Best Website Builders of 2024: The Top 5

• Wix Pricing: Free – $159 per month, get 10% off with our code “GET10!”
• Read our Wix Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Editor's Choice

Wix

Best overall website builder

Outstanding

4.9

out of 5

• Caters to all industries
• For new businesses
• For building novices

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $16 - $159 / month

Pros

• Best website features
• Easy drag-and-drop editor
• 800+ template designs

Cons

• Can’t switch template once live
• Overwhelming choice of options
• Expensive upgrades when scaling

Wix Review

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Wix is the best website builder, offering a great range of designs, features, and support for people looking to build a website and grow online. Wix takes the top position in our website builder research for the ninth year in a row, scoring a near-perfect rating of 4.9 out of 5. So, why is Wix our favorite website builder? And who should use it?

Our Experience With Wix

We had no trouble getting set up with Wix – the onboarding process took less than a minute with the help of Wix’s AI chatbot, creating a tailored website and dashboard based on our responses. If we wanted to choose a template ourselves, we could filter the 800+ professionally designed templates by industry, such as “Wellness” or “Restaurant”, or simply browse the entire library.

Once in the editor, we had complete creative control – Wix lets you drag and place elements wherever you’d like them to go. This can be overwhelming at the start, especially for individuals who don’t feel confident designing.

While it can be easy to go overboard with the design elements using Wix’s editor, the drag-and-drop format is really easy to get to grips with, regardless of your skill level. We found Wix to be very user-friendly, providing more freedom and opportunities to customize than the likes of Squarespace or GoDaddy.

To complement its impressive design options, Wix includes a vast number of built-in features with its plans – these are the best features of any website builder we tested. For example, you can sell online with Wix Ecommerce, take appointments from customers with Wix Bookings, and grow your online presence with Wix’s SEO tools. Additionally, you can download third-party apps if you need further enhancements, such as Klaviyo for email marketing.

While you might need a higher-tier plan to access certain features, like unlimited storage space (available with the Business Elite plan), the majority of Wix’s features are included with the cheapest plan.

How Much Does Wix Cost?

You can get started with Wix’s free plan, but it does come with limitations, such as ads that make your site lack professionalism. That being said, you can stay on the free plan for as long as you’d like, so it’s a great place to familiarize yourself with Wix’s editor and dashboard before spending any money.

To unlock Wix’s full catalog of features, you’ll need to upgrade to one of Wix’s premium plans. Wix’s pricing ranges from $16 to $159 per month (billed annually). If you want to sell online, you’ll need at least the Core plan which costs $27 per month.

Hear from a real Wix user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with Wix…

Starr Sackstein

Professional Author & Consultant

Starr Sackstein is a professional author and consultant who wanted a website to highlight and capture her business offerings, as well as provide a space for people to find her work and resources.

… I like their Owner’s app as it is easy to upload blog posts or events.

Q&A

When did you start using Wix? How long did it take to build a website?

When I researched Wix, I liked that it was easier to use than WordPress which is what my old website was made with. Wix made it easy to build, and create an email list for marketing and a blog to house resources. While researching, I tried out a bunch of other website hosts and decided that Wix suited my needs best.

I started using Wix more than three years ago. I like that I can buy my domain and site in one place and have their support as I did it. Building the website took a while, but I already had a lot of the content. Once I set it up, I paid a person on Fiverr to clean it up and optimize it for SEO.

What do you like most about Wix?

As I continue to use the service, I like their Owner’s app as it is easy to upload blog posts or events.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend Wix to others?

My website has been complimented by my peers often as it showcases the many things I do as a business person and also houses my publications and education content in one place, making it easy for people to contact me after they read my books.

• Squarespace Pricing: $16 – $49 per month, get 10% off with code “WBE10”
• Read our Squarespace Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Squarespace

Easiest website builder to use

Excellent

4.8

out of 5

• For creatives
• For visual sites
• For beginners

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $16 - $49 / month

Pros

• Easiest website builder
• Booking tools to offer services
• Includes ecommerce functionality

Cons

• Grid structure limits creative freedom
• No autosave when editing
• No free plan

Squarespace Review

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Squarespace is the easiest website builder to use. Its editor is incredibly user-friendly, and the available templates are stylish and aesthetically pleasing – all customizable to suit your brand. And, like Wix, Squarespace caters to a wide range of users with its built-in features, offering tools to support individual portfolios as well as businesses. So, who do we recommend Squarespace for?

