The digital world keeps evolving, and having a strong online presence is a necessity for individuals and businesses alike. Building a website no longer requires expert coding skills or an extensive background in web design, thanks to the increasing number of website builders available today. In this guide, we will discuss the best website builders in 2023 to help you choose the ideal platform for creating your own professional and attractive website.
1. Wix: Best Overall
Wix is one of the top players in the website builder market and boasts a robust set of features that cater to both beginners and experienced users.
Key Features of Wix
Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
With an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, creating a professional-looking website has never been easier. Customize your website's design and layout without any coding knowledge.
Over 500 professional templates
Choose from over 500 customizable templates to make your website stand out. Wix offers a wide variety of design options to fit your preferences.
Mobile optimization
Enjoy mobile optimization with Wix, which ensures your website looks great on any device, including smartphones and tablets.
App Market with additional features
With the Wix App Market, you can enhance your website's functionality with a wide range of additional features. Choose from apps for e-commerce, social media, booking systems, and more.
Advanced SEO tools
Optimize your website for search engines with advanced SEO tools. Wix provides features like meta tags, page titles, and descriptions, along with customizable URLs and sitemap creation.
ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) for automated site creation
If you don't have the time or skills to create your own website, Wix's Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) feature can help. Using artificial intelligence, ADI can create a website for you automatically.
Pros
- User-friendly, even for beginners
- Extensive customization options
- Regularly updated features
- Flexible pricing plans
Cons
- Can be overwhelming due to its wide range of features
- Limited e-commerce functionality for advanced online stores
Pricing
Wix offers various pricing tiers based on the features you require. It's important to note that the availability of certain plans may differ depending on your location.
Website Plans
For those creating an individual website, Website Plans are available with the following options:
Combo:
$8.50 per month with 2 GB bandwidth, 3 GB storage, and 30 minutes of video streaming.
Unlimited:
$12.50 per month with unlimited bandwidth, 10 GB storage, 1 hour of video streaming, and access to marketing tools.
VIP:
$24.50 per month with unlimited bandwidth, 35 GB storage, 5 hours of video streaming, marketing tools, social media tools, and priority support.
Business & Ecommerce Plans
For those who want to accept payments online with Wix, Business & Ecommerce Plans are available:
Business Basic:
$17 per month with 20 GB storage space, 5 hours of video streaming, and online payments.
Business Unlimited:
$25 per month with 35 GB storage, 10 hours of video streaming, multiple currencies, multi-channel selling, dropshipping, and product reviews.
Business VIP:
$35 per month with 50 GB storage, unlimited video streaming, marketing and sales tools, dropshipping, product reviews, and a loyalty program.
Enterprise Plans
Wix also offers custom solutions for enterprise customers with large, complex needs. Contact Wix directly for pricing.
2. Squarespace: Best for Creative Industries
Squarespace is renowned for its sleek and modern design templates, making it an excellent choice for creatives, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to establish a visually appealing online presence.
Key Features of Squarespace
Professional, mobile-responsive templates
Choose from a wide range of professional templates that are fully customizable and optimized for mobile devices. These templates provide a solid foundation for creating an appealing website.
Built-in e-commerce tools
Easily create an online store with Squarespace's built-in e-commerce tools. These tools allow you to sell products or services directly from your website, with features like product pages, shopping carts, and payment processing.
Excellent blogging platform
Take advantage of Squarespace's excellent blogging platform, which provides powerful features for publishing posts, managing comments, and customizing your blog's design.
24/7 customer support
Get 24/7 customer support to help with any questions or issues you may encounter while using Squarespace. Support options include live chat, email, and a comprehensive knowledge base.
Integrated email marketing and social media tools
Promote your website and engage with your audience using Squarespace's integrated email marketing and social media tools. These tools include email campaigns, social media sharing buttons, and social media integration.
