A Complete List of the Cheapest Website Builders 2021
A graphical header image that says the cheapest website builders 2021

Websites are really expensive, right? Well, they can be. However, if you know where to look, you can find an affordable solution. That’s why we’ve pulled together a list of the cheapest website builders and the cheapest ecommerce website builders to help you find a cost-effective way to build your website. 

Even the most basic website can cost $1000’s when working with a developer. Whereas you can build a professional website for less than $30 using a website builder platform.

Web developers are essential for complex websites. However, the advances in website builder platforms mean that you can create professional websites for all types of services and industries at a fraction of the usual cost. Even large brands with multi-million dollar budgets choose to build their websites on platforms like Wix and Shopify. They’re that good!

So, if you’re looking for a low-cost method to build your website, check out the brands listed below. They’re not only the cheapest but they’re also some of the best website builders on the market. 

What are the cheapest website builders?

We’re going to focus on the features you can get with the cheapest available plans for each brand. However, most of the time, the cheapest plans don’t allow for custom domains to be linked and website builder branding will be placed on your pages. For most of you, it’s likely that you will want to link a custom domain name at some point. So, we’ve highlighted that cost as well so you know what you’re getting into. 

Wix

  • Beginner Friendly
    8.7
  • Design Capabilities
    9.9
  • Variety of Features
    9.7
  • Value for Money
    9.5

Cheapest plan $0/m

Cheapest plan with custom domain $14/m

The only thing better than cheap is free! Wix offers new users a free forever plan with surprisingly good features considering that you don’t have to pay a cent for it. The free plan from Wix will give you access to 500MB of storage, 500MB of bandwidth, and premium customer support. Hosting is also taken care of and you will be assigned with a Wix subdomain name that looks something like this https://[yourname].wixsite.com/mysite.

The best thing about the Wix free plan is that you get pretty much unrestricted access to the fantastic drag and drop editing software. You can take as long as you want to design your website on the free plan and upgrade to a premium plan whenever you are ready. It’s great for beginners who want to learn how to use the platform before committing to any subscription plan.

Wix has more than 500 free web templates for you to choose from, covering a ranger of industries, types of business, and styles. Only Squarespace designs truly rival the designs of Wix templates. So, if the look of your website is important to you, Wix may be the brand for you.

Visit Wix

Weebly

  • Beginner Friendly
    9.2
  • Design Capabilities
    7.5
  • Variety of Features
    8.4
  • Value for Money
    8.5

Cheapest plan $0/m

Cheapest plan with custom domain $6/m

Weebly is another top brand that offers a free plan. Similar to Wix you will be assigned with a subdomain and you have to upgrade to a premium plan if you want to connect a custom domain. You will get up to 500MB in storage, free SSL security certification, free hosting, email & chat support, and more than 50 web templates to choose from. 

Unlike with other entry-level plans, Weebly gives you access to marketing tools to help you grow your audience. You’ll be able to use the SEO tools, create lead capture forms, and link with your Instagram account to show your feed on your site.

Visit Weebly

WordPress.com

  • Beginner Friendly
    7.5
  • Design Capabilities
    8.9
  • Variety of Features
    9.8
  • Value for Money
    9.4

Cheapest plan $0/m

Cheapest plan with custom domain $4/m

WordPress.com is the website builder version of WordPress.org which powers the majority of the internet. While it’s slightly more complex than other platforms, it’s nothing you can’t handle, and oh boy is it a good deal. For just $4/m you will get a free custom domain, no ads, and email customer support. You can even sell products and collect payments. You can choose from dozens of web templates and will have access to most of the advanced design features. Not to mention you get a huge 6GB of storage.

There is also a limited free plan with a subdomain and 3GB of storage you can use to get a feel for the platform before committing.

Visit WordPress

Webnode

  • Beginner Friendly
    8.6
  • Design Capabilities
    8.9
  • Variety of Features
    8.0
  • Value for Money
    9.1

Cheapest plan $3.90/m

Cheapest plan with custom domain $3.90/m

With such cheap subscription plans and an easy to use platform that can produce top quality designs, it’s no wonder over 40 million people are using Webnode. The entry-level plan gives you the ability to connect a custom domain. At just $3.90, it’s much cheaper than most of its competitors. So, if you know you need a custom domain and money is tight, Webnode is a good option.

Other features include 100MB of storage, 1GB of bandwidth, and premium customer support. Additionally, you can build lead capture forms to start growing an email list. 

While the limited storage lets the overall offer down, it’s still a good option for those seeking an affordable website builder. If you find yourself needing extra storage and features, the rest of the plans are relatively cheap when compared with other brands.