Our Experience With Squarespace

When we tested Squarespace ourselves, the onboarding process was smooth and straightforward. The website builder is well-known for its stunning templates and design elements. We could choose from over 150+ Squarespace templates – less than Wix’s 800+ themes. However, Squarespace’s designs are of a similar quality to Wix and cover a wide range of industries, including “Weddings” and “Food”.

Because of Squarespace’s focus on exceptional visuals, we highly recommend the website builder for creatives and design-focused websites. Thinking about building an artist website, for example? Squarespace’s templates provide a solid foundation for users to build on and enhance.

Squarespace’s overall interface is intuitive and beginner-friendly – the drag-and-drop editor means you can customize your pages to your liking. Plus, the grid-style framework will help you avoid cluttered or messy-looking sections.

We were impressed by the range of built-in features to help you market your business and sell online, such as Squarespace Email Campaigns to target your audience effectively and branded invoices for client engagement. You can also elevate your website with add-ons – Acuity Scheduling lets you offer bookable services to clients and its plans start from $16 per month.

The seamless journey between the editor and backend dashboard makes it easy to monitor and manage your Squarespace website, too. That said, if you do feel like you need an extra helping hand, Squarespace provides 24/7 live chat support and a Knowledge Center full of tutorials and guides.

How Much Does Squarespace Cost?

Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial, but you’ll eventually need to subscribe to one of four premium plans, ranging from $16 to $49 per month (billed annually). To sell online, choose the $23 per month Business plan (Squarespace’s best value plan) or one of its more advanced commerce plans.

Read our Squarespace Pricing Review for more help choosing the right plan for your needs.

Hear from a real Squarespace user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with Squarespace…

Renée Junewicz

Owner of Scent & Story NYC

Scent & Story NYC creates fragrances that resonate with the spirit of the era, combining two art forms: perfumery and storytelling.

… I would still use Squarespace again as I do like the end product.

Q&A

When did you start using Squarespace? How long did it take to build a website?

I had launched my fragrance line a number of years ago, selling at small in-person pop-up venues. I decided that it was important to have an online presence. After investigating which sites were the best for ecommerce and were also relatively easy to navigate with regard to website development, I decided to use Squarespace.

I began building my Squarespace website in October/November of 2021. All in, it took me a little over a month to build the site. The actual work on the site took significantly less time than that, but design decisions and photography, and other things like product descriptions, added to the time.

What do you like most about Squarespace?

Once you have actually built the site, it seems relatively easy. The best features of Squarespace as an ecommerce site are all the features you are able to add. There are no straightforward instructions for things – just some overly long videos to watch when you are in the middle of trying to get something done that you are confused about.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend Squarespace to others?

I would probably recommend Squarespace for an ecommerce site. I helped a friend design a website (real estate, mostly informational) on Wix and it was definitely much easier to navigate. I designed the whole website in about an hour. Of course, it did not involve selling items, so that obviously made it much easier, but all-in-all it is much more straightforward and intuitive than Squarespace. But I would still use Squarespace again as I do like the end product.

• Shopify Pricing: $29 – $299 per month
• Read our Shopify Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Shopify

Best ecommerce website builder

Great

4.5

out of 5

• Ideal for online stores
• For big inventories
• For expanding businesses

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $29 - $299 / month

Pros

• Better for experienced builders
• Expanding suite of AI tools
• Huge app store

Cons

• Reliant on third-party apps
• Limited customization
• Handful of free templates

Shopify Review

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Are you looking to sell products online? Shopify is the best ecommerce website builder on the market, providing a dedicated platform for online stores to get started and expand. So, if ecommerce functionality is a key priority for you and your business when choosing a website builder, consider Shopify.

Our Experience With Shopify

When we first got set up with Shopify, it immediately directed us towards adding products to our inventory, as opposed to the usual instruction of designing a website first. We highly recommend following this instruction because it’ll help to have products readily available when you start editing your pages.

The product page form is simple to fill out, and we made the most of Shopify Magic – an AI text generator to help with product descriptions. This helps you save time during setup, and it’s easy to tweak if your products evolve.

Unfortunately, the design process with Shopify is a little complicated thanks to its section-based editor and limited free templates. Shopify and Squarespace are closely matched in a lot of our research areas, but when it comes to ease of use, Squarespace takes the lead without question since Shopify isn’t the most user-friendly builder.

Plus, Shopify has a heavy reliance on third-party apps, meaning additional costs can add up quickly, especially if you’re having to pay for a premium template as well.

Shopify offers unmatched sales features, such as multichannel integration so you can start selling on platforms like TikTok, as well as abandoned cart recovery to improve customer retention. Shopify’s suite of quality tools makes it ideal for businesses looking to sell online.

