Looking for the best website builder for small business marketing? Look no further. Here is our list of the best website builders that you make use to easily create a stunning website in 2021.
Wix
Best overall website builder for small business.
Wix provides one of the very best website builder software available on the market. It certainly has all the features needed to create a professional-looking site. A quick look at the Wix site alludes to its success with millions of registered users from all over the world. Wix doesn’t only come with attractive features, it also works on ensuring that its platform can outperform the competition. It is for this reason that Wix appeals to just about any user from the design novice to experienced web designers.
Features
- Wix Editor
- Wix ADI
- Contact Management
- Analytics
- SSL Certified
For small businesses, a website builder like Wix is a great match as it comes with numerous eCommerce templates for businesses to select from. Additionally, Wix does not charge any transaction fees made from sales, compared to other website builders. For small businesses that don’t have the resources to hire a professional website developer, Wix enables them to sample every one of its tool’s benefits at no cost. For small businesses with more experience creating a website, Wix Code which is a tool that lets users generate custom forms and pages manage database collections and utilise their JavaScript is available.
Every one of these expansive features are perfectly suited to help small businesses personalise their sites. A slight drawback is a fact that the templates aren’t quite as responsive in the traditional sense. However, Wix employs a similar effect. If necessary, small businesses can use Wix to create a mobile version of the site to be used.
Pricing
Wix enables users to try out any of their plans for a 2 week trial period. Asides that, there are 4 major plans for users to select from, with every one of them offering access to thousands of templates as well as custom domains. All the plans come free of Wix ads and have an SSL Certificate attached.
- The Combo plan can be purchased for $14 a month.
- The Unlimited plan can be purchased for $18 a month.
- The Pro plan can be purchased for $23 a month.
- The VIP plan can be purchased for $39 a month.
Weebly
Best website builder for small business on a budget.
Weebly is a website builder that is perfectly suite dot small businesses with limited resources. It is extremely easy to use and is packed full of features and applications businesses can use to grow their website. These features range from eCommerce to SEO. users can create a simple yet stylish website utilising Weebly’s unique drag and drop system. Businesses have access to exciting and customisable templates with helpful SEO hints and guides such as keyword optimisation, coding advice, and how to boost their site’s ranking.
Features
- Inventory management
- Weebly Promote
- SEO guides
- App Centre
- Quick Shop
While it is possible for just about any site builder to create a site for any business, it is the peculiar features that help make Weebly stand out. For one, it has an extremely well-curated features library that it continuously upgrades and updates. This ensures it remains at the top of its game. Weebly also enables users to seamlessly transform their site into an eCommerce one. This means tools such as marketing capabilities, sales, metrics and analytics tracking can be added onto an already existing Weebly site.
Furthermore, there are numerous app integrations for users to select from, with the aim being either social media integrations or email targeting form inbound marketing, they all can be seamlessly added to the site.
Pricing
Weebly is unique in this regard as it offers a free plan with no limit. What this means is that your base plan costs nothing and you can have it for as long as you want. This is a perfect solution for small businesses with limited resources, particularly those starting their businesses as long as they do not mind Weebly advertisements on their site.h
The Performance plan can be purchased for $26-29 per month, with the smaller fee given as a discount for those that purchase a year upfront.
Squarespace
Best overall website builder for small business working with heavy multimedia.
Squarespace is the ideal website builder to create professional sites. This is because it offers some of the best features and quality designs available. There is a bit of a learning curve with Squarespace, however, the results are more often than not quite pleasing. Squarespace is best suited to users that have some technical skills or those that care about the design of their websites. Compared to other website builders on this list, Squarespace is ideally suited for non-text-heavy websites as it focuses more on providing aesthetically pleasing visual designs. This makes the website builder suited to artists, photographer and small businesses within the arts. Squarespace offers a 2-week trial and over 2 million people have chosen to stick with the website builder after their trial period ended.
Features
- SEO and Marketing
- Social Media Integration
- Squarespace Extensions
- Backup and Restores
- SSL Certificates
The world today loves to follow, favourite, like, post and tweet, so, Squarespace has enabled its users’ leverage this opportunity by providing social media integration into its website builder. Businesses can link every one of their social media accounts regardless of platforms together to create one seamless social media identity.
Squarespace ensures that every one of its pages is in line with the best SEO practices. This means providing users with the necessary tools such as adding keywords, alt text and managing titles to make the most of their site. There are also guides to SEO in its support pages, with Squarespace offering a detailed introduction to SEO.
Pricing
All annual plans are available with unlimited bandwidth and storage, SSL Security and a custom domain. There are 4 plans for users to select from:
- The Personal plan starts at $16 per month or $12 annually.
- The Business plan starts at $26 per month or $18 annually.
- The eCommerce Basic plan starts at $30 per month or $26 annually.
- The eCommerce Advanced plan starts at $46 per month or $40 annually.
