A comprehensive review of the best free website builders.
If you want to create a stunning new website this year, you may have no choice but to choose. The market for drag-and-drop website builders has exploded in recent years. Therefore, finding the best free website builder for your business may seem like a difficult task.
Luckily, there are plenty of good options out there, and many of them are free or come with a free trial. If you have the time to try every one of the best website builders out there… we recommend you do so.
But, chances are you are too busy, probably planning your content and visualizing your ideal website. So to save you some time, we’ve compiled a list of the best free website builders out there.
Let’s dive into it!
- What is the best free website builder?
- Weebly
- Strikingly
- Webflow
- GoDaddy
- Site123
- Jimdo
- systeme.io
- Freewebstore
- Web node
- Image maker,
- Webstarts
- WordPress.com
- The best free website builders for eCommerce
- Square Online Store
- Ecwid
- The best website builder for free trials
- Squarespace
- Wix
- What is the best free website builder for small business websites?
- Advantages and disadvantages of choosing a free website builder
- Frequent questions
- Ready to go online with the best free website builder?
What is the best free website builder?
We started with Weebly.com
Weebly
Let’s start with a name you’ve probably heard before. Weebly is one of the oldest and fastest-growing brands in the industry. It has kept revising its software over the years, and now it’s bigger and better than ever.
Design and customization
As we hinted at in the introduction, Weebly is a drag-and-drop website builder. By this, we mean that you can select the element you want to place on the web page and, using your mouse or keyboard, drag it into place. It’s that simple.
If you have a bit of coding knowledge, you might also like to know that Weebly gives you access to a CSS module. From here, you can edit the code to modify the Weebly templates to your liking. This feature gives you extra control that many of Weebly’s competitors lack.
Also worth noting, Weebly comes with 40 mobile-friendly themes for you to choose from and customize.
Prices
Using Weebly is free (as long as you don’t mind having a Weebly subdomain or branding on your website).
So it’s easy to test this platform to see if you like the builder.
One thing Weebly does better than some of its competitors is that it doesn’t put a limit on the amount of content you can have on your site, even at the lowest pricing scheme.
If you want to upgrade to Weebly’s free plan, here’s what you’ll have to pay:
- For $6 a month, you can connect to a custom domain.
- For $12 a month, you get access to additional features, and Weebly ads are removed from your site.
- For $29 per month, you can add an eCommerce store to your website.
Easy to use
Weebly has an onboarding system that is incredibly easy to follow. Helpful tips appear when you need them. Then, once it’s set up and ready to go, Weebly remains innovative to use.
Features
Weebly has an app store that gives you access to tons of plugins that extend the functionality of your site. Another cool feature is that you can assign other editors to your website, so if you’re working as a team, you’re not limited by just one login account.
The website builder offers a robust shopping cart for eCommerce and a built-in blog.
Weebly doesn’t limit your navigation structures, so you can create a multitude of web pages that visitors can access from a dropdown menu. This is great for sites that handle many articles and product collections where they need to group and separate information.
However, Weebly might not be the best option for multilingual sites, specifically because it doesn’t have a feature for it. There are solutions, but Russian, Chinese, and Arabic characters are not fully supported.
Strikingly
Strikingly has carved out a niche in the website-building market by specializing in single-page websites. These have become especially popular because many users browse on mobile devices, where long-scrolling sites offer the best user experience.
Design and customization
Strikingly offers 25 themes to choose from. All of them have a contemporary feel and are perfectly suited to freelancers and startups. The designs are geared toward product display or landing page creation.
The template is modified by adding and editing sections that users scroll through. A bit frustrating is that all custom sections have to include a header and subtitle. The themes are also not very customizable. You can only set one color for the website, and you cannot customize its font colors, size, borders, or background images.
Prices
Strikingly has a free version that gives you 5 GB of monthly bandwidth and unlimited sites. There is 24/7 support, and you can run a simple store with one product per site.
The limited plan costs $8 per month. It allows you to connect a custom web domain, offers 50 GB of bandwidth per month, and allows you to sell five products per site.
The pro plan costs $16 per month. You can sell up to 300 products, access the Strikingly app store, embed HTML/CSS and JavaScript, remove Strikingly branding, and password-protect your site.
