Best Website Builders for Small Businesses

In today’s digital age, websites are a necessity for all businesses in order to succeed. Most customers go online to learn about a products and services and the businesses behind them. With this article, we aim to help you decide on which website builder to go for to make the most impressive website!

ProviderBest forPlans starting fromPlans
WixUser experience$17/month*Wix Plans
WordPressFlexible choices$4/month*WordPress plans
GoDaddyAll in one solutions$10/month*GoDaddy plans
WeeblyWide Functionality $6/month*Weebly plans
SquareSpaceSmall Ecommerce$12/month*SquareSpace plans

*data effective on 22/03/2020. All offers are subject to change. Terms and conditions apply

Wix

Wix is a well-known website builder known for the variety of design themes and templates that it provides. Wix is what is known as a drag and drop website, the feature that makes it so user friendly. This feature coupled with the large number of design themes and templates they have available make it one of the most customizable website builders.

Why choose Wix

  • More than 500+ design themes
  • Easy to use interface which offers great options of customizability
  • Free SSL certificate for a safe and secure online shopping experience

Wix – some considerations

  • No 24/7 customer support and this is something that may pose a problem for many small business owners
  • Expensive pricing of higher tiered plans compared to the other competitors in the industry
Plan Features Price
Business Basic ·       Accept Online Payments

·       Unlimited Bandwidth

·       20GB Storage

·       Connect Your Domain

·       Remove Wix Ads

·       5 Video Hours

·       Google Analytics

·       Free Domain for 1 Year

·       Site Booster App Value

·       Visitor Analytics App

$17/month
Business Unlimited ·       All Business Basic features

·       10 Video hours

·       35GB Storage

·       Social media logo files

$25/month
Business VIP ·       All Business Unlimited features

·       50 GB Storage

·       Unlimited video hours

·       VIP responses and support

$35/month

Displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions, paid in full at the time of purchase. Prices do not include applicable taxes, which are determined according to your billing address. The final price can be seen on the purchase page, before payment is completed. The Ad Vouchers are third party services and products and therefore are subject to the Terms of Use of such providers. Data accurate as of 22/03.2020.

WordPress

WordPress is a pioneer when it comes to website building and blogs and offers about everything one needs to build an attractive and highly functional website. WordPress offers customers the capability of building impactful e-commerce platforms that would be at par with some of the best e-commerce solutions present. The only downside is that WordPress requires customers to have technical knowledge and skill regarding website building, something that might be difficult for small businesses to accomplish.

Why choose WordPress

  • Thousands of design themes and plug ins available to extend the website and make it professional
  • Great customization options
  • Extensive third party integration due to popularity of WordPress. These include and not limited to email marketing/SEO/CRM software.

WordPress – Some considerations

  • Selective plug ins are only included in the top tier plans at higher price points
  • Thorough customization required to achieve best results
  • No built in drag and drop feature which might prove troublesome for beginners
Plan Features Price
Personal ·       6 GB storage

·       Custom domain

·       24/7 support

$4/month
Premium ·       All personal features

·       13 GB Storage

·       CSS Customization

·       PayPal button

·       Premium Themes

·       Google analytics

$8/month
Business ·       All premium features

·       Plug ins available

·       200 GB storage

·       SEO tools

·       Automated backup

$25/month
e-Commerce ·       All Business features

·       Ecommerce marketing tools

·       Unlimited products and services

·       Integration with shipping carriers

$45/month

To the extent permitted by law, or unless explicitly stated otherwise, all fees are exclusive of applicable federal, provincial, state, local or other governmental sales, goods and services, harmonized or other taxes, fees, or charges now in force or enacted in the future (“Taxes”). You are responsible for payment of all applicable Taxes relating to your use of our Services, your payments, or your purchases. If we are obligated to pay or collect Taxes on the Fees you’ve paid or will pay, you are responsible for such Taxes, and we may collect payment for such Taxes. *data effective on 22/03/2020. All offers are subject to change. Terms and conditions apply

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is a well-known name when it comes to quick and easy website building as it is a menu based platform that has been designed to make website building as simple as possible. Not only is GoDaddy easy to use, it is also one of the most affordable website builders available. For small businesses, the combination of simple and affordable sure does hit the sweet spot.

Why choose GoDaddy

  • Added ability for website hosting at very reasonable prices with free domains
  • Extensive tutorials that have detailed explanations of how to add greater functionality to your website yourselves
  • 300+ themes and templates tailored towards your personal needs

GoDaddy – some considerations

  • No theme switching which will unfortunately force you to stick your content on a unitary theme
  • Limited design themes which are not as fashionable or trendy compared to other competitors especially WordPress
Plan Features Price
Basic ·       Blogging functionality

·       Help and support features

·       GoDaddy insights

·       SSL Security and social suite

$10/month
Standard ·       All basic features

·       Social sharing

·       SEO Wizard

$15/month
Premium ·       All standard features

·       Accept credit card payments

·       Client management tools

·       Sync site with social media

$20/month
eCommerce ·       All premium features

·       Appointment scheduling

·       VIP Customer support

·       Online store

·       Credit card transactions

·       Customer text alerts

·       Shipping configuration customized

$25/month

Your free trial is for one month. A credit card is not required to sign up for the free trial, however you can choose to subscribe to a Website Builder plan at any time during the free trial. Once the free trial ends you will be required to provide a credit card in your GoDaddy account to continue with a Website Builder plan. If you already have a credit card on file in your GoDaddy account, you can choose to turn on auto-renew for the Website Builder plan and will be charged at the end of the free trial. Plans will automatically renew until cancelled. If you do not add a credit card to your GoDaddy account before the end of one month of your free trial you will no longer be able to edit your site. However we will keep your published site up and running for 10 additional days. After 10 days the site will be taken down and content on the site will only be retrievable for an additional 40 days, after which it is permanently deleted. You can cancel your GoDaddy account at any time with no penalties. GoDaddy reserves the right to cancel, suspend or modify part of this entire Offer at any time without notice, for any reason in their sole discretion. This Offer cannot be resold, transferred or combined with any other Offer. This Offer applies to the Website Builder annual subscription plans only and not for additional services or products purchased through GoDaddy. Your use of the Website Builder free trial is subject to the terms and conditions of the GoDaddy Universal Terms of Service, Website Builder product agreement and GoDaddy Privacy Policy. *data effective on 22/03/2020. All offers are subject to change. Terms and conditions apply

