Every small business needs a good website—including yours. A website makes your business reputable and functional and can even get you more customers. But first, you’ll need a good website builder. The best website builder for small business owners should have all the essential functions, marketing features, and design tools and should be easy enough for beginners to navigate. It should also be affordable enough for your budget.
Below, we’ve tested and ranked the nine best small business website builders to help you find the best platform for your website based on features, ease of use, and affordability:
- Wix: Best website builder for small businesses overall
- Hostinger: Best for building multiple websites
- Squarespace: Best for modern website designs
- HubSpot Content Hub: Best for blogging
- Web.com: Best for fully custom website designs
- GoDaddy: Best for appointment-booking tools
- Weebly: Best for ecommerce websites
- DreamHost: Best for building WordPress websites
- Webador: Best for portfolio websites
*First-year cost per month with annual payment
Find out more about each platform below:
Wix: Best Website Builder for Small Businesses Overall
Pros
- Free plan is available.
- It offers maximum design freedom with a drag-and-drop editor.
- It has an artificial intelligence (AI) website generator and writing assistant.
- It has comprehensive ecommerce and SEO features.
- It has a large app marketplace.
Cons
- It only has 500MB storage and no SEO on the free plan.
- It has no ecommerce until the Core plan ($29 monthly).
- Weebly offers automated sales tax calculation at a lower cost.
Wix is one of the most cost-effective website builder platforms considering the value packed into the platform. Use the free plan to get a feel, then upgrade to a paid plan when you’re ready to take your site live.
- Free: $0 forever to test or start your site; this includes SSL, templates, images, AI content writer, and 500MB of storage and bandwidth. Wix branding will be displayed, and your site will be hosted on a Wix subdomain (i.e., “yourbusiness.wix.com”).
- Light: $17 monthly for 2GB storage, basic marketing tools, and a free custom domain for one year
- Core: $29 monthly for 50GB storage, more marketing tools, a free custom domain for one year, and basic ecommerce for 25 products, and analytics
- Business: $36 monthly for 100GB storage, more marketing tools, ecommerce, product reviews, six currencies, and a free custom domain for one year
- Business Elite: $159 monthly for unlimited storage space, advanced marketing and ecommerce tools, 11 currencies, and a free custom domain for one year
Wix offers an everything-out-of-the-box experience for building small business websites. Because of this, it’s our best small business website builder for many cases. Here are some examples:
- Wix is the best website builder for SEO so your website can be found online—it even has Semrush tools in the dashboard
- It’s also our best drag-and-drop website builder for maximum design freedom
- Wix is our overall best free website builder and hosting for small businesses for all the reasons above, and more
Wix doesn’t have many drawbacks, but it may not be the best fit for your specific needs—for instance, if you prefer a site generator or different marketing features. Here are some of its best alternatives:
- For a website generator instead of a drag-and-drop platform: GoDaddy or Weebly
- For appointment booking and email and social media marketing: GoDaddy
- For a dedicated customer service platform: HubSpot
Wix is hard to beat as the best website builder for small businesses. Its drag-and-drop site editor gives you the design freedom to create a highly customized website. Integrations, features, AI, and a ton of capabilities are there for just about any business need, making it a good choice for building brand presence whether you’re creating a basic informational site or a full-featured one with an online store and marketing tools.
But even with all its features, Wix is easy to use even for complete beginners. Check out our guide on how to make a website with Wix.
Wix has one of the easiest drag-and-drop website editors.
There are also over 900 modern, well-designed templates to choose from, for nearly every industry or category.
Wix Features
- Drag-and-drop site builder or AI site generator
- 900-plus professional templates, hundreds of premade content blocks, and free image library
- Built-in AI writing assistant to streamline content creation
- Advanced SEO like automatic schema markup, image compression, keyword research, code embedding, site booster, and SEO wizards
- Ecommerce tools including online stores, events, appointments, subscriptions, online ordering, dropshipping, reservations, and bookings
- 300-plus paid and free integrations to extend functionality even more
- Wix Studio for agencies and freelancers
Wix Reviews
Read our comprehensive Wix review for a deep dive into its features and capabilities. Meanwhile, take a look at what other users had to say about Wix:
- G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars. Users like how easy it is to use, and that it has many helpful features like SEO and ecommerce that are helpful for their businesses. However, some report that customer service can be difficult to contact, and that the site builder can sometimes be slow.
- Trustpilot: 4.6 out of 5 stars. Positive reviews highlight Wix’s versatility, affordability, and customer support. However, some also report issues with Wix’s payment arrangements.
Expert Opinion
Wix is our overall best website builder for small businesses. It’s easy to use for complete beginners while giving you complete design freedom through its drag-and-drop design builder. It even has an AI site builder and content writer to optimize your site, plus some of the most advanced SEO and ecommerce tools.