The VIP plan costs $49 per month. This gives you access to five pro sites, a simple store where you can list up to 500 products, and stores 2000 contacts per month, to whom you can send newsletters. It also has priority in customer service and helps in managing your account.
Features
Feature-wise Strikingly is pretty basic at what it specializes in. It is an excellent one-page website builder – everything else is somewhat limited. You can embed a blog, even if it doesn’t match your chosen template, and display and sell some products. There is an app for IOS and Android that you can use to edit your site on the go, so that’s a bonus!
Webflow
Webflow is a completely different cup of tea.
It’s less comparable to drag-and-drop website builders like Weebly and Wix, and more like advanced web design programs like Adobe Dreamweaver or even Photoshop, where developers can draw web page templates. As such, Webflow isn’t the most beginner-friendly solution on this list.
Design and customization
If you can imagine your site, you can use Webflow to bring it to life. Webflow is flexible and is mainly used by web designers, webmasters, and freelancers. There is no limit to what you can achieve as long as you know exactly what you are looking for.
Although there are templates where you can place your text and images, you will miss out on most of Webflow’s features if you go this design route.
So, if you’re looking to customize a website theme the easy way, a more conventional website builder might be a better option for you.
That said, Webflow still includes 40 free themes and hundreds of paid themes, ranging from $24 to $79.
Prices
you can use Webflow for free. But, there are limitations. As with Weebly, you will have to use the Webflow subdomain, and its banner ads, and you will not be able to export the code.
If you decide to upgrade, here are Web flow’s paid plans:
- For $12 a month, you can connect your web domain, process 500 form submissions, and get a free SSL certificate.
- For $16 a month, you can process 1,000 forms and 2,000 CMS elements, and you can add up to three content editors. You also get access to site searches.
- For $36/month, get an advanced global CDN, unlimited form submissions, a full CMS API, and up to 10 content editors.
In addition to this, there are also various eCommerce plans ranging from $29 to $212 and multiple programs and team plans if you are using Webflow to handle dozens of projects in one go.
Easy to use
Webflow is not the website builder to use if you want to create a website in one afternoon and have it up and running the next day.
Webflow transforms visual information into clear code. Thus, web designers express their vision, and the code follows.
Although Webflow requires no programming skills, without design principles or knowledge of how a website is built in the first place, newbies could find themselves at a loss between all the features.
However, users with a knowledge of web design who want to create websites regularly might find Webflow very useful. He speaks the language of designers, so you’ll be in his element.
Features
Webflow offers users maximum customization and flexibility. Although you don’t access the code, you do have access to the ID selectors, and you can manage the classes and styles just like editing a CSS file.
Webflow does not have an app store. Instead, you can create all the functionality you might need. But, it comes with some basic building blocks to make all this possible, like a trigger element management system to create popups on hover, or social media sharing.
And it comes with a worthy eCommerce engine. Here you will find an extensive set of tools to customize your online shopping process. Webflow pays close attention to SEO, allowing you to assign page titles as well, descriptions, and meta tags, all from one window.
GoDaddy
You may know GoDaddy for their web hosting and domain names, and you’re not wrong. But aside from these services, GoDaddy also offers a website-building service.
Design and customization
GoDaddy is somewhat limited in its design capabilities. It offers about 20 themes that can’t be tweaked in depth, which is fine if you want to stick with one template, but professionals will find it limiting. The layouts are up-to-date and stylish, but the lack of editing capabilities is a drawback. There is also no access to CSS coding.
However, the themes are mobile-friendly, and you can access a “mobile view” of your site through your desktop dashboard and make changes to the responsive design.
Prices
Shocked, GoDaddy doesn’t offer its website builder tool for free, but you can try it out during its one-month free trial.
- The Basic plan, at $5.99 per month, allows you to create simple, ad-free sites.
- The Standard plan, at $9.99 per month, includes the HTTPS protocol and comes with PayPal integration.
- The Premium plan, at $14.99 per month, gives you access to email marketing tools, and social media integration, and optimizes your site speed.
The eCommerce plan for $19.99 per month includes eCommerce features like credit card payment processors and abandoned cart recovery.
