How much does it cost for a website? Should I build my own website or pay someone? Both building your own website and paying a designer or design agency to create one have pros and cons. You'll likely want to use a website builder to create your own site if you don't have any out-of-the-ordinary needs, since high-quality templates exist within all of the top website builders for ecommerce sites, restaurant websites, and sites for retail or other stores.
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Tom Fogden is a writer for Tech. Tom covers everything from cybersecurity, to social media, website builders, and point of sale software when he's not reviewing the latest phones. Basic Website. Online Store. Home Website Builders. In this article:. Test Score. Paid plan Monthly. See Deals. Which is the Easiest Website Builder for Beginners? Wix Best overall website builder Wix is our favorite website builder and scores highly across the board in our testing. Best overall website builder 4.
In Short. Gallery Click to expand. Wix Ecommerce. Is Wix Easy to Use? Jimdo Best for ease of use Jimdo is an easy to use service without a doubt. Is Jimdo Easy to Use? Best for ease of use 3. Try Jimdo. Is GoDaddy Easy to Use? Best for setting up quickly 4. Try GoDaddy. Squarespace Best for growing businesses If you want your website to look fantastic, Squarespace is the website builder for you. Is Squarespace Easy to Use? Best for growing businesses 4. Cons Slower site speed No advanced customization options.
Try Squarespace. Is Zyro Easy to Use? Check out our Zyro vs Wix comparison guide for more info If that sounds like damning the site with faint praise, we can also confirm that Zyro's interface is also easy on newbies, with a grid-style layout that our researchers found comprehensive and useable. Best for beginners 3. Cons No app store Limited marketing features Little onboarding help at setup.
A good choice if you need to create a multilingual website 3. Pros International growth features built-in Quickest server response team Best mobile site speed performance. Cons No free plan or trial Limited customization Few advanced marketing features.
Best for businesses on a budget 4. Cons A bit outdated design-wise Few platform updates Worst server response time. Try Weebly. How We Rated the Best Website Builders for Beginners As we mentioned above, our research and reviewing are completely independent and impartial.
Ease of Use For starters, when looking at the ease of use factor for each website builder, users are given a set of instructions to create a website.
Features When it comes to comparing the features offered by each website builder, our research team conduct exhaustive desk research to construct a feature map for each builder. Customer Support Another key element of a good software service is great customer support. Ranking Every function is ranked on a scale of 1 to 10, along with factors like pricing flexibility, the number and breadth of customer service options, and our findings on the ease of use.
Best for. Rating Overall score based on features, value, support, ease of use, and customer score. Email and social marketing tools Best knowledge center available Robust analytics features. Very affordable platform Easy to use with simple grid layout Advanced features like heatmap and logo maker.
Much easier to use than average website builder Templates cover all industries Ideal for web design businesses. ADI functionality Best cost per feature option Dedicated mobile editor view. Brilliant for bloggers Easy to set up Large and helpful user community.
International growth features built-in Quickest server response team Best mobile site speed performance. No SEO support or guidance No mobile editor or view. Slower site speed No advanced customization options. A bit outdated design-wise Few platform updates Worst server response time. No app store Limited marketing features Little onboarding help at setup. Limited support on non-premium plans More expensive than competitors Few internal marketing features.
Not the best choice for ecommerce or business sites Slightly inflexible editor. No free plan or trial Limited customization Few advanced marketing features. Try Duda. Building a Website For the First Time: What You Need to Know When you come to building your first ever website, you should remember these five key things: Use a website builder — They're cheaper than web developers, and give you a website you know how to use.
The best builders are listed above. Pick the right website builder for you — We like Wix, due to its prices, range of features, and ease of use. See how it ranks against rivals in our website builder comparison table. Know exactly what you want from your website — Think about the people you want to visit your site, and what they should do once they're there. Don't be intimidated — Most website builders offer loads of help and support options, so you'll be able to fix any problems.
Build happy — This is your site, your portal to the entire internet, so make it fun! Free Websites Should you want to, you can even create a website without paying a penny. Build an online store. Create an amazing website. It's the easiest website builder to use on the market and one of the most powerful, making it a great pick for beginners.