Its paid plans are generally affordable, and there’s even a free-forever plan to get started. Overall, whichever industry your business is in, if you want a fuss-free, all-around website builder that has all the essentials, you can’t go wrong with Wix.
Hostinger: Best for Building Multiple Websites
Pros
- You can build 100 websites from $2.99/month.
- It has a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop builder or AI website generator.
- It has an AI writing assistant, SEO tools, and audience analysis.
- It has ecommerce with 0% transaction fees and 20 payment methods.
- You can instantly add Google and Meta Pixel for ad management.
Cons
- It has no free plan.
- Its ecommerce is limited to 500 products.
- Email marketing is only available as a plug-in.
Hostinger has no free plans, though all its paid plans are affordable with lots of value. For instance, each plan lets you build 100 websites with custom domains. Find out more below:
- Premium: $2.99 monthly (renews at $7.99 monthly) for up to 100 websites, 100GB storage, email hosting, a custom domain free for one year, AI tools, weekly backups, and standard security
- Business: $3.99 monthly (renews at $8.99 monthly) for up to 100 websites, 200GB storage, email hosting, a custom domain free for one year, basic ecommerce features, AI tools, daily backups, and advanced security
- Cloud Startup: $9.99 monthly (renews at $19.99 monthly) for up to 300 websites, 200GB storage, email hosting, a custom domain free for one year, advanced ecommerce features, AI tools, daily backups, a dedicated IP address, and advanced security
Hostinger is super-easy to use and has the most budget-friendly long-term plans for online stores starting at $2.99 monthly—it’s one of the best cheap website builders for small businesses overall. This makes it a great option for the following:
- Complete beginners who want a fully custom and branded site
- Any small business or online store needing a low-cost, long-term option
- Agencies or freelancers looking for a low-cost multisite hosting plan
However, Hostinger also has a few downsides, such as its limited ecommerce tools, and that it has no free plan. Here are some of its best alternatives:
- For a completely free website builder: Wix or GoDaddy
- For unlimited products on your ecommerce store: Weebly
- For a much bigger app marketplace: Wix, Weebly, or HubSpot
While Hostinger doesn’t offer a free plan like Wix or Weebly, it’s well worth its price, which is also still affordable at $2.99 monthly. Choose from over 100 well-designed templates—or answer a few easy prompts, and Hostinger’s AI website builder will generate a website template you can further customize with your branding. Hostinger also has an AI content writer and an image library, so adding content is easy.
All this, plus Hostinger’s super-intuitive interface and editing tools, make it a good option for any business. But it’s particularly the best website creator for small business owners who need to build multiple websites at an affordable cost because it’s the only platform (so far) that lets you build 100 websites even for as low as $2.99 monthly. This is Hostinger’s most unique feature—you won’t find many other platforms with as many websites for the same price.
We also like that Hostinger is super easy to set up even if you’re a total beginner, whether you use the AI site generator or start with a template. Find out more about how to use the Hostinger website builder.
A look inside Hostinger’s editing platform.
There’s also the option to use the AI website generator.
Hostinger also has over 100 professional templates to start with. Here’s one example.
Hostinger Features
- AI site builder, content writer, heat map page analyzer, and logo creator
- Drag-and-drop site builder with over 100 modern templates
- Free domain, email account, and up to 100 websites on every plan
- Ecommerce for 500 physical and digital products
- AdSense for easy monetization
- Integrations with Google and Facebook Ads
- Messenger and WhatsApp integrations to communicate with customers
- Ability to book appointments with or without payments
- Dozens of widgets including code embed, forms, maps, and Instagram feed
Hostinger Reviews
For a comprehensive overview of Hostinger’s features and to see if it’s the right platform for you, read our in-depth Hostinger review. Meanwhile, here are Hostinger reviews from other users:
- G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars. Many users like its low-cost, high-value plans and its easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder. However, some found it difficult to contact the customer support team when they had inquiries or issues.
- Trustpilot: 4.6 out of 5 stars. Many users praised the platform’s user-friendliness. However, some also found it difficult to contact customer support.
Expert Opinion
If you want to save time, stress, and money building your business website, (or even 100 websites), Hostinger is the best small business website builder for the job. Even if there is no free plan, its affordable paid plans are worth the investment for well-designed, professional, and fully functional websites.
Squarespace: Best for Modern Website Designs
Pros
- It has 100-plus modern, visually striking, mobile-optimized templates.
- It has a Drag-and-drop editor for easy customization.
- SEO, ecommerce, blog publishing, and appointment-booking tools are available.
- It has a free custom domain for one year.
Cons
- It has no free plan; plans start at $16 monthly.
- It can only sell physical products on higher plans (from $23).
