Best Website Developer For Small Business
Best Website Builders for Small Businesses 2021
Senior Business Funding Staff Writer
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Published on November 22, 2021
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Main points of comparison
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Last Updated: 5 days ago
We updated this page to reflect new pricing—including Weebly's free plan—and optimized the page so you can easily find the right website builder for you.
Updated: 2 months ago
We went through this page to make sure all the information is still up to date and accurate. We updated plan and pricing info and confirmed that these are still our top choices for website builders.
Updated: several months ago
We recently updated this page to include information about our ranking methodology. We also updated the plan and pricing information.
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At Business.org, we tested nine of the most popular website builders for small businesses. We found out which kind of business each builder would fit best, and ranked the builders based on their usability, design, and customizability.
Overall, we like Wix the most. It's easy to use, creates beautiful websites, and lets you customize almost anything you can think of. It wins top marks on usability, design, and customizability.
But one size doesn't always fit all, so let's dive into our in-depth reviews and discover which website builder is the right one for your business.
The best website builders for small business owners
- : Best overall
- : Best value for small ecommerce
- : Best for brick-and-mortar shops
- : Best for fast setup
- : Best for complete control
Compare the top website builders for small businesses
| Brand | Starting price | Design themes | Apps | 24/7 customer service | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | $14.00/mo. | 500+ | About 300 | | View Plans |
| Squarespace | $12.00/mo.* | 28 | About 30 | | View Plans |
| Weebly | $6.00/mo.* | 23 | About 300 | | View Plans |
| GoDaddy | $6.99/mo.* | 19 | N/A | | View Plans |
| WordPress | $4.00/mo.* | Thousands | Thousands | Select plans | View Plans |
Data as of 11/22/21 . Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With annual billing.
Ecommerce shops and brick-and-mortar stores alike need user-friendly, fast-loading websites to drive business. But you've seen plenty of shoddy websites in your time, and you know a clunky website can cause customers to click away from your site and onto a competitor's in no time flat.
So how do you ensure your website stands out and steers customers to your doors? First, you match with the right small business website builder for your needs. To that end, consider a few things when deciding on a site builder:
- Features. Do you need your website to drive foot traffic, sell products online, or let clients schedule appointments? Whatever you need, make sure the website builder you choose can provide it. (For instance, not all website platforms emphasize ecommerce. If you sell products online, you absolutely need an ecommerce-friendly builder.)
- Price. If your shop makes most of its money online, it's worth paying a little extra to ensure your customers have the best possible online experience. When choosing a plan, make sure to weigh your budget against the importance of your website to your business.
- Ease of use. Website builders should make your life easier, not harder. Look for a website maker that parallels your level of knowledge about site building—you don't want to sink hours and days into learning to create a beautiful website. That's what the builder is for.
If you want to learn a bit more about how to build a site and what to look for in a site builder, check out these articles first:
- How to Create a Business Website
- How to Create an Online Store
Wix: Best overall
Wix
5.0
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Starting price: $14.00/mo.
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Straightforward drag-and-drop website builder
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Hundreds of design themes
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Hundreds of apps
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Super customizable
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
Despite facing some stiff competition, Wix emerged as the clear winner of our website testing. This drag-and-drop DIY website builder has it all: it's easy to use, creates beautiful websites, and lets you customize almost anything you can think of. In fact, we gave it top marks on usability, design, and customizability.
Of course, one builder can't be all things to all people, and Wix might not work for every small business website. Its prices, while reasonable, aren't the lowest, and it doesn't offer the most plugins or the best ecommerce store tools. So if you're on an ultra-tight budget or you plan to sell thousands of percale cotton sheet sets each month, you might want to move on to the other builders on our list.
Even with its (few) limitations, Wix's quality and versatility make it the best website builder for most people.
Easy drag-and-drop interface
Limitless customization options
Extensive app market
Negative customer reviews
No 24/7 customer support
"I recommend Wix to my clients. A business is a living organism, and your needs, as a business owner, change/update, and you want a builder that's able to keep up or lead the way and reveal new trends to you."
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Squarespace: Best for ecommerce
Squarespace
4.7
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Starting price: $12.00/mo.*
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Drag-and-drop website builder
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Tons of built-in tools
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Simple, beautiful online store or blog
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
*With annual billing.
Squarespace offers all the features a smaller online store needs. It has built-in functionality that lets you accept credit card payments, track your customers, create gift cards, and so much more. Other builders would require plugins to do all that.
But if you get some plugins, Squarespace has even more ecommerce tools. You can get plugins that add fabric swatch previews to clothing products, plugins that track your inventory, and plugins that highlight certain products.