Features
here, GoDaddy also lags behind other products we have already mentioned. Its blogging and e-commerce features, found on the higher priced plans, are relatively basic, and it’s not brilliantly optimized for SEO due to its awkward placement of sections. However, there is an extensive widget store, which is great for introducing additional functionality to your site.
Site123
Site123 ‘s approach is to ask you a few questions about your needs; and create a template for yourself very later in your answers. It’s ideal for people who need a site up and running as fast as they can say, one, two, or three.
Design and customization
Site123 comes with responsive mobile and tablet templates, but you cannot change your template once your website goes live. There is not much creative freedom or flexibility.
Prices
As a website builder, Site123 is not the cheapest. In addition to its free plan that comes with 500 MB of storage and 1 GB of bandwidth, it offers a single paid plan that unlocks all the remaining Site123 features.
This pro plan for $12.80 per month allows you to connect your web domain (you’ll get a free domain for one year), use up to 10GB of storage with 5GB of bandwidth, get access to an e-commerce store, and remove all ads from Site123.
Site123 pricing is very transparent, so you don’t have to worry about missing out on features that might come with more expensive plans, which often happens with other site builders.
Features
Site123 They come with SSL certificates and a feature to auto-save and restore your site. There are basic e-commerce and blogging features, but nothing as advanced as builders that cater precisely to these requirements. In general, the set of tools is a bit limited. Although they work very well for simple personal websites, more complex sites may find themselves too restricted.
Customer service and ease of use
Site123 offers brilliant customer support, primarily through its live chat feature. It is one of the simplest site builders out there and offers an easy-to-use app marketplace.
Jimdo
Jimdo is one of the cheapest website builders on the market, but you arguably get what you pay for. It has mixed reviews from users, so while it’s the most affordable way to make your site ad-free, other still-free website builders might beat this one.
But, if you’re looking for a cheap version to get started, check out Jimdo.
Design and customization
Jimdo comes with several preset templates that you can edit and drag elements into. However, while editing these templates is straightforward, going against them or breaking their structure in some way is a laborious process. Not to mention that sometimes this causes problems with the flow of the site.
So overall, Jimdo is more suitable for beginners who are content to insert their content into an existing layout.
Prices
Jimdo’s free plan is great for simple projects with a maximum of 4GB. Also, like the others, you can’t connect your domain name.
- For $7.50 a month, you get an ad-free website, but no online store.
- For $20/month, unlock enterprise-grade features like a digital storefront and premium technical support.
Overall, Jimdo ‘s pricing plans seem a bit restrictive: Not many features are added for the extra $13, and the first pro plan is still limited to just 5GB of space.
Features
Jimdo has a mobile app available for Android and IOS. This app is one of the best on the market for creating a website using a tablet or mobile phone. So, if you are planning to work on the go, this is an interesting feature to check out.
Other than that, Jimdo is quite similar to its competitors.
It also provides decent SEO tools, including SSL encryption and a paid ranking coaching tool, to help boost you and your business.
Although Jimdo has a decent online store built into its paid version, it does not have a credit card gateway available. Therefore, customers can only offer PayPal or manual payments, which is a major drawback.
Jimdo also does not offer built-in backup or restore tools.
systeme.io
systeme.io is a one-size-fits-all website builder and marketing solution. It combines six critical tools in one: sales funnels, email marketing, online courses, website builder, affiliate program management, and marketing automations.
Design and customization
Systeme.io comes with a visual website and landing page editor, where you can choose from various elements and drag them into sections and columns on the page.
Overall, design flexibility is a bit limited and not as intuitive as other website builders. Its more advanced design features include position adjustment and full color. But you can’t get too creative outside of these basic website designs. Not to mention, there are limited templates to choose from.
Prices
Systeme.io offers a free plan with unlimited storage, monthly emails, and students for your online course. You get access to all the features including the website builder and you can create a website on a custom domain. However, most other features are limited on the free plan. These thresholds increase as they are updated through the price levels. Each plan also includes 24/7 email support.
The Startup plan costs $27 per month and unlocks 5,000 contacts and three custom domains. You also get more automation rules, upsells, sales funnels, email campaigns, and more.
The webinar plan for $47 per month unlocks webinars. In addition, you will get up to 10,000 contacts and can work with 10 custom domains.
