There are many website builders to choose from, but not all of them are made with beginners in mind. Finding one that’s easy to use and has all the features you need can be tough, but we’ve done the hard work for you!
We have tested and reviewed all of the most popular website builders on the market, to bring you this detailed guide to the best website builders for beginners.
After reading this article, you will know what website builder offers, how they compare with each other, and which is best suited to your needs and budget.
What is a Website Builder?
A website builder is a piece of software that helps you create a professional, mobile-ready website. These tools are incredibly easy to use and can be used by just about anyone, no matter how tech-savvy they are.
These drag-and-drop platforms have been around since 2002 and have become ubiquitous over time. They're now one of the most popular ways to build a website and we'd argue that it's because they're so easy to use. The best part is you don't need any previous knowledge or experience!
What Makes a Good Site Builder Great?
Before diving into our evaluation of each website builder, let's take a quick look at some of what makes a good site builder great. For starters, it should be easy to use.
A good site builder also needs to provide access to high-quality templates and themes. To make sure your new website looks its best, you'll want to find a site builder that offers professional assistance from expert designers or web developers.
Finally, ease of use is just as important on mobile devices as it is on desktop computers - ideally, your site will look great on all platforms and devices!
3 Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing a Platform
1. Easy Customization
We’re sure you have your own idea of what a website should look like and how it should work, and it’s important that you can easily implement that vision on whatever platform you choose.
This is where things like drag-and-drop tools, robust WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing, and other features come into play.
Remember The more options available to you, without sacrificing ease of use, the better.
2. Exports Tools
Just because you think of your site as an online presence doesn’t mean you won’t need a backup plan in case something goes wrong with your hosting service or if you ever decide to change providers entirely.
A good builder will offer at least one form of export tool—whether it be as simple as exporting pages or posts as files or as detailed as being able to download a database version of your site with all its data and structure intact.
3. Developer Friendliness
One of a website builder’s most critical features isn’t even seen by users—it’s accessibility to developers and designers.
Without developer-friendly software, no amount of fine-tuning will help you optimize your site for search engines or mobile devices; some builders are just built from the ground up to be friendly to outside coders, while others make extra effort for third parties, but just about every platform worth considering has made at least some sort of effort here.
That said, we've also tested these services ourselves so that you don't have to!
Here's what our testing showed:
Friday
With one of the highest-rated templates around, Friday delivers great design with a wide variety of readily customizable templates and powerful customization abilities, especially when it comes to user-generated content such as blogs and product pages.
Friday does have only one plan that costs $50/month ($25 for the first month) for all the features, templates with no ads, no limits.
There's plenty of power behind Friday if you want it, but relative simplicity if you'd rather not deal with too many bells and whistles. It works well as both a true build-it-yourself solution and as a quick way to create professional-looking websites without having to do much coding yourself.
There are enough features here that even novice users can create fully functional websites that perform beautifully on mobile devices and search engines—you won't feel boxed in by Friday's limits, either.
Extra perks include built-in integration with popular plugins like Google Analytics. It also makes setting up an e-commerce storefront very easy compared to some platforms that may require more complex integrations before becoming functional online stores.
Friday's biggest weakness is a somewhat steep learning curve, particularly if you're new to website building. You will have to invest some time in learning what Friday can and cannot do, and that can be daunting if you're just looking for a platform that just works.
How Much Will It Cost Me?
A lot of these website builders provide you with a free option. However, even some of these will set you back quite a bit if you opt to use paid upgrades. In general, monthly costs for hosted services start at around $15 and go up from there.
For self-hosted solutions, be prepared to shell out anywhere from $35 to more than $100 a month, depending on what add-ons you need.
A final note: no matter which builder you select, it's likely that your bill will increase as your business grows (e.g., when your site attracts thousands of visitors). Keep that in mind when comparing prices across different options!
Checklist for Choosing the Right One for You
When it comes to building a website, choosing which builder to use is no easy feat. There are many factors that go into making that decision – some you can control and others you can’t.
While there isn’t a one size fits all answer, there are some things you should consider before starting your search. The following checklist should help narrow down your list of potential builders and make getting started a little bit easier:
- Do I have a domain name? If not, register one;
- What will my site be about? If you aren't sure what to create your site around then read over our guides on why most businesses fail;
- How much time am I willing to spend on learning how to build my site? Websites don't just build themselves!
- Will I be designing/coding content myself or hiring someone else?
- Is there customer support available if something goes wrong?
- What type of mobile compatibility do they offer?
- Do they offer an e-commerce feature or app integration?
- Are advanced customization features available such as CSS and HTML editing tools?
- Am I comfortable using WYSIWYG tools (what you see is what you get)?
- Have other people had success with their service in general (and without having to switch)?
- Which system do other sites similar to mine use?
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