Visit Webnode

Squarespace

  • Beginner Friendly
    8.9
  • Design Capabilities
    9.6
  • Variety of Features
    9.2
  • Value for Money
    9.3

Cheapest plan $16/mo

Cheapest plan with custom domain $16/m

Okay, you might be thinking we’ve jumped up in price here, but hear me out. Although the Squarespace entry-level plan is significantly higher, they don’t mess around with plans that you will quickly need to upgrade from. You will have all the features you need to start and grow your website with this plan. It’s also our second highest ranked website builder. So, you’re getting a lot for your money.

The Personal plan from Squarespace includes features such as:

  • Free 1 year custom domain
  • SSL security certificate
  • SEO tools
  • Website analytics
  • 100s of web templates
  • 2 contributors
  • Squarespace extensions

For anyone just starting out, this will be more than enough to build a professional website and to start growing your audience. Not to mention that the Squarespace web templates are worth the 16 bucks a month alone…

Visit Squarespace

What are the cheapest ecommerce website builders?

Some of the names you are going to see in this list will look familiar but there will be some new faces as well. We’ve called out the cheapest ecommerce plans that allow you to sell products and accept payments on your website. Depending on the size of your business and your ecommerce ambitions, you may need more than what the cheapest plans offer. However, all of the platforms have scalability. So, you can start off with the cheaper plans and upgrade as and when you need to.

Let’s take a look at the cheapest ecommerce platforms…

Weebly

  • Beginner Friendly
    9.2
  • Design Capabilities
    7.5
  • Variety of Features
    8.4
  • Value for Money
    8.5

Cheapest ecommerce plan $0/m

That’s right, Weebly offers full ecommerce features at zero cost. You can accept payments, list unlimited products, list product variants, create coupons & gift cards, and the list goes on. You will have access to everything else on the free plan like a free SSL certificate, SEO tools, and lead capture forms. So, Weebly really does provide you with everything you need to start a fully functioning ecommerce store for free.

I know what you’re thinking. What’s the catch? Am I right? Well, there’s not really a catch. However, if you’re on the free plan from Weebly you will be charged a 3% transaction fee. So, for every $100 you make Weebly will be taking just $3 which seems pretty reasonable. If you’re only selling a handful of low-cost products every month then it’s worth sticking to the free plan. However, as soon as you start selling enough to the point where your transaction fees are more than $20, it’s worth signing up for the more premium plans to access 0% transaction fees and more advanced ecommerce features. Also please note that the free plan does not allow you to connect a custom domain. You’ll need to pay $6 a month for that privilege. 

Visit Weebly

Site123

Cheapest ecommerce plan $12.80/m

We’ve jumped up a whole $12.80 to find the next cheapest ecommerce website builder. Site123’s affordable ecommerce plan offers the ability to list products, accept payments, and connect a custom domain. This plan has 10GB of storage, 5GB of bandwidth and gives you a free custom domain for one year. 

We also noted in our full review of Site123 that it was one of the most beginner-friendly website builders thanks to the simplicity of its editor. So, this makes it a good option for those with novice web development skills looking for an affordable ecommerce builder.

The Site123 ecommerce plan will not charge any transaction fees at any point and you can take payments from Paypal, all major credit and debit cards, and other major online payment processors. Finally, all Site123 websites come with a free SSL certificate so you can keep your customer data secure.

You do get a lot for your money with Site123. The only downsides are that the web template designs are not as good as other platforms and the editor, although simple, has limited design capabilities as well.

Visit SITE123

Webnode

  • Beginner Friendly
    8.6
  • Design Capabilities
    8.9
  • Variety of Features
    8.0
  • Value for Money
    9.1

Cheapest ecommerce plan $12.90/m

Our next price jump is only $0.10. The Webnode Standard Plan is the cheapest plan available where ecommerce features are enabled. You will get a free domain for one year, 2GB of storage, and 10GB of bandwidth. If you have plans to sell internationally you can create and host your website in two languages in this plan which is usually something you have to pay a premium for. 

You’re able to accept payments via wire transfers, PayPal, payment upon pick up, Stripe, and all major credit and debit cards. Webnode doesn’t charge any transaction fees so you’ll only have to deal with what your chosen payment provider charges. You’ll be able to keep track of what’s going on with your store with the advanced ecommerce analytics and you can easily connect Google analytics. 

Finally, there are more than a dozen stunning ecommerce web templates ready to use. The design of the templates is a big plus for the platform. For the extra $0.10 compared to Site123 you’ll have a much better-looking site.