- Subscriptions are only on the highest plan.
While Squarespace has no free plans, all its paid plans are worth the price. It has everything you need in a website builder, from modern templates and a beginner-friendly editor to ecommerce and marketing tools. Higher plans let you sell physical products, offer discounts, and sell subscriptions.
- Personal Plan: $16 monthly for a free custom domain for one year, a drag-and-drop website builder with over 100 modern templates, and the ability to sell digital products and memberships
- Business Plan: $23 monthly to sell physical products (with a 3% transaction fee), checkout on your domain, send invoices, and advanced analytics
- Commerce Basic Plan: $28 monthly for a 0% transaction fee and advanced ecommerce tools
- Commerce Advanced: $52 monthly to add advanced shipping and discounting and to sell subscriptions
Because Squarespace has so many tools, it’s suitable for just about any type of business. But thanks to its design-forward templates, it’s particularly good for brands that prioritize good design and making a good impression with their website.
Here are the best cases for using Squarespace:
- Any business with a strong visual brand identity that wants to make a good impression with their website
- Creatives or artists selling digital products or memberships or subscriptions
Meanwhile, here are instances when Squarespace might not be the best option for your business:
- For similar design templates and tools on a free plan: Wix
- For ecommerce tools even on the free plan: Weebly
If you’re looking for a platform that can help you create a modern and design-forward website, the best website builder for small businesses we recommend is Squarespace. Whether you’re building a simple personal portfolio or an online store, you can guarantee a sleek, visually striking, and beautiful website—more than with most other website builders.
Plus, there are dozens of templates for different website types to get started, which you can easily customize with your branding in the drag-and-drop editor. Features-wise, Squarespace also supports ecommerce, SEO, and email marketing, so your site will be fully functional and well-designed. You can even sell digital products and subscriptions on the higher plans.
The main drawback is that there is no free plan, and you’ll need to pay $16 monthly for just the starting plan. However, it contains all the essentials you need to grow your business’s online presence. Find out more about how to build a website on Squarespace.
Squarespace has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor and over 100 modern templates.
Here’s an example of a Squarespace business website template.
Squarespace Features
- Drag-and-drop website builder
- Over 100 modern, design-forward templates
- Free custom domain for one year
- SEO tools
- Ecommerce, even for digital products
- Blog publishing
- SSL security
- Unlimited bandwidth
- AI content creation tools
Squarespace Reviews
- G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on 1,000-plus reviews: Most users like how easy it is to design a modern, professional-looking website. However, some users found some templates restrictive.
- Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 based on 2,000-plus reviews: Many users also praise Squarespace’s templates and design tools. However, some were also dissatisfied with its customer service.
Expert Opinion
Whatever category or industry your business is in, if your priority is a well-designed website that supports anything from portfolios to online stores, Squarespace has long been a reliable website builder for just that. While it has no free plan, it’s a good investment for the long term, especially as you already get a free custom domain for the first year.
HubSpot: Best for Blogging
Pros
- You can publish 30 web pages and 100 blogs on the free plan.
- It has a drag-and-drop site builder with a marketplace of templates.
- It supports forms for lead generation.
- It has a built-in SEO and AI blog assistant.
- It can easily integrate with HubSpot’s sales and customer service tools.
Cons
- It has less beginner-friendly platform
- It has fewer design features than others.
- Not all templates are free.
- It has no AI site generator.
HubSpot Content Hub has a generous free plan, but its paid plans quickly get expensive after the first one as they’re mostly made for larger enterprises. Find out more about HubSpot’s plans:
- Free: $0 forever to build a website with up to 30 pages and 100 blog posts on your own domain and with HubSpot branding; includes access to the content library, basic SEO recommendations, HubSpot’s free sales and CRM tools, one shared inbox, and support for three languages
- Content Hub Starter: $15 monthly (annual billing) per user for everything in the Free plan plus 10,000 blog posts, up to five currencies, and no HubSpot branding
- Content Hub Professional: $450 monthly (annual billing) for unlimited subdomains and languages, 100 shared inboxes, 10,000 web pages and blog posts, advanced SEO and analytics, 30 currencies, and no HubSpot branding
HubSpot’s Content Hub has some of the most comprehensive blogging and content tools, so it’s one of the best blogging platforms for any business or freelancer looking to start blogging seriously. Here are the best instances for using HubSpot Content Hub:
- For any brand with a strong blogging or content marketing strategy
- Businesses that want to generate and track leads using HubSpot’s CRM platform
- Businesses on a budget wanting a free content management system (CMS) on a custom domain
Meanwhile, While HubSpot Content Hub has a wide feature suite, its biggest drawback is in its usability and design. Here are its best alternatives:
- For better design tools and a more beginner-friendly platform: Squarespace or Wix
- For no page limits even on a free plan: Webador
- If you only need SEO tools (without the CRM tools): Wix
If you’re looking to build a website specifically to publish blogs, the website builder we recommend is HubSpot Content Hub. Formerly known as HubSpot CMS, HubSpot’s new update to its website builder puts more focus on publishing content, so it’s a great fit if you want to start blogging. On the free plan, you get up to 30 web pages and 100 blog posts. There’s even an AI blogging assistant and a content library.