If you don’t want to sell products, you don’t need to shell out for a Shopify plan. But if you have a complex or large inventory – more than 10 products or so –  Shopify’s sales features and dedicated ecommerce resources are worth the price point.

And, as we already mentioned, Shopify’s app market is used to bolster its in-house offering, meaning merchants can pick and choose which features they need to grow and support their business.

How Much Does Shopify Cost?

Shopify’s three plans range from $29 to $299 per month (billed annually). This is considerably more expensive than other website builders, but that’s a consequence of Shopify’s ecommerce focus. For example, Wix’s ecommerce plans start at $27/mo and Squarespace’s ecommerce plans start at $23/mo.

Fortunately, you can try Shopify’s 3-day free trial to help you get to grips with the builder, and you can get your first three months for just $1 per month. Shopify is built with businesses in mind, so it won’t be the right fit if you don’t need to sell products. We recommend it for growing or expanding businesses, especially given the higher price point.

Read our Shopify Pricing Review for a more detailed breakdown of its costs.

Hear from a real Shopify user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with Shopify…

Salvatore Giudice

Founder of Gallery Canyons

Gallery Canyons is dedicated to showcasing an original collection of framed photography prints from talented local photographers in the US.

Thanks to its features we could transform our vision into an appealing website.

Q&A

When did you start using Shopify? How long did it take to build a website?

Building a website was crucial to extend our reach. Shopify was my number one choice because of the user-friendly interface and solid ecommerce features. In our case, it was the ideal platform.

I started using Shopify a few years ago and it took me a couple of months to build and optimize my website. Thanks to its features we could transform our vision into an appealing website.

What do you like most about Shopify?

Shopify apps and plugins that allow us to optimize for SEO, design options for user experience, and a secure form of payments.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend Shopify to others?

I would recommend Shopify for those that aim to establish an ecommerce platform.

• GoDaddy Pricing: $9.99 – $20.99 per month
• Read our GoDaddy Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Best Value For Money

GoDaddy

Best value for money

Very Good

4.4

out of 5

• For speedy set up
• For budget-conscious
• Good for beginners

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $6.99 - $469.99 / month

Pros

• Get online in seconds
• Excellent 24/7 support
• Editor tutorial available

Cons

• Restrictive editor
• Not ideal for complex designs
• Lacks quality templates

GoDaddy Review

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GoDaddy is the quickest and most cost-effective way to get online in 2024. From our pricing research, GoDaddy came out on top as the best value for money. Not only does it offer a free plan, but GoDaddy’s premium plans are very affordable, especially for beginners or businesses working with a limited budget. Is it the right website builder for you?

Our Experience With GoDaddy

When we tried building a website with GoDaddy ourselves, we managed to complete the onboarding process in under 30 seconds. This makes it the ideal choice if you’re looking for a speedy website builder to get online quickly.

GoDaddy’s editor is simple to use, using a section-based layout and offering users a variety of pre-designed elements to add. We could also use GoDaddy’s AI builder and AI content generation tools to support the design process.

However, the options are far more basic than the likes of Wix. There are 14 section categories in comparison to Wix’s 20. So, your choices are limited with GoDaddy. If you’re struggling to choose between Wix or GoDaddy, Wix is the better website builder overall, especially when it comes to designing a website.

While GoDaddy offers less creative freedom than Wix or Squarespace, where you can drag items around anywhere, you can reach out to GoDaddy’s expert help team if you ever need a helping hand.

GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone and live chat support, so you can address any problems immediately. And, if you want to boost your website builder knowledge or brush up on a topic like SEO, then GoDaddy’s knowledge center provides you with the reading material to get started.

How Much Does GoDaddy Cost?

GoDaddy’s free plan is a good starting point, but it comes with ads and standard features, like website security. We recommend upgrading to one of the three premium plans to remove ads, ranging from $9.99 to $20.99 per month (billed annually).

Simple or informational websites will be content with the cheapest plan, Basic, which includes built-in SEO tools for website visibility and email marketing tools to connect with your audience. But, you’ll need to upgrade to the $20.99 per month Commerce plan if you want ecommerce tools.

Hear from a real GoDaddy user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with GoDaddy…

Renelle Wolff

Clinical Social Worker & Licensed Therapist

Renelle’s private practice, WolffMann Wellness, provides individual therapy and new parent workshops online for people residing in the District of Columbia, Florida, Texas, and Virginia.

Building a website was my favorite part of building my business.

Q&A

When did you start using GoDaddy? How long did it take to build a website?