It offers unbeatable customer support options, an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, and a great selection of apps, features, and over templates. Try Wix. Pricing Wix has a free plan that you can stay on as long as you like , which is great for getting started. Wix Gallery Click the image below to expand.
Wix is our top-rated website builder because it gives total beginners the tools to create a truly beautiful website. Wix has more templates than any other builder — over , across a broad range of industries. Customize your design by dragging and dropping elements into place — kind of like a PowerPoint presentation. In a rush? Like the Sound of Wix So Far?
Show Me More of Wix. Read our Wix Pricing Review for a breakdown of its pricing plans and what you get with each premium package Want to sell online? Our Wix Ecommerce Review tells you all you need to know about creating an online store with Wix. Squarespace Best for creatives and quality designs. Best website designs Great blogging features Ideal for creatives. Pros Excellent in-built features and UX Curated selection of modern designs Ideal for creative portfolios. Cons Site speed needs improvement Customization is more limited Integrations withheld for higher plans.
Squarespace Overview Squarespace is a sophisticated website builder that has a lot to offer creatives and businesses alike. Design Squarespace has the best quality designs of any website builder on the market. Pricing Squarespace provides a day free trial, so you can try its builder out totally risk-free. Squarespace Gallery Click the image below to expand.
It takes a little longer to get used to building with Squarespace, but the final look is worth it. Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman built her personal website on Squarespace, and we love the simple, fresh look. Do You Want a Stunning Website? Squarespace combines style with power, making it a great choice for creatives. I Want to See Squarespace. Check out our Squarespace Template Designs Review to find out! Is it worth the money? GoDaddy Best for creating and publishing websites fast.
Very Good. Pros Fastest route to building a website Switch templates at any time Part of a larger marketing offering. GoDaddy Overview GoDaddy is very user-friendly, and is the fastest outright website builder for creating a website. GoDaddy Gallery Click the image below to expand.
GoDaddy is the best website builder for anyone who needs a simple, stylish website online as fast as possible. GoDaddy builds a site for you based on how you answer a few initial questions.
In a Hurry? GoDaddy is the fastest website builder around; perfect for getting a simple site online quickly! I Want to See GoDaddy. Read our GoDaddy Ecommerce Review to find out if this is the best website builder for your online store. Weebly Best for small businesses and portfolios.
Best features for growth Large app store Cheap and free plans. Weebly Overview Weebly is a simple website builder that nevertheless packs a powerful punch when it comes to features — especially ecommerce and blogging. Weebly Gallery Click the image below to expand. You can add custom code to your templates if you want , and extra features via the Weebly App Center. Weebly is cheap and easy to use, but you can still create complex sites with it — like this one by TrueSource Home Specialities, which advertises several different services.
Weebly is also popular with some creatives like film director Johnny Dry on the hunt for a cheaper Squarespace alternative. Is Weebly Right For You? Weebly was our top scoring website builder when it came to features, and is perfect for growing your online business.
Show Me Weebly. Our Wix vs Weebly comparison puts these market leaders head to head, helping you find the best one for you. Grab New Year savings with Zyro! Helpful grid layout Clean, logical templates Higher renewal prices.
Pros A cheap, basic platform for beginners Easy-to-use template editor Excellent add-on functionalities. Zyro Overview Zyro is an easy-to-use website builder with nice, clean templates. Design Zyro offers template designs to choose from, or you can start customizing from scratch with a blank template.
Zyro Gallery Click the image below to expand. Show Me Zyro. More Information: Check out our Zyro Review to take a closer look at this builder. Jimdo Best for removing adverts cheaply. Sell on the free plan Rigid designs Help and support lacking. Pros Cheapest advert-free plans Sell up to five products on free plan Jimdo Creator and Dolphin options.
Design If you want a site up quickly, then Jimdo is a good option — it works the same way as GoDaddy, using ADI to create a personalized website for you. Pricing With Jimdo, you can enjoy building for free. Jimdo Gallery Click the image below to expand. Jimdo is a middle-of-the-road builder that caters for small businesses wanting to get online.
Jimdo carefully guides you through the process of building a website. The platform has improved a lot in terms of design in recent years. Jimdo is a great option if you want an ad-free site without having to spend too much. I Want to See More of Jimdo.
Our Wix vs Weebly vs Squarespace vs Jimdo comparison lays out the pros and cons of the best website builders to help you choose the right one. Duda Best for lending a creative hand.
Aimed at design agencies Surprisingly easy to use Quite expensive. Pros Feature-rich, industry-specific designs Amazing in-house widgets and apps Great value if building multiple sites. Design Design is where Duda really shines. Duda Gallery Click the image below to expand. Duda is a very design-focused website builder that helps you create a stylish website.
Building several websites? The Agency plan works out great value. Duda is perfect for those wanting a beautiful website without any of the creative hassle. Show Me Duda. Best for Blogs and Content-Heavy Websites. Above Average. Well-suited to blogs Very cheap plans Customize with code. Design You get over themes to choose from — some are free, while others you need to pay for. Pricing WordPress. Do You Want to Start a Blog? Learn More About WordPress. More Information: Read our WordPress.
Site Best for help and support via live chat. Great support on hand Ideal for tech novices Stripped-back features. Pros Excellent live chat feature Supportive building process Very beginner-friendly. Site Gallery Click the image below to expand. SITE is a safe choice, especially for nervous beginners who want a lot of support. SITE is always on hand to support over live chat. SITE is a free and easy way of creating basic websites — a perfect option for beginners!
Strikingly Best for value for money. For one page websites Great value for money Beginner-friendly. Strikingly Overview Strikingly is another beginner-friendly website builder that specializes in one-page websites. Oh, and an excellent onboarding tool, too! Strikingly Gallery Click the image below to expand.
Strikingly offers great value for money, and is a good blogging builder for beginners. One page websites are a simple way to show off a new project or idea.
Show Me More of Strikingly. Multilingual options Wide range of industries Confusing to use. Pros Templates cover wide industry range Set up sites in different languages Designs for corporate businesses. Cons Platform feels behind the times Requires commitment to paid plan Confusing to work with. Here are some other strong options: 1. PageCloud PageCloud is an easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder, but when we tried it out, it fell down in two areas; mobile responsiveness, and price.
Carrd Carrd is a really interesting platform. Make the Most of Free Trials and Free Plans Most of the website builders in our list offer either a free trial or a free plan for you to use. Website Builder Comparison Chart — a detailed side-by-side comparison of our top-rated website builders Website Builder Quiz — get a recommendation about which website builder is best for you based on your needs.
How much do website builder subscriptions cost? How popular are website builders? What are the pros and cons of website builders? How scalable are website builders? What is most flexible website builder in terms of design? Can I edit the website builder templates? What is a custom domain name? Do I get a free one? Is WordPress a website builder? What is the difference between a website builder and web hosting? Should I just use a website builder, or hire a web designer? More Website Builder Guides:.
And if you still have a question, Shopify offers phone and chat support and an active online community forum. Given that its user base is fairly defined, Shopify doesn't offer a plethora of plan options, and its prices come in above the market average.
The main drawback of Shopify is probably its pricing model. If you want the support, guidance and a builder that will take care of most of the technical details, the extra costs are worth it. And the many apps available are enticing, but can also add up if you're using those BigCommerce that cost extra.
If after considering the different e-commerce features you're still on the fence, we recommend you calculate the total cost of additional add-ons and transaction fees based on your sales, and then compare with competitors like BigCommerce , which offers more product variants and combinations and lower fees.
BigCommerce lives up to its name -- it's best for medium- to large-scale online stores that can cash in on the lack of added transaction fees and unlimited product variants. The store site builder might not be quite as easy to use as Shopify's, but the amount of time you spend getting used to it could save you a lot of money down the road. The editor has a lot of features and flexibility when you're getting set up, but similar to Wix, that can be overwhelming for newcomers.
If you have a little experience, however, those features and tools -- like product variants and tax rates -- will probably come in handy as you grow or if you're already at scale.
You can even link your e-commerce site to eBay, Google Shopping and Amazon. So basically you save a lot of money on transaction fees the more sales you rack up, but if you have enough sales, you have to upgrade to the next plan tier. As with all the online store builders, it'll be worth it to do a little math based on your product inventory and expected sales. No transaction fees -- they even have a discount deal worked out with PayPal where you can save an additional 0.