Plus, HubSpot also has built-in SEO tools to help your blogs get discovered and support for multiple languages (even unlimited languages in the highest plan). You can also add forms to generate leads from your blog and then integrate them with HubSpot’s customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Find out more about how to build a HubSpot website.
Design your website in HubSpot’s drag-and-drop editor.
Choose from over 500 website themes in the Marketplace.
HubSpot Features
- Drag-and-drop website builder
- 500-plus website templates in the HubSpot Marketplace
- Blog publisher with AI blogging assistant
- Content library
- Custom domain on the free plan
- Automated SEO recommendations
- Multilanguage websites
- Integrations with HubSpot’s sales and marketing tools
- Website chatbots
HubSpot CMS Reviews
- G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars. Many customers like HubSpot’s many marketing and customer service features that make it easy to track leads. However, some were dissatisfied with HubSpot’s customer service and pricing contracts.
- Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 stars. Many users found HubSpot an affordable and user-friendly platform to connect with customers. Some found the platform difficult to navigate and lacking in design features.
Expert Opinion
Overall, HubSpot has long been popular among marketing and sales teams for its many useful tools, and you’ll likely find some value on the platform no matter what business you own. The one disadvantage is that it isn’t as user-friendly as other platforms like Wix or Hostinger, so there might be a bit of a learning curve. However, its many benefits can be well worth your effort.
Web.com: Best for Fully Custom Website Designs
Pros
- Professional website design services are available.
- All plans come with one hour of expert design support.
- All websites have a custom domain, social media, email marketing, and blogs.
- Websites are well-designed and fully custom.
Cons
- It has no free plan or trial.
- You need to get a custom quote for web design services.
- Ecommerce plan is more expensive than other site builders.
- AI site generator can mean less design freedom.
Web.com has no free plan, but its paid plans are also affordable. However, pricing for its web design services are custom for every business—you’ll need to contact the team for a quote. Meanwhile, here are its website builder plans:
- Website: $4.95 monthly (renews at $15.99 per month); includes a domain, SSL, email account, drag-and-drop website builder, and one hour of design support
- Website + Marketing: $7.95 per month (renews at $21.99 per month) to add in social media and email marketing features, appointments-booking, and the AI writing assistant, QR code generator, and CRM platform; includes the Creative Design Tool, logo builder, social post scheduler, marketing calendar, and pay-per-click ad tool
- Ecommerce: $13.95 monthly (renews at $29.99 monthly) for everything in the Website + Marketing plan plus ecommerce tools with unlimited products, shipping, barcodes, and social selling
Web.com offers professional website design services, which can save you the costs and effort of designing your website all by yourself. Its team are all expert website builders, so you can be sure your site has all the functions and features it needs to meet your specific goals. Overall, we recommend Web.com for the following:
- Complete beginners to building websites who need a professional site quickly and easily
- Small business owners looking for a fully custom designed site at an affordable price with built-in ecommerce, marketing, and social media
Meanwhile, Web.com’s biggest drawback is that it doesn’t have a free plan, and its prices jump after the first year. Here are its best alternatives to consider:
- For email marketing, social media, and ecommerce features at cheaper costs: GoDaddy
- For more affordable websites with the same level of customization: Hostinger
- For site builders with a free plan and similar features: Wix, GoDaddy, or Weebly
If you don’t have the time or skills to build a custom, professional website for your business, Web.com offers both an AI-powered website builder and professional website design services. Either way, you’ll get a fully custom and unique website at affordable prices. The AI website builder starts at just $4.95 monthly for the first year, and while you’ll need to get a custom quote for its web design services, they’re usually only a few hundred dollars at most.
Web.com also has comprehensive ecommerce and marketing features on its higher plans, including an online store, social selling on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, and more, as well as email and social media marketing. Its web design service process is also simple: you start with an onboarding call to tell the team what your website needs, and then they’ll build your website and have it approved before it goes live.
Your website will automatically come with SEO and a custom domain, and if you need to edit it at any time, the team is always ready to help.