Seeing the increased need for online psychotherapy care during the pandemic, I decided to start my own private practice to offer teletherapy services in the various states I am licensed. Building a website was my favorite part of building my business. It was a space I could express my professional self for the world to see.

Once I decided to start my private practice, I was so eager to build my own site that I didn’t research too much. GoDaddy was my first thought as I used their free website building service years ago for my wedding website. I remembered how easy the process was and I just jumped right in. I did do a quick online search for a coupon/promo code and was surprised the price was a lot cheaper than I expected. I bought my domain and website package which included standard marketing.

As a full-time parent to pre-schoolers, I spent my downtime and evening building the site for a few months.

What do you like most about GoDaddy?

I started with writing the text and then inputting the text into a template which was created by GoDaddy. I found this tool very easy to use.

About one year following my first website build, I decided to change the design a bit and it was fairly easy to switch to another design template within GoDaddy.

Overall, my favorite feature is the marketing tools; I can check in how my website is performing, how many views, and how people are finding my site. It also has built-in SEO help.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend GoDaddy to others?

I am very satisfied with my website and overall use of GoDaddy. The goal of my website was to provide future clients a small overview of myself, my therapy practice, and to promote my business online. It has been a fantastic marketing tool and a lot of fun to build. Overall, I am very happy I decided on GoDaddy and continue to recommend their services to others building their own website.

• Hostinger Pricing: $2.99 – $8.99 per month (48-month contract), get 10% off with our code “WBE”
• Read our Hostinger Website Builder Review for a detailed look at the website builder

Hostinger

Best for AI enthusiasts

Good

4.2

out of 5

• For beginners
• For budget-conscious
• For simple website needs

Paid Plans: $2.99 - $109.99 / month

Pros

• Easy to use
• Suite of AI tools
• Ecommerce included

Cons

• Poor scalability
• Simple templates
• No app market

Hostinger Review

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Hostinger is another easy website builder to use, sitting just behind Squarespace in our user experience tests. Hostinger offers a plethora of AI tools, including an AI website builder, to help users get online quickly and easily. Plus, Hostinger’s pricing is the most affordable of the bunch, starting from just $2.99 per month. Should you use Hostinger’s website builder?

Our Experience With Hostinger

Hostinger gives you a range of options to get started, but the three step AI website builder got us up and running in less than under 60 seconds. The form requested basic information like “Brand name” as well as a brief description of the website, and following a quick loading screen, Hostinger presented us with a tailored template to edit.

Unfortunately, we weren’t too impressed by what Hostinger’s AI created for us – it lacked the quality and sleekness of Squarespace’s templates. That being said, it’s a great option if you’re looking to get online quickly.

Within the editor, we could add new elements or sections, such as galleries and contact forms. And, like Squarespace, Hostinger has a drag-and-drop editor that features the grid structure – so while you can’t drag items anywhere like you can with Wix, you’ve got almost limitless freedom which is useful for beginners.

Hostinger has improved considerably since last year’s research, securing its new position in our top five thanks to its ease of use and AI features. We tried a few of these out for ourselves when building our test website. The AI Heatmap can give you a great visual indication of where visitors or customers are engaging with your site, and the AI Blog Generator is a beneficial resource if you want to boost your site’s content.

While its AI tools are fairly well-developed, it’s clear that Hostinger has prioritized these developments over other core functionalities or design options. For example, there are no email marketing tools which is surprising when that’s a standard website feature available from the other website builders in the list.

How Much Does Hostinger Cost?

Hostinger’s the cheapest website builder on the list, with plans starting from $2.99 per month (for a 48-month contract). Pricing can get a little confusing when browsing Hostinger’s website, though – its website builder package is wrapped up with its web hosting plans.

These hosting plans provide features such as storage, bandwidth, and security, but the website builder is included with all of Hostinger’s shared hosting plans. Because the website builder itself remains the same no matter which plan you pick, we recommend choosing the cheapest option, Premium Web Hosting. You can upgrade at any point if you need additional security or storage space, and you can get your first three months for free no matter which plan you choose.

Hear from a real Hostinger user to learn about their experience with the website builder:

I built my website with Hostinger…

Rafee Rahman

Owner of SOLD Corp Watches

SOLD Corp Watches is a blog site that focuses on affordable watches for men. Rafee’s goal is to help people decide what watch to buy without spending too much money since fashion should be accessible to everyone.

It is a great tool for beginners to easily start their own website…

Q&A

When did you start using Hostinger? How long did it take to build a website?