Visit Webnode

Simvoly

  • Beginner Friendly
    8.7
  • Design Capabilities
    9.1
  • Variety of Features
    8.8
  • Value for Money
    7.9

Cheapest ecommerce plan $18/m

We’re getting to the more premium end of the scale now. However, the Simvoly entry-level ecommerce plan is still significantly cheaper when compared with ecommerce giants like Shopify and BigCommerce. 

For $18 a month Simvoly will provide you with free SSL certification, 10GB of bandwidth, the ability to connect a custom domain, and their full suite of ecommerce features which allows you to sell all types of products and services. Simvoly is another brand that won’t charge any transaction fees so all the money you make is yours.

There are some limitations to this plan that you should know about though. The first is that you are limited to only 20 pages and five product pages. So, if you have a lot of products to list, you may hit a roadblock fairly early on.

Visit Simvoly

Wix

  • Beginner Friendly
    8.7
  • Design Capabilities
    9.9
  • Variety of Features
    9.7
  • Value for Money
    9.5

Cheapest ecommerce plan $23/m

We have come full circle and we’re back to our favorite website builder brand. Although it’s pushing it to call $23 a month cheap, you’re still making a saving of at least $6 a month when compared to Shopify and Bigcommerce. Which is an extra $72 you can invest into your business in year one. You also get more for your money when compared with the rest of the brands on the list so the additional dollars spent now can pay off in the long run.

The Business Basic Plan from Wix will allow you to accept secure online payments and accept recurring subscription payments. You’ll get 20GB of storage, a free custom domain for one year, and the ability to let your customers create accounts with your business.

You’ll be able to sell unlimited products with 0% transaction fees and set up abandoned cart recovery emails to help you convert the customers that nearly got away into sales. You can even link up to social channels to create a multi-channel online store to maximize the exposure of your products.

Of course, you’ll also be able to use all of the advanced design tools, stunning templates, and use the drag and drop builder to create a beautiful online store.

Visit Wix

Final thoughts

Hopefully, this article has proved that creating a professional website doesn’t have to cost the earth. The affordable options in this list will give you all the features you need to build a website for your business or to create an online store. The brand that’s right for you will depend on your exact requirements and budget. So, make sure you check out our detailed reviews of each brand before you make your final decision.

You can start by checking out our listing page that ranks all of the best website builders and ecommerce builders.

If you have experience with any of the brands mentioned in this article, let us and other readers know what you thought of them in the comments section below.

9 of the Greatest Web Design Trends for 2021
text with graphic designs that reads 'the greatest web design trends 2021'

Web design is constantly evolving. The industry is always adapting to new technology, feedback from online visitors, and what’s going on in the world. These three elements shape the web designs that we see on our screens. 

Most of the time new trends are future-focused and push the boundaries with designs that have never been seen before. However, this year seems to be a little different. Most of the biggest trends in web design seem to be people-focused. Brands and their designers are attempting to create a stronger bond with their customers through accessibility, acknowledgement of social causes and personalization. 

Take a look at what we see as the hottest web design trends of 2021.

Easy-on-the-eye color schemes

Work for most people is increasingly becoming online. The rise of remote working has meant that even during meetings we are now staring at a screen. This increase in screen time has caused eye-strain and migraines for some due to excessive exposure to blue light. 

Fear not, however, there is a web design trend here to help. Some designers have begun to remedy this situation with designs that feature more neutral and softer colors than we are used to. The aim is to reduce some of the strain on our eyes with colors. This means that we will be seeing less of the vibrant and stark contrasting colors that have been popular throughout web design in recent years.

a neutral coloured website with a lady working at a stand up desk
Image Credit: Lissan Haider

The rise of dark mode is related to this trend. By the end of the first quarter of 2020 Android, iOS, and Windows all released a dark mode update to their operating systems which gave users a taste of dark mode user interfaces. A recent survey found that 82.7% of participants use the dark mode feature on their operating system. A majority of respondents said that it was easier on the eye and looked much better.  So, the increase in popularity, the fact it reduces blue light, and that it looks more beautiful than light background designs means that you will be seeing more designs incorporate a darker theme this year.

Image Credit: Joann

Designs that bring awareness to social causes

The Black Lives Matter movement, Covid-19, global warming, and mental health awareness are important social causes that were communicated en mass to the global population through the internet last year. These events and causes changed how people want to interact with brands. It’s no longer just about what a company sells, but it’s also about what they stand for.