Pros
- High-quality design templates
- Easy to use and customize
- Robust e-commerce functionality
- Comprehensive marketing tools
Cons
- Limited app integrations compared to competitors
- Slightly higher pricing than other options
Pricing
Squarespace provides four pricing plans that are easy to understand. In addition, you can save up to 30% if you choose to pay annually instead of monthly. Here are the pricing plans:
Personal:
Costs $16 per month and includes 2 contributors, curated templates, simple analytics, and mobile version of sites.
Business:
Costs $23 per month and offers unlimited contributors, business tools, advanced analytics, and ecommerce with 3% transaction fees.
Basic Commerce:
Costs $27 per month and includes unlimited contributors, business tools, ecommerce analytics, merchandising tools, and 0% transaction fees.
Advanced Commerce:
Costs $49 per month and offers everything in the Basic Commerce package along with abandoned cart recovery, subscriptions, advanced shipping options, and discounts, as well as APIs for third-party integrations.
3. Weebly: Best for Simple Websites
Weebly provides a simple and user-friendly platform that is perfect for small businesses and individuals looking to create a basic website without the fuss.
Key Features of Weebly
User-friendly drag-and-drop webpage editor
Create a professional-looking website with Weebly's user-friendly drag-and-drop webpage editor. Easily customize your website without any coding knowledge.
Responsive templates for all devices
Weebly's responsive templates are optimized for all devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. These customizable templates provide a solid foundation for creating a visually appealing website.
Built-in SEO tools and Google Analytics
Optimize your website for search engines and track your website traffic and performance with Weebly's built-in SEO tools and integration with Google Analytics.
App Center with additional features
Add additional features and functionality to your website with Weebly's App Center. Choose from apps for e-commerce, social media, marketing, and more.
Option for custom domain names
Create a professional and memorable online presence with Weebly's option to use a custom domain name for your website.
Pros
- Easy to use, ideal for beginners
- Wide range of pre-built elements
- Cost-effective pricing plans
- Relatively good e-commerce capabilities
Cons
- Limited template customization
- Fewer design options compared to competitors
Pricing
Weebly offers four pricing plans, with a free plan for beginners. Annual payments offer up to a 33% discount, which is great for those on a budget.
Free:
$0 per month — Unlimited storage and bandwidth, SSL security, SEO, lead capture and contact forms, community forum support
Personal:
$10 per month — Removes Weebly branding, connect your domain, basic eCommerce features, chat and email support
Professional:
$12 per month — Everything in Personal, site search, membership registration, unlimited members, video backgrounds, and phone support
Performance:
$26 per month — Everything in Professional, real-time shipping rates, abandoned cart emails, gift cards, and phone support
Enterprise Plans
For those needing even more advanced features, Weebly offers an enterprise-grade package called Weebly Enterprise, which is customized to fit individual needs and comes with a personalized price tag.
4. Shopify: Best for E-commerce
Shopify is the go-to platform for businesses looking to create an online store. Its powerful e-commerce features and extensive app integrations make it an excellent choice for selling products or services online.
Key Features of Shopify
Fully dedicated e-commerce platform
Create and manage your online store with Shopify, a fully dedicated e-commerce platform. Features like product management, inventory management, and order processing make running your store easy.
Over 70 professional, mobile-responsive themes
Choose from over 70 professional, mobile-responsive themes to create a visually appealing online store. These customizable themes provide a solid foundation for your website design.
App Store with 2,000+ apps for added functionality
Add extra functionality to your website with over 2,000 apps available in Shopify's App Store. These apps include shipping, marketing, social media, and more.
Built-in Shopify Payments system
Accept credit card payments on your website with Shopify's built-in payments system, Shopify Payments. Seamlessly integrated with Shopify, Shopify Payments streamlines the checkout process for your customers.
Integrated marketing tools and reporting
Promote your online store and track your performance with Shopify's integrated marketing tools and reporting. Features like email marketing, social media integration, and detailed analytics reports make it easy to stay on top of your business.
