the chase, Shopify has the best sales features on the market. The range and quality of Shopify’s ecommerce tools, including abandoned cart recovery, tax calculation, and the option for discount codes, make it a powerful solution for small businesses of any size that want to sell online.

We wouldn’t recommend Shopify if you only have a few products to sell, though – you’ll get the most out of the platform and its sales tools if you have a complex or growing inventory. If you’re just starting out, we suggest looking at Wix, which is better suited for smaller product catalogs – you’ll need to upgrade to a higher plan for unlimited storage and advanced sales tools, such as automated sales tax. These features are available on Shopify from its cheapest plan.

• Shopify pricing: Shopify’s plans range from $29 to $299 per month (billed annually). Get started with its 3-day free trial before receiving your first month for $1 if you choose the Shopify Basic plan. This is a good starting point for small businesses, providing unlimited products and up to 1,000 inventory locations.

I’d recommend Shopify as the best option for small businesses because of its simple backend tools that let you add products easily, as well as its huge app store which is great for helping small businesses grow and adapt. You’ve got apps like TikTok that can help grow your audience or Klaviyo which is great for setting up email & SMS marketing!

Ollie Simpson
Research Executive

Multichannel Selling

Shopify supports online and offline integration through its POS system, which I could easily find within my website’s backend dashboard. Source: Website Builder Expert

When it comes to multichannel integration, you can connect Shopify with its POS system for offline selling, a range of social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, or online marketplaces. We like that Shopify merchants can download the Shopify Marketplace Connect app to gain access to marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. This helps you meet customers in the places they’re already browsing and shopping, so you don’t need to rely on your website as the sole channel for sales.

I built my small business website with Shopify…

Lindsay Schoneveld

Owner

Konfession is a Canadian business that creates burn-to-reveal candles with anonymous secrets hidden inside, sent in by strangers from around the world. The goal is to create less judgment by spreading love, laughter, and mental health awareness!

Q&A

When did you start using Shopify, and how long did it take to build a website?

I started designing my website in 2020 and it took me a couple of months to design to my liking. However, the design process is neverending.

What do you like most about Shopify?

My most favorite – and probably the newest – feature is how Pinterest now connects directly to your Shopify account. You can now have a full Shopify catalog on your Pinterest page! Your followers can buy directly from Pinterest.

Does Shopify support your website’s growth? Is Shopify a good website builder for small businesses?

Yes, there are different levels for Shopify. Once you need to upgrade they’re there to help! Just a click of a button. I would highly recommend Shopify for anyone who is new to website design and for anyone who is starting their journey with entrepreneurship!

Payment Options

To set up Shopify Payments I simply had to answer a few business-related questions. Source: Website Builder Expert

Any small business looking to sell products should ideally offer a range of payment options to customers – this increases your chances of landing a sale, since customers have more choices when completing their purchase. In practice, this means you want a payment gateway that supports all of the main credit card types (Visa, Mastercard, and American Express) and potentially other payment options, such as PayPal, Amazon Pay, and Klarna.

Shopify supports over 100 different payment gateways, as well as Shopify Payments which eradicates transaction fees if chosen. Using Shopify’s native payment gateway is the easiest way to take payments through the website builder, making the checkout experience more convenient for both the business owner and the customer.

We also think it’s worth mentioning Shopify Bill Pay, a new feature from our top-rated small business website builder that helps stores manage and pay business bills through Shopify’s dashboard. This helps business owners keep everything in one place.

Security

If you’re considering selling online, you must ensure your security is airtight. Shopify provides a built-in SSL certificate, two-step verification, customer logins, and ensures your website is PCI compliant. The majority of these measures are offered by all major website builders, but we liked Shopify’s additional fraud analysis tool which helps small businesses recognize fraudulent orders.

Making sure you have good website security is critical when selling online – you want your customers to have confidence that your website will keep their data secure. With Shopify, you can rest assured that your website and small business are in safe hands.

