Website builder | Top 5 best website Builder - 2019
We will be comparing the following website builders in this article. If you are interested in a particular website builder, then just click on the name to skip ahead.
Choosing the Best Website Builder — What to Look for?
Before comparing the top website builders, we recommend that you write down what you want to do with your website? What are your goals and what features would you like to see on your website.
For example, you can write down things like: have a blog section, photo gallery, online store, reservation system, contact form, slider, etc.
If you are unsure about what you want, then check out your competitors or other websites for inspiration.
Most website builders offer a drag and drop user interface to build your website. You can take advantage of the trial accounts to test drive before you make your final decision.
Next, you need to consider your growth options. Will you be adding regular updates to your website? Do you need a blog section? Would you be selling more products on your website in the future?
You need to make sure that the website builder you choose is capable of handling your needs as your business grows.
That being said, let’s take a look at the top website builder platforms to make your website without hiring a developer.
1. Wordpress
WordPress.org (also known as self-hosted WordPress) is the world’s most popular website building platform. Over 34% of all websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.
Note: There are two versions of WordPress available. There is self-hosted WordPress.org and WordPress.com. We will talk about WordPress.com later in this article. You can also read our WordPress.org vs WordPress.com comparison for more details.
The self-hosted WordPress tops our list of best website builder due to its popularity, powerful features, scalability, and ease of use.
WordPress is a free and open source website builder. This means that you have maximum control over your website compared to any other online website builder in this list.
Unlike other website builders, you will need a WordPress hosting account and host your own website (this is a lot easier than it sounds).
Pros:
WordPress gives you complete control on every aspect of your website. It can be used to build any kind of website. For example, an eCommerce store, community forums, a social network, a membership website, and more.
There are thousands of pre-made WordPress themes that you can use for your website’s design. It also has amazing drag and drop page builders like Beaver Builder and Divi which allow you to easily create your own page layouts.
2. contact contact website builder
Constant Contact is known for being the world’s leading email marketing service. After listening to small business concerns, they have decided to create the world’s first artificial intelligence-powered website builder that helps you create a website in minutes.
You can use their guided AI wizard to create a completely custom website with a personalized image and content suggestions.
Their drag & drop website builder makes it easy to customize your website layout. You can choose from their library of over 550,000 free professional quality images to make your website look visually stunning.
All templates are mobile-friendly out of the box, so your website will look great on all devices.
Since it’s a hosted website solution, it’s a completely hassle-free website builder. They also offer 24/7 chat, email, and phone support which is great for small business.
Other features on the platform include logo maker, lead capture forms, website analytics, eCommerce, and more.
The best part about Constant Contact is that it’s a free website builder. This means you can create a website, blog, and even an online store for free.
Their free plan is quite generous compared to other website builders in the list because they let you create an online store and sell products. Most other website builders restrict the eCommerce plan to paid users only.
Constant Contact’s paid plan are also very affordable starting at $10 per month which gives you access to a free domain and all their powerful features.
Considering the features, Constant Contact is definitely one of the best professinoal website builders in this list.
Cons
The developer ecosystem is currently small, so there are no third-party extensions that you can install on your website to add new features that are not offered by Constant Contact.
Just like every other website builder, if you want to connect a custom domain name, then you will have to upgrade to the paid plan. The good part is that they give you a free domain name when you do upgrade.
Pricing:
Constant Contact offers a powerful free website builder that lets you create a website, blog, and even an online store.
If you want to use your own custom domain, get access to their powerful features, and phone support, then you will have to upgrade to their starter plan which costs $10 per month.
Their business plus plan costs $20 per month, and it comes with advanced features for eCommerce websites.
If you’re a small business who don’t want to use WordPress, then Constant Contact is definitely a great choice.
3. site builder
SiteBuilder is an easy website builder that lets you create a small business website, blog, or even an eCommerce website with just a few clicks.
Pros
SiteBuilder offers an easy drag and drops website builder to create your website. You can start with one of their hundreds of professionally designed templates and customize it using a simple drag and drop interface to match your brand.