An example of a website created by Web.com (source: Web.com)
Here’s another example of a website designed by Web.com (source: Web.com)
Web.com Features
- AI website builder and professional website design services
- CRM platform
- Email marketing, social post scheduler, logo builder, PPC ad integration, marketing calendar)
- Ecommerce in the Online Store plan including cart abandonment and real-time shipping rates
- Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, and Etsy selling
Web.com Reviews
- Capterra: 3.7 out of 5 stars. Many customers like how helpful Web.com’s websites are in expanding their business. However, some clients were unhappy with the platform’s recent interface changes and some found bugs in their website.
- Trustpilot: 3.9 out of 5 stars. Most clients had positive experiences working with Web.com’s designers and found them professional and friendly. However, some found their customer service difficult to reach.
Expert Opinion
While Web.com has no free plans, its paid plans have some of the most extensive ecommerce and marketing features. So, we think it’s a worthy investment—especially if you want a fully custom website design you won’t get with a regular site builder. It’s our overall best website builder for small businesses that want a fully unique website without breaking the bank.
GoDaddy: Best for Appointment-booking Tools
Pros
- Appointments and chatbots are on the free plan.
- Email and social media marketing are in all paid plans.
- You can use GoDaddy Studio to create branded graphics and videos.
- It has Google, Yelp, and social media management in the dashboard.
Cons
- Ecommerce are only available on paid plans.
- It has no drag-and-drop editor
- Limited to 50 pages total (including blog posts).
- It has no third-party apps.
- Appointments with online payments or recurring meetings costs more.
GoDaddy offers appointment-booking tools and a content creation studio in its free website builder. However, to sell on your website and market on email and social media, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan. Here are GoDaddy’s plans:
- Free: $0 forever, for a website on a GoDaddy subdomain and branding; one-time appointment booking and two website chatbots; can connect and post to social media, and connect and manage your Google Business and Yelp profiles; limited access to GoDaddy Studio
- Basic: $10.99 monthly the first year to connect a custom domain and remove GoDaddy branding; can get premium access to the GoDaddy content studio, a shared inbox, and website chat
- Standard: $11.99 monthly the first year to get everything in the Basic plan plus built-in SEO, 20 social media posts, and 500 emails per month
- Premium: $14.99 monthly the first year for everything in the Standard plan plus unlimited social media posts and platforms and 25,000 email sends
- Ecommerce: $16.99 monthly the first year for everything in the Premium plan plus ecommerce tools with flexible payments, shipping, and discounts
GoDaddy’s appointment-booking, ecommerce, marketing, and blogging features make it a good option for service-based businesses like salons. Here are its best use-cases:
- Service and sales-based companies needing appointment-booking tools and chatbots
- Real estate agents needing a site builder that accommodates client appointments
- Any small business that wants built-in content creation, social media, and email marketing tools
While GoDaddy is easy to use and affordable, there are drawbacks that might make another website builder a better choice for your business:
- For more affordable ecommerce plans: Weebly or Hostinger
- For more design customization: Wix or Squarespace
GoDaddy’s most unique feature is its appointment-booking system even on the free plan, which makes it ideal for service-based businesses like salons, spas, consulting companies, and even real estate agents or sales companies that do a lot of demos and presentations. The platform is also easy to navigate, as you can select a template and edit it by sections, and then add tools like social media and email marketing.
GoDaddy also has an in-house content design studio that makes it easy to create and publish content all in one go. However, access is limited on the free plan. Another drawback is that it has no ecommerce tools until you get the higher plan, which costs $16.99, but you’ll also be able to manage your business listings on platforms like Yelp and Google Business Profile. Learn more about how to build a GoDaddy website.
GoDaddy features a section-based editor (not a drag-and-drop one)
There are also templates like this you can start with. (Source: GoDaddy)
GoDaddy Features
- Appointment booking and website chatbots starting from free
- AI-generated site generator layout variations you can change anytime
- Blog publishing tools
- Ability to connect and post to social accounts from the dashboard
- Ability to connect and manage Google and Yelp business profiles, abandoned cart recovery, and real-time shipping rates on basic commerce plan
- GoDaddy Studio to create logos, social media and web graphics, and videos
- Ecommerce with flexible payment and shipping options
- Large global content delivery network to help your site load fast from anywhere
GoDaddy Website Builder Reviews
Read everything you need to know about GoDaddy as a website builder in our GoDaddy review. Meanwhile, here are reviews from other GoDaddy users:
- G2: 3.9 out of 5 stars. Many clients like how resourceful and easy to use the platform is. On the negative side, some were dissatisfied with GoDaddy’s customer service.
- Trustpilot: 4.7 out of 5 stars. Unlike on G2, many reviews on Trustpilot noted GoDaddy for having good customer service. However, some mentioned issues with contract renewals and payments.
Expert Opinion
GoDaddy’s impressive appointment-booking system makes it the best small business website builder for teams that focus on building relationships. Coupled with its chatbots and email and social media marketing tools, GoDaddy could be an affordable way to turn your website into a virtual marketing assistant and receptionist.
