Living in the digital era means one important thing whether you're a business owner, write a blog or want a personal website: you better have an online presence if you want anyone to notice you. In 2021 all you need to get started is a well-known website builder to help you and you'll have a professional looking site live in no time.
With so many worthwhile options to choose from, it's worth comparing what the best website builders have to offer before you commit to one. This includes deciding what you need the site for, comparing the different features and templates offered and then deciding how much you want to spend.
Most of these website builders offer deals with their annual plans, often with huge discounts, so make sure to take advantage of this and take your website to the next level this year.
A Closer Look at the Top 10 Website Builders
- Best forVersatility
- PriceFrom $14.00 per month
- Free versionYes
Wix has a powerful editor, a massive list of templates, and great e-commerce tools. It’s arguably the most versatile website builder available today.
Though it takes a few hours to get your head around the interface, you’ll find Wix offers all the features you need in a website builder. It makes creating and managing a website a cinch.
Pros- Great editing tools
- Strong e-commerce support
- Long list of pre-designed templates
Cons- Editor intimidating at first
- Templates can’t be changed
- Can’t export to HTML
- Best forEasy to edit sites
- PriceFrom $2.95 per month
- Free versionNo
Network Solutions offers businesses all manner of tools and software for managing and running a successful business. Now, you can even build your own site using this popular tool. Network Solutions has both a DIY option and a professional builder plan. Either way, you'll get a free domain name, high-quality design layouts, and personalized email.
Pros- Impressive stock image library
- Free domain name and personalized email
- Easy point-and-click editor
Cons- Confusing interface
- Site and tool could use a makeover
- Best forBeginners
- PriceFrom $6.99per month
- Free versionYesMay vary by country
The GoDaddy website builder is designed for and targeted at beginners with little to no web development experience. It boasts an intuitive, beginner-friendly editor, basic e-commerce tools, and a selection of integrated marketing tools.
However, design flexibility is a little limited, the SEO tools are poor, and there are only 22 templates available. GoDaddy’s prices are competitive, though, and we’d recommend using the free plan to test the platform if you’re looking for a simple, beginner-friendly website builder that will enable you to get online fast.
Pros- Enables rapid site creation with no special skills
- Integrated e-commerce and marketing tools
- Very beginner friendly and easy to use
Cons- Design flexibility is quite limited
- Poor platform for SEO
- Best forBeginners and SMBs
- PriceFrom $3.84 per month
- Free versionNo
HostGator’s website builder draws from the company’s celebrated hosting services to offer users a simple yet more-than-capable website builder. The service combines convenience and professionalism with an easy point-and-click site builder as well as some advanced tools such as SEO and ecommerce capabilities.
Pros- No tech savvy required
- SEO tools included
- Easy point-and-click site builder
Cons- Not ideal for larger businesses
- User support is lacking
- Best forGetting online fast
- Price$4 to $47per month billed annually
- Free versionYesand 14-day free trial
Site123 is one of the best beginner-friendly website builders we’ve used. It lacks advanced marketing and SEO features and its design flexibility is limited, but it does a great job of catering to those with little web development knowledge.
There’s a decent free plan available that you can use to test the builder, along with excellent support resources to help if you run into any problems. The prices are a little on the high side, but they certainly aren’t a deal-breaker. You can even add a basic store to your new website if required.
Pros- Great selection of well-designed templates
- Foolproof, easy-to-use editing interface
- Excellent range of guides and tutorials
Cons- Design flexibility is very limited
- Ecommerce, blogging, and marketing tools are basic
- Best forEasy-to-build websites
- PriceFrom $5 per month
- Free versionNo, but paid versions have 1 month free
If poring over lines of code doesn’t sound like a recipe for fun to you, then 1&1’s website builder, IONOS, could be the best tool that you haven’t yet discovered.
This website builder centers around a DIY tool, but users also have the option of receiving professional design help from a member of an expert building team.
Pros- DIY or professional options
- Ecommerce support
- Multilingual option
Cons- Template based
- No free tier
- Best forImage-heavy sites
- PriceFrom $16.00per month
- Free version14-day trial14-day free trial
Squarespace is an excellent website builder with some of the best designs on the market. It’s relatively pricey, and some important Ecommerce features are reserved for the most expensive plans, but it makes up for it with unlimited bandwidth and storage, fully responsive designs, and a cohesive interface that’s relatively easy to use.