Given the wealth of options and the fact that many website builders don't allow you to pick up and move later on, it's important to enter the fray with a clear idea of what you need. By first establishing your priorities and direction, it will be easier to find a match for the best website builder and avoid buyer's remorse down the road. In terms of pricing, most builders offer two to four different price tiers, each with a different set of features. This can make comparing services difficult, since they don't make it easy to line up apples-to-apples, but that's a big reason why we've created this handy guide!
Storage and bandwidth are usually unlimited, but there are exceptions like Wix, which scales its storage capacity according to the plan tier. And even its lowest tier plan has a decent amount 3GB of storage and enough bandwidth to support up to around 5, visitors per month. After the big questions like price and storage, finding the best website builder all comes down to what you're looking for.
Below are some guiding questions to help ensure you're ready to shop like an expert and find the best website builder for your needs. Your first step should be to determine the primary goal of your web presence.
Do you want to sell a product? Attract potential customers for your services? Build a portfolio page? By first establishing your raison d'etre, you'll be able to prioritize the tools, plugins and capabilities you want in your builder and not get pulled off track by a fancy add-on that isn't actually helping you achieve your goal.
If you're primarily interested in racking up sales, start by looking at the e-commerce specialists, like Shopify and BigCommerce. If you're a photographer or web designer who wants a beautiful website or portfolio website, Wix and Squarespace are good places to start.
Wix might edge Squarespace if you want more control over the design, while Squarespace might be better if you just want a stylish frame for your work. If you just want something easy to use, Weebly and GoDaddy both offer intuitive builders, with Weebly offering more features and design finesse, while GoDaddy is much simpler and more limited. If you're setting up a site or store and you want to present a customized experience to users or you have something specific in mind for the mobile version of your site, Duda offers the most customization capabilities.
If you need both website building and hosting from one provider, then Webflow is the best and no coding knowledge is required for web design. And if you're a wordsmith who can't be bothered by design decisions and fancy editors, WordPress can help you get your blog up and offers good ways to reach your readers.
This obviously will vary depending on a number of factors, not the least of which is how clear of a design vision you have and whether you have experience building a website. That being said, each site builder has pros and cons when it comes to level of usability or ease-of-use based on the features, flexibility and intuitive design of the editing interface.
On one end of the spectrum you have a builder like Wix, which is very easy to use but also comprehensive -- the sheer number of options and tools makes it hard to whip up a site quickly. On the other end, you have a builder like WordPress or GoDaddy, each of which doesn't provide you with a ton of options when building your pages. Most people will want to devote enough time to their site that it serves its purpose of representing you online in a good light, so we generally recommend you take the time to learn your editor and take advantage of the many options available.
This goes hand-in-hand with time investment, since the more control you have, the more choices you have to make. There are builders like Squarespace that have a fairly rigid design structure, but still let you customize fonts, colors and content. And on the other end of the spectrum you have a site like Wix, that lets you place objects anywhere on your site at your own risk!
Certain editors are more geared toward large site structures plus pages than others, so it's important to know whether you will have a ton of pages and sections, or whether it's more in the realm of a glamorized digital business card or fancy work portfolio. The number of navigation levels, for example which you can think of like file folders or Inception : a page within a directory within another directory would represent three levels of navigation , can be an important consideration.
Most pages probably use two levels -- sections and the pages within each section, but online stores and other types of sites might need more. Weebly and BigCommerce are probably the best examples of builders that support large site structures, while Squarespace and Wix limit you to two levels of navigation.
Every builder we researched has an e-commerce option available, but that doesn't mean that they're all up to the task. A site like WordPress isn't really what you want if your plan is to sell products online, while a site like Shopify or BigCommerce is expressly focused on online sales and has lots of e-commerce features.
If you really just want to have a clean and easy-to-use online storefront, one of the dedicated e-commerce builders makes the most sense, but if it's more of an ancillary service or simply nice to have, you can go with the builder that feels the best and sign up for its e-commerce option. There are even builders like Duda, which allow you to sell up to 10 products for free using another plan.
Transaction fees: While we're not small business owners, we do like math and this variable struck us as particularly important. Those numbers greatly eclipse the monthly rate you're paying and add up even more if you're selling significantly more. So before you choose a builder, make sure you read the fine print about transaction fees.
Then there are sites like BigCommerce, which doesn't charge extra and even has a PayPal discount, but has sales limits for each plan.
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