7 Best Website Builders - 2024
Create a professional website that drives traffic, captivates visitors, and converts leads. Whether you're starting a blog, showcasing a portfolio, or launching an online business, these top builders have all the tools you need for success. From user-friendly interfaces and customizable templates to powerful e-commerce tools and so much more. Choose a builder below and establish your online presence today
- Over 900 stunningly designed mobile-friendly templates
- Add full-length photos and dynamic photo galleries
- Customize with a huge range of fonts and colors
- Easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor for beginners
- Over 60 minimalist stylish templates to choose from
- Easy-to-use grid layout editor so you can't go wrong
- Get 10% off with this special code: WEBSITEPLANET10
- AI function for fast and easy setup
- Robust SEO tool for all the basics
- Over 180 practical all-purpose templates
- Easily add contact forms, image galleries & blog pages
- Modern templates for every niche
- SEO tools for top Google rankings
- Built-in SEO tools to boost site traffic
- Slick templates optimized for all devices
- Built-in SEO tools to boost site traffic
- Slick templates optimized for all devices
Find the best website builder for your industry
Best Ecommerce Website Builders
- Build & grow your store from anywhere. 100% cloud-based
- Sell on Amazon, Google & more without leaving Shopify
- Available on Basic, Shopify, & Advanced plans
- Win customers & revive sales with automated cart emails
How To Create a Website In 3 Easy Steps
Creating a modern, engaging, and beautiful website has never been easier – you just need to decide which method works best for you. The “traditional” self-hosted method is a great budget-friendly option, and it gives you a lot more control over your website’s performance. However, it’s a more involved process, as you’ll have to dive into the technical side of your website to connect everything.
If you’d rather keep things simple (and I can’t say I blame you!), then you can follow the hosted method with a website builder. This method is slightly more expensive, but you won’t have to worry about the technical side of your website. Not only that, but you’ll usually be able to get your website up and running in an hour.
Step 1: Find the Right Website Builder for Your Needs
Not every website builder is created equal, and some perform better in certain areas than others. From great e-commerce and marketing features that are perfect for small businesses, to design-focused builders with 100s of beautiful templates. The best choice for you will depend on your unique needs.
These aren’t the only website builders out there, though, and I recommend that you thoroughly research your options before handing over your credit card details. Most website builders offer a free forever plan, a free trial, or a money-back guarantee that lets you try them out with zero risk.
Most importantly, make sure you check each website builder’s pricing plan and included features before you make a decision. Picking a website builder outside of your budget, or one that’s within your budget but doesn’t have the features you or your business really need, can leave you frustrated later on.
Step 2: Choose and Customize a Template
To start designing your website, you’ll need to choose a template. These are pre-made website designs that set the overall layout and style of your website that you can customize to fit your vision. Make sure you take a look at the template demo before you make your choice, as this’ll help you get a feel for what’s right for your website.
Bear in mind that how much you can customize a template depends on the website builder. Almost every website builder will allow you to change colors, images, text formatting, and fonts, as well as let you set different fonts and styles for different headers and paragraphs. You’ll also be able to add new pages, and some website builders even have template-specific page types for you to use.
Some builders allow you to fully customize any template. You’ll be able to change the layout of every page, as well as connect apps that add even more options. This will let you build a truly unique website, but having complete freedom can sometimes feel overwhelming.
Other website builders have a fixed layout based on the template you chose. This can feel a little limiting if you have a specific design in mind. However, by using unique and modern templates that are all thoughtfully designed, you’ll still be able to build a stunning, tailored website even within these restrictions.
Step 3: Register a Domain Name and Publish Your Site
Finally, you’ll need to choose a domain name. If you’re on a free website builder plan you’ll have to use a subdomain (for example, myname.site.com/myfancywebsite). Some builders offer a free domain name for a year if you sign up for an annual plan, however, you’ll have to pay extra to renew your domain name every year after that.
It’s worth noting, though, that you’re not required to purchase your domain name through your website builder. Don’t get me wrong, doing so makes life easier – your website builder will handle the registration and setup of your domain name if you purchase it through them. Just make sure to double-check the small print on whether you can transfer your domain name if you cancel your plan, as all website builders will let you do this.
Purchasing your domain name with a domain registrar means you’ll usually get a better deal, plus you’ll have no restrictions on transferring your domain if you move to a different website builder. It’s more technically involved, but any good website builder will have a guide to walk you through the process.
