Website builders are usually much easier to use than traditional content management systems (CMSs), and you don’t need any coding or special tech skills. This makes them especially useful for small business owners who want to create their own website or who can’t afford to hire a web developer to do it for them.
What is a website builder?
A website builder is a platform that enables you to create a website without a large number of special tech skills. Most website builders offer a selection of pre-designed templates that you can base your site on, user-friendly drag-and-drop interfaces to design your pages, and SEO support.
The key takeaway here is that if you can use a computer, you can use a website builder.
Why it makes sense to invest in a website builder
When you invest in a popular website builder, you will get access to a suite of tools for creating a website and managing ongoing operations. You won’t have to hire skilled web developers or other professionals to help you get online, which could lead to large savings.
Plus, website builders come with various features for customization and ongoing management, and they are usually all-inclusive—which means they come with web hosting, built-in security, and most management tasks taken care of.
#1 Elementor: Best Page Builder On WordPress
Elementor is a WordPress page builder plugin and by far the most popular one as well. It is presently active on more than 5 million websites and this number is continually increasing. It lets you build and edit customizable posts, pages, and landing pages with drag and drop simplicity. You do not have to work at the backend and constantly click the preview button to view the changes on the front end. Elementor works on the front end and you can see the changes live as you work on a page.
Another advantage is that you don’t have to mess with code to create a beautiful layout. Everything you need to design your page is available right in front of you in the Elementor editor. But perhaps one of my favorite features is the reusable templates that I can create, or if I am feeling lazy, I can snap one of the 150 pre-made templates instantly. This time-saving hack is the reason Elementor is loved not just by lay WordPress users but also by web designers who want to create custom designs for their clients quickly and easily.
If you’re someone looking to create a stunning WordPress website, we suggest getting started with Elementor Pro. The best part, you don’t need to have coding knowledge to start designing websites with Elementor Pro. Moreover, Elementor Pro also works with all the major WordPress themes and plugins.
#2 Wix: Best for Creating Beautiful, Unique Sites
Wix is one of the only builders that lets you create exactly the website you want. With the drag-and-drop editor, you can adjust the layout, change colors and fonts, add links and buttons, and much more. If you have a really specific idea in mind for your site, you don’t have to start from scratch. Wix offers over 800 templates organized in 19 different categories and 70+ subcategories.
What that means, in short, is that Wix has a template for just about any kind of website that you could think of. But you don’t even have to use the designated template for your industry. Wix’s customization freedom meant that I could just choose my favorite design and adjust it to meet my needs.
If you ever need even more features for your site, Wix offers a massive app market with over 250 native and third-party extensions. Many of the apps are free, and you can use them to add things as basic as simple contact forms or social media integrations to more advanced functionalities like full-blown e-commerce features or integrations for podcast feeds and livestreams.
All of this might make it sound like Wix is made only for the tech-savvy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Wix is incredibly easy to learn and use. And thanks to the free plan, you can try it out and even publish your site without paying a dime.
The one caveat is that it’s easy to get lost in all these features. I spent hours on my site, not because I had to, but because there was so much to explore and I was enjoying the process so much. Are there simpler builders out there? For sure, but nothing is quite like Wix.
#3 Squarespace: Best Responsive Templates
Squarespace is truly a beautiful website builder, both in the sites it creates and in the interface itself. It’s most similar to WordPress.com, with a block editor and similar navigation layout between pages and other design facets. However, I found the experience of building a site on Squarespace to be much smoother, like Wix, with everything a bit more connected in the interface.
Where most website builders emphasize either content or e-commerce more strongly, Squarespace manages to shine in both aspects, making it a great option for e-commerce stores of any size that also want to prominently feature their blog. (You can do this on other builders too, but Squarespace has strong functionality for both, at a greater scale than say, Wix.)
Squarespace doesn’t have a free plan (although it does offer a 14-day free trial), but you can access the majority of essential features on either of the lower tier plans, which are comparably priced to the other builders on this list.
#4 SITE123: Easiest Way to Make a Simple Site
SITE123 is definitively one of the simplest builders out there (hence the name – you should be able to build your site as quickly as one… two… you get the idea). That might make it a better choice if you’re just starting out. This website builder has more than 180 mobile-responsive templates and a strong selection of apps to expand your site’s functionality.
SITE123’s editor is point-and-click, meaning you’ll just be clicking a series of buttons and prompts to design your site inside a given framework. Instead of adjusting each element to the pixel, you’ll be adding and reordering sections for things like text, media galleries, and contact information. This type of editor ensures that your designs are always perfectly aligned.
Although there is a bit of a learning curve (especially if you’re used to drag-and-drop builders), once I figured out a few quirks, I was able to build my site much more quickly than on Wix. There are also some cool automatic features like breadcrumbs navigation, auto-categorization of products in the online store, and a super-easy contact form builder that made the process even quicker.
#5 1&1 IONOS Site Builder: Best Budget Option
IONOS’ MyWebsite Now builder is one of the simpler builders on this list. Instead of overwhelming you with features, IONOS focuses on giving you control over the core aspects of your site’s design.
That doesn’t mean that your IONOS website will look “basic” or lack functionality. IONOS takes care of the more complex aspects of building a site so it can provide you with the most streamlined experience possible. Building my site with IONOS was the fastest experience in all my testing, not to mention one of the cheapest.
While it doesn’t have quite the same number of features or templates as other builders, the designs are a lot slicker. Your customization options are relatively limited, but that’s not such a big deal when your starting options are as professional-looking. I won’t lie, it’s no Squarespace, but you can create a perfectly good-looking site with IONOS.
Instead of having dedicated plans for e-commerce, IONOS offers online store packages that you can add to any plan. This option also makes IONOS one of the cheapest e-commerce options available. It’s perfect for building a simple online store with all the necessary features.