So, you will notice throughout 2021 web designs, brand messaging and imagery that resonates with a cultural movement, social justice or environmental issues. Brands will align themselves with cultural movements and issues that are important to them and their customer base to connect with their audience on a deeper level. 

Image Credit Ben & Jerry’s

Interactive scrolling

Scrolling has been an overlooked form of engagement in the past. Some designers spotted an opportunity to reward visitors for taking the time to scroll through their web pages with web designs that are responsive to scrolling.

This involves things like color scheme changes, complex transitions, and animations that respond to your movements. Designers will often leverage parallax animations that add depth through the innovative use of foreground and background layering. Check out some examples in the below video:

The idea is that it creates a much more engaging journey across a website and will encourage visitors to stay for longer and engage more with the content.

The use of emojis

We all rely more and more on our keyboards as a form of communication. Whether that’s through email, forums, social media, or messaging applications. However, this digital interaction sometimes needs more than words. This is where emojis come in. They have created a whole new language that latches on to our usual words to help us communicate better online.

They have become so entrenched in our everyday lives that designers and brands are now using them to communicate a message in a playful, engaging, and non-verbal way. 

Image Credit: Andrew UIX

Creative product shots

This trend is driven by ecommerce stores looking to improve their online conversions. A downside to buying online is that you don’t get to see and feel the product like you would do in a brick and mortar store. 

So, online businesses will be asking their web designers and photographers to work together to create unique and interesting product shots to bring them to life online. The blend of photography and innovative digital manipulation will create stunning product imagery that could be used as design elements across a website.  

It’s a more interesting way to promote products on a website that will drive sales. It will no longer just be the white background, square-edged, individual product shots that we see so often. Instead vibrant, 3D rendered visuals will replace the traditional product shots and blend in with other visual elements across a website.

See the below example of creative product shots and interactive scrolling from Apple in action.

the iPad Air website page

Playful typography

The surge in playful and fun typography reflects the world’s recognition about the importance of mental health and wellbeing. It’s no surprise that after a year as sombre as 2020 that designers are attempting to combat the dip in well-being with more light-hearted, fun, and vibrant typography to promote feelings of optimism and positivity. 

So, this year you’ll notice designers using script-based fonts more often to evoke happier emotional responses and whimsical feelings towards their designs.

inherent good film website

3D & VR will create an immersive digital experience

This trend has been born out of people being forced to spend more time online due to lockdown restrictions and remote working. It’s forced websites to become more than just a website. Sites that are blurring the boundary between the real and digital worlds are getting a great response. This is down to them being much more interesting and giving the visitor an immersive experience that is not only informative but entertaining too. 

3D & VR will be used most on websites that are hosting live online digital events. It’s a relatively new phenomenon that will continue throughout 2021 as long as COVID-19 prevents large groups of people from gathering. Lots of online stores will also use 3D rendering and VR to create an immersive shopping experience for their web visitors.

Personalized websites that reflect the visitor’s style and identity

Basic accessibility edits like the ability to increase font size and choose a contrasting colour palette to improve readability is what started this trend. However, it gave web designers an idea to create other modifiable assets that consider the style and habits of the individual user. 

This allows businesses and brands to create a stronger bond with their visitors by serving them relevant and engaging content specific to the individual. It will also encourage better engagement levels and conversion rates. 

You might see specific designs and products if you’re a first time visitor. However, if you’re returning to the site you might see design aspects and products that relate to what you looked at the last time you were on the site. It could even be as simple as a ‘Welcome back [first name]!’ message for returning customers. Of course, product search engines and the ‘things you might like’ section of websites like Amazon and Netflix have been around for a little while and is something we now expect to see. 

You will see more websites adopt this trend throughout 2021 as they compete for attention and attempt to develop a relationship with their visitors.

Data visualization

It’s no longer just businesses that are interested in data. People are more aware that their data is being collected and there has been a trend in presenting collected data back to the individual in an entertaining format. 

The best example of this that I have come across is Spotify’s ‘Wrapped’. It rounds up your listening data from the past year and shows you what artists, songs, genres, or podcasts you have been listening to the most. It even tells you how many minutes you’ve spent listening to music and other interesting facts from your data. 

Data visualization web design rewards the customer with something interesting to engage with in return for harvesting their data. It’s important for brands to tackle this issue as there are growing concerns around data privacy and security. Data visualization adds a little bit of transparency to the act of collecting data and allows the consumer to see what is actually collected and used.