Weebly

Weebly is a drag and drop website builder that is known for its easy to use templates and plug ins that allow customers to build an attractive website in a few clicks, and that too at affordable prices. It is the preferred option for large websites with easy to use options equipped with online stores.

Why choose Weebly

  • Easy to use drag and drop interface
  • Variety of default templates that make the website look clean and professional
  • A variety of eCommerce tools that allow you to build your eCommerce platform easily
  • Ideal for brick and mortar stores that need the website to direct customers to the store

Weebly – some considerations

  • While Weebly has a variety of eCommerce tools, these tools come with the Premium plan that costs more
  • Blogging capability not at par with other website builders
Plan Features Price
Connect ·       Unlimited storage

·       25 products for the online store

·       Inventory tracking

·       Gift card option

$6/month

2.9% +30 cents transaction fees

Pro ·       All connect features

·       Free SSL security

·       Custom domain

·       Accept payments through square

·       Accept payment through 3rd parties

·       SEO

$12/month

2.9% +30 cents transaction fees

Business ·       All pro features

·       Inventory management

·       Shipping discounts

·       Item options

·       Pop up notifications

$25/month

2.9% +30 cents transaction fees

* Email Marketing is powered by Weebly Promote, a Square product. More advanced plans are available*data effective on 22/03/2020. All offers are subject to change. Terms and conditions apply

SquareSpace

SquareSpace is perfect for small business websites because of the extensive tools it provides for customers to build the perfect online store. These include customer tracking, credit card payments, gift cards and more. It is a powerful website builder largely catered towards online stores.

Why choose SquareSpace

  • Squarespace apps which allow you to edit and manage your websites on the go remotely (only on IOS)
  • 100+ Beautiful design templates to create attractive websites which are optimized for mobile phones as well
  • Responsive support which are quick and even provide screencasts detailing extensive technical help for your issues

SquareSpace – some considerations

  • Skill development required on the customer’s end to fully make use of the tools SquareSpace provides
  • Limited sub navigation as it is unsuitable for websites that require deep menus therefore it cannot support multilingualism.
Plan Features Price
Personal ·       Free custom domain

·       SSL security

·       Unlimited bandwidth

·       Unlimited storage

·       SEO features

·       24/7 support

·       Squarespace extensions

$12/month
Business ·       All personal features

·       Advanced website analytics

·       Google credits

·       Integrated ecommerce

·       3% transaction fees

·       Unlimited product selling

$18/month
Basic commerce ·       All business features

·       Customer accounts

·       Merchandising tools

·       Instagram integration

·       Ecommerce analytics

$26/month
Advanced commerce ·       All basic commerce features

·       Abandoned cart recovery

·       Gift cards

·       Advanced shipping and discounts

·       Commerce APIs

$40/month

All fees are exclusive of applicable national, provincial, state, local or other taxes (“Taxes”), unless explicitly stated otherwise. You’re responsible for all applicable Taxes, and we’ll charge Taxes in addition to the fees for the Services when required to do so. If you’re exempt from Taxes, you must provide us with valid tax exemption documentation. We reserve the right to determine if the documentation provided is valid. Tax exemption will, provided we’re satisfied it’s valid and applicable, only apply from and after the date we receive such documentation. If Squarespace has a legal obligation to pay or collect indirect Taxes (such as value-added tax or goods and services tax) on the sale to you under the laws of your country (where you are established, have a permanent address or usually reside), you shall be liable for payment of any such indirect Taxes. Where Squarespace does not have a legal obligation to pay or collect indirect Taxes on a sale of Paid Services to you, you may be required to self-assess those Taxes under the applicable laws of your country (where you are established, have a permanent address or usually reside). *data effective on 22/03/2020. All offers are subject to change. Terms and conditions apply

Bottom line

All these 5 best website builders offer something unique apart from traditional website building. It comes down to what requirements you would have. What kind of power do you need, what kind of features do you expect, would you prefer greater customizability or more ease of access? Go through the article above and make your decision on whichever website builder provider matches your needs the best!

FAQs

The cost depends on the website builder you choose for this purpose. For example, your costs will be lower if you decide to go with a website builder such as Wix or GoDaddy than if you decide to build your website in house as then you would have to hire a software engineer or a UI or UX expert to do the job. Hence, the subject of costs depends entirely on the route you decide to take to get the job done.

Yes, you do. Custom domain names are important in sending a strong brand image to your customers. However, most of the website builders listed in this article offer you a free domain name for a year, after which you have to pay a monthly or annual charge for it.

Yes, website builders like Wix and WordPress not only allow you to build your website through them but your website is also hosted through them. This makes things very convenient for you as a customer as you don’t have to worry about hosting and website building separately.

Well that depends entirely on you but we suggest that if you want to test out a Minimum Viable Product then you go for the free website building options provided by providers like Wix or WordPress as that would be the most cost effective and simplest way to do it.