Weebly: Best for Ecommerce Websites
Pros
- It has ecommerce features with unlimited products on the free plan.
- It has ad-free plans from $12 monthly.
- It allows online ordering and reservations.
- It has a large third-party app marketplace.
Cons
- It has no drag-and-drop editor.
- Free ecommerce is only for US sellers.
- It has limited SEO features and no email marketing.
- Paid plan is required for third-party apps.
- Cart abandonment is only on highest plan.
Weebly plans start for free, and all can build you an online store, which is why it’s our best free ecommerce website builder for small businesses. Prices only increase for more advanced ecommerce features such as digital goods and shipping labels, and if you need a custom domain. Find out more:
- Free: $0 forever for your site hosted on a Weebly/Square subdomain with ads, ecommerce store with unlimited products, automated sales tax, coupons, gift cards, lead generation forms, inventory management, plus the ability to take online orders for pickup
- Personal: $10 per month (billed annually) for a site with a custom domain, an ecommerce store with unlimited products, digital goods, shipping labels, automated sales tax, coupons, gift cards, lead-generation forms, inventory management, and taking online orders for in-store pickups
- Professional: $12 per month (billed annually) for a custom domain with no ads, unlimited storage and bandwidth, advanced site analytics, all ecommerce features from the previous plans, gated content for members, and popups to engage site visitors
- Performance: $26 per month (billed annually) for everything in the Professional plan plus item reviews, abandoned cart recovery, advanced ecommerce analytics, and PayPal payments
Keep in mind that there are two website builders on Weebly: one for personal sites such as blogs, and one for online stores. Both have free-forever plans; however, the personal sites editor has no ecommerce features, and the online store editor unfortunately has no tools for blogs.
Weebly has comprehensive ecommerce features even on its free plan—making it the best website builder small businesses can use to build an online store on a budget. We recommend it for:
- Any ecommerce business on a budget, especially if you need dropshipping
- Restaurants wanting robust tools for online ordering and reservations (Weebly is also our best restaurant website builder)
Weebly offers the most cost-effective way to build a website with an online store. However, it does have some functional limitations. Here are some of its best alternatives:
- For more design customization with a drag-and-drop editor: Wix, Squarespace, or Hostinger
- For more comprehensive marketing features: Wix or GoDaddy
Unlike other website builders that require a fee to set up an online store, all Weebly plans, including the free plan, have ecommerce tools. They even come with advanced features, automatic tax calculation, and gift cards, all starting for free. And, Weebly has similar features at a fraction of the cost of dedicated ecommerce platforms like Shopify.
You have the option to use the original section-based Weebly editor or the Square Online editor, which uses AI to build a template based on the features you want. Whichever editor you opt for, you’ll easily be able to build an ecommerce-friendly website. The main drawback is that you won’t have as much design customization because it isn’t a drag-and-drop editor. Find out more in our guide on using the Weebly website builder.
Weebly features a section-based editor.
An example of a website made via Weebly
Weebly Features
- Ecommerce tools, even on the free plan
- Online ordering and in-store pickup
- Inventory management with unlimited products
- Ability to accept recurring payments
- Ability to automatically calculate sales tax
- Ability to accept donations and offer gift cards and coupons
- Ability to upgrade to any paid plan to calculate shipping, sell digital goods, or create a paid membership site
- Unlimited blogging allowed in Weebly editor for personal sitesy
Weebly Reviews
To learn more about Weebly’s features and what it’s best for, read our in-depth Weebly review. Meanwhile, here are reviews from other Weebly users:
- G2: 4.2 out 5 stars. Most users like how easy it is to build websites on Weebly with ecommerce features. However, some users note that customization features are limited, and the platform isn’t very intuitive.
- Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 stars. Many users also found it easy to build a fully functional website even with little experience. However, some also found its features and design tools limited.
Expert Opinion
If you’re looking to build an online store on a small budget, Weebly has long been our best ecommerce website builder for small businesses. Even on the free plan, you can build a store with unlimited products and offer coupons and gift cards. The platform is also easy to use—you can set up a website in about an hour—although its templates can be quite limited. But if your goal is to get your online store live, Weebly is a capable and cost-effective candidate.
DreamHost: Best for Building WordPress Websites
Pros
- It is an easier way to build a WordPress website.
- You can create unlimited WordPress websites from $3.95 monthly.
- It has a drag-and-drop builder with 200-plus website templates.
- It has 60,000-plus plugins for nearly limitless site functions.
- Web design services are available.
Cons
- It has no free plan.
- It is not beginner-friendly.
- Ecommerce, blogging, and marketing tools are only available via plugins.
- Not all templates are modern or well-designed.
