Best Website Builders of 2023: Find the Perfect Platform
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Finding the right website builder software can be hard. Lucky for you, we’ve done the hard work and compiled a list of what we believe are the best website builders on the market today.
Whether you’re a do it yourself type of person, a small business owner, an artist looking to start an ecommerce store, or a bargain hunter looking for the cheapest deal, there’s a website builder here for you.
Best Website Builder Overall: Drag and drop website builders are the best thing since sliced bread. If you can visualize a web design idea, you can build it with Elementor. Their visual website builder is super easy to use and is paired with WordPress CMS.
You can create landing pages, marketing funnels, one page websites, an ecommerce store compatible with WooCommerce, start from scratch, or choose from their rolodex of pre-made templates. 5,000,000 professionals have already used Elementor to build their sites, that’s saying a lot.
Third-party developers have also created plenty of add-ons to go with Elementor. So if there’s a custom design or tweak you’d like to make for your site, chances are there’s an add-on to help you do it.
Elementor offers a free website builder option where you can start creating right away with no cost out of pocket. All you’ll need is a WordPress website to get started.
Their paid version, Elementor Pro, is offered in three options. You can choose licensing for 1, 3, or up to 1,000 websites. And the best part is you’ll never have to write a single line of code.
Simply drag, drop, and publish. It’s that simple.
Read the full Elementor Review.
Top WordPress Website Builder: winner by a landslide. If you want a visual website builder paired with University styled tutorials that teach you everything you need to know about web design, then Webflow is the right choice for you.
They offer a rolodex of lessons in their Webflow University (free of charge) where you can learn the in’s and out’s of how to style your website to your liking.
And if creating a site from scratch isn’t your thing, you can choose from hundreds of templates from other community members and simply hit the clone button.
Webflow offers their very own CMS (content management system) if you’re looking to blog or create articles, they even offer web hosting. They take an all-in-one approach when it comes to website services.
You can create a free website using Webflow but it will have the webflow.io extension unless you purchase hosting and a domain name from a third party..
They offer a variety of plans at pretty decent price points for what you get. Basic, CMS, Business, and Enterprise packages are the options.
Brands like Facebook, NASA, CBS, Twitter, Dell and many others use Weblow as their go to website builder.
So if you don’t mind sitting down and attending some class, or already have knowledge in HTML and CSS, then Webflow may be the right choice for you.
Read our full GeneratePress Review
Custom Web Design winner by a landslide. If you want a visual website builder paired with University styled tutorials that teach you everything you need to know about web design, then Webflow is the right choice for you.
They offer a rolodex of lessons in their Webflow University (free of charge) where you can learn the in’s and out’s of how to style your website to your liking.
And if creating a site from scratch isn’t your thing, you can choose from hundreds of templates from other community members and simply hit the clone button.
Webflow offers their very own CMS (content management system) if you’re looking to blog or create articles, they even offer web hosting. They take an all-in-one approach when it comes to website services.
You can create a free website using Webflow but it will have the webflow.io extension unless you purchase hosting and a domain name from a third party..
They offer a variety of plans at pretty decent price points for what you get. Basic, CMS, Business, and Enterprise packages are the options.
Brands like Facebook, NASA, CBS, Twitter, Dell and many others use Weblow as their go to website builder.
So if you don’t mind sitting down and attending some class, or already have knowledge in HTML and CSS, then Webflow may be the right choice for you.
Read our full Webflow Review
Easiest Website Builder to use is Squarespace. Stylish templates, easy to set up, all in one web services, prices that fit your budget.
Whether you want to start a blog, are a photographer looking to display your work, or need to design a restaurant styled website for a client, Squarespace has you covered.
Their editing interface is clean and to the point. Unlike Webflow, Squarespace has kept simplicity and ease of use in mind for their users. They even offer a free domain name when registering for a new plan.
Did we mention everything is desktop, tablet, and mobile responsive? That’s right, make an edit on desktop, and it reflects perfectly on the other two.
Squarespace features both personal and business plans to choose from and offers monthly and annual pricing. Use your email, create a free Squarespace account, and see if it’s the right web builder for you.
Simple Website Builder: This spot goes to Wix. With over 500+ templates to choose from, visual site builder, application add-on’s built into the interface to choose from to spruce up your site, this is by far the simplest website builder available on the market.
A lot of creators tend to flock to Wix for creating their web presence and its no secret why. They really do make things simple and easy to set up. Wix is best for artists, photographers, bands, and for setting up a small business website as well.
If you’re looking to start a blog, Wix probably isn’t your best option. It isn’t the greatest for creating a website with 15+ pages of deep content. Also, responsive can be a bit of a pain with the Wix editor.
Sure, you have a lot of templates to choose from, but Wix gives you the freedom to visually design exactly how you want. And when it comes to web design, creating an appealing design on desktop, isn’t always going to translate to a great looking mobile or tablet design.
Nevertheless, Wix is still a great choice if you’re looking for simplicity and affordability.
Best WordPress Theme. Divi is WordPress page builder brought to you by Nick Roach and the team over at ElegantThemes. They’ve been around for the last decade and are one of the true originals when it comes to premium WordPress themes
Until recently, they’ve always pumped out pre-made themes to plug in to, then a few years back, they decided to get into the page builder space and thus Divi was born.
Offering over 140+ templates, built in extensions, and various layout packages. There’s even Divi meetups where you can collaborate with other Divi designers. There’s an entire ecosystem revolving around Divi, so community support is something you can count on.
It does come with a slight learning curve, which is why it’s ranked where it’s ranked. Fortunately, Elegant Themes is really great about keeping their software up to date, making their pricing options very attractive. You can select from an annual subscription, or pay one time for lifetime access. Either way, you’ll be in good hands.