The unlimited plan costs $97 per month and unlocks free migration and a 1-on-1 Kickstarter training session. Other than that, it provides unlimited everything: contacts, sales funnels, domains, automations, coupon codes, etc.
If you subscribe to any annual plan (with a 30% discount), you will also get a free web migration as a bonus.
Features
When it comes to web design, Systeme.io only offers basic functionality. This would suit any beginner who just needs a clean and functional website. Where the platform shines, however, is in its marketing package, which includes many trading tools that otherwise need to be purchased separately. Also, the free plan allows you to try out their website builder for yourself.
Freewebstore
As its name suggests, Freewebstore claims to offer an easy way to create an online store. This eCommerce site builder is light on the wallet and offers tons of mobile themes to choose from.
Prices
The free plan allows you to post up to 30 product listings, which you can divide into product categories. You also have access to an inventory tracking tool.
Freewebstore has a lot of features to help you manage your online store; however, if you want to have a larger store or access to a built-in blog and SEO tools, you may want to upgrade.
Also, note that a 2% transaction fee is charged when a sale is made.
Design and customization
Freewebstore offers over 40 free store layouts to choose from.
But, compared to more advanced eCommerce platforms like Shopify or Magneto, it’s not as robust in terms of customization and design features.
It does, however, have some great design tools, like multi-page creation, custom logos and banners, a personal design library, and a theme editor.
In general, as Freewebstore is e-commerce-oriented, the templates are more geared toward store designs than websites.
Features
How Freewebstore is an eCommerce solution, some of its features are different from the site builders we have mentioned so far, as it has plugins for social selling, shipping management, and multiple payment options including PayPal and Stripe.
Freewebstore also offers abandoned cart recovery tools and a back-end management system for sales support. Overall, it includes a set of useful tools for anyone who wants to start selling online.
Its SEO tools are also quite advanced, offering Google Webmaster integration and SEO optimization for blog posts, Facebook and Twitter marketing, and conversion tracking through Google.
More tools are available in the Freewebstore app market.
Web node
Webnode‘s interface isn’t the prettiest, nor does it offer many eCommerce options. But if you’re looking for a website builder with theme customization and drag-and-drop features, it’s a worthy competitor. Webnode was one of the first website builders, founded in 2008, and has since attracted over 30 million users.
Design and customization
Webnode offers various responsive website design templates. However, you can’t modify the HTML or CSS, so customization beyond the theme is somewhat limited. You can change the background color of each section, but in general, other web builders are more flexible. Also, keep in mind that you cannot change the theme without losing all content.
Prices
The free plan gives you unlimited access to Webnode’s website builder, including unlimited pages and blog support. However, the free plan only works through a Webnode subdomain and limits you to 4 GB of space.
- For $3.95, you can connect your domain name.
- For $5.95, you get a professional email address, but the Webnode ads are still on your site.
- For $11.95, you can remove the ads and create bilingual websites
- For $19.95 per month, you get up to 5 GB of storage, 100 email accounts, and multilingual sites.
You may notice that the jump in price doesn’t offer much more in terms of features, and you can only access the three plan removal ads! Also, the storage doesn’t scale much further either, so for websites with large amounts of content, Webnode isn’t the best value for money.
Features
Webnode comes with a useful set of tools even on its free plan. This includes the following features: opt-in forms, blogs, e-commerce, and an HTML editor. However, there is no app center to extend the functionality, which may seem to limit it. However, thanks to the HTML section, you can embed widgets with a bit of coding magic; Of course, this requires a bit of knowledge.
Regular plans also don’t come with an SSL certificate, which may deter some visitors from your site, and the only program that does include SSL is Webnode’s more expensive eCommerce plan.
Image maker,
A former WIX employee founded Image Builder but has struggled to match the success of the popular drag-and-drop platform.
Design and customization
IMCreator comes with several nice themes and templates. Each element can be customized with a quick click, which is a nice feature that many other builders don’t include. You can also adjust the look of your site on mobile devices within IMCreator’s desktop editor.
There is also the option to create a theme from scratch if you have some web design experience. However, design customization is hampered by the lack of drag-and-drop functionality and poor customer support on offer. And be careful, you can’t change your theme after publishing, at least without losing all the content. You also cannot access the HTML or CSS codes.
