Best Website Builders of 2021
Updated: Sep 30, 2022
It is 2022, and if your business doesn't have a website - it needs one, stat. Strengthening your web presence is one of the most important investments you can make in your business, and frankly, customers expect to find you online.
Gone are the days when you had to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a web developer. Popular website builders such as Squarespace, Wix and Weebly make it relatively painless for even a newbie to create a polished site in a relatively short period of time, even when they need more advanced features like email marketing or an e-commerce platform. The growth of the website building industry has meant that people have more and more options when it comes to making a website, but with so many options out there, making the right choice might seem daunting.
Which website builder is the best? Squarespace or Wix? Weebly or GoDaddy? Which website builder has the best prices? Is the easiest to use?
We’ve compiled a list of our top 5 website builders on the market today in 2021.
#1 Wix - Best Overall Premium Website Builder
Wix is an extremely use-friendly website builder, and is our top choice for starting to promote your business online. It's also our top choice for building on, since we are able to create beautiful, affordable websites for our clients and then train them on how to use the Wix editor - putting the control back into the hands of our clients and saving them thousands of dollars in web developer fees.
What we like:
No need for technical skills - the drag and drop editor has truly has no limitations, you can move anything anywhere
500+ Beautiful customizable templates
Free domain for 1 Year
The easiest web builder to use
Free logo included
Websites built by Wix are very affordable
Great SEO options
Extensive app market (250+ applications, many of which are free)
Free plan available
Both iOS and Android mobile applications for their editor
Great customer service
What could be improved:
May initially feel overwhelming, especially Editor X.
Bookings software can be a bit confusing
Plans & Pricing:
Wix websites are free to get started, and you can use their forever free plan if you don’t mind having a Wix branded website without a custom domain (your url will be yourwebsite.wix.com). Wix also offers a 14-day moneyback on all of their premium plans.
Website plans
Combo: $14/month You get: custom domain name, no ads, SSL certificate, 3GB of storage
Unlimited: $18/month You get: analytics statistics, $300 ad voucher, 10GB of storage
Pro: $23/month You get: event calendar, logo maker, brand-related social media images, 20GB of storage
VIP: $39/month You get: priority support, 35GB of storage
eCommerce plans
Business Basic: $23/month You get: secure online payments, subscriptions & pricing plans, customer accounts, custom domain, unlimited products, abandoned cart reminders, 20GB of storage
Business Unlimited: $27/month You get: multiple currencies, advanced shipping, sell on social channels, sell on marketplaces, customer reviews, 35GB of storage
Business VIP: $49/month You get: priority support, unlimited video hosting, 50GB of storage
#2. Shopify (e-Commerce ONLY)
Shopify is among the best website builders for eCommerce websites. Let me repeat that: for e-Commerce websites only. If you're looking to sell your wares online and want a professional looking, fairly easy to use store, Shopify is a good option. (Looking to add an eCommerce store to your existing website or create a quick instant site with eCommerce capabilities? We have a better option for you. Let's talk.)
Just like other builders, you can choose a modern website template and then customize each page with a drag-and-drop builder, though the templates have some limitations and their websites are clearly set up for e-Commerce, not to be standalone websites. Can you use Shopify with an existing website? It depends. Some website builders are not compatible with Shopify.
What we like:
Clean editor
Blog feature
Advanced eCommerce features, great for large online stores
1,200 integrations make it a powerhouse for larger businesses
What could be better:
Expensive
Not all templates are included - you often have to pay for themes
Some features are unintuitive and confusing to use
There are limitations to the SEO you can do on Shopify sites
Pricing and Plans:
Shopify is definitely one of the more expensive website builders out there.
Basic Shopify: $29/month
Shopify: $79/month
Advanced Shopify: $299/month
#3 - Squarespace - Best prepackaged design
Squarespace focuses on quality, over quantity. They make it easy to create a sleek, modern online store, and to build a great brand to match. Their templates are attractive but their selection of website themes is modest — only around 70 templates. But every design is high-quality, stylish, responsive, and SEO-optimized. You have a decent selection of tools to make your website on brand — tweak page layouts, customize grids, change website theme colors, and more.
To create an attractive website you can use pre-made design elements or third-party integrations with other services e.g. social media websites, payment processing software, or a shipping services provider if you run ecommerce operations.
But comparing Squarespace to Wix, Squarespace is quite expensive. And Squarespace only offers a 14-day free trial, so if you put in the time to build a site and don't like it, you have to abandon your efforts or cough up the money for one of their paid plans.
What we liked:
Curated selection of ready-to-go templates
Fairly easy to use
Effective blog platform
eCommerce
What could be better:
No drag-and-drop editor
Expensive
eCommerce has some limitations that affect user experience
Can be tricky to find features in the editor
Pricing and Plans:
Which Squarespace plan is the best? It depends on what you need:
Personal: $12/month
Business: $18/month
Commerce: $26/month+
ECommerce:
Advanced Commerce subscription: $40 per month with an annual subscription.
#4 - GoDaddy - A Simple to use editor
With over 300 themes, a (limited) drag and drop editor, native tools for image editing and some customization features, this website builder will appeal to some small business owners.
GoDaddy offers an eCommerce platform, but it’s better suited for hobby sellers, rather than full-time eCommerce website owners.
What we liked:
Drag and drop editor, fairly simple to use
300 themes for making a professional looking website
What could be better:
Limited design capabilities
Not compatible with many other applications
Limited e-Commerce platform very limited and better for hobby sellers
Pricing and Plans:
GoDaddy has a free plan that comes with a lot of services. This includes email and social media marketing, PayPal payments, SSL security, and 24/7 support.
Basic: $9.99/month
Standard: $14.99/month
Premium: $19.99/month
Ecommerce: $24.99/month
#5- Weebly - Great Security
Weebly is known for its excellent security features. Every website gets a TLS certificate (an upgraded version of SSL) for free. This user-friendly builder has some essential website tools such as native image editor, custom fonts, on-site search, and integrated analytics among others. Is Weebly the best website builder? Definitely not. Themes for Weebly websites tend to be very limited and you often have to pay for upgraded versions.
What we liked:
Highly secure
Free option
Great app selection
Easy to use drag-and-drop editor
What could be better:
Poor customer service
Limited number of templates
Upsells (even basic ones) cost money
Templates are very limited
Pricing and Plans:
Weebly has a free plan and three premium subscriptions. The cost for Weebly websites is relatively low - even the top plans falling under $30 per month.
Personal: $6/month
Professional: $12/month
Performance: $26/month
eCommerce packages start at $12/month
We hope this guide to website builders was helpful. If you're in the market for a website you can manage yourself, but want it professionally built, we're your people. We build on Wix, and train our clients on how to use the Wix editor so they can manage their websites themselves. Get in touch to get started today.
Comments