DreamHost’s shared hosting plans have everything you need to build a website on WordPress. However, the website you build will be mostly basic, as it won’t have the necessary ecommerce or marketing tools. Find out more below:
- Shared Starter: $2.59 monthly with annual billing for one WordPress website, access to the site builder, free domain and SSL, WordPress pre-installed, automated WP migrations, BoldGrid site builder, and unlimited bandwidth; plus, free automatic daily backups, a custom control panel, and 24/7 support
- Shared Unlimited: $3.95 monthly with annual billing, for unlimited WordPress websites, a custom domain, unlimited storage, unlimited emails on your domain, and unlimited subdomains
- DreamPress: $16.95 monthly with annual billing for a fully managed WordPress solution for one website; edicated cloud server, 30GB SSD storage, and built-in caching for faster site speed; unlimited emails on your domain and priority support 24/7.
DreamHost also offers professional services. You can tap DreamHost to build your website, with prices starting at $1,499.
DreamHost is the best website builder if you want WordPress’s functionality but with a drag-and-drop editor and easier design customization. We recommend it for the following scenarios:
- You want a fully custom site or specific functions that other website builders like Wix don’t have yet.
- You have previous experience building websites and working in code—a WordPress site via DreamHost offers the most functionality, design customization, and SEO.
However, if you find WordPress or DreamHost’s features aren’t the right fit, say if you only need a simple and easy website builder, here are alternatives to consider instead:
- For a free option with a simpler website builder: Wix
- For custom domain, business email, and web hosting at a more low-cost plan: Hostinger
- For cheaper built-in ecommerce tools: Weebly
In website building, WordPress is unparalleled as a content management system. However, it isn’t the most beginner-friendly platform—but web hosting companies like DreamHost make it easier while keeping the same functionality. Therefore, if you want to build your website on WordPress but in an easier way, DreamHost is the perfect middle ground. You get all the WordPress functionality and plug-ins with the ease of use of Wix.
However, the downside of DreamHost, aside from the lack of a free plan, is that it has no built-in ecommerce, marketing, or SEO features. They’re only available as plug-ins. Also, while it has a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, its templates aren’t as professional or modern as Wix’s or Squarespace’s, so you’ll likely need to design yours from scratch. Or, there are also in-house web design editors you can hire for a starting cost of $1,499.
An example of a DreamHost website template (Source: DreamHost)
Another example of a DreamHost website template for a retail brand (Source: DreamHost)
DreamHost Features
- WordPress drag-and-drop website builder or migrator
- Free domain, SSL, and business email in Unlimited Plans
- SEO assistant
- Daily website backups
- Fully managed WordPress website services
- WordPress plugins
DreamHost Reviews
Read our DreamHost review for an in-depth look at the platform’s features. Or, read reviews from other users below:
- G2: 4.0 out of 5 stars. Many customers praised DreamHost’s WordPress migration services and found its customer support helpful. However, some customers noted that websites sometimes went down without notice, and would stay down for a few hours.
- Trustpilot: 4.7 out of 5 stars Many customers also found DreamHost’s customer service supportive. Negative reviews were mostly unhappy with DreamHost’s pricing scheme.
Expert Opinion
WordPress has long been one of the best website creators for small businesses, especially if you plan to publish content regularly. And if you want all the features of a WordPress site but an easier building process, DreamHost’s low-cost, high-value plans are the best fit. Its drag-and-drop editor is easy enough for beginners, and you can add as many plug-ins as you need to increase your site’s functionality.
Webador: Best for Portfolio Websites
Pros
- It has unlimited pages, storage, and data on the free plan.
- It has an easy-to-use website builder with 50-plus templates.
- It has ecommerce with multiple payment methods and 0% commission fee.
- You can connect with Google Business Profile and Google Analytics.
Cons
- It has no drag-and-drop editor.
- It has no appointment-booking, email marketing, or social media marketing tools.
- Templates are not as modern.
Webador is one of the more affordable website builders. There’s a free forever plan that gives you unlimited pages, storage, and traffic—more than most other platforms. Its paid plans are also free for the first six months.
- Free: $0 forever, free website and SSL on a Webador subdomain with third-party branding; includes unlimited storage, bandwidth, and pages
- Lite: $5 monthly for unlimited storage, bandwidth, and pages, and a custom domain
- Pro: $9 monthly for everything in the Lite plan, plus an email inbox and ecommerce for up to 10 physical or digital products and multiple payment processors
- Business: $18 monthly for everything in Pro, plus unlimited products for your online store and higher email storage
Webador is also easy to use, so it’s suitable even for beginners. But its biggest standout points are its unlimited pages, data, and traffic, making it a good fit for image and data-heavy websites like portfolios. Here are the best cases for using Webador:
- Creatives and artists who need to build a portfolio to showcase their work for free
- Complete beginners who want to build a website quickly and easily at no cost
While Webador has a generous free plan, its design and marketing tools can be quite limited. Here are some of its best alternatives:
- For more marketing features, including social media and email marketing: GoDaddy
- For more design customization, modern templates, and AI tools: Hostinger or Wix
- For unlimited ecommerce even on a free plan: Weebly
Webador has one of the most generous free plans we’ve seen. You get unlimited website pages, storage, traffic, and even free stock photos and blogging. This makes it the best website builder for small businesses or freelancers who need to build image-heavy portfolios. And if you want to sell physical or digital products on your site, its free plans are also small business-friendly at $5, $9, and $18 monthly—plus, you get the first six months free.