Prices
Image Maker is free for students, artists, and nonprofits only, making it an option for anyone looking for a limited website builder that doesn’t fall into those categories.
For $8 a month, you can connect your domain and enjoy unlimited bandwidth. This is a more affordable option compared to some of the others on this list.
For £350 a year, get access to IMCreator’s pro and white label account. It is intended for web design agencies, and as part of this plan, you get unlimited website licenses.
Features
A nice feature of Image Builder is that you can connect your own web domain at all price levels. You can also implement a donation button if you have a charity website. You also have access to high-quality stock images, which helps speed up the design process.
But overall, the lack of an app store, image editing tools, and email marketing puts this website builder behind its controller when it comes to features.
Easy to use
IMCreator is not as easy to use as Weebly, Wix, or Squarespace; (it generally) provides a more complex design experience. It is more suitable for users with a lot of experience in web design and web designers who create websites for their clients.
Some issues with the interface include the lack of a widget panel; you can’t pick a bar of items and drag them. There are also no prompts or guides to help you through the initial onboarding process.
Webstarts
This website builder includes a great image editing tool but at the cost of a slightly more complicated interface. Let’s take a look at Web starts to see if it fits your needs…
Prices
Webstarts does not offer a money-back guarantee, but there is a free plan for you to try.
On top of that, this is their pricing structure:
- pro, for $9.78 per month, you get unlimited pages, 100 contacts, five galleries, 5GB of storage, ad removal, live chat, and a notification center.
- The Pro Plus plan, for $14.32, allows for a custom domain name, unlimited galleries, $250 in advertising, mobile optimization, an HTML editor, and 10GB of cloud storage.
The Business plan, for $39.98 per month, offers $500 in advertising, five company email addresses, unlimited contacts, 40GB of cloud storage, and access to an online store.
Ease of use and customer support
One of the pros of Webstarts is its excellent customer support system. However, the learning curve that comes with Webstarts is quite steep. With so many buttons and toolbars at your disposal, and without a simple drag-and-drop interface, Webstart’s control panel can seem daunting to novices.
After a day or so, you might get the hang of it if you’re tech-savvy, but for someone looking for an intuitive and easy-to-use experience, this isn’t the website builder for you.
Features
Webstarts has a great quality image editor. You can choose between stock photos, take a photo with your webcam, or integrate images from your Facebook account. Image editing is done through Aviary and allows you to adjust lighting, add effects and filters, and even remove blemishes.
Overall, its features aren’t the most robust and it lacks deeper customization options. For example, you can’t format the text of blog posts. Also, SEO (search engine optimization) tools are only found at a higher price point.
Yes, Webstarts gets the job done for most basic sites, but it’s not as advanced as some of the other website builders out there.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is not what usually comes to mind when people think of WordPress. Unlike wordpress.org, which is open-source software with which you can create websites, wordpress.com is a more generic website builder with more user-friendly features. In general, WordPress.com is one of the best options if you want to create a blog (for free).
Design and customization
WordPress.com has a ton of themes, both free and paid. The WordPress community is so active that there will surely be no shortage of themes and applications to choose from.
Themes cannot be previewed before choosing them, which makes it a bit more difficult to select the designs on offer. Also, WordPress.com is not a drag-and-drop builder, instead, it uses forms to determine what the content looks like. However, through WP-Admin, you have much more control over how your site looks compared to other systems (as long as you know how to code).
Prices
If you want to upgrade from the free WordPress plan, here are their paid packages, keep in mind that these prices are billed annually:
- For $4.00 per month, connect a custom domain name, enjoy the removal of all WordPress ads, high-quality email and live chat support, as well as 100+ themes to choose from for free.
- For $8 a month, you get access to more advanced design tools, CSS editing, plenty of room to store audio and video, and the ability to monetize your site with ads. You also get unlimited access to premium WordPress themes.
- For $24/month, you can use custom plugins and themes, and get access to Google Analytics for support and unlimited storage.
Features
WordPress.com boasts a vast app marketplace and a thriving community, so it’s not short of features. It inherits the amazing blogging features from WordPress.org, making it the market leader when it comes to creating blogging websites.
WordPress.com is a compromise between a website builder and the original open-source WordPress software. If you are a blogger who already knows WordPress, it is ideal. But, for anyone else, it can be a steep learning curve. You will need a considerable amount of knowledge of WordPress to take advantage of its full potential. Also, it may not be the best option if you only need simple features for a basic website.
