Starting a small business involves many tasks, one of the most crucial is finding a best website builder for small business. Because a well-made website can be your best marketing tool. It can be a place where people who want to buy your goods or services, become sellers, investors, or partners, or learn about your business can find out more about it.
Our team has rigorously tested a variety of website builders, from the most popular to the lesser-known, to help you find the perfect fit for your business. Our primary objective is to save you time and money, ensuring you get the best value without the need for coding skills. Each builder on our list is not only cost-effective but also user-friendly, simplifying the setup process.
Our guide features a diverse range of tools suitable for artistic ventures and online shops, with options available at various price points. Whether you’re looking to create a simple calling card site or a feature-rich online store, we’ve got you covered. If you prefer to work with WordPress, the world’s most popular web platform, we also recommend a builder that integrates seamlessly with it.
To give the most true reviews, we examined each website builder as if it were brand new. We looked at their design skills, SEO and e-commerce tools, price plans, level of service, and growth potential for the future. Making this kind of personal contact will ensure you have all the details you need to pick the best website builder for your small business.
Top Website Builder for Small Business:Â
01. Wix: Best Website Builder for Small Business Overall
Wix is clearly the best website builder for small businesses because it gives you a lot of your money and covers much ground. During our tests, we found Wix’s design to be very easy to use. With drag-and-drop, adding text and pictures to page designs is a breeze. Not only is Wix cheap and simple to use, but it’s also made to fit the needs of small businesses. It has more than 800 business models for a lot of different types of businesses, from farming and gardening to banking and law.
The site has a plan called “free forever” that gives you 500MB of saving space and 500MB of speed. There are Wix ads on every page of this plan, though, and the URL looks like this: accountname.wixsite.com/siteaddress. This choice might be enough if all you need is a simple website to show off your business and not an online store. Wix’s paid plans aren’t too expensive for people who need more advanced tools. A unique name, more storage space, and a marketing suite are all part of these plans. As soon as you reach the Core level, you’ll also be able to use site data and handle payments. Wix is the best choice for small business website builders because it is cheap and has a lot of features.
02. Squarespace: Best for creatives
The way your website looks is very important for creative businesses like photography companies. Squarespace stands out because it has some of the most beautifully made designs. Professionals made the themes on Squarespace, and they have clean lines and lots of white room to make your business stand out. You can make a lot of changes to these styles so you can make an online presence that is truly unique and fits your brand.
Squarespace is a bit pricey, but it’s worth it for people who want their site to look clean and professional. In addition to looking good, Squarespace has powerful e-commerce tools, such as the ability to make Instagram posts that can be bought and integrated with ShipStation for making shipping labels. You can also use the platform’s great data and email marketing tools to help your business grow.
03. Shopify: A Robust Solution for E-commerce Beginners
Shopify is clearly the best option for anyone who wants to use their website to sell things. It is great for beginners because it has an easy-to-use layout. We found that setting up an e-commerce site was very easy while we were trying it. Shopify has a lot of useful features, such as tools for managing orders and products, shipping and tax calculators, and marketing tools for starting campaigns on social media or email. You don’t need to use any other software with these built-in marketing tools, but the email features are less advanced than those in MailChimp or other specialized services.
One of the best things about Shopify is that it has a full data tab that lets you see how your product store is doing. There are also a lot of add-on apps that can make your site better, though they can be harder to use than platforms like Weebly. While Shopify only gives away 10 free designs, you can get more paid ones if you’re ready to pay.
If you don’t use Shopify Payments, using third-party payment platforms may cost you transaction fees. Depending on the payment method you select, this could be a big deal. Even so, Shopify is still one of the best options for people who want to start an online store because it provides a solid base and all the tools you need to be successful.
04. GoDaddy: Best Quick Option
The GoDaddy website builder is a great choice for people who want to get online quickly and easily. Its simple, easy-to-understand layout makes creating a website simple, even for newbies. The platform comes with useful e-commerce tools and a full data site, which makes it a good choice for small businesses.
