The height of a building depends on the strength of its foundations. The same goes for what we build in the digital space. The way you design a website depends on what you want to build. While it is advisable to call on a specialist designer to obtain a truly unique and personalized site, not everyone has the necessary budget… especially when starting! This is exactly where a top website builder will come in handy.
What Is A Website Builder?
Web development platforms have exploded in popularity over the past decade, but what are they for? A website builder is a tool that allows a user to build a website from scratch using predefined templates, without having to create the design or code. These platforms have a bunch of different design templates to choose from.
The development platform you choose determines how your site looks, works, and functions, as well as many little details like SEO and transaction fees, which all contribute to your success – or on the contrary, your downfall.
But not all businesses have the same needs, and there are many platforms for small businesses. Whether you are looking to build a fully customized website with lots of features or something quick and easy, you will find what you need in this guide.
The 14 Best Small Business Website Builders
We’ve rated the 14 best website builders for small businesses (in no particular order) below, explaining their pros, cons, prices, and when they work best. We’ve broken them down into three categories: quick and intuitive, highly customizable, and specific to e-commerce sites. All you have to do is determine which one will be the most appropriate according to your situation.
Fast And Intuitive For Beginners
- Constant Contact
- Jimdo
- GoDaddy
- Strikingly
- Duda
- Site123
Advanced And Highly Customizable
- Wix
- Squarespace
- WordPress
Specific To Online Sales Sites
- Shopify
- Weebly
- BigCommerce
- Magento
- Square Online Store
Fast And Intuitive For Beginners
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a platform for small businesses because it has been designed to be as convenient and user-friendly as possible. So, she takes care of details like hosting, content delivery networks (for faster load times), SSL certificates, and Google SEO integration.
Benefits :
- Fast and easy to use
- Supports accommodation and DRC
- AI helps you create your design
- Free hosting of a significant amount of files, including for e-commerce sites with 3% transaction fees (but there will be banner ads)
Disadvantages:
- No third-party extensions: you only have the native features of Constant Contact
Price:
- Free
- Standard: € 8.90 / month
- Business: € 17.70 / month
Ideal for :
- Newbies who don’t feel like having to deal with all the details of building a site
- Established businesses (like restaurants) who don’t want to have to deal with their site all the time once they’re up and running.
Jimdo
Just like Constant Contact, Jimdo is another fast and efficient web development platform for small businesses. It also offers artificial intelligence, which makes it an ideal choice for beginners and those who just need a low-maintenance website, like a portfolio, for example. Jimdo also handles some of the technical aspects, such as hosting and domain names.
The free plan covers the basics, although it comes with ads, while the paid plans give you more storage and bandwidth as well as support. (You must choose the Business plan to access specific e-commerce features.)
Benefits :
- Intuitive drag and drop tool perfect for beginners
- Accessible from mobile devices
- The included paid plan includes hosting and domain
- All models are mobile-friendly
Disadvantages:
- Email support only
- Customization options are limited
- It May is not sufficient for large companies
Price:
- Free try
- Pro: € 8.90 / month (annual payment)
- Business: € 17.70 / month (annual payment)
Ideal for :
- Small businesses and those on a budget
- Beginners who want to choose their design
- Freelancers or other professionals with no website experience and needing a simple portfolio
GoDaddy
A household name in the internet world since the late 90s, GoDaddy has expanded its hosting and domain services to include a web development platform for small businesses. By following the same template as Constant Contact, users can generate an automatic site template based on their industry, and customize some of the content to suit their needs.
Also, while GoDaddy offers more customization options than Constant Contact, by offering a choice of colors and fonts, for example, it offers fewer options when it comes to what features are available for free.
Benefits :
- Offers a little more customization options than other fast platforms
- The interface is intuitive, ideal for beginners
- The editor can be used on mobile devices
Disadvantages:
- SEO is not optimized
- Negative reviews suggest management issues when using GoDaddy
- You must choose the Premium package to access a real SEO, social networks, and emailing service
Price:
- Basic: € 13.30 / month
- Business: € 17.70 / month
- Premium: € 22.10 / month
- E-commerce: € 26.50 / month
Ideal for :
- Those who need an easy to use site editor
Also Read: Digital Marketing Forecasts And Trends For 2021
Strikingly
Specializing exclusively in one-page websites, Strikingly is a platform that won’t suit everyone. But with a highly regarded support team and an elaborate editor, it’s a great choice for customizing a simple and functional website.