Easy to use
As WordPress does not have a drag-and-drop interface, it is more difficult to use than other website builders that we have already mentioned.
The best free website builders for eCommerce
Square Online Store
Prices
Square Online Store gives you all the easy-to-use tools you need to quickly start selling online. With only the cost of payment processing on its free plan (2.9% + $0.30 per sale), it’s an affordable option.
But, if you need additional functionality beyond what the free version offers, their paid plans range from $12/per month to $79/per month. They all include unlimited storage and can add a custom domain.
Design and customization
Square offers a great set of modern and fresh-looking templates. You can change the theme at any time through the store editor, and all layouts are responsive.
Easy to use
Square offers a great user experience. The site only takes a few minutes to set up, and Square can be integrated with other website builders like Weebly and BigCommerce.
But, outside of the company’s support center, it can be difficult to find materials online. So if you run into a new problem, you’re on your own.
Features
Square Online Store comes with all the eCommerce functionality expected in its premium plans, allowing you to categorize your items, manage your inventory, and sell online.
However, online purchases are limited to customers shopping in the United States for delivery to United States addresses. For anyone outside of the United States, the shopping cart will not be visible.
There are some awkward ways that Square Online handles eCommerce features.
Although there are some feature limitations, for example, you can only set shipping costs at a flat rate for the entire site – which means that customers could face shipping costs for small items, even if they are residing in the same state as you. Or, you could offer free shipping and run a loss on some products – either way, these shipping settings are far from ideal.
But overall, Square offers a great set of tools for eCommerce. It’s easy to use and very cheap to get started.
Ecwid
Ecwid freemium area store plugin that can be used to add an eCommerce store to an existing website.
Prices
Their basic plan is free, but their Venture plan costs $12.50 per month. This plan provides a fairly robust feature set, adequate for most small stores. You can add up to 100 items and access many payment gateways and shipping companies.
You can unlock more benefits for $29.17 per month with their business plan. You can use product variations filters and integrations with eBay and other online marketplaces.
Easy to use
Ecwid couldn’t be easier to install. Since it comes as a plugin rather than a standalone site builder, its interface is focused on getting your store up and running as quickly as possible. Ecwid’s onboarding process is also easy to follow.
Features
Ecwid allows you to add HTML code, so you have the option to customize and add features as you need them. You also have access to an online cart and a user rating tool. You can even sell digital products as well as physical ones and set up a hotspot for customers.
Not to mention that you can also integrate with various dropshipping providers. Inventory management features are also helpful and can be set up to notify you if an item is running low.
The best website builder for free trials
Some of the leading website builders on the market do not offer free plans, but they do offer a free trial that is worth trying. Squarespace and Wix surely fall into this category. These website builders resemble Weebly in their interface and structure but offer more extensive features.
Squarespace
Squarespace is another proven giant in the website-building industry. It has millions of users who usually have good reviews. So it’s no wonder it can afford to be a premium service.
Design and customization
Squarespace has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor and offers 60 high-quality templates. Its layouts are meant to showcase visuals, making it ideal for artists and photographers who want to showcase their work. Plus, you can switch templates at any time, even after your site goes live.
Prices
Squarespace offers a 14-day trial. Beyond that, here are their payment plans:
- For $12 per month, get unlimited bandwidth and storage, a free custom domain, SSL security, 24/7 customer support, access to two contributor accounts, and website metrics.
- The business plan, at $18 per month, allows you to create an unlimited number of partner accounts, access to a fully integrated e-commerce store, a mobile information bar, a $100 credit for Google Ads, a Google professional email, and advanced metrics for the website.
- Squarespace also offers two eCommerce plans that range from $26 to $40.
Easy to use
Squarespace is a bit more difficult to use than Weebly or Wix. Its interface is clear, easy to understand, and uncluttered. However, it differs slightly from other drag-and-drop editors in that you can’t just drag elements anywhere. The editor is more section-based, which can take more time to get used to. However, those with a little patience or some technical knowledge will find it very easy to navigate.
Features
Squarespace is at its best when used for blogs or small businesses that want to feature lots of images. It has a ton of built-in blogging tools, making it a serious competitor to WordPress.com. There is also a mobile app available so you can edit your site on the go.