Pros
- Specifically designed for e-commerce
- Highly scalable for growing businesses
- Multiple sales channels (online, social media, etc.)
- Extensive app integrations for customization
Cons
- Not the best option for content-based websites
- Transaction fees for external payment gateways
Pricing
Shopify provides three website plans, and you can save 50% if you pay annually instead of monthly. Note that besides the plan, Shopify charges a percentage and a transaction fee for online sales.
Basic:
$29 per month — Basic reports, 2 staff accounts, 4 inventory locations, up to 77% shipping discount, 2.9% + $0.30 fee per transaction.
Shopify:
$79 per month — Professional reports, 5 staff accounts, 5 inventory locations, up to 88% shipping discount, 2.6% + $0.30 fee per transaction.
Advanced:
$299 per month — Custom reports, 15 staff accounts, 8 inventory locations, up to 88% shipping discount, 2.4% + $0.30 fee per transaction.
Alternative Solutions
Shopify also offers alternative solutions for your business needs:
Starter:
$5 per month for three months. This plan is perfect for businesses selling products through social and messaging apps.
Shopify Plus:
Starting at $2,000 per month for three months. This all-in-one solution is designed for high-volume businesses.
Commerce Components by Shopify:
Choose your components for three months. This modular pricing plan is based on component usage.
5. Wordpress: Best Open-Source Platform
WordPress is a popular content management system used by millions of websites worldwide. Its flexibility and open-source nature make it a strong contender in the website builder space.
Key Features of WordPress
Thousands of customizable themes and plugins
With thousands of customizable themes and plugins, users can create a unique website tailored to their needs using WordPress. There are themes for different industries and niches, as well as plugins that add additional functionality to a website.
Built-in blogging features
Originally designed as a blogging platform, WordPress still offers powerful built-in blogging features such as categories, tags, comments, and RSS feeds.
SEO-friendly platform
WordPress is designed to be SEO-friendly, with features like clean URLs, customizable permalinks, and meta descriptions, helping users optimize their website for search engines.
Wide range of third-party integrations
Users can also take advantage of a wide range of third-party integrations with WordPress, including social media and e-commerce platforms.
Self-hosted or managed hosting options
WordPress offers both self-hosted and managed hosting options, giving users the choice to have complete control over their website or to have the technical aspects of website management taken care of.
Pros
- Extremely flexible and versatile platform
- Suitable for all website types (blogs, e-commerce, etc.)
- Large community support
- Regular updates and improvements
Cons
- Can be more complex for beginners
- Costs can add up with premium themes and plugins
Pricing
WordPress.com offers several pricing plans, starting with a generous free plan that's perfect for getting started. There are also four paid tiers available, with annual payments offering up to a 50% discount.
Note: Some of WordPress.com's best plugins come at a cost, so be sure to factor in plugin expenses when budgeting.
Free:
WordPress.com's free plan allows you to create a basic website with access to several themes and Jetpack Essential Features, but includes WordPress.com ads.
Personal:
$4 per month — Removes WordPress.com ads, ability to collect payments.
Premium:
$8 per month — Removes WordPress.com ads, ability to collect payments, earn ad revenue, access to premium themes, Google Analytics integration.
Business:
$25 per month — Removes WordPress.com ads, ability to collect payments, earn ad revenue, Google Analytics integration, plugin installation, automated site backups.
eCommerce:
$45 per month — Removes WordPress.com ads, ability to collect payments, earn ad revenue, Google Analytics integration, plugin installation, automated site backups, accept payments in over 60 countries, premium design options, top shipping carrier integration.
Enterprise:
WordPress.com offers an enterprise-grade package called WordPress VIP, which starts at $25,000 per year.
Conclusion
The best website builder for you will depend on your needs, goals, and level of expertise. Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, Shopify, and WordPress each have their own strengths and limitations. By keeping in mind your priorities – whether that's design, ease of use, e-commerce functionality, or flexibility – you can select the website builder that will help you create your ideal online presence in 2023.
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