However, there are also some significant drawbacks with Webador, most notably in its limited design and marketing features. For marketing, you can only connect to your Google Business Profile. There are no tools for SEO, email marketing, and social media. Its templates also aren’t as modern or well-designed as Wix, which can be a hindrance if you want your site to stand out and get noticed.
Webador has a beginner-friendly website builder with over 50 templates to start with. (Source: Webador)
Here’s an example of a website made with Webador. (source: Chocolate Cookie Balls)
Webador Features
- Unlimited storage, bandwidth, and pages on all plans
- Stock image library
- SSL security
- Intuitive, easy-to-use site builder with 50-plus mobile-optimized templates
- Unlimited blogging
- Ecommerce tools on higher plans with multiple payment options
- Password-protected pages for members
- Custom forms for lead generation
- Ability to embed custom HTML to extend functionality
Webador Reviews
- Capterra: 4.1 out of 5 stars. Customers like how easy the platform is even for beginners, and say its value is well worth the price. However, many also found customer service difficult to reach or unhelpful.
- Trustpilot: 4.6 out of 5 stars. Customers also like the platform’s user-friendliness and ecommerce features. Negative reviews also mostly mentioned customer service issues.
Expert Opinion
Webador’s free features make it one of the best small business website builders for any type of business or freelancer. However, because of its unlimited pages and data and its free image library, we find it particularly suitable for building online portfolios instead of marketing your business. If you plan to sell physical or digital products, its ecommerce tools are also a good fit.
How We Evaluated the Best Website Builders for Small Businesses
With several website builders available, finding the best one to suit your business’s objectives needs careful evaluation. To help you choose, we narrowed your choices down to the best of the best based on cost, general and niche features, customer support, and their overall value to help your small business grow.
Learn more about how we evaluated the best small business website builders:
30% of Overall Score
The best website builders offer competitively priced plans for creating and managing a site. We analyzed and compared providers by entry-level pricing, the cost to sell online, the availability of contract-free plans, free trial lengths, and money-back guarantees.
20% of Overall Score
Though site builders are generally all-in-one solutions, each offers different inclusions. We chose platforms that provide ample storage and bandwidth, extras like free domains, SSL, and business email, as well as built-in SEO and analytics.
20% of Overall Score
We looked at each provider’s niche features and capabilities, like appointment bookings and reservations, memberships, gated content, and accepting recurring payments.
10% of Overall Score
We compared platforms based on the hours support teams are available and the different support channels, such as live chat, phone, email, and ticketing systems. Additionally, we factored in our own experience in terms of the quality of support, as well as each platform’s online help centers, guides, and documentation.
20% of Overall Score
We also evaluated our own experiences using each platform, and how they compare to our experiences with other platforms. This includes each platform’s general usability, value for price, popularity, and features.
*Percentages of overall score
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The overall best website builder for small businesses is Wix. This is thanks to its affordable costs (starting with a free plan), beginner-friendly design platform, and hundreds of website templates for nearly any industry and function. It also has ecommerce features that let you set up and manage an online store, plus built-in SEO and branding tools for marketing. Wix even has helpful AI content creation tools, all at affordable and scalable pricing.
The easiest website builders for beginners to use are Wix and Hostinger. Both platforms have hundreds of templates you can start with and a drag-and-drop website editor that even design beginners can navigate. Using these platforms also doesn’t require any coding knowledge to design a professional, industry-ready website. They also have AI-powered website generators that can build a site from a few prompts.
Yes. In fact, Wix is our top recommendation for small businesses that want to build a website because of its affordable plans (even starting with a free forever plan), easy-to-navigate interface, and dozens of built-in marketing tools like SEO and blog publishing. It also has ecommerce features if you want to set up an online store. Overall, it’s the best balance of affordability, functionality, and ease of use.
Bottom Line
When it comes to choosing the best small business website builder for your business, the most important things to consider are its features, affordability, how easy it is to navigate, and its ability to scale as your business grows. The best platform for your business will depend on your specific priorities, but our top recommendation overall is Wix, as it hits all the right marks without breaking your budget.