The models available are quite modern and varied, and you can easily find one to your liking. You can then add your content to it. However, although it offers more design options than its competition, it is quite poor in features. If you want more than just a landing page, this isn’t the tool for you.
Benefits :
- Offers more customization options than other fast platforms
- Excellent 24/7 customer service
- Simple interface and therefore suitable for beginners
Disadvantages:
- One-page websites only
- Basic features only
Price:
- Basic: € 7 / month (annual payment)
- Pro: 14 € / month (annual payment)
- VIP: € 43.35 / month (annual payment)
Ideal for :
- Those who want to quickly create a one-page site
Duda
Duda is a more complex website creation platform than the previous ones, but which nevertheless remains based on the customization of predefined templates. It is ideal for those who want a certain degree of customization without worrying about the design.
The platform offers a few useful features that other platforms do not have: special display for new visitors or even location-specific features (like displaying your phone number). It also offers a generous library of models as well as the possibility of creating user journeys.
Overall, Duda strikes a balance between ease of use and customization.
Benefits :
- Over 90 models, most of them well designed
- Unique features, like conditional screens
- More in-depth customization options compared to other fast platforms
- App Store for additional features
Disadvantages:
- A more complex editor means that you have to spend more time creating your site
- No native SEO: you will have to research and add SEO techniques yourself
Price:
- Basic: € 16.80 / month
- Team: € 25.65 / month
- Agency: € 52.20 / month
Ideal for :
- Those who want a fast and easy platform, but are not happy with the design options of other platforms
- Newbie website managers who want to get started in design
Site123
As the name suggests, Site123 allows you to create a complete site in just a few steps. It’s one of the more complex quick platforms out there, but the fact that it’s also based on pre-built templates still makes it quick and easy to use. Like Duda, Site123 is still considered a simple platform, but with a lot of design options.
Benefits :
- Fast interface suitable for beginners
- Plug-in library to access additional features
- The Pro plan allows you to change the code
- More layout customizations than other fast platforms
Disadvantages:
- Basic features and designs only, nothing noteworthy
Price:
- Basic: € 6.90 / month (annual payment)
- Advanced: € 12.20 / month (annual payment)
- Professional: € 17.50 / month (annual payment)
- Gold: € 22.80 / month (annual payment)
Ideal for :
- Those who want a simple site with basic functionality
- Those who are not happy with the layout options or templates of other fast platforms
Advanced And Highly Customizable
Wix
Consistently ranked as one of the best website builders for small businesses, Wix is the reigning champion, and for good reason. With affordable prices and an intuitive interface, Wix appeals to website managers of all kinds. Although this platform takes more time than those previously mentioned, Wix allows you to create truly unique and original websites.
Benefits :
- Ideal interface, both easy to use (drag and drop) and many customization options
- Use of AI or design from scratch
- The generous free plan (with ads from Wix)
- The unlimited plan includes hosting and SSL certificates
- Interesting design options, including animated effects
- Unlimited number of pages and hundreds of templates
- SEO and Marketing Tools
Disadvantages:
- You can’t change your model, you have to start from scratch
- Requires a little learning
- You must subscribe to a paid plan to remove advertising
- No “live chat” option
Price:
- Domain (with advertisements): 4 € / month
- Combo: € 7.50 / month
- Unlimited: 11 € / month
- VIP: € 21.60 / month
Ideal for :
- Those who want to create their website, but still need advice
- Those who already have experience in website design and are looking for a simple editor
SquareSpace
Squarespace is a similar alternative to Wix. Both platforms offer flexible customization options and have an easy-to-use interface. The difference between the two platforms is that the Squarespace interface is not as intuitive as that of Wix. However, the designs are slightly more elaborate and therefore give better results. Thus, Squarespace is hardly more advanced when it comes to customization options.
