What is a website builder?
A website builder is an online software tool that lets you quickly design and creates a website through a drag and drop style editor without the need for any coding knowledge. They typically come with a custom CMS with built-in hosting and are for individuals and businesses looking to create a new website on a budget and without the need to hire a web developer.
Website creators let you build a variety of different types of websites with website templates available to give you a head start in designing your website.
A good online website builder will provide you with a variety of themes and templates targeted to
specific industries like real estate, restaurants, health, tech companies, pets, fashion, etc.
Depending on what you need for your website, you’ll be able to create a portfolio website to showcase your photography or art. Build an online store to sell your products with the ability to accept payments or create events-based websites to show off your upcoming wedding and events throughout the year.
What features can you expect from a good website builder?
Using custom website builder software means that you’ll be able to access a range of features, many of which help you design, create and grow your website.
- Drag and drop editor
- Image editor / Video editor
- Wide range of responsive & mobile templates
- Ability to add custom CSS/HTML and Javascript code
- Built in analytics to track performance
- Website hosting built-in
- SSL Security
- 24/7 customer support
- Integrations with other online software & tools
- Secure online payments
You’ll be able to change text, branding, colors of links and buttons, upload images and videos, add custom code (if needed), and run an online store all from within your account.
Many of the best website builders for small business also let you buy domain names, giving you an all-round website creation package from start to finish.
The more advanced website building companies provide extra services including email marketing, social media management and client management all from within the same account.
What website builder should you use?
There are many different website-making sites to choose from, some you’ll find in our list above, ready for you to compare based on price, features, and types of payment plans.
Which is the best website builder software for your business though will come down to a few factors:
- Your budget – what’s your monthly spend
- The features you’re looking for
- The types of templates they provide
- The type of website you’re looking to create
- Level of customizability you need
- What integrations you can add into it
- How easy is it to use
Figure out these, and you’ll be able to narrow down your search to find the best one that fits your needs and skill set.
What are the benefits of using a website builder?
If you don’t have the skills yourself or the budget to hire a web developer, there are many advantages to using a website builder.
- Easy to get started
- Provide domains, hosting and website design
- Are cheap to setup and continue running
- Can be used to get a website up quickly within an hour
- Many pre-built templates can be used to help with the design
- Intuitive drag and drop style editor offers ease of use
- Can make changes to text, images, and theme quickly
- No coding knowledge needed – anyone can start
- Many templates are already mobile friendly
- Access from anywhere – its online software so you can access from your desktop, laptop or anywhere with an internet connection
Website builders pricing
There are free website builders available to choose from. Many of them offer free plans. They are usually very limited in what you can do with them and often come with the company advertising displayed on them.
It’s best to go with one of the paid plans to get the most out of the service and a more professional website. These plans will give you access to more Storage Space, better customer care, and upgraded features.
Typically there are two types of website pricing structures:
- Websites – standard website (portfolios, informational sites)
- Ecommerce Websites – online stores with payments
Your standard website plans can be as little as $2.90 /month, around the same cost as many cheap web hosting plans. The plans built for online stores and ecommerce sites are a little more expensive, starting from $4.90 /month.
Pricing varies between providers and the types of websites you are trying to create, but even the most advanced business plans on many aren’t much more than $30 /month.