Spotify's wrapped data visualization

Final thoughts

As you can see the majority of the biggest web design trends in 2021 are all about creating an immersive online experience that blends the real and digital world. While also attempting to use web design to build stronger relationships with online visitors through personalization, aligning with social causes, and designs that improve health and well-being.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and which web design trend that you are most excited about.

How to create a Wix website 2021 – Everything you need to know

You’ve decided that you need a website and you know you want to build it on Wix, but what next? This article outlines the step-by-step procedure you will need to follow to get your first website up and running quickly. The best thing about a website builder like Wix is that it makes building a website really easy. So, as long as you know how to type and drag & drop, you’ll be fine! As we go through each step, we’ll highlight the types of things you will need to think about at every stage of the creation process to help you judge what the best option is for your website. Let’s not waste any time, let’s get into it.

Sign up with Wix

The first thing you’ll need to do is load up the Wix website and create your free Wix account. After creating a username the platform will ask you a few quick questions to understand why you are creating a Wix website. Wix will use this information to give you one of two recommendations. The first recommendation is to choose your own template and customize it using the editor. The second is to let the Wix ADI (artificial design intelligence) create a website complete with custom text and images for you.

We recommend that if you’ve built a website before or you have a basic understanding of web development and design then go for the first recommendation. If it’s your first time creating a website or you need to go live really quickly, go for the second recommendation.

Choosing a template

If you choose the do-it-yourself route you’ll be taken to the template listings pages. Wix has over 500 professionally designed templates for you to choose from for all types of websites from fashion, jewelry, health & wellness, electronics, and much more. If you want a full run-down on how to pick the right website template, then read our detailed article that describes everything you need to think about. If you’ve not got the time to read it all right now, here’s a quick overview of what you need to consider when picking a template for your website:

  • Prioritize features and customization – make sure the template has everything you need and your visitors will need to have a pleasant experience.
  • Make sure it’s mobile-friendly and responsive to different screen sizes. 52% of all web traffic was from mobile users in 2019 so don’t forget to consider how the templates look and work for mobile users.
  • Full-width or box-width design? – generally speaking, full-width designs will look more modern and contemporary, whereas box-width designs will be more traditional and formal.
  • Logo placement – service-led businesses will want a design with minimal focus on the logo, whereas product-led businesses that want to develop a brand will want the logo to shine bright.
  • Menu bar design – most of the time you want to stick with a horizontal menu bar because it’s easy to locate and will make navigating your website simple.
  • Home page header – this is your chance to impress your web visitors, ensure that your header designs meet expectations, and wow your first-time visitors.

Using Wix ADI

For those of you wanting to use the Wix ADI to create your website, you’ll be pleased to know that there is less to think about. You simply need to answer the following questions and Wix does the rest:

  1. What type of site do you want to create?
  2. What do you need on your website? (choose from a list of features like blog, chat, menus, etc.)
  3. What is the name of your store/business?
  4. Do you want to import your images and text? (if yes, you will just need to paste a link to an existing website and/or a Google places listing)
  5. Review and edit your info

Then you will be asked to select a few design preferences to help the ADI create a template that suits your style. You will need to:

  1. Pick a theme you like
  2. Pick your favorite homepage design
  3. Select pages you would like to add to your website from a visual list (About, product listings, contact, services, etc.)
  4. View and start editing your website

You will be surprised at how good the ADI is, hit play on the video below to see what it made me within 3 minutes. All of the text and images were supplied by Wix, I simply followed the steps. It still needs some fine-tuning but the bulk of the work for my donut store’s website has been done. If you’re committed to building your own website I suggest not watching the video because it might just make you change your mind…

Choose a subscription plan

At this stage, you will be signed up to the free plan. If you want to, you can dive straight into the editing of your website. However, we recommend that you choose your Wix subscription plan first so that you unlock all of the features you need to fully customize your website. Certain ecommerce features, advanced design features, and some of the content blocks are not available on free plans. So, you might hit some roadblocks in the free plan as you start to develop and fine-tune your website. All of the plans are very affordable and there are some super cheap options too which are great if you’re just starting out and want to get a taste of web development.

Pick a domain name

Now that you’re signed up for a paid subscription plan, you’ll be able to connect a custom domain to your Wix account. You can either buy the domain directly from the Wix platform or connect a domain you already own. Head to your Account Settings > Domains and then select the appropriate route.

If it’s your first time choosing a domain name here are a few best practices to follow:

  • If you’re creating a website for your business or if high traffic is a core objective, go for a .com or .org ending.
  • Include your business name if possible.
  • Keep it short, 2 or 3 words work best.
  • Make sure it’s easy to spell, type, and remember. You don’t want to miss out on traffic because of frequent typos.