Benefits :
- Excellent balance between design options and ease of use
- The more detailed onboarding process, which is useful to get started
- Stunning visuals and well-designed templates
- All models are mobile-friendly
- Possibility to add code with the Premium plan
- Mobile editor
- 24/7 customer support
Disadvantages:
- Requires longer learning time than Wix
- No add-ons or app stores, so you have to stick to the features offered
Price:
- Individual: € 14.15 / month
- Business: 23 € / month
- Basic e-commerce: € 26.50 / month
- Premium e-commerce: € 40.70 / month
Ideal for :
- Like Wix, Squarespace is for anyone who wants to design a website using a developer tool and is willing to devote some time to it.
WordPress
Although WordPress was (for a long time) the best website building platform in the early 2010s, the arrival of other more intuitive platforms like Wix and Squarespace has diminished its popularity somewhat. WordPress remains relevant and competitive with unique features and a plethora of customization options thanks to its nearly limitless plugin library. It’s also a great blogging platform.
Benefits :
- A huge number of features, themes, and customization options thanks to the strong 3P community of plugins
- This community offers tons of support and feedback if you need technical assistance.
- Better platform for blogging, especially considering the ability to use additional SEO plugins, like Yoast
Disadvantages:
- Requires a lot of learning and sometimes the user is not always obvious; WordPress takes a long time
- The best features are accessible through plugins, which therefore costs more
Price:
- This platform is not as simple as the others. Technically, it’s a free tool, but you’ll still have to pay for hosting separately. Additionally, the most useful plugins also cost money, so you might have to spend more money than you originally planned. It is estimated that it takes around $ 90 for basic setup, but to create a truly unique and personalized site, that number could well climb into the thousands.
Ideal for :
- Experienced website managers, especially those with previous WordPress experience
- Businesses whose SEO content and strategies rely heavily on blogging
- Designers who want as many customization options as possible, even if it means spending more time there
Also Read: E-Commerce: 7 Trends To Watch Closely In 2021
Specific To Online Sales Sites
Some web development platforms are specialized in the creation of e-commerce sites. Indeed, to create an online sales site, you must take into consideration certain additional aspects, such as transaction costs and the number of product pages that you need. If you are looking for a website builder tool to develop your online store, you should find what you are looking for among the following three options.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the web development platforms specializing in e-commerce. Quick and easy to use, the platform allows you to choose a theme, then customize it. There are very few designs and customization options available, however.
Shopify is designed for those who want to focus more on their sales than building sites. All the features necessary for selling online are there such as upselling options and promotional offers. On the other hand, for the designs, we stick to the strict minimum. The models are quite pretty, but not unique or original.
Benefits :
- Lightning-fast setup (although it will still take a little while if you have a lot of products)
- The most intuitive interface of the platforms in this category
- All necessary sales features, some integrated and others available through add-ons
- Ideal for integrating social networks
- The unlimited plan includes accommodation
- 24/7 telephone support
- High customer satisfaction
Disadvantages:
- Limited design options and patterns (not ideal for customization)
- There is a good chance that your site will look like other sites created with the same Shopify template.
- Can be expensive, especially if you are using a 3P payment gateway
Price:
- Shopify Lite: € 7.90 / month
- Basic Shopify: € 25.65 / month
- Shopify: € 69.90 / month
- Advanced Shopify: 265 € / month
- Shopify Plus: € 1,750 – € 35,300 / month
Ideal for :
- Serious sellers who want to focus on sales rather than design
- Amateurs or beginners who want to get started in e-commerce
Weebly
Weebly is more complex than Shopify, but not as much as BigCommerce. It is essentially an intermediary platform. Although it is not exclusively specialized in e-commerce, it still seems to have been designed with this audience in mind. That’s why we put it in this category. Weebly offers more design options than you might expect, but not a crazy amount either.
Benefits :
- Deep integration very useful for beginners
- Easy to use drag and drop interface
- Most models are suitable for mobile
- Included package includes hosting and backend support
- More design features than other platforms, including contact forms, sliders, and photo galleries
- Social media integration
- Useful SEO guides and assistance
Disadvantages:
- No 3P add-ons, you have to settle for what Weebly offers
- Obligation to take a paid plan to remove advertising
Price:
- Professional: € 10.60 / month (annual payment)
- Performance: 23 € / month (annual payment)
- Premium: € 63.70 / month (annual payment)
Ideal for :
- Those who want more design options than Shopify offers, but still want an intuitive and easy-to-use tool
BigCommerce
True heavyweight specialized web development platforms in e-commerce, BigCommerce offer more features and design options, but costs more and requires more effort. BigCommerce is built for big brands, so startups and those just getting started would find themselves paying for features they wouldn’t yet need. But for the others, there is nothing better.