While large online stores with thousands of orders each month might want a dedicated ecommerce builder, Squarespace offers all the tools a smaller e-store could want. Plus, it creates striking, clean websites with ease, so you'll have the perfect online storefront for your bath bomb boutique or cosplay supply store.
Easy-to-use platform
Beautiful designs for sites
Great functionality to support your store and blog
Bit of a learning curve
So-so search engine optimization
Functionality sometimes hidden by tabs and sidebar menu
"Squarespace is extremely easy to use and update. They also offer great design work and hosting of the website. Plus, very inexpensive."
Weebly: Best for brick-and-mortar stores
Weebly
3.6
-
Starting price: $6.00/mo.*
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Drag-and-drop site platform
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Drag-and-drop online store builder
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Intuitive dashboard
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Low learning curve
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
*With annual billing.
Weebly excels at making good-looking websites on the cheap—provided you don't need lots of fancy features. Its drag-and-drop functionality lets you easily set up your pages just the way you want them, and its default templates look great on desktop and mobile. Plus, it even has a free plan.
But while the Weebly platform technically has lots of ecommerce tools, you'll have to pay more for a pricier premium plan to get them—and at that point, why not go with one of our top two builders? Likewise, Weebly has blogging capabilities, but they're not nearly as impressive as some of the other builders on our list. (But Weebly is the only brand in our top five that offers a free plan.)
Those strengths and limitations make Weebly ideal for brick-and-mortar stores that need a basic (but beautiful) website to direct people into their store.
Free website builder for ecommerce
If you're looking for an ecommerce website builder similar to Weebly, Square Online recently acquired Weebly and has built out its ecommerce platform.
Professional-looking templates
Easy-to-use Weebly dashboard
Good ecommerce tools
Extra costs for most ecommerce options
Amateur-looking blogs (without extra apps)
Fewer customer service options
"I would highly recommend [Weebly]. Once you get used to the way the builder works, it becomes very easy. Why? If it is a good builder, then it becomes intuitive. Also, as an aside, I love the ability to make changes as I need them and not have to wait for a busy web builder to get around to it."
GoDaddy: Fastest setup
GoDaddy
3.3
-
Starting price: $6.99/mo.*
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Menu-based website builder
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Low learning curve
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Super affordable starting price
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
*With annual billing.
If you don't want to spend much time building your website, GoDaddy might be the platform for you. With this easy-breezy site builder, we had a finished site in just 38 minutes.
Now, that ultra-fast build time does come with some limitations; GoDaddy has the most limited customization options of any of our recommended builders, and its web design is better described as "perfectly competent" than "stunning." So if your food blog is your business, you might want something more customizable, and if your literature-inspired T-shirts keep selling like hotcakes, you'll want a small business website builder with a little more ecommerce oomph.
But if you want a simple website to point people at your lawn service business or you just need a small online store for your wildlife-themed jewelry, then GoDaddy offers unparalleled speed and ease of use.
Savings on GoDaddy
All of GoDaddy's paid plans are currently on sale for 30% as of October 1, 2021. You can save on a 12-month, 24-month, or 36-month contract.
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
*With annual billing.
User-friendly interface
Low starting costs
Relevant content suggestions
Limited customization
Mediocre SEO capabilities
Mixed customer reviews
"GoDaddy to me is easy to use and flexible, and I am very pleased with their tech support."
WordPress: Best for complete control
WordPress
3.3
-
Starting price: $4.00/mo.*
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Website builder software plus web hosting
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Most customization than any other builder
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Thousands of theme options
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
*With annual billing.
WordPress can do just about anything. It has tons of themes for any kind of website you want to build, it comes with exceptional built-in blogging, and with a plugin or two, it can provide powerful ecommerce solutions that can compete with the best ecommerce website builders. The trade-off? WordPress requires more work and web design know-how on your part.
In fact, WordPress's steep learning curve and time-intensive customization process keeps us from recommending it to businesses that just want a small, simple website. Because if you're not going to harness WordPress's full capabilities (which you'll need the Business plan to do), you might as well use an easier website builder.
But if you want control and features—and lots of them—then WordPress stands in a class of its own. Daily bloggers will love its customizability and SEO tools, and online sellers will enjoy the many ecommerce plugins. With all its plugins and templates, WordPress can make feature-filled, good-looking small business websites.
Near-infinite customizability
Thousands of available plugins and themes
Great reputation and user reviews
Steep learning curve
Plugins and full SEO tools limited to top-tier plan
Extensive customization required for best results
"WordPress is robust, fast if you optimize it, and there is tons of support online and countless plugins to get any functionality you would like."
Build your custom site today
Customize your website with an easy-to-use site builder that'll make your brand look professional and polished in no time.
