7 best free website builders for creators and small-sized businesses |
It doesn't require you to have a degree in technology or a bottomless budget to build stunning websites. Discover how seven of the top free website builder's stack up.
When you're setting up an individual brand or an enterprise, you need a website. Your website is your home online. However, building a site starting from scratch the first time may be a challenge -- and expensive.
There's no need to be a programmer or possess a keen eye for web style, or pay an arm and a leg for a professional website. The free website builders can make building your website easy, speedy and cost-effective.
In this post, we'll be sharing seven of the best free website builders for small businesses and creators looking to build websites that look good without a lot of effort or a hefty price tag.
1.
With the intuitive web builder it is not necessary to know a single line of code to make your site look amazing. Customize your site with colors, branding styles, fonts, logos, stock photos, and loads of content blocks you can pick from.
Within every content block, you can customize the design and content for a website that's authentic to your company's image. It's possible to embed podcasts, videos, and widgets of hundreds of other apps on your site.
All sites have an SSL certificate, and they are designed for mobile use. It is also easy to include Google Analytics to your site to monitor visitors and sales.
That's right, you are able to build a strong and profitable online presence with no investment -- which helps score an 90.91 score on the Creator Friendliness Index .
The Creator Friendliness Index uses 20 rating factors to determine how welcoming a firm's policies are for creators. ranks well across friendliness factors including a cost-free plan, ways to remove transaction fees, and multiple currency options and integrations.
2. Wix
Wix is a builder of websites that lets users create simple web pages for free. With Wix it is possible to create a storefront, blog, or business website using a drag-and-drop editor with hundreds of modern templates.
Wix's site builder is intuitive even for those who don't have design chops. It is also possible to get assistance with Wix's exclusive Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) tool, which uses artificial intelligence to create the perfect website for your brand. Your Wix website also has an integrated search engine optimization (SEO) tools.
The biggest downside to the Wix free plan is that it displays a Wix advertising banner on each page. It's difficult to ensure your site looks professional when that's the first thing people see. For you to get rid of the Wix banner it is necessary to be subscribed to the Combo plan ($16/month) or better.
Wix gets 79.22 in the Creator Friendliness Index . It earns points for its free plan and the cost-effectiveness of its paid plans. The plan loses points by artificially limiting the number of products that a designer can offer per plans and the lack of help documentation.
3. WordPress
WordPress is a free and open source content management system (CMS) software that's popular as a blog platform and a web-based website builder.
There are two ways that you are able to utilize WordPress to create your site: Self-hosted and managed hosting.
The use of WordPress for self-hosted websites is absolutely free. However, factor in domain name registration, web hosting premium themes, costly plugins and prices can quickly mount to.
Another choice is to design your website with WordPress.com managed hosting. WordPress.com provides a no-cost plan and several paid plans.
For free on WordPress.com, you can create a basic website with 1GB storage with pre-installed themes as well as built-in SEO tools however that's not all you will receive.
WordPress is rated 68.33 in the Creator Friendliness Index . WordPress earns points thanks to the free plan, its integrationsand support for languages however it loses points due to its inability to provide customer service.
4. Weebly
Weebly is an online e-commerce platform and website builder operated by Square.
The Weebly website builder is beginner-friendly and offers customizable templates. It allows you to add custom CSS and HTML, and the App Center lets you connect extensions and integrations for added capabilities.
Plus, web hosting is included with all plans. Additionally, you can buy the domain directly through Weebly. If you aren't ready to buy a domain name, you can use a free subdomain, like yournamehere.weebly.com.
Weebly has blogging tools for sharing content, an App Center for adding extra functions, and an analytics tool that allow you to track how your site is performing.
Because Square is the owner of Weebly It's been designed with ecommerce sites with ecommerce in mind. All plans, including the basic plan, are equipped with an e-commerce feature to set up your own online store as well as offer physical items.
The free Weebly option has its downsides. Storage limitations are there and it's not possible to sell digital products. Weebly is also able to display Square ads for both Free or Personal plans. Therefore, you'll be required to upgrade to a premium account in order to get rid of them.
All in all, Weebly is a solid choice for beginners who don't have extensive website experience, especially if you plan to market physical goods online.
5. SITE123
SITE123 is a straightforward web-based site builder free to anyone who want to build an online presence. Like the name suggests, SITE123 makes building a website as simple as, two, three:
Choose the type of website you want to use. Select from templates that can be used for business, blog and event pages, as well as a service provider, and more.
Add your business name, content, and photos.
Publish your website.
All of the templates on SITE123 are fully mobile and are available with no cost web hosting, 500MB storage, and 1GB of bandwidth.
There's a catch: the plan for free limits the ability to change the colors and fonts of your choice, as well as other design elements. You must upgrade to a paid plan to gain access to plugins, applications and complete template customization options. Additionally, there is none of the free tools for e-commerce.
Also, it's impossible to switch website templates when you've already started creating your website. If you do this, you'll have to delete all of your website's material. This could be a huge problem.
The bottom line is that SITE123 does not provide you with much creativity over the free website. However, if you're in need of a simple, no-frills web page to promote your business it is possible to get the basics to make it work.
6. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is popular as a Web hosting company and domain name registrar, but it also offers a free website builder and ecommerce toolkit with only a few features. Choose a template, add your content and business information, and you'll get your website up and running to start in only a couple of steps.
This free platform comes with email marketing tools as well as one-time appointment settings, analytics, as well as SSL certificates. Another feature that makes GoDaddy stand out among free platforms is the 24/7 support for customers and forums for community members, which means you'll have plenty of support in case you're stuck.
The plan for free has its limits. You'll have to choose a godaddysites.com subdomain. GoDaddy will show an advertisement on the top of each page of your website. The SEO tools, such as regular appointments, full online store capabilities, as well as personalized domains are available only through paid plans.
If you're looking for a solution All things considered, GoDaddy's free service is an excellent choice for personal websites, however that heavy branding at the top of each page can make a business website appear not professional.
7. Jimdo
Jimdo is a free web builder tool that lets you create an online business site in three steps.
Answer a few questions about your website.
Get business details through your social media pages.
Choose a design.
Create your own website!
The Jimdo photo library offers you access to many different kinds of stock images that are professionally taken. You can also create contact forms for clients to contact you.
Jimdo's website creation wizard allows you to easily create websites, however it's a loss of personalization. You can pick from some predefined layouts, and diverse color schemes.
On the free plan, you must use a jimdo.com subdomain. You will also see an Jimdo ad on every page. The plan includes 2GB of bandwidth as well as 500MB of storage and can have up to five pages for your site. Additionally, you do not get access to any customer help, which means you're on your own if you need help setting up your site.
If you're looking for a basic single-page website and are confident that there won't be any need for customer service, Jimdo could be an good choice. However, the cost-free version is one of the least flexible options on this list.
Select a web builder that was designed for your future growth
Not all free website builders are created equal. When you are evaluating different choices, keep an eye out at the sneaky ways in which websites add cost to a "free" tool. These include Hidden upsells, charges, restrictions on the number of website pages, or the possibility of customization or even unremovable advertisements. You don't want to find yourself in the middle of unexpected charges when you're launching your site.
By using, you can design stunning websites for your company in only few steps. It's the ideal site builder tool for entrepreneurs who want to build an online home base for their business -- with no technical hassle or the pricey cost.