In our study, we liked how easy it was to use GoDaddy’s interface, especially the feature that lets you see how different font pairs look together with just one click. However, the themes that are offered are pretty simple and keep you from changing much about them. If your website needs to follow certain brand or style rules, GoDaddy’s options aren’t very flexible.
GoDaddy offers a free trial for 30 days, and plans start at $9.99/£6.99 per month. For many new businesses, the Standard plan is enough. But if you want to sell things online, you’ll need to pay more for an Ecommerce plan.
05. Weebly: The Best Value for Selling Online
Weebly is clearly the best value choice if you want to put your business on the Internet and sell things right from your site. Its Pro plan has great e-commerce tools at a good price, which makes it a great choice for small companies. While we were trying, Weebly’s design was a bit harder to use than Shopify or Wix, but it’s easier to use than Squarespace. Weebly is better than Wix in some important ways, but Wix has more themes, and Squarespace’s designs are more artistically beautiful.
The mobile app for Weebly is one of its best features; it works well even when you’re not online. With its Professional and Performance Plans, the site also lets you make pages that only members can see. This is especially helpful if you need to give certain clients unique material. The Weebly App Center has hundreds of apps for marketing, communication, e-commerce, social media, and other site improvements, which is another big plus. The basic layout makes it easy to make a simple website. These apps let you change things to fit your business needs better, though finding your way around some of them can be challenging.
Weebly allows you to see detailed data about your site and provides phone, live chat, and email help for customers in the United States.
06. Hostinger: The Complete Solution for Your Professional Business Website
Hostinger gives you everything you need to make a business website and store it. Hostinger’s services have gotten a lot better since our first review in 2020. This makes it a great choice for creative people looking for cheap web hosting. At first, we thought that Hostinger’s speed and storage limits were a bit limiting. However, they have since fixed these issues, giving businesses a complete deal that meets all of their needs. Hostinger now offers marketing integration, AI business tools, guest data, basic e-commerce features, free SSL security, and an easy-to-use dashboard. It also supports different languages and gives you access to a library of royalty-free images, making it flexible and easy to use.
Hostinger offers a simple drag-and-drop website builder with free SSL for as little as £1.49 per month. You get a free business email and a domain name for 12 months for a little more money, £2.59 per month. This is a great deal for the money. Hostinger is more than just a showcase website because it includes marketing and e-commerce features that make it easy to sell goods and keep track of sales. When you connect statistics to social media, you can learn a lot about your customers. With just a few clicks, the platform’s easy-to-use tools let you get your website up and going, making the setup process quick and easy. Hostinger has all the tools and features you need to be successful online, whether you want to make an artistic portfolio or a strong e-commerce site.
07. IONOS MyWebsite Now: A Reliable Solution for Small Businesses
IONOS, formerly known as 1&1, has long been a trusted name in web hosting, particularly for small businesses globally. Their website builder service, MyWebsite Now, keeps up this good name with features that work well and are reliable.
You get a free domain name, email server, stats, SEO tools, and the cutting edge IONOS AI Website Builder with every IONOS MyWebsite Now plan. The layout is very easy to use, and the many choices are nicely grouped into pop-up boxes to keep things simple. It’s easy to find the right design for your business because users can look through more than 400 models by topic or term. In addition, the site has built-in web shops that accept all major forms of payment and shipping.
The low prices of IONOS MyWebsite Now, with monthly plans starting at just £1, make it a great choice for small companies. The service also comes with phone and email help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The support team has been praised on Trustpilot for how quickly they respond to emails and calls, but live chat support is not available. IONOS doesn’t offer a free trial, but they do offer a 30-day money-back promise, so you can try the service without any risk.
08. Strikingly: Best for one-pagers
Strikingly is a great option for people who want to make a clean one-page website, which is great for starting a small creative business. Its editing and site-building tools are easy for newbies to use and are meant to work with landing pages and one-page sites. Strikingly comes with simple tools for online shops and blogs that add extra features. There are only 29 templates to choose from, which may seem like a small number, but they make the setup process easy and simple.
You can start with a free plan that comes with a strikingly.com domain name. Their paid plans are also rather cheap. You can sell up to five goods with the basic Limited plan. With the Pro and VIP plans, you can sell more products. These more advanced plans come with extra benefits and cheaper transaction fees. For the VIP plan, the fees are completely eliminated. Overall, Strikingly makes it easy and quick to get your small business online by giving you the tools you need at a price that you can afford.
