Increased engagement, great PR, more exposure, and the perfect outlet for creative energy – that’s just the beginning.
We won’t list out the scores of advantages that a great website gives to your business, project, or creative expression. To put it simply, you cannot survive in a marketplace without your own website in 2021.
We have reviewed multiple categories of website builders that guide you through this process. From free to paid plans, built-in templates to customizable options – these are the top 10 website builder softwares to look out for in 2021.
However, even as you look up what the best website builders are, remember that getting an ultra professional, smooth and custom website might require more template-based builders. Website builders might not offer the best SEO and marketing tools available, but some in our list have impressive features on those counts.
1. Wix
Wix is one of the most recognizable names in the website builder software space. It has capitalized on its simple user interface and creative designs. You can pick from various plans like the free version, Business Basic, VIP, and Unlimited Plans.
Features
- Industry-related themes: Wix has more than 500 industry-specific themes to choose from, ranging from e-commerce retailers, cafes, IT services, blogs, and much more.
- Intuitive recommendations – Choose the WixADI option, which lends you a guiding hand through the design process. We find this option extremely useful for beginners who don’t want to customize every single aspect of their website.
- SEO and marketing – Wix’s inbuilt digital marketing feature provides first-rate optimization recommendations to ensure that your website is best-placed to feature in top search results.
2. Weebly
Weebly is one of the most functional and robust website builder softwares in the market today. We expect it to become even more popular with first-time website creators and ecommerce platforms.
Features
- Uncomplicated design phase – Simply pick a template from the gallery and you are good to go. Customizations are also possible with a straightforward drag-and-drop feature.
- A clean dashboard that allows users to add or modify elements into their website quickly.
- Ecommerce options – Weebly has powerful retail features in its premium plan like inventory management, product filters, online payment, tax calculator, etc.
3. Squarespace
Squarespace is the top website builder for creative enterprises. Whether you want to display your photography, create your online art portfolio, host your home-bakery – Squarespace has templates suited for all creative professions. Check out the 14-day free trial to get a feel for the templates and personalization options.
Features
- Elegant temples – Squarespace places a big emphasis on aesthetics and beautiful design. The templates look well-tailored, expressive, and refreshingly unique.
- Easy personalization – You can opt to customize any template element to suit your requirement with a simple drag-and-drop interface.
- Technical support – We found the Squarespace tech support system highly responsive and helpful. This is a big USP to beginners newly starting out with their websites.
4. WordPress
Easily one of the top website builder software in the market, WordPress is the go-option for beginners and professionals alike. The best part is that you can access most functionality options for free – which makes hosting a website very easy on the pocket.
Features
- Plugins: Choose from over 55,000 “plug-in” or additional user options like forms, cache tracking, analytics management etc. to give your website an extra edge.
- Adaptable with most third-party tools for SEO, CRM, payment gateways etc.
WordPress really offers endless possibilities when it comes to customization and there’s literally no limits to what kind of website you want to build – no matter what your business is or what are your design preferences like – everyone can find a simple to use WordPress theme. No matter if you want to create a simple minimal personal blog or tackle something complex as wanting to build a real estate website – with WordPress it’s all possible.
5. SITE123
SITE123 is a platform geared towards newcomers to website building. You will undoubtedly enjoy the helpful prompts and ready support it offers to all clients.
Features
- Elegant base templates which are highly flexible and even let you borrow other elements from multiple templates in the library.
- Multilingual option: The availability of multiple languages like French, German, etc., that SITE123 automatically offers you makes it stand out from its competitors. You will find this functionality profitable If you are looking to target an international clientele.
6. Strikingly
We found the Strikingly builder a highly flexible and simple website creator for small businesses. It has three plans – Free, Limited, Pro and VIP – ranging from $0 to $49 per month. We especially like the Pro option since you can create up to 3 websites a month for a fairly low price.
Features
- Easy to navigate user interface – Simply drag and drop elements like images, maps, text boxes, forms, etc. All Strikingly templates are fully customizable.
- Great functionality for a single-page layout.
- 24-hour tech support in English and analytics management reports.
7. Duda
Mobile focus is a critical part of the success of any website. Duda pays great attention to ease-of-handling and beautiful translation on mobile devices. Try out the free plan to learn the extent of operations at your disposal with this website builder software.
Features
- Mobile-friendly website: Powerful functionality options like item previews, automatic scaling down of elements, light and dark themes, etc.
- Save your design as a template: This feature is handy if you prefer to use a consistent format and layout for multiple projects. Simply hit save on your design, and it gets stored as a template for future use.
8. GoDaddy
This one is also built for beginners due to its undemanding customization options. It is excellent for those looking for a basic, sturdy website, but the templates’ limited flexibility might turn away more experienced users.
Features
- Single menu customizations – It does not get any more uncomplicated. Simply pick from the text, color, and placement options from a single-menu of element personalization.
- Rapid website building process – If you can’t afford to spend hours upon hours painstakingly designing each element of your website, GoDaddy is a lifesaver for you. The entire process is smooth, glitch-free, and very quick.
9. Jimdo
Got no idea how to create a website from scratch? Jimdo has got you covered with its powerful recommendations for design and text elements. Pick from the Start, Grow, Ecommerce, and Unlimited Plans that give you a host of bandwidth and storage options.
Features
- Value for money – The Jimdo Start plan will cost you $9 a month, while the Ecommerce Plan with easy order management and 0% transaction fees for businesses is priced $19 a month.
- Simple design process – The template library is more modern than most of the best website builders’ out there. The templates are top-notch and provide you with all the features you need for a well-functioning and aesthetic website.
10. Webnode
Webnode falls in the medium to high experience category. As someone familiar with the ins and outs of website coding, you will appreciate the advanced features available on Webnode.
Features
- Change languages easily: You can make your website available in multiple languages at the click of a button. Not many website builders offer this unique component, so we were impressed with Webnode’s user-friendliness.
- Strong SEO management: Webnode automatically recommends SEO placement and density while you insert your content onto the template. The suggestion feature is quite powerful and gives you plenty of options and alternatives.
Why are page builders not as suitable as website builders for you?
Don’t be tempted to depend on a page builder software to develop your website. That’s because you can’t play and win a long term game with a page builder.
Firstly, a page builder builds websites with lots and lots of code (it’s called code-bloat). This means your website is well and truly married to the page builder forever, as you will never be able to use the code to customize it either yourself or with the help of an affordable website development freelancer.
Next, the code-bloat is also likely to make your website slow in its loading. Even if your website takes half a second longer than it would do if it were built using a website builder, you are risking irritating your visitors, who may simply close the slow-loading page.
Overuse of JavaScript and shortcodes also makes websites built using page builder hard to customize or improve. Worse still, if the page builder company ends its business, you may be left with your website code that is near impossible to decode, optimize, or improve.
Which is the best website builder software in 2021?
For beginners starting from scratch, Weebly and WordPress have the perfect mix of ready-made templates and user-customization.
Go for Squarespace or Wix to give your website a touch of artistry and elegance. Experienced users will benefit from the advanced features in Webnode.