BigCommerce
Best overall website builder for small business in eCommerce looking to scale quickly
BigCommerce is great for just about any user, whether just starting a business or adapting an already existing one, as it offers various plan suited to all company types. With its numerous inbuilt tools, as well its ability to scale with a business, BigCommerce can be a great match for online stores that expect quick growth. The most essential aspect of any website builder is its features, as they and only they dictate what a user can do. BigCommerce leverages on its great software base by offering a vast array of different add-ons and integrations. These integrations and add-ons let users create and grow their site any way they see fit.
Features
- In-depth analysis
- Multi-channel sales
- Payment options
- Device optimisation
- Professional designs
BigCommerce takes security very important and that is evident with it having the most security features of any website building tool. This includes the prized SSL security certification and numerous protection layers to ensure that payment data remains encrypted. Additionally, BigCommerce makes sure its users are not limited to one payment type compared to other site builders. It also refrains from charging transactions fees, which can be a great feature for small businesses just starting their operations.
Pricing
BigCommerce offers a 15-day trial to users with certain features being available right from the bat. Every one of its plans can either be purchased monthly or paid for a year upfront.
- The Standard plan costs just for $29.95.
- The Plus plan costs just $79.95.
- The Pro plan costs just $299.95.
- The Enterprise plan’s price is only available for a custom price (depending on the user’s needs)
Shopify
Best overall website builder for small business in eCommerce looking for ease-of-use.
Shopify is perhaps the best-known eCommerce platform available today. As a website builder, it has been created to enable people to create their scalable eCommerce store. This means it has hundreds of apps and tons of inbuilt features. Shopify enables its users to directly sell their products on their sites and across various social media platforms and marketplaces. Just about any brand can utilise Shopify, from businesses just starting out to small businesses with years of experience. The website builder has more than 1,000 specialised apps and features such as shipping tools and inventory tracking to select from.
Features
- Over 100 professional themes
- 70 payment gateways
- SEO
- Social Media Integration
- Secure shopping cart -256-bit SSL
Apps provide additional functions that can be added to a user’s site. Shopify also enables dropshipping as it can help a small business lower costs and manage inventory. This means businesses are feed to concentrate on marketing their brand, engaging with customers and perfecting their store.
Pricing
As is seemingly standard, Shopify offers a 14 day free trial to new users. It does have 5 tier plans. They are:
Shopify Lite plan starts from $9 a month.
Basic Shopify plan starts from for $29 a month.
Shopify plan starts from $79 a month.
Advanced Shopify starts from $299 a month.
Shopify Plus does not have a set price list but users can request a custom quote.
Self-hosted WordPress
Best free website builder for small businesses.
WordPress is perhaps the worlds most used website builder. The software powers over 33% of all sites live on the internet. This accounts for millions of sites originating from across the world. WordPress.org offers users full access to every WordPress feature available right off the bat. A great feature of WordPress is its ability to be flexible. This means it can be used to make any sort of website. WordPress differs from other website builders in the sense that it ensures functionality, content and design are kept separate. Doing so enables data portability. It also means that content can be added irrespective of the design used, with the design being able to be changed without modifying your content.
Features
- Themes
- Plugins
- WordPress SEO
- Flexibility
- Customisability
WordPress has over 55,000 available plugins in its directory, ensuring that users can find any feature they need to make their website. Certainly, some plugins are basic and provide a simple feature, however, other plugins come with a large list of functionalities and features.
Pricing
Since WordPress is a completely free website builder, small businesses will incur no costs in using it. However, users interested in advanced plugins will have to bear the cost of said plugins.
ClickFunnels
Best overall website builder for small business focused on marketing and lead generation.
ClickFunnels enables businesses to create sales funnels, landing pages, downsells, upsells and membership site seamlessly. Over time ClickFunnels has worked to become integrated with Stripe, PayPal and numerous other payment processors. This has in turn made it one of the services to go to for small businesses that primarily market online, thanks to its ability to accept online payments.
ClickFunnels enables small businesses to create their very own funnel pages seamlessly and quickly. Users can also have the option of utilising its inbuilt email marketing tool. This tool enables users to seamlessly synchronise their email follow-ups in line with their sales pages. ClickFunnels is more than just a website builder, it is a full-suite lead generation tool. Check out my full Clickfunnels review here.
Features
- Drag and Drop
- Billing integration
- Integrated email provider
- Autoresponder
- Affiliate Program Integration
ClickFunnels has a seamless drag-and-drop page builder feature. It enables users to create pages without having to write code. It also has an inbuilt shopping cart which enables users to track their customers’ orders. This can help small businesses save money as there is no need to hire another shopping cart service.
Pricing
ClickFunnels comes with just 2 plans, with the basic known as Startup and the premium plan, Full Suite. What differs between these plans is the features available on them, such as the sales funnels and landing pages allocated each month. ClickFunnels plans start at $97 per month, after a 30 day free trial period.