Pros- Great-looking themes
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage space
- Good blogging features
Cons- Expensive
- Abandoned shopping cart recovery requires the top-tier plan
- Limited number of templates
- Best forBlogging
- PriceFrom $7.00per month
- Free versionYes
WordPress.com takes care of all the hosting, installation, and updating of a WordPress website for you and throws in a competent drag-and-drop website editor to speed the process even more.
It shines for its huge plugin and theme library and industry-leading E-commerce features. But it’s a little pricey, so if you’re dead set on using WordPress, you might want to check out other hosting companies that offer the same content management system (CMS) for less.
Pros- Massive list of plugins and themes
- Powerful E-commerce features
- Free-for-life basic plan
Cons- Unintuitive editor
- Same CMS can be found cheaper elsewhere
- Most templates are for blogging sites
- Best forBasic websites with design flexibility
- Price$10-$20per month, $22.95 after
- Free versionNo
Web.com is a simple website builder that enables you to create a professional website from more than 150 templates. The platform offers decent customization options, but the site editor can feel clunky. In addition, Web.com only offers limited support for marketing and ecommerce.
While Web.com might work well for some basic sites, we think that most users will be better off with an alternative website builder. For a similar price, builders from Weebly, Wix, and GoDaddy offer substantially more features.
Pros- Nicely designed templates
- Pre-built content blocks
- Includes a blog
Cons- Expensive to unlock essential features
- Page editor feels clunky
- Best forPeople with no coding knowledge
- PriceFrom $12 per month
- Free versionYes
Square Online Store helps power your online business with tons of eCommerce features. It’s incredibly user-friendly, so even those without any tech or coding skills will have an easy time creating a website. It gives e-commerce merchants a variety of tools to grow their businesses, including connecting their store to social media, integrating SEO best practices into individual products, and a start-to-finish shopping, shipping and inventory management system.
Pros- No coding knowledge needed
- Supports syncing with internal inventory-tracking systems
- Integrates with Square payments and other solutions
Cons- Online stores available for US and Canada residents only
- Loading times can be slow depending on inventory
Finding the Right Website Builder for Your Needs
Hiring a professional to build your website costs around $2,000 on average. Any change you need to make after that will require additional payments.
Using a website builder is significantly less expensive. And these days, you hardly need the technical prowess of a designer to create clean, elegant, fully functional websites that are more than capable of presenting your business or blog in a professional light. With simple drag-and-drop design technology, easy-to-use templates, and even algorithmic design programs, the laymen is more than equipped to create their own website.
What to Consider When Choosing a Website Builder Platform
The best website builder is the one that best fits your needs. Ask yourself some of these questions about your new website:
- What type of site will it be?
- What key features do you need?
- Are you running an online store?
- What is the vibe of your business?
Free Website Builders: How Do They Work?
If you just want to build a basic site without an online store, then a free website builder is an excellent way to get started. Most top website building programs listed above offer a free version, which may be enough if you're looking to set up a basic site. However, if you want to upgrade your site, it may be worth investing in a paid subscription so you can take advantage of all the features available. Here are some of the pros and cons of using a free website builder:
Pros
- A free website builder could give you just what you need to get started
- Get a professional-looking website without a lot of bells and whistles
- You have the option to upgrade to a paid plan when you outgrow your existing storage limit, need more options, or want particular features
Cons
- Free website builder plans come with much less storage and slower load time
- There are fewer practical tools, if any
- Websites built on free plans don’t have their own unique URLs, instead they have the website builder’s name in the URL, for example: yourname.wixsite.com
- Free websites also includes advertising and the branding of the company hosting your page
Other Website Builders We Reviewed
This list of 10 website builders is composed of companies that chose to partner with Top10.com. In total, we reviewed over 30 brands when doing our research into website builders, with new brands being reviewed on a regular basis. Interested in learning about the features, templates and pricing of some big website builders that don't appear on this list? Check out more details about these big names:
