How To Choose The Best Website Builder In 2024?

Finding the best website builder can be overwhelming given the vast number of options available today. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or a small business owner, choosing the right tool is crucial for your online success. This guide will break down the pros and cons of the top website builders, helping you select the one that fits your needs perfectly. From WordPress’s flexibility to Wix’s user-friendly design, we’ve got you covered on the journey to creating your ideal website.

Website builders are a perfect solution for individuals, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to start a website without hiring a developer. However, finding the best website builder can be tricky for beginners.

There are so many website builders on the market. So, how do you know which one is the right solution for you? The true answer to the best website builder question will vary based on your specific needs.

Over our 16+ years in the industry, we’ve built countless websites from simple one-page portfolios to complex online stores. This has given us a deep understanding of what makes a great website builder and the key features and capabilities needed for different website types.

In this article, we will help you choose the best website builder by going over the pros and cons of the most popular options.

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 having a blog section, photo gallery, online store (eCommerce), reservation system, contact form, SEO features, social media features, etc.

If you are unsure about what you want, then check out your competitors or other websites for inspiration.

Most website builders offer an intuitive drag-and-drop user interface to build your new website without coding knowledge. You can take advantage of the trial accounts (free plans) or the generous money-back guarantee 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.

1. WordPress

WordPress.org (also known as self-hosted WordPress) is the world’s most popular website-building platform. Over 43.3% of all websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.

It’s important to note that there are two versions of WordPress: self-hosted WordPress CMS 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 content management system (CMS) tops our list of best website builders 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.

With WordPress, you have full ownership of your website without any third-party control, so it gives you maximum privacy.

This is why many popular websites like WhiteHouse.gov (US Government), CNN, The New York Times, Microsoft, and countless other small businesses use WordPress as their website builder.

Unlike other website builders in our list, you will need a WordPress hosting account and host your own website (this is a lot easier than it sounds). We have detailed instructions below on how to get started with WordPress.

Pros:

WordPress gives you complete control over every aspect of your website and online presence. It can be used to build any kind of website. For example, an eCommerce store, community forums, a social network, a membership website, a business / corporate website, landing pages, and more.

There are thousands of high-quality pre-made WordPress themes that you can use for your website’s design.

You can also use one of the popular drag and drop WordPress page builders like SeedProd and Divi, which allow you to easily create your own custom website designs using a drag-and-drop editor (no coding needed).
Another big advantage of WordPress is that you get access to more than 60,000 free WordPress plugins.

Plugins are like apps for WordPress that let you add additional features and functionality to your website, such as a shopping cart, contact forms, Google Analytics, a photo gallery, social media tools, live chat, CRM, CSS customization, etc.
WordPress plugins also make it easy for you to connect & integrate your website with popular business tools to automate and streamline your daily operations.

Another big reason why WordPress is popular across the world is that its website builder is fully translated into over 75+ languages, and it allows you easily create multilingual websites.

When you consider all the above benefits, WordPress is by far the most powerful website builder in the market.

It also comes with robust SEO tools that search engines love, and this ensures your website will always get the highest rankings in search engines. We use and recommend the All in One SEO plugin for WordPress because it will help you outrank your competitors in Google.

For all the reasons above, our experts rate WordPress as the #1 website builder and content management system for business owners, bloggers, web developers, and web designers.

Cons:

You will have to manage your own website, which means you will need to familiarize yourself with a new system. This slight learning curve is easily overcome by most users, but it does feel a bit difficult in the beginning.

You will also have to keep up with WordPress core and plugin updates and create website backups. All of this can be automated by your WordPress hosting provider.

Pricing:

While WordPress is a free website builder, you will need a domain name and web hosting to get your website live, which typically costs $14.99/year and $7.99 per month, respectively.

2. Hostinger Website Builder (formerly Zyro)

Hostinger Website Builder, formerly Zyro, is a powerful and affordable website builder for beginners. They offer an easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder tool with free hosting and 81% off premium plans using the WPBeginner Hostinger coupon code.

This makes Hostinger an excellent choice for those looking for a cheap website builder to start their website.

Pros:

Builder allows you to create a website without design or coding skills. Their easy-to-use and powerful design tools make it easy for anyone to build visually stunning websites.

There’s even an AI-powered website builder that will automatically create a professional website for you based on your answers to a few simple questions.

It comes with a logo maker, useful AI writing tools, and 150+ pre-made website templates that you can start with.

You also have access to over 1 million high-quality images for free.

The best part about Hostinger Website Builder is the affordable pricing. If you are an artist or a small business on a budget, then Hostinger is your best bet. Their website builder pricing starts at $2.69 per month.

But don’t let the low pricing think that this isn’t a powerful website builder platform. They offer great uptime and reliability.

With each plan, you get new powerful features. For example, on the Premium plan, you get marketing integrations like Google Analytics, Facebook retargeting, visitor remarketing, etc.

They also have eCommerce plans that allow you to add unlimited products, accept online payments, offer discount coupons, order management, inventory management, and even connect your store with Amazon, Instagram, and Shopify.

Cons:

It’s not easy to switch templates once you choose one. Also, since Hostinger is not open source, it lacks the third-party integrations and add-ons that WordPress offers.

While Hostinger offers blogging features, it’s not a true blog platform, so it lacks features like the ability to schedule blog posts, etc.

There’s also no free plan, but they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pricing:

Hostinger pricing starts at $2.99 per month. If you want more advanced features, you can upgrade to the Business plan, which starts at $3.99 per month.

3. Wix

Wix.com is another popular cloud-based website builder software. It offers ease of use combined with a powerful set of features to easily build your website. Over 1.9% of all websites use Wix as their website builder.

Pros:

Wix website creator is a fully hosted platform, so you will not have to pay for hosting. You get access to hundreds of templates to choose from for your website’s design. Each template is fully editable with its intuitive drag-and-drop site builder.
Wix has also built an artificial design intelligence (Wix ADI) that can design a beautiful website for you.

Aside from tons of templates, Wix also comes with dozens of free and paid apps that you can install on your website. These apps allow you to add new features and functionality to your website. Some of them are created by Wix, and others are created by third-party developers.

Wix offers a free plan with limited bandwidth and storage. However, you can use this plan to test drive their drag-and-drop website builder. It does not include a domain name, so if you decide to keep your website, then you may want to upgrade to a premium plan.

You also get a free SSL with all Wix plans, but you will need to turn it on for your website.