I wanted to build a website for several reasons. I was highly passionate about watches and wanted an outlet to express my opinions. I want to help people understand more about watches and give exposure to those brands that offer quality at an affordable price point. I also wanted the learning experience of building my own website, as it is a valuable skill to have nowadays. I chose Hostinger because of its solid reviews, easy-to-use structure, and low starting prices. I didn’t want to invest too much in the beginning out of caution, so Hostinger’s low yearly prices were a big draw for me. It’s easy to use and comes with lots of useful features, like a free domain registration.

I started using Hostinger in September 2023. It took me about three days to build my website. It was my first time using WordPress to build a website, so there was definitely a steep learning curve. However, the process is easy with Hostinger and I designed my site the way I wanted in just a few days.

What do you like most about Hostinger?

The thing I like most about Hostinger is the custom email domain capabilities. You can very easily create multiple custom email addresses with your website’s domain as part of your plan. I have created admin@soldcorp.com and social@soldcorp.com. It makes outreach more professional and more organized. It is very easy to access these emails directly from your Hostinger profile too. Other great features include the ability to test your website’s speed easily and the AI logo maker.

Were you satisfied with the website you made, and would you recommend Hostinger to others?

Yes, I was satisfied with the website I made and I would definitely recommend Hostinger to others. It is a great tool for beginners to easily start their own website, and it has the functionality and capabilities to continue serving you as you gain more experience and knowledge. It isn’t really bad at doing anything. The web hosting is reliable which is very important. You don’t want your website going down all the time. All in all, Hostinger has been a great service for me.

Whether you’re looking to build a website for the first time, or you want to make the switch from your current website builder to another, it can be tough to know where to start and what to look out for.

It depends on your needs and requirements – we recommend building a checklist of criteria that you want from a website builder, or you can use our expert tips below to help shape your search.

• Building a small business website? Look for ecommerce capabilities with a website builder’s plans. What payment options are available? Is there room to grow your business if you’re successful? Are you limited by the number of products you can sell? Are there marketing tools to help promote your shop? Can you sell across other platforms, like social media?
• Want to showcase your work? If you’re building an online portfolio website, we recommend examining the design elements and features available to see how you can visually present your work best. Are there tools to help share your website with clients? What SEO features are included with your plan? Can you install third-party apps or integrations? Are your creative needs met with the website builder?
• Looking for a cheap website builder? Review a website builder’s plans to see what features are available for different price points and where you can get the best deal for your money. Is there a free website builder plan or free trial available? Does the price jump massively between plans if you need to upgrade?

Switching Website Builders

You can always migrate your assets over to another website builder if you’re looking to make a change. This will require some additional steps, such as backing up and transferring your work.

If you choose to do this manually, switching can be a long process and can require a lot of hard drive space. However, automatic migration services are available, but these can cost between $300-$400 each time.

Take our quick quiz for a personalized website builder recommendation from our team:

We put 16 leading website builders through an in-depth testing process to determine our rankings and recommendations. Our assessment aims to help you find the right website builder for your needs – sharing standout features, expert insights, and more so you can make an informed decision when the time comes.

Our research team conducted over 200 hours of research to bring you our shortlist of the top website builders, covering 398 areas of investigation in total. We want to make sure our recommendations accurately reflect the builders and market, so we regularly review our research to make sure our pages are up to date.

We look at six core categories when testing website builders, adding unique weighting to each area to reflect what our readers value the most:

• Website Features: 30%

We examine the quality and quantity of website features, such as SEO, storage space, AI, and scheduling tools.

• Design Functionality: 25%

Our research covers a website builder’s aesthetic capabilities and template options.

• User Experience: 17%

We test each builder ourselves to assess its ease of use and accessibility – this helps us speak from experience when recommending a platform.

• Help & Support: 10%

Looking at a website builder’s support options and responsiveness.

• Value for Money: 10%

We review the pricing of each website builder to see what you get for the money you pay.

• Customer Score: 8%

We test how a website builder performs in the wider market to see how it compares to competitors.

Each website builder is then awarded a star rating out of five based on its performance in our six core research categories.

Our research process has determined the top five website builders of 2024, and Wix is the best website builder overall. It offers high-quality features and beautiful design options that cater to a wide range of users, whether you’re looking to build a blog or start selling online.

Each website builder has its strengths – and weaknesses – so we know Wix won’t be the right fit for everyone. Looking for the best value? Consider GoDaddy. Maybe you want to set up an online store? Shopify is the best option. If you’re unsure of where to start, we recommend checking out a builder’s free plan or free trial (if available) to figure out what works best for you.