Before you hit Publish, make sure you take a look at your website in preview mode. Trust me, it’s remarkably common to think you’ve added everything to your website only to remember you’ve forgotten to fill out a box the second you click Publish. Checking out the preview means you can catch those small details before your first few visitors do.
Once you’re happy with your website, click Publish, and you’re good to go. Congratulations, your website is now live!
Take Your Website to the Next Level
In today’s market, it’s not enough to publish your website and hope it gets seen by your target audience. There are plenty of methods you can use to increase your website’s visibility. Here’s how you can attract more visitors to your website:
- Optimize your website for search engines. You can use built-in SEO tools that help your website appear higher in search results. Don’t worry if you don’t know the first thing about search engine optimization, either – these tools come with extensive, beginner-friendly guides.
- Use email marketing. Email marketing is a great way for businesses to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Look out for free email marketing tools that integrate seamlessly with your website.
- Start a blog. Blogging is a vital part of any modern marketing strategy. Your written content will improve your site’s search engine rankings and establish your authority as a leader within your industry. Most website builders will come with blogging functionality built in, making it easy to share your thoughts with your customers.
- Design a logo. A custom logo shows you’re serious about your website and your business. Fortunately, you don’t have to break the bank to get one. There are AI logo designers included in some builder plans that generate fantastic designs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Website builders are all-in-one, comprehensive tools that allow users to build a site quickly without having any previous coding or design skills. A good website builder will help you create a professional-looking website using customized templates, and offer a variety of useful features, including mobile optimization, SEO and e-commerce tools, as well as necessary functions to keep your website running smoothly and securely.
Anyone who needs to build a website can benefit from a website builder, and it is very good for individuals who:
• Do not have the necessary coding skills to build a website from scratch
• Need their website to be launched quickly
• Do not have a large budget to spend on website creation
• Are intimidated by having to create a website on their own
• Want the comfort in knowing a platform is responsible for their website’s updates, backup, and safety
The features that are most important to you will depend on what type of website you’re building, but some key elements of a quality website builder generally include the following:
• Easy design tools and process
• Lots of customizable templates
• Optimization for mobile devices
• E-commerce options (e.g., shopping cart apps, payment options, etc.)
• SEO tools
• 24×7 customer support
Your Google ranking is primarily dependent upon the type of content published on your website as well as the backlinks you get from other websites. That being said, yes, the website builder platform you select can impact your SEO ranking. A majority of website builders will provide the necessary tools you need in order to optimize your webpages, including:
• editing title tags, alt image attributes, and meta descriptions
• Google-friendly URLs (mysite.com/news vs mysite.com/793765)
• Automated sitemaps (HTML and XML)
• Conversion and keyword density tools
However, it is important to keep this in mind – if you choose a free option, most likely, your URL will include the name of that website builder, which will impact your Google ranking. If you upgrade to a paid plan, you can usually use your own custom domain, increasing the probability of reaching page 1 in Google SERPs.
There are two primary schools of thought when it comes to purchasing a domain name via your website builder:
School of thought #1: Buying a domain name from the website builder makes the website building process much simpler as your name and website will be connected in a few short clicks. However, you need to keep in mind that while most plans offer a domain name free for the first year, you WILL have to pay for it once the year is over, and sometimes costs even more than if you register your domain name separately. This leads us to…
School of thought #2: No matter how tempting it might be, do not go with buying a domain name from the website builder. You will have to pay no matter what, and, as mentioned before, you will end up paying more at the end of the day if you go through your website builder versus a separate website. While the process of buying and then adding your domain to your website might be a bit more difficult at first, you will save money. Plus, if you choose to switch website builder platforms, it will be a lot easier to take your domain name with you.
Many website builders offer a free option, and it is a good idea if this is your first website and you want to “try before you buy” a paid version. They are also good if you have limited resources and budget. However, the free version is often not as feature-rich as the paid versions and often times your website will be full of pesky ads from that website builder. While paying for your website builder is an investment, you will have a great ROI as you receive access to more tools as well as additional bandwidth and storage.
About us
We are a team of experts from around the world: web designers, developers, marketers, and content writers. We came together to bring you the most accurate, up-to-date information about the best tools to build and promote your website – all in one place, explained in simple terms.
It’s important to us to recommend only great website builders; that’s why we personally test every builder we review. But we also have complete newbies try each one out to make sure they’re also beginner-friendly – that’s how we know they truly are the best.