Customize your site

If you’ve made it this far through the checklist, you’ve successfully set up your Wix website with everything you need to go live. Now all that stands in your way of launching a successful Wix website is customizing it with stunning content that helps to achieve your business objectives. 

Develop the look and feel with the design tools

Something that sets the Wix website builder apart from other brands is the complete freedom you get from the drag and drop editor. You can get creative and develop a truly unique design by using the drag and drop feature to move elements exactly where you want them. There’s also a bunch of stunning media galleries to showcase your images and videos that you can use to bring your website to life. Additionally, you can add effects like parallax scrolling, hover boxes, animations, and other innovative design features to grab your audience’s attention and keep them engaged while on your site. Make sure to use the mobile preview option to take a look at how your web design looks for mobile users as well.

Add content to your website

Text and visual content is your chance to add personality to your website and begin to develop a relationship with your visitors. Every website will have specific goals which the content should aim to achieve but here are some basic pieces of content that every website will need:

  • An ‘About’ page – this is your chance to tell the story behind why your business or website exists. Add a ton of personality, be honest about who you are and what you stand for, and keep it relatively short so it’s easy to digest.
  • Blog posts – you can give value to your visitors by providing interesting and unique perspectives on topics they care about through well-crafted blog posts. It will engage your audience and have benefits to your SEO as well.
  • Customer testimonials – whether you’re selling a product or a service, customer testimonials are a great way to add social proof, build trust, and convert leads into paying customers.
  • FAQs – allow you to create a better user experience for your visitors by answering common questions that might come up as they browse your website, look at your products or decide if they want to use your service.
  • Contact us – no matter what type of website your run it’s important to have information about how your website visitors can get in touch.

Find tools to help manage your business

The final thing you might want to do before going live is install additional apps and tools to help you manage and grow your Wix website. The platform already has lots of tools built-in. However, the Wix app marketplace has a further 300+ apps that you can use to help manage your website, boost its features, and increase its overall performance. You’ll find apps to help you collect leads, analyze traffic, sell products, and interact with your visitors. Once you’ve found an app you want to install, you just need to click the add button and follow the signup procedures for that specific tool. Once that is complete, the app will be active and you can access it from your Wix dashboard.

Hit publish and go live

The only thing left to do is to hit publish and go live. Hopefully, this article has given you the help and guidance you need to work through each step of creating a Wix website. If you’re already thinking about how to do it, you will have no problem following the simple set up procedure provided by Wix. The most important elements are picking a template design with the right features and adding the correct content that will impress your audience and help deliver your business objectives.

However, your work here isn’t done. Once you’ve published your site you’ll need to start thinking about how you can optimize for search engines and how you can promote your website to start generating traffic. Follow the links to find out more.

9 of the best free website builders 2021

If you’re trying to sell products through an ecommerce store or if you’re looking to create a professional website with complicated functionality, it’s almost always best to sign up to a premium website builder and commit to the monthly fees. However, sometimes free website builders are the best option. The challenge though is trying to find the best free website builder among the masses of average products out there. That’s where this article can help. We’ve researched for you and compiled a list of the 9 best free website builders on the market. Each free website creator on the list has a bitesize review so that you can quickly understand which brand is right for your needs.

When is a free website creator the right choice?

Free website builders are limited in their features when compared with paid-for website builders. So, if you need the features that sit behind a paywall to run your website, there’s no getting around it, a free website builder simply won’t cut it. What’s premium and what’s free varies between each website builder brand. However, features that you need to pay for most of the time include things like the ability to sell products, connect a custom domain name, access advanced analytics, and download additional plugins and apps. There will also be a limitation to the storage and bandwidth your website will have access to on the shared servers. This is usually up to 1GB for bandwidth and storage. 

So, the simple answer is that a free website builder is the right choice when you don’t need access to any of these features or more than the provided storage and bandwidth. In fact, if you don’t need the advanced features but you pay for it anyway, you will be wasting unnecessary money. Websites that are unlikely to need advanced features are portfolio sites, personal blogs, one-pagers, and simple landing pages. If this sounds like you, then read through our list of the best free website builders to find the brand that will help you to create a professional website for FREE!

The best free website builders

It’s important you know what you’re looking for because while each brand in the list offers a free plan, each plan has its own unique characteristics that will make it more or less appropriate to your needs. Before you start reading the descriptions of each brand take some time to rank the following criteria points in order of value to you and your website to help you find the perfect free website creator.

What features are most important to you?