Squarespace also has a good set of eCommerce tools. In general, the website builder offers a great set of tools in all contours, regardless of the sector you belong to. Squarespace is fully scalable, so as your business grows, your Squarespace website grows with you.
Wix
Wix is another leading website builder on the market; It is highly recommended all over the web and is used by more than 100 million people worldwide.
Design and customization
Wix is a drag-and-drop editor with over 500 templates to choose from, each with high levels of customization. It also includes a mobile editor so you can make changes to your design. The options are so vast that it can be a bit overwhelming.
Note: you cannot change your template after you have launched it.
Prices
In addition to a free plan that provides access to most of Wix’s features, though, under the umbrella of the Wix subdomain and brand, Wix has several pricing plans. The cheapest plan allows you to connect your domain and access 500 MB of bandwidth.
The combo plan, $13 per month, gives you 3 GB of storage, removes Wix ads, and includes a web domain for one year. You can upload 30 minutes of videos and you will earn $75 in ad vouchers.
The unlimited plan for $17 per month includes 10GB of storage, as well as the site booster and visitor analytics app.
The VIP plan, for $39 per month, includes 20GB, as well as a professional logo, logo files for social media, and priority support.
: In addition, Wix also has some business and e-commerce plans.
Features
Wix users enjoyed a rich set of features, but if anything is missing, there’s an app marketplace with over 280 plugins!
Wix has everything you need to create your website, including a guide to improving your SEO, a variety of contact forms, and the ability to activate a blog and online store.
What is the best free website builder for small business websites?
If you are a small business, these are the website builders we recommend:
Weebly, the Best Small Business Website Builder
Weebly is one of the cheapest options without page and content limitations. It has a user-friendly interface and excellent customer support. Its features are great for getting on the web quickly and it provides you with a handy toolkit with everything you need to design and manage your site.
Webflow
Webflow may only work for those who have some knowledge of web design. Still, if you have a clear idea of what you want, Webflow is one of the most flexible and powerful tools on the market to bring your vision to life.
WordPress.com
WordPress website builder may not be for everyone. However, if you blog extensively or are already familiar with the WordPress editor, this is one of the most powerful website builders on the internet. Millions of people use it, and it’s the winner for having the best blogging features on the market.
Advantages and disadvantages of choosing a free website builder
At first, choosing a free website builder to design your website seems like a great way to save money for your business. After all, you probably have a limited budget to start with. With expenses like staffing, manufacturing, and even advertising to think about, you won’t spend a fortune on a website builder too.
Choosing a free website builder and content management system helps you save money that you can use elsewhere essential to growing your business. However, there are also some disadvantages. For example, most free website builders don’t come with all the tools and features you’d expect from premium products.
Sites like Weebly and Wix add access to the basic tools you need to design a website. However, if you need something more advanced, including analysis tools and more themes, you might be out of luck. These are the pros and cons of using a free website builder.
Pros:
- The price: Website builders allow businesses to create their own websites, for free, often with no coding skills required. By not having to spend a fortune on your site-building technology, you can spend more of your budget on things like marketing and growing your business.
- They are usually easy to use – Tools like Wix and Squarespace are relatively easy to use, even at their free tiers. However, keep in mind that other website builders, like WordPress, have a steeper learning curve. If you’re looking for simplicity, you’ll have to do your research.
- Large Communities – Because there are a large number of business owners out there who see the value in free website builders, there are also large communities. You can usually find people on social media or Quora to answer any questions you may have. However, you may have a hard time getting professional help.
Contras:
- Ownership of data: If you decide to leave the company with which you have created your website, there is no guarantee that you will be able to carry out your website. You better check if you will still own your website if you opt for a free option.
- Limited customization options: With a free website builder you only get the bare minimum of features. There’s a chance that you don’t have many website templates to choose from, and the code or designs may be outdated. Some free website templates are also not responsive, which hurts your online presence.
- Image issues: One of the biggest downsides to using a free website builder is that you will often have to advertise the builder on the site itself. This means that you could have “made with Wix” or similar branding scattered all over your site. This is not a good thing if you are trying to build a successful-looking brand.