Honorable mentions
Haven't found a website builder you're in love with yet? Don't worry—one of these two options could better suit your needs:
Best website builder honorable mentions
- : Best for large-scale ecommerce
- : Best for brand-new commerce businesses
Compare runner-up website builders for small businesses
| Brand | Starting price | Design themes | Apps | 24/7 customer service | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BigCommerce | $29.95/mo.* | 100+ | 100+ | | View Plans |
| Shopify | $29.00/mo. | 73 | 100+ | | View Plans |
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
*With annual billing.
BigCommerce: Best for large-scale ecommerce
BigCommerce
-
Starting price: $29.95/mo.*
-
Ecommerce-dedicated builder
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Flexible platform
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
*With annual billing.
BigCommerce is a dedicated ecommerce website builder, which means it comes packed with tools for your online store. With tons of built-in functionality and even more available through apps, BigCommerce can handle all the sales and products you throw at it. Plans start at $29.95 per month, so you'll pay a pretty penny for all that—but it's probably worth it for large online stores.
Shopfiy: Best for brand-new ecommerce businesses
Shopify
-
Starting price: $29.00/mo.
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Ecommerce-dedicated builder
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Online tutorials
Data effective 10/1/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
Another dedicated ecommerce builder, Shopify offers plenty of resources to business owners building a website for the first time. From name generators to logo makers to tutorials, it can help you get your online store off the ground. Just buckle up for some frustration: Shopify is expensive ($29 per month to start), it can be tricky to use, and you need apps and paid themes to unlock its true potential.
Website building for businesses FAQ
What about a domain name?
You absolutely need to get your own domain name when you build your business website. A custom domain builds trust with your audience. After all, why should customers trust a business that can't or won't spend $12 on a domain name?
Fortunately, most of our recommended builders include a free domain for one year when you pay for a plan—only GoDaddy, BigCommerce, and Shopify don't.
So if you choose one of those builders, or if you'd rather get your domain separately from your builder (you can sometimes get better deals on your domain renewal this way), be sure to take a look at our favorite domain registrars.
Should my website builder and my web hosting company be the same?
Honestly, the website builders on this list don't give you a choice. All of these builders bundle their builder with hosting, and they won't allow you to build a site and then host it elsewhere. So if you build a site with Wix, expect to host it with Wix.
And frankly, that makes things pretty convenient for you. You won't have to manage multiple logins or bills.
You'd really only need a separate hosting company if you opted to use the WordPress software but didn't want to use it through WordPress.com. (WordPress.com bundles WordPress.org's software with hosting.) In that case, you can check out the best web hosting providers to find the right host for your needs.
Should I use a website builder or hire someone to create a website for me?
That's one of those things that you have to answer for yourself.
To be clear, we at Business.org believe that business owners are totally capable of building a website themselves. That's why we reviewed these builders and found which were the easiest, which made the most attractive sites, and which had the most customization options—because that will help you choose the builder that meets your needs.
And building your own website has some big advantages. For one, you get to maintain total control over your website, so there's no need to worry about a developer going AWOL on you, going rogue after a dispute (Jurassic Park, anyone?), or simply not understanding your vision.
Plus, in most cases, you can build a website yourself much more cheaply than you can hire a developer to build it for you. Your small business probably has a tight budget, so if you can save some money by putting in a little web work yourself, why not?
On the other hand, building a website will take time. Depending on the features you need, it could take quite a lot of time. You know what they say: time is money. If your time is best spent actively working on your business, then maybe a web developer is worth the cost.
And if we're brutally honest, most of us don't have design or tech expertise. While the builders we recommend make creating a professional website totally doable, you might get better results from someone who spends all their time building websites and knows what they're doing. Likewise, if you're particularly tech-illiterate, you might find website building more frustrating than it's worth.
At the end of the day, our recommended website builders make it possible for anyone to build a usable website. So we absolutely believe that you—yes, you—can build a beautiful, functional website. In some cases, you might want to hire someone. But mostly, we suggest you do it yourself.
Best Website Builders for Small Business
Wix
Best overall
5.0
Weebly
Best for brick & mortar
3.6
Learn more about our top brands.
Methodology
To find the best website builders for small businesses, we considered site builders' features, pricing plans, customization, design, and ease of use. We also looked at customer support, website design options, and how it worked when we used the website builder software. And to really know how they work for you, we made a business website with each of these website builders to see how they work firsthand.
Disclaimer
At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.
Written by
Chloe Goodshore
Chloe covers business financing and loans for Business.org. She has worked with many small businesses over the past 10 years, from video game stores to law firms. Those years watching frustrated business owners try to sift through their many options gave her a passion for breaking down complex business topics. She wants to help business owners spend less time agonizing over their businesses so they can spend more time running them.
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Best Website Developer For Small Business
Source: https://www.business.org/services/website/best-website-builder-for-business/
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