Benefits :
- Advanced selling options such as cart abandonment tools, product reviews, and discount coupons
- Many customization options to create truly unique sites
- Unlimited product pages
Disadvantages:
- Expensive
- Requires a long learning time
- It is difficult to migrate the store out of BigCommerce afterward
Price:
- Basic: € 26.45 / month
- Plus: € 70.60 / month
- Pro: € 220.75 / month
Ideal for :
- Retailers
- E-commerce brands already established and looking to grow
Magento
Originally owned by eBay and now Adobe, Magento has been well known in the e-commerce industry for over a decade. This is a very comprehensive platform, so be prepared to roll up your sleeves. It can be very helpful to seek advice from a developer or learn as you go. In contrast, the level of customization offered by Magento is unmatched and includes all the features relevant to e-commerce, including thousands of 3P extensions.
Magento offers two packages: a free version (Magento Open Source) and a premium version (Magento Commerce). The paid plan includes additional design and marketing features, including a streamlined editor if you don’t have time to learn how to use the free version. Magento Commerce also offers cloud support and customer support (for the free version you will have to look to the user community), but it costs a few thousand dollars per month …
Benefits :
- Comprehensive e-commerce features and inventory management tools
- User-managed forum for questions and support
- Highly customizable
- Marketing tools available
- Scalable for small and large e-commerce businesses
- Wide range of extensions available (5000+)
Disadvantages:
- Requires a very long learning time and coding knowledge to exploit the full potential of the platform
- Much more complicated than other platforms
- Hosting, security, and SEO modules are expensive
Price:
- Magento Open Source: free
- Magento Commerce: variable, from € 1,765.50 / month.
Ideal for :
- Online resellers with both a clear vision of the type of website they want to get and the development skills to put it together on their own
- Small businesses are involved enough in their website development to take the time to learn how to manage the backend of a site. Magento is very scalable, so it is a good ideal platform to build your website thinking in the long term
Square Online Store
Square began as a point of sale for offline transactions before becoming an e-commerce website building platform thereafter. Square offers a full service, especially for small businesses. Unlike BigCommerce and Magento, Square does it in simplicity by taking care of the backend (SSL certificates, hosting, SEO). While that’s a good advantage for those who don’t want to have to worry about these things, it limits the potential of what a skilled developer could do with this platform.
The price is also affordable with a full range of features available in the free version, although you still have to pay a commission of 2.9% + 30 cents per sale and agree to serve Square ads on their site. However, it is still cheaper than most other platforms dedicated to small businesses. The paid versions offer additional features: domain name, customer reviews, or emails for abandoned carts, etc.
Benefits :
- Backend support (SSL certificates and hosting)
- Intuitive interface and quick configuration
- Affordable and excellent value for money
- Integrated marketing features
- Comprehensive sales functionality and inventory management tools
- Email, phone, and live chat support
Disadvantages:
- Basic functionality is fine, but advanced functionality may not be.
- Limited design options and templates (not optimized for customization)
- You have to pay extra for the best delivery options
- Lack of payment processing options (Square and PayPal only)
Price:
- Free: no monthly fees; 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
- Professional: € 10.60 / month (annual payment); 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
- Performance: 23 € / month (annual payment); 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
- Premium: € 63.59 / month (annual payment); 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
Ideal for :
- Website managers who are on a budget. Square online store pricing benefits customers, with a free option to test and see the result
- E-commerce managers who want a fast and inexpensive site, but still fairly high-quality
You Don’t Have To Do Everything Yourself
What if you want to use a web development platform, but also want to have a personalized and visually pleasing site, without having the time or the design expertise to create it yourself? Hire a developer, of course! He will be able to customize the template of your choice for you. Some designers and developers are even specialists in certain platforms in particular, such as WordPress or Big Commerce, for example. So you can benefit from all the advantages of these great platforms, but leave the design and technical aspects to a professional.