Read our full Divi Builder Review
Best One Page Website Builder: Single page websites have become more and more popular over the years. They’re great for making resume based websites, a timeline based website, or even a simple website displaying all of your contact info.
You can create a free website using Carrd and have your website hosted with the .carrd extension. Or, if you choose their affordable Go Pro option and get access to a custom domain name, email sign up forms, and even enable payment options with Strip, PayPal, Gumroad, etc.
Carrd is best for those looking to create responsive, simple, beautiful one page websites with basic features such as email collection, contact forms, and simple payment processing. If that sounds like you, Carrd is the builder you’ve been looking for.
Read our Carrd Review
Great for Ecommerce: Founded in 2006, the San Francisco based tech company was acquired in 2018 by Square for a whopping $365million. Square wanted to enter the ecommerce space by integrating their already successful payment processing platform to help users easily create websites and online stores.
Acquisition aside, Weebly offers a great user interface. If you want to be in control of your SEO (search engine optimization) features, something that’s easy to set up with various templates to choose from, and intend on blogging a bit, Weebly might be the right fit for you.
The Square integration already built in helps out a lot if you want to create an online store and start accepting payments right away as well. If design is your main objective, Weebly has some restrictions and you’d be better off going with Elementor, but other than that it’s a great choice if you’re just starting out.
Photography Website Builder: Format is a great website builder for photographers. As with any new platform, there’s always a bit of a learning curve and Format makes you jump through a few loops before getting your website up and running.
They offer a 14-day trial so you can test it out before getting committed to a plan, you can protect your work with their integrated privacy settings, and integrate purchase options all in one place.
It’s everything a photography looking to sell their work would need, built into one convenient place. If you’re a photographer and have been wanting to bring your work online without all the crazy coding, then Format’s a great choice.
Read our Format Review
AI Website Builder: Ever wanted to have artificial intelligence build your website? The team over at Hostinger web hosting thought it would be useful, so they created Zyro.
You can try the Zyro website builder for free before deciding if it’s for you or not. One of the downside is that it’s not multi-site functional.
We recommend Zyro if you’re looking to create one website and you’re on a budget. The user interface is friendly enough but not the best. To learn more about Zyro..
Read our Zyro website builder review
Small Business Website Builder: Founded in 2014 by a group of self-proclaimed design enthusiasts, Ucraft currently serves over 360,000 clients all around the world. It’s safe to say they’re the new kids on the block in comparison to the track record of other website builders.
But don’t let the startup date or the number of clients fool you, Ucraft comes with some serious heat. From a variety of templates, responsive designs no matter which way you edit, and a built in app store to integrate essentials like Google analytics, Soundcloud, PayPal, and many others.
Ucraft is perfect for small business owners, ecommerce entrepreneurs, and bloggers too. Their drag and drop platform isn’t the easiest to use when compared to the likes of Squarespace or Wix, but you can still get the job done with a little time and effort.
Read our full UCraft Review
Most Popular Website Builder: WordPress is the original of originals when it comes to website builders. They’ve been around since 2003 and currently power over 38% of the internet. From stay at home bloggers to Fortune 500 companies, WordPress is a trusted name in the game.
For starters, they have their world class content management system, and thousands of ready to use WordPress themes and plugins to choose from. The design possibilities are endless.
There are currently two versions of WordPress available. The hosted version, WordPress.com (think Wix and Squarespace) and the self-hosted version WordPress.org (purchasing third party web hosting.)
Technical know how is a must if you’re going to use WordPress but it’s nothing to be afraid of. There are thousands of tutorials on YouTube, courses, and guides to help you create just about anything you want.
Best For Beginners: If you’re looking to throw a simple website up without any car of aesthetics, functionality, or additional bells and whistles, then GoDaddy is the choice for you.
Fair warning, you really aren’t going to get any customizations with GoDaddy. It’s very limited in what you can create and in some cases too simple.
If you’re looking to start an ecommerce store, don’t use this. If you want something that’s visually pleasing, don’t use this. You’re going to get exactly what you pay for.
When compared to other website builders, you’re very limited on everything you wouldn’t want to be limited on. SEO, design, and subpar support.
Create A Website Fast. Strikingly proposes that they can help you get your site up and running in minutes. Whether that’s a website to your liking is another question.
Like Carrd, Strikingly is a one page web builder. Their software is capable of creating a multi-page website but wasn’t designed for that specifically. Fast, easy, and simple is the goal with Strikingly.
If your plan is to create a large website with lots of pages, this isn’t the choice you want to go with. You’re better off going with Elementor, Squarespace, or Wix.
With Strikingly you’ll be able to get online fast, have some moderate features, good pricing, and great customer support.
Read full Strikingly Review
Small Business Website Builder: Jimdo is a great choice for small businesses or even for a person site. It’s affordable, SEO friendly, and great for blogging.
Think of Jimdo as being a place where you’d display information. Own a business and want to share your business location, menu, and hours of operation? Use Jimdo.
Have a business where you sell homemade organic hand soap and want to sell your soaps online? Don’t use Jimdo. It isn’t the greatest for ecommerce. If you’re looking to sell your products online, we recommend using Shopify or Squarespace instead.
Jimdo is a simple, easy to use website builder. It’ll do the job, and help give you an online presence you’re proud of. Check out their free trial and see if it’s a right fit for you.
Free Website Builder: GoogleSites came out in 2008 and although Google may have had intentions to build out some super sweet website builder, it’s remained pretty limited.
It’s a basic drag and drop website editor that was essentially built to use all Google based products.
You can add a Google add to cart button as far as ecom goes and that’s about it. If you’re looking to create something extremely basic with little to no functionality, then try GoogleSites. Think of it as more of a project management system.
Read our full Google Sites Review