  • Blogging
  • No or non-intrusive adverts
  • Ability to connect a custom domain
  • Great-looking templates
  • Ecommerce
  • SEO
  • Data protection

Wix

There’s no hiding that we love Wix here at Website Builder Ninja and part of the reason is because of what the platform offers for free. Out of the big three (Wix, Shopify, and Squarespace), they are the only brand to offer a free forever plan. Free Wix users get access to the award-winning drag-and-drop website editor, a wide range of stunning web templates, and access to the majority of features offered to premium users. The fact that you can get access to the most powerful website building software on the market for free has to make Wix a consideration for anyone building a free site. It’s the best all-around website builder and great for anyone wanting to concentrate on the design of their free website.

However, the downsides to the Wix free plan are relatively small storage and bandwidth. Plus, you won’t be able to accept online payments. It’s a trade-off for getting access to world-class design features.

Features:

  • Assigned URL (username.wixsite.com/siteaddress)
  • Up to 500mb storage
  • Up to 500mb bandwidth
  • 24/7 customer support

Pros:

  • Access to advanced design tools
  • Easy-to-use drag and drop builder
  • Stunning template designs

Cons:

  • Google analytics not included
  • Wix ads on every page

Weebly

Weebly is another top-rated website builder with a forever free plan. It also has a great drag-and-drop feature enabled on the editor, albeit, it’s not as advanced and easy-to-use as the Wix version. You’ll also get access to more than 50 free templates that are ready-to-go, mobile-friendly, and cover a wide range of business and website types. The Weebly editor also comes with SEO tools and you can link up to Google analytics. If you’re based in the US, Weebly will let you sell unlimited products from the free plan with a 3% charge on each sale. This makes Weebly the best choice for small businesses looking to sell just one or two products. The biggest downside is the Square advertisement in the footer of every web page.  

Features:

  • Assigned URL 
  • Up to 500mb storage
  • Free SSL security
  • Lead capture & contact forms
  • Chat & email support

Pros:

  • Drag and drop builder
  • 50+ template designs
  • Google Analytics & SEO tools
  • Sell products (US only)

Cons:

  • 3% transaction fee of sales
  • Square ads on every page

Ucraft

Ucraft launched its platform in 2017 which makes it a new kid on the block compared with lots of the other brands. However, they have come onto the scene with a pretty powerful free plan that trumps many other brands in certain aspects. For example, they allow you to connect a custom domain name, give you unlimited bandwidth, and a free SSL certificate. There will be a Ucraft advert on all of your web pages but it’s an acceptable size that won’t intrude too much on your website. Ucraft free users will get access to several ready-to-go web templates with a great design. The downsides are that you are limited to basic content elements and the editor isn’t as user-friendly as the like of Wix or Weebly. Ucraft is the best option for those that want to connect a custom domain to their free website.

Features:

  • Connect custom domain name
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Create up to 15 pages
  • 24/7 customer support

Pros:

  • Google analytics
  • Free SSL security
  • Custom domain

Cons:

  • The website editor isn’t very user-friendly
  • Ucraft ads on every page

Strikingly

Strikingly give away a lot for free. You can create unlimited free one-pager sites, take payments for one product per site, and receive 5GB of monthly bandwidth. Other brands make their customers pay a premium for that kind of bandwidth. You can also invite a collaborator to work on the website with you and you will get access to 24/7 customer support. The website editor is really easy-to-use and even complete beginners will be feeling comfortable with it after a short period of time. There are also a bunch of beautifully designed web templates for free members to use. The downside is that free sites don’t come with an SSL certificate which will send out a warning to visitors entering your site that their data is not protected, which doesn’t exactly get them excited about purchasing products from that site. 

Features:

  • Assigned URL (sitename.strikingly.com)
  • Unlimited free sites
  • 5GB monthly bandwidth
  • 500MB storage per site
  • List 1 product per site
  • 24/7 support

Pros:

  • Ecommerce available on the free plan
  • Invite collaborators to work with you
  • Strikingly give you a lot for nothing!

Cons:

  • The free plan doesn’t include SSL
  • Small but distracting ads

Webstarts

Webstarts launched in 2007 and since then has gone on to help create more than 3.8 million websites. They’ve made it easy to create a website, write a blog, and start an online store without needing to code anything. The free plan is pretty solid. The highlights are probably the fact you get 1GB of storage and monthly bandwidth. There is also no limit to the number of pages you can create. The Webstarts ad appears in a footer box that can be closed down by the visitor which is a nice touch and the free plan comes with SSL encryption. You will also have access to a decent amount of templates that are simple, but elegant. The downsides are that the mobile view is blocked for free users and you won’t get access to Google analytics or be able to use the SEO tools. 