Read ourShopify Review for more information.

Wix

Best for marketing your business

Very Good

4.8

out of 5

• Personalized SEO
• Easy marketing setup
• Well-rounded features

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $17 – $159 / month

Pros

• Email marketing with cheapest plan
• Keyword support from Semrush
• New AI features introduced

Cons

• Not ideal for growing businesses
• Interface can be overwhelming
• Pay more for better marketing

Wix Review

Visit Site

Looking to promote your business online and grow your audience? Need help optimizing your website for search engines? A good website builder should support your marketing efforts so you can get more eyes on your website and small business.

Wix is our top choice, providing a diverse range of website features and high-quality marketing tools, such as:

• Built-in email marketing
• Internationalization features, supporting 180 languages and auto-translation
• Keyword support from Semrush integration

All of these features from Wix support your business efforts to promote your website and expand your audience reach. The great thing about Wix is that the majority of tools are built in and you can start building your website for free – though we recommend upgrading to one of its premium plans to remove ads and unlock additional features.

With other builders, like Shopify, you’ll need to browse a large app market for additional features, such as email marketing. But, do you have time to shop around for the right third-party apps or would you rather have everything at your fingertips within your website builder’s dashboard?

• Wix pricing: For a professional small business website, choose one of Wix’s premium plans, ranging from $17 to $159 per month (billed annually). Marketing power differs with each plan, so make a note of what you need more subscribing. We recommend Wix’s Core plan ($27/mo) since you unlock more lead-capture forms and site chat.

Marketing Features

Email or social media marketing can be used to build audience engagement and increase your brand’s visibility online. It’s a great way to share expertise on your niche subject or announce exciting business news – and an email or social post can serve as a reminder to people that your business exists.

Wix provides a built-in email marketing package with its website builder plans, allowing you to set up automated workflows, use brand assets from your website, and generate personalized messages so you can speak directly to your audience and customers. This isn’t something all builders provide – for example, Hostinger lacks any email marketing tools. Wix partnered with Mailchimp at the end of 2023 to help businesses streamline and coordinate communications.

SEO

Wix, like most major website builders, handles the SEO basics – letting you edit meta titles and image alt text, for example. But we love how Wix delivers SEO guidance to website owners and small businesses.

Wix creates a personalized SEO plan for your small business once you sign up, meaning you can action its recommendations quickly to ensure your website follows SEO best practices. This will help your website appear and rank in search engine results, allowing users to find relevant content to their query. When we tested this out for ourselves, we got a detailed checklist within a minute.

Wix gave me a personalized SEO checklist after I answered a few questions about my business. Source: Website Builder Expert

In addition to Wix’s SEO checklist, Wix provides a thorough SEO Learning Hub and access to a keyword research tool, Semrush. A recent addition to Wix’s SEO suite of tools is its AI Meta Tag Creator, freeing up your time by handing the task to AI. So, it’s no surprise that Wix scores a perfect 5 out of 5 in our SEO testing – with only Shopify sharing the same rating.

Organic search remains one of most impactful and cost-effective marketing channels available. Small businesses that invest the time and resources into building their online presence, and high-quality relevant content, not only build a stronger brand identity but also achieve sustained long-term success.

Caitlin Hathaway
Content Strategist

AI Tools

Website builders have been busy when it comes to adding AI tools to their features, rolling out new services like Wix’s AI Meta Tag Creator or Shopify Magic which helps you generate impactful product descriptions.

With Wix, you can use AI to build your website in just a few minutes (which is great for small businesses just starting out and looking to get online quickly). You can also make the most of Wix’s AI Text Creator to generate website copy, blog posts, product descriptions, and more.

However, when trialing the AI tool ourselves, we found the prompt to be a little restrictive since it made us choose a topic before adding keywords. That said, we liked the variety in the topic options, from “Team intro” to “FAQs”.