All SiteBuilder templates are optimized for mobile, tablets, and desktop computers. This means that your website will look great on all devices.
It comes with all the powerful features that you expect from a well-known website builder including website analytics, eCommerce functionality, ability to add a blog to any website, and a free domain with all plans.
They offer live chat and phone support for technical assistance, so you can easily get started.
Cons
Unlike other popular website builders, SiteBuilder does not have a free website builder option. They also do not offer a free trial. However, they do offer a 14-day money-back guarantee in case you aren’t happy with the product.
Their extension ecosystem is small, and you won’t be able to hire a developer to build advanced features like WordPress because of its not open source.
Since it’s a proprietary platform, migrating your website away from SiteBuilder will be difficult.
Pricing
SiteBuilder paid plans to start from $5 per month for Pro, $7 per month for Premium, and $10 per month for eCommerce plan.
All plans come with a free domain name for one year, free advertising credits, and phone support.
If you’re looking for a professional website builder, then SiteBuilder is an excellent option. However, if you want advanced features and more control over your content, then nothing will beat self-hosted WordPress (#1 option in our list).
4. big commerce
BigCommerce is the best eCommerce website builder in the market. If you’re looking to create an online store that scales, then BigCommerce is the platform for you. It comes with all the essential features built-in, so you can keep your overhead low and margins high.
Pros
BigCommerce is a fully hosted eCommerce solution, so you don’t have to worry about website speed, security, or updates. They handle the server and technical side for you, so you can focus on growing your business.
Unlike other hosted eCommerce solutions, BigCommerce has a native integration with WordPress which allows you to leverage the flexibility of WordPress while taking advantage of the headless eCommerce power of BigCommerce. In simple terms, your website will be fast and secure no matter how much traffic you get.
BigCommerce integrates with all popular payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Square, Amazon Pay, Visa Checkout, Chase Pay, Ayden, and more. Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce doesn’t charge a transaction fee for you to use these payment gateways.
You can start with one of their many pre-made website templates and customize it to match your needs using their easy drag & drop website builder. BigCommerce comes with many features built-in to handle conversion rate optimization such as cart abandonment, improved product search, product reviews, coupons, and more.
The best part is their dashboard that lets you see the metrics to help you grow your business with confidence.
Cons
If you are just starting out, then you will find BigCommerce pricing a bit higher than other website builders in the list.
Since it’s a proprietary platform, migrating away from BigCommerce will be difficult.
Pricing
BigCommerce comes with a 15-day free trial for all plans. Their basic plans at $29.95 per month which comes with all the essential features that you will need. You can upgrade to the plus plan which costs $79.95 per month for additional conversion optimization features. Their pro plan costs $249.95 per month which has all the advanced features you may need.
The best part about BigCommerce when compared to Shopify and other third-party eCommerce platforms is that they have seamless integration with WordPress which can be a huge plus if you want to combine the flexibility of WordPress with the power of BigCommerce.
5. Godaddy website builder
GoDaddy is one of the largest domain names and hosting service providers in the world. They offer a simple online website builder with hosting included.
Pros
GoDaddy Website Builder is a simple and easy tool to create professional-looking websites. It comes pre-loaded with several ready to use blocks that you can drag and drop to build different layouts.
It also has an integrated photo library with professional images from Getty Photography that you can use on your website. You can also upload your own photos and create image galleries.
GoDaddy website builder works on smaller screens too. This allows you to work on your website on the go using your mobile phone or tablet.
Cons
It is not as feature-rich and flexible as most other website builders on this list. It offers a limited set of features with fewer design options.
It is quite difficult to move your website from GoDaddy Website Builder to WordPress.
Pricing
Personal plan costs $5.99/month, business plan for $9.99/month, and business plus plan for $14.99/month. All plans are billed annually.
GoDaddy Website Builder can be used for a basic website with a few pages. However, it is not a good choice to build content-rich websites.