- Limited storage space: Your free website builder may only allow you to make a certain number of pages before you run out of space. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be enough for most businesses. If you decide to make multiple product pages or want to market with content, then you’ll need unlimited page options.
- No domain name: Some free website builders allow you to include your own domain name. However, most of the time, you will end up with a subdomain. This could mean that your site gets a URL like AnnesCupcakes.wix.com, instead of the domain you want.
- Expenses for additional plugins: Since the amount of functionality you get from a free website builder is very limited, there is a good chance that you will want to expand it with extra functionality. Unfortunately, paying for all the extra plugins you need could mean you spend more than you would have on a premium site.
- Customer Service: Lastly, if you use a free website builder like Ucraft or Mozello, there is no guarantee that you will get fantastic customer service. While you may have access to things like email support tickets, the options to speak with an expert via live chat or phone call may be limited and reserved for people who pay for your hosting service.
Frequent questions
Deciding whether or not to use a free online website builder to create your site isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Often the best bet for most businesses is to start with a free version of a website builder to see if they like how the technology works.
If you are comfortable with the tool you choose, then you can get rid of any additional hassle by simply upgrading to a more advanced version. You’ll usually have to pay for a premium package to sell products anyway. Most free software solutions will allow you to create a basic website, but e-commerce is rarely included.
These are some of the most frequently asked questions about free website builders.
Are free website builders good for SEO?
A: Unfortunately, it is not likely that you will be able to get a free website builder to help you reach the top of the search engines. Although there are some tools available for search engine optimization, you may need to work with a professional web developer to get the most out of your website. This means assuming an additional expense.
Most website builders only offer the very basics in terms of SEO. You’ll be able to edit title tags, meta descriptions, and other parts of your website, but you may not get any advice on things you can do to improve your site’s structure for SEO or address a host of other issues.
Which website builder is the easiest to use?
A: The easiest website builder for you will be the one you feel most comfortable with. The good thing about using free website builders is that you can try out some of the features of a premium product in advance. Also, you can try several different options and choose the most suitable one for you without spending any money.
Many people like Wix for its easy drag-and-drop website-building experience. However, Squarespace is a very good option if you are a design-focused company as well, such as an interior designer. Square’s online store may be one of the best options for eCommerce sites, while WordPress is ideal for those who don’t mind using the help of the community.
What is the best e-commerce website builder?
The best website builder for designing an eCommerce site is the one that gives you the most features, without forcing you to upgrade to a premium option. Shopify is great for eCommerce in general, but it’s not free. On the other hand, the Square online store allows you to build a real store for free.
With Square, you only pay the cost of payment processing when you process transactions. You also have a ton of templates to choose from and a great user experience. However, Square doesn’t offer much customer support.
Is Wix free?
A: It’s rare to find a website builder that doesn’t lead to additional costs eventually. Ultimately, you’re going to have to pay if you want things like a checkout page for your eCommerce store, or premium widgets and tools for your site.
Wix is available for free if you want to use the basic tools to design a website. However, if you want access to professional features, such as the option to use your own domain name, or set up an eCommerce store, you will need to choose one of Wix’s premium plans. The cheapest plan with a custom domain name costs around $6 per month but doesn’t include e-commerce features.
Speaking of the “hidden” extra costs of free website builders, remember that you may also have to pay for extras with any free website builder. For example, if you want your own domain, you’ll have to buy it yourself, unless you choose a website builder with a free domain name included. You may also have to pay for an SSL certificate.
Ready to go online with the best free website builder?
We hope this list has helped you get an idea of the best free website builder to suit your needs. There are tons of software on the market, so you need to think about your current and future business plans and choose a solution that complements your ambitions.
Remember that you may find that after a while of experimenting with the best free website builders, they no longer get the right features from their initial software. If that’s the case for you, you may need to upgrade to a premium package.
If you’re planning to run an eCommerce business, for example, most free website builders don’t come with built-in eCommerce tools. Even tools that offer free e-commerce options won’t be completely free, as you’ll have to pay transaction and payment processing costs. Keep this in mind when choosing your site builder.
We recommend starting with a free plan to see what type of website builder works well for you, then upgrading as your business grows.
All of these options have free trials or plans, so give your favorites a try and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear how you did in the comment box below, talk back soon!