09. Gator: Best for simplicity
Gator is a great choice if your main goal is to make a simple, low-cost website that doesn’t need complex e-commerce features or a beautiful design. HostGator’s Gator website builder is a good choice for people who want something simple and cheap. HostGator is known for its great web hosting services. Their Gator drag-and-drop website builder has all the features a small business could need. It has features like pages that can only be accessed with a password and the ability to add an online store.
Gator is great at being simple and easy to use, but it needs some fixing. There aren’t many ways to customize online stores, and the SEO tools that are offered aren’t very advanced. The themes can get old after a while, and the site doesn’t have any email marketing tools. You also can’t plan blog posts or let visitors leave comments, which may be a problem for some users. If these problems don’t bother you, though, Gator is still a good pick. It has strong live chat, phone, and email support that is available 24/7 to help you whenever you need it. This way, you’ll always have help on hand as you build your website.
10. Bluehost: Best for WordPress
Bluehost is a website builder that might be worth looking into if you want to showcase your artistic business and have more customization choices. In addition, bluehost is mostly known for its web hosting services, but it also has a powerful website builder that works well with WordPress. Not only does it not have a free version or sample, but its prices are fair for what it offers.
Bluehost’s website maker is based on WordPress, which gives you access to a huge library of tools to improve your site. One great thing about Bluehost is that it comes with Wondersuite, an AI-powered tool that speeds up the site-building process. This makes it easier to make a professional site than if you started from scratch with WordPress. The platform was easy to use, and it came with great email marketing and tracking tools, as well as customer service that was available 24/7.
However, it’s important to note that the speed at which pages loaded was slow during our tests. A page made with Bluehost took an average of 2.63 seconds to load, while a simple WordPress site on DreamHost took only 139 milliseconds. Even though content delivery networks and other improvements can help make this better, it may take more work to get the best speed.
How to Choose the Right Website Builder for Your Small Business
There are so many website builders out there now that it can take time to choose one. But if you keep a few key things in mind, the process will be easier. First, you should decide what the main purpose of your website is. Do you want to show off your work, sell things, or keep track of appointments? Knowing your main goal will help you concentrate on the most important parts.
Consider the significance of a website in your business’s growth. Even if you only need a basic online presence, like a digital business card, you can still benefit from a website builder. For businesses requiring advanced features such as contact forms, email marketing, SEO tools, or an online shop, it’s crucial to select a website builder that can cater to these needs. Our guide provides insights into which builders offer these features and how they can align with your business requirements. Remember, while having more tools can be beneficial, they should also align with your business goals. For instance, if you aim for high search rankings, look for builders with robust SEO tools. If your focus is on online sales, opt for a platform with built-in e-commerce capabilities.
Lastly, use the free trials, sample versions, or money-back promises that many website makers offer. Learn the ins and outs of these tools and put them to your own use. Testing out several platforms is the greatest way to discover the one that suits your company needs and is also simple to use.
How We Test Website Builders for Small Businesses
We are very thorough and hands-on when we look at website builders for small business owners. We start by signing up for each service, like any small business owner would, to see how easy it is to get started and how clear and affordable their price plans are.
Next, we’ll talk about the experience of building a website. Going through the whole process of making a website from beginning to end, we check out the quality and ability to change the themes that are offered. Some important things we look at are how flexible the drag-and-drop tool is, how easy it is to use, and how well the end site works on phones. We also test features that are important for small businesses, like the ability to blog, contact forms, SEO tools, and e-commerce. We check these tools to see if they are easy to use and good enough for most business owners.
Another important place to look at is customer service. We look at the tools that are out there, like information bases and live chat or phone help. Additionally, We need your help to figure out how fast responses are and how well problems are solved. We look at more than just the platform’s immediate features. We also consider marketing tools, ways to connect it to other services, and its ability to grow as needed in the future. This thorough testing makes sure that our review of each website builder is complete, which will help you pick the best one for your small business.