After clicking “Create Text”, Wix’s AI Text Creator generated three suggestions for me instantly. Source: Website Builder Expert

Whether you use AI to help create your entire website or write a fresh blog post, AI tools can be a useful way to cut down on time-consuming tasksand support your overall marketing strategy. The best part is that AI is still very new to the website builder industry, meaning AI products will continue to evolve and launch. For example, Squarespace has hinted at new AI features, including image support and an AI assistant in the editor.

Read our Wix Review for more information.

Squarespace

Best for stylish designs

Very Good

4.7

out of 5

• Stylish templates
• Recommended by users
• Impressive backend

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $16 – $52 / month

Pros

• Unique content tools
• Ideal for creative businesses
• Edit your site on the mobile app

Cons

• Not suitable for larger stores
• Less creative freedom than Wix
• Bad for multilingual sites

Squarespace Review

Visit Site

We know that first impressions make all the difference, which is why template variety, sleek design elements, and quality content are so important. If this sounds like something your small business wants to prioritize, then Squarespace is your best bet for a stylish website.

We especially recommend Squarespace forartist websites and creative businesses– or anyone looking to focus on visuals and appearance over other factors, such as ecommerce or backend power.

Squarespace uses the popular drag-and-drop style editor – but with a twist. When editing, you’ll notice a grid-style overlay, helping you snap elements into position. While this might sound more restrictive than other website builders, Squarespace’s grid layout helps your elements align neatlywith one another. You’ll find it difficult to create anything messy or bland when using Squarespace, once you combine its editor with the quality of its designs and templates.

• Squarespace pricing: Squarespace’s plans are great value for money and cost between $16 and $52 per month (billed annually). Though Squarespace’s first plan is only a dollar cheaper than Wix’s, it offers better quality features at a similar price point.

Template Quality

I could filter Squarespace’s themes to look specifically at industries or categories, such as “Health & Beauty”. Source: Website Builder Expert

Squarespace’s templates cover a wide range of industries, including “Fashion”, “Media & Podcasts”, “Real Estate & Properties”, and “Travel”. You can browse its selection without needing to sign up, and each template works harmoniously with every Squarespace element, feature, and design option.

So, while you can’t technically change templates after your initial choice – this is also a limitation of Wix – you can create a completely new look without starting from scratch. You can even edit your Squarespace website on the go with its app.

Squarespace offers around 160 templates to choose from – a far cry from Wix’s 800+ templates, but we’re focusing on quality over quantity here. Alternatively, you can create something from scratch with Squarespace’s AI builder, Squarespace Blueprint. However, we’d recommend a premade theme if you value uniqueness and individualitysince you can tweak these to suit your small business with ease. The AI-generated templates come out quite similar-looking.

Content Tools

What you put on your pages matters. Squarespace excels in this department, providing dozens of professionally designed elements to place on your pages, meaning you can display your content in a variety of ways. For example, an accordion is great if you want to hide additional content so visitors aren’t overwhelmed, or you could add a map to make the location of your small business really easy to spot.

When testing, I added an accordion to my page without a hitch. I could then edit the text and drag it around my homepage until I found the perfect spot. Source: Website Builder Expert

Using elements like these, or even carousels and charts, help make your content digestible to website visitors. People consume information in different ways, so breaking up your content into alternative formats ensures your key points are delivered.

Read ourSquarespace Review for more information, or check out this Q&A from a real Squarespace user:

Abbey Hudetz

Founder & CEO

Abbey Hudetz is the founder of Oyster Creative, a Brooklyn-based marketing agency and content studio that helps brands make waves online with Squarespace and Shopify sites. Oyster Creative’s website is built on Squarespace.

Squarespace is dynamic in that you can do an out-of-box build in almost no time or create something truly unique and custom.

Q&A

1. When did you start using Squarespace and how long did setting up your website take?

I have personally been building Squarespace sites for over 6 years. Our agency,
Oyster Creative
, has offered Squarespace website creation to clients for 4 years now. 