Features:

  • Assigned URL (customname.webstarts.com)
  • 1GB bandwidth
  • 1GB Storage
  • Unlimted pages
  • Live chat customer support

Pros:

  • Good storage & bandwidth
  • Free SSL security
  • Great template designs

Cons:

  • No mobile preview
  • Webstart ads on every page

Jimdo

In total there have been more than 25 million websites created via the Jimdo platform with over 200,000 online store owners choosing to run their ecommerce business with Jimdo too. You might be wondering why so many people choose Jimdo…? Well, websitetooltester found that Jimdo, along with Volusion, had the fastest loading speed out of 11 top website builder brands, and we think that might be the reason why they’re so popular. The free plan is so-so, with nothing major to highlight. It doesn’t have blog features or an app store. However, the simplicity of the platform makes it well suited for newbies who are looking to create their first website. Of course, it’s also great for anyone who has loading speed as their number one priority.

Features:

  • Assigned URL (customname.jimdofree.com)
  • 500mb Storage
  • Access to basic Jimdo features

Pros:

  • Fast loading times
  • Small Jimdo ad in the footer
  • Simple to use platform

Cons:

  • No blog available
  • Limited to 5 pages

Webflow

Webflow is best suited for more advanced web developers and designers who want more flexibility than is offered with traditional website builders like Squarespace or Weebly. It’s a midpoint between easy to use website builders and coding your own custom website. They offer a forever free plan that is basic but will allow you to get familiar with the platform in your own time without getting rushed to upgrade. You can publish two websites with the free plan and you will get access to more features than you know what to do with. It’s not for beginner users but there are lots of helpful guides to support anyone looking to advance their web development skills.

Features:

  • Assigned URL (customname.webflow.io)
  • Publish two websites
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Client billing is active

Pros:

  • Access to all advanced design features
  • Tons of helpful guides and support
  • Helps users develop advanced web development skills

Cons:

  • Not beginner-friendly
  • Limited free templates

Google Sites

Google Sites take some flack because, well, it’s Google and everybody wants to knock them down a peg or two whenever possible. However, Google has been slowly updating their website builder with more and more features to the point where now it’s challenging to be the number one free website builder. Which by the way is completely free, there’s not even an option to pay anything even if you wanted to. You can choose a web template, add content blocks, change layouts, connect custom domains, and lots more. It’s really easy to use and anyone could make a great website within minutes. Oh, and you get up to 15GB of storage. The downside is that there isn’t any depth to the features. For example, you get the choice of 6 templates compared with 500 with Wix. However, the simplicity makes it ideal for beginners or for people looking to create initial website concepts, and for those just looking to have fun. 

Features:

  • Assigned URL (sites.google.com/site/[sitename])
  • 15GB storage
  • Integrate with other Google products

Pros:

  • Connect custom domain
  • Drag & drop with snap-to-grid function
  • Mobile, tablet & desktop preview

Cons:

  • Limited advanced features & content blocks
  • Limited number of web templates

Carrd

Carrd is the leading website builder designed for one-pagers and it has a great free plan. The platform is perfect for anyone looking to create personal profile pages, landing pages, portfolios, or submission forms. There are over 70 professionally designed templates that you can use to create stunning one-page websites. You can design up to three sites on the free plan which are limited to 100 elements and will carry Carrd branding and a subdomain. There’s also a 7 day free trial for the pro features if you want to see what the full platform is like. The big positives are that the Carrd branding on each page is hardly noticeable and the editor is really intuitive. All of the elements are designed for one-pager sites so it makes creating one-pagers much easier than on any other platform.

Features:

  • Assigned URL
  • Include 100 elements per website
  • Access to core features

Pros:

  • Intuitive editor
  • 70+ template designs
  • Small company branding
  • Cheap pro plans

Cons:

  • One page is not enough for every website

Final thoughts…

Hopefully, you now have a better idea about the best free website creators that are out there ready for you to use. Every brand listed in this article will help you to create a top-notch website without having to put down any money. However, each brand has its unique standout features that make it more appropriate or less appropriate for individual projects. If you have your top three criteria points in mind and find a brand that ticks those three boxes, you should be able to find the perfect free website builder for your needs.

Here’s a quick reminder of those criteria points:

  • Blogging
  • No or non-intrusive adverts
  • Ability to connect a custom domain
  • Great-looking templates
  • Ecommerce
  • SEO
  • Data protection