Weebly is one of the most highly rated website builders on the market, along with Wix and Squarespace. It has one of the most intuitive and easy to use interfaces, a free version and lots of powerful features. While it does have some shortages in terms of template customization options and the lack of an ‘Undo’ option for the main editor, we still think is one of the best choices you can make when it comes to website builders.
When it comes to website builders, Duda proves to be a good choice for several reasons: the fact that it comes with a free version with ecommerce capabilities, the fact that it has a very intuitive, highly customizable and straightforward interface and the fact that it has a very impressive mobile responsiveness. On the downside, one of Duda’s biggest disadvantages is the inability to port your website to another hosting service.
GoDaddy is a powerful player especially when it comes to web hosting and domain registrars. Their website builder is not their biggest strength, but does bring enough to the table to make it a valid choice. It has a very easy to use editor that offers more freedom of design than many competitors, hundreds of available templates and some useful functions that will simplify the entire building process. GoDaddy claims you can build your site in under an hour.
UCraft is a really user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder, with a plethora of useful features, although not all of them are included with all their subscription plans. The templates offered by UCraft look good, are mobile friendly, the ecommerce and blogging tools are great and you get plenty of customization options.
The most appreciated thing about SiteBuilder is its simple and user-friendly editor. This website builder is easy to use by any novice, regardless of how skilled he is in this field. SiteBuilder lacks some important features such as an App Market or a better customer support, but it comes with a free version and over a thousand templates to choose from.
Site123 is a great website builder for less tech-savvy users and people with small businesses/projects. It includes a free plan that you can use indefinitely, it is one of the most user-friendly/straightforward builders you can find, it is mobile responsive and it allows you to create a website in literally 5 minutes. On the downside, this website builder is not as complex as major competitors, it doesn’t use a drag and drop editor and it is not that customizable.
Simvoly is only a few years old on the market but it is a good option to consider if you want to create a simple yet attractive website. Simvoly does lack some important features such as a more complex photo editor, shipping integration, but it does compensate through a clean, intuitive interface, affordability and ease of use.
Among Jimdo’s strengths we have to mention the free plan, the smart Dolphin AI and the easy to use and intuitive interface. Jimdo is a bit limited in features and capabilities, especially when it comes to e-commerce and SEO tools, and the free plan does have a lot of shortcomings, but it is nevertheless a good option to consider if you are interested in quickly creating a simple and responsive website.
Squarespace is one of the slickest, best designed and most attractive website builders on the market. The attention to details and the impressive number of powerful tools clearly indicate a high level of professionalism. While it may not be as user-friendly as Wix or Weebly for example, the interface is nevertheless logically designed and intuitive. There is no free version available, just a free trial, but even the cheapest plan includes a generous number of features that you normally find only in expensive packages with some competitors.
Wix is one of the most popular cloud-based website builders on the market. It comes with a free version that includes hundreds of free templates, free hosting and up to 500 MB storage. It is extremely user-friendly and has an ADI editor, which is a cool, unique and really helpful feature.
Last updated April 18, 2024
Website builders are basically programs that allow users to create their own websites either starting from scratch or based on predesigned templates.
There are different types of website builders out there, designed to meet the needs of both skilled users and the “non tech-savvy” who don’t want to give themselves headaches, fumbling with code editing and difficult programming languages.
A lot has changed since the 90s, when the first websites were manually created in HTML. Nowadays, regardless of the purpose and design of your website, the entire process has become less time consuming and more user-friendly.
There are two types of website builders you can use when constructing your site: SaaS (software as a service), which are web-based (online) or offline website builders.
The online website builders are usually provided by web hosting companies, so you need to sign up for their services in order to benefit from them.
Offline website builders require you to download and install the program on your computer, after which you can start constructing your site even if you are not online. They can be more complex and offer you more options and tools. Offline website builders are mostly used by professionals who know how to work with CSS and HTML. They are also more expensive, except for the open source ones, which can be downloaded at no cost.
We consider the online ones to be more useful for the average user, since they allow you to create your website, quick, easy and for free. All you need is a browser and access to the Internet. Besides, once you’re done with creating your website, you’re going to need a web hosting service anyway, so why not kill two birds with one stone.
Online website builders come in a variety of choices, depending on the type of website you want to create, from simple blogs to complex e-commerce platforms. You can select between various templates and themes, each of them with their own fonts, layout, styles, colors and so on. There are included galleries, multimedia plugins, etc. You can also easily incorporate forums, blogs and other elements you might need for your website.
Another plus of the online website builders is the fact that they usually come with technical support provided by the company.
There are of course some drawbacks too with free, online web-based builders. One of them is the fact that they will have their own restrictions, which may prove to be annoying. You usually have a set limit of pages you can create and you have to upgrade to a paid website builder if you need more than they include. You don’t have as much freedom as with professional website design software and it might be harder to obtain the same results as your biggest competitor/reference, who most likely hired a professional developer/designer to take care of all the little details.
To summarize, here are the PROS and CONS of using online and offline website builders. Hopefully, you can analyze them both and make an informed decision afterwards.
ONLINE website builders:
OFFLINE website builders:
Whether you want to create a personal website, a blog, a site for your band or a serious business or e-commerce platform, you will require some special tools in order to do so.
Website builders are exactly what their name suggests: tools that help you build your website. But how do you choose the best one? Here are some factors you should take into consideration before starting to build your website:
It is not the same thing to build a website for personal reasons or for business purposes. Creating a blog shouldn’t take you the same amount of time and resources as a complex website for a large-scale business. The design of the website has to match the purpose of the site. You don’t want pink flowers and unicorns on a tech related website. Knowing exactly what you want to obtain will help you decide what kind of website builder is best suited for your needs.
This is an obvious one. Regardless of your expectations, your wallet has to meet you half way. There are some good, free of charge website builders out there, just as there are expensive ones, but you have to know from the get-go how much you can afford/are willing to spend.
Are code editing, HTML or CSS familiar to you whatsoever? Offline website design software requires at least some basic skills in the abovementioned. If you are not that tech-savvy but still don’t want to hire a professional to help you out, you should consider using WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web builder, since it doesn’t require any HTML knowledge.
Online website builders are full of templates and themes that can help you get started and put you on the right track. Web hosting providers also include tech support in their services, so in case you get in over your head, you can always ask for help.
Ease of use is an important aspect when choosing the perfect website builder. No matter how talented or knowledgeable you are, nobody likes a confusing, complicated program. Do your research and choose one that comes with a straightforward interface. It will save you a lot of trouble and time.
Do you have a deadline to launch the website, or is it just a hobby? Is time an important factor, or you can do everything at your own pace? Online website builders are usually less time consuming, although the results may be better if you go with an offline builder, but it may take more time to get things done.
The more freedom a website builder gives you, the more creative you can get and the more attractive your website will turn out. Free website builders offered by web hosting companies usually come with their limitations in tools and features, but that’s not always the case. It is important to have as many customization options as possible, if you want your site to stand out. Make sure the program you choose allows you to change things like the layout, color, fonts, background and so on. They can be modified either through the editor or through the HTML/CSS codes. Pay attention to the included templates and make sure they are well designed. More skilled users should also look for features like FTP managers, URL redirect services, MIME types and other advanced tools that are essential for gaining complete control on the structure and content of the site.
Last but not least, if you choose an online website builder, you should choose a provider with reputable customer support. Sooner or later, you’ll most likely need some technical assistance and it is important to know you can rely on a quality service.