When it comes to website timeline, we offer a package for both digital brand guidelines and branded website buildout that takes about 6 weeks total for both services. 

With Squarespace, you can turn out a website in a few weeks or take your time, building out custom CSS and a lot of content. A website is constantly being evolved & changed once it is set live. Squarespace is dynamic in that you can do an out-of-box build in almost no time or create something truly unique and custom.

2. What is your favorite thing about using Squarespace?

My favorite thing about working in Squarespace is how intuitive it is. Especially since they have debuted the Fluid Engine Drag & Drop Website Editor. 



Most of our clients are small-to-midsize businesses and startups. They don’t have in-house developers to manage the ongoing web changes and the simplicity of the Squarespace backend makes the changeover so simple that team members without Web Dev experience can feel empowered to make no-code changes themselves. Of course, we also can offer to stay on and support.

3. Were you satisfied with your finished website? Would you recommend Squarespace to other small business owners?

We recommend Squarespace to our service-based business clients. However, Squarespace does have limitations when it comes to eCommerce, so for clients with online sales, we build out on Shopify.

Check out Oyster Creative here

GoDaddy

Best for expert guidance

Good

4.1

out of 5

• Fast response time
• Best value for money
• 24/7 phone + live chat

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $9.99 – $20.99 / month

Pros

• Excellent support for beginners
• Quick way to get online
• Interactive resources

Cons

• Lacks quality design options
• No email support
• Wouldn’t recommend for larger businesses

GoDaddy Review

Visit Site

You don’t need to be an expert in building or running a website from the get-go. If you feel like you’ll want a helping hand, or appreciate a few educational resources to help you get started, then we recommend choosing GoDaddy which offers expert guidance and support.

• GoDaddy pricing: GoDaddy offers a free plan and three premium plans, ranging from $9.99 to $20.99 per month(billed annually). Support remains the same across all plans, so if you’re looking to get online for an affordable fee, we recommend GoDaddy’s cheapest option, the Basic plan. In fact, GoDaddy is the best value for money– GoDaddy offers nearly all of the same standard features that you’d find on Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify, such as SEO and marketing tools, but for a fraction of the price. That said, GoDaddy isn’t as cheap as Hostinger, which has plans starting at $2.99.

Help and Support

Sure, ecommerce tools or high-quality website features are important, but they’re worthless unless you understand how to use them.

Ideally, a website builder will offer a variety of help and support channels, such as live chat or phone support – website owners can then choose the channel they’re comfortable with, improving the overall customer service experience. This makes sure your needs and pain points are heard if you ever run into trouble, addressing issues quickly and freeing up valuable time that can be spent on running your business instead.

Here’s what you can expect from GoDaddy:

• 24/7 phone support
• Social media support
• 24/7 live chat
• Knowledge center with tutorials and guides
• Community forum
• Expert supportfrom GoDaddy’s team to help with website maintenance, SEO, and more

Unfortunately, you can’t reach out to GoDaddy via email – if this is a support channel you require, we suggest looking at Shopify or Squarespace. Despite this, we were particularly impressed by GoDaddy’s live chat response time. In our tests, GoDaddy responded in less than 10 seconds.

We love the additional resources on GoDaddy, such as these guides and courses to help enhance your website builder knowledge. Source: Website Builder Expert

Read ourGoDaddy Review for more information.

Hostinger

Best for selling as a side hustle

Good

4.1

out of 5

• Impressive AI tools
• Affordable plans
• Beginner-friendly editor

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $2.99 – $109.99 / month

Pros

• 24/7 help and support
• Quick way to get online
• Great for simple sites

Cons

• Limited scalability
• No app market
• Not for advanced designs

Hostinger Review

Visit Site

If you’re new to the world of selling online or want to test out your business idea as a side hustle or small business, then Hostinger offers brilliant AI tools and a beginner-friendly editor to help you get online quickly.

• Hostinger pricing: Hostinger is the cheapest website builder on this list, offering a 30-day free trial and two plans which range from $2.99 to $3.99 per month (billed annually). To sell online, you’ll need the $3.99 Business Website Builder plan to unlock Hostinger’s ecommerce features and AI tools.

I used Hostinger’s AI Heatmap tool to see where visitors engage with the site. Source: Website Builder Expert

Time-Saving AI Tools

Hostinger relies heavily on its suite of AI tools, including an AI-powered website builder, but this makes it ideal for beginners and businesses looking to get up and running fast. If you use the Business Website Builder plan, you’ll have access to a range of features:

• AI Image Generator – create 50 images for free before you need to pay for additional credits (100 credits cost $4)
• AI Writer – populate your website with AI-generated copy and make sure to review the text for errors before publishing
• AI Page & Section Generator – get help when building your site’s structure
• AI Blog Post Generator – speed up your content creation using the power of AI
• AI Heatmaps – this is a great way to see how site visitors and customers are interacting with your website
• AI SEO Tools – Hostinger’s AI SEO Assistant can source keywords and create metadata for your pages, helping you optimize your pages
• AI Logo Maker – give your business or side hustle a professional look with a stylish logo

I think busy entrepreneurs would really benefit from Hostinger’s suite of time-saving AI tools. This is what makes Hostinger a smart choice for small businesses – it gives you a helping hand with things like website creation, content generation, and tracking customer engagement. Sure, with no email marketing it’s not the most scalable option, but when you’re a new business owner juggling all the tasks that comes with those early days of building and running a website, these AI tools can make a real difference and help you set up fast!

Lucy Carney
Deputy Editor

With these AI tools, Hostinger remains accessible for all, no matter your skill level. Using a simple prompt, you can generate images, text, blog posts, and more. This saves you time to build your inventory and tweak your business settings.

Read ourHostinger Website Builder Review for more information.

We’ve conducted in-depth testing on the top website builders for small businesses to bring you data-led recommendations. Our goal is to help you find a website builder that meets your needs – we cover the good, the bad, and everything in between so you have all of the facts.

For small businesses, we look at seven core categories:

• Sales features – 38%

We look at the ecommerce features on offer to support your online store, from payment options to abandoned cart recovery.

• Website features – 20%

Looking at the quality and quantity of a website builder’s features, such as SEO, AI, and marketing.

• Help and support – 17%

We test a builder’s help and support options and knowledge centers because we know every small business might need a helping hand now and then.

• User experience – 10%

We look at a website builder’s ease of use and accessibility by testing the builders ourselves.

• Design functionality – 7%

This category covers a website builder’s aesthetic capabilities and design options, such as templates and mobile editors.

• Value for money – 5%

We review a website builder’s pricing plans and what you can get for your money.

• Customer score – 3%

To see how a website builder performs in the market and against competitors.

Following our testing, each website builder is awarded a rating out of five, which we then use to determine our rankings.

We’ve shared our recommendations depending on your small business needs, but our top choice is Shopify. It offers a powerful all-in-one solution for small businesses, performing well across our research categories. It also has the best sales features out of all the builders we tested – we highly recommend this builder if you’re looking to sell online.

If you’re still unsure, here’s a reminder of our top five small business website builders and how they can help you:

• Shopify is the best small business website builder overall, but we specifically recommend it for businesses looking to sell online
• Wix offers high-quality website features, helping small businesses promote their websites online
• Squarespace is ideal for designing a stylish website, especially for creative small businesses – see how well it performed in our best website builder for artists and best website builder for musicians research
• GoDaddy provides small businesses with responsive help and support, and its affordable plans make it the best value for money
• Hostinger offers great AI tools to save small businesses time when setting up an online store

See how Shopify, our recommended choice for small businesses, compares to the rest in our detailed comparison pages: Shopify vs Wix, Shopify vs Squarespace, and Shopify vs GoDaddy.

All of these website builders offer either a free trial or a free plan, so you can try them out first to help you find the right fit for your small business.