Creating a professional website is essential for small businesses, but not everyone has coding skills or a big budget for developers. The good news? Modern website builders let you launch an impressive site without technical expertise. We’ve tested and ranked the best drag-and-drop website builders for entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and local businesses.
Best for: Creative freedom with 800+ designer templates
Starting at: $16/month (Premium Plan)
Best for: Visually stunning portfolios and stores
Starting at: $16/month (Personal Plan)
Best for: E-commerce stores (physical/digital products)
Starting at: $29/month (Basic Shopify)
Best for: Local service businesses
Starting at: $10/month (Personal Plan)
Best for: Getting online FAST (under 1 hour)
Starting at: $9.99/month (Basic Plan)
Weebly and GoDaddy have the most intuitive interfaces, while Wix offers deeper customization.
Shopify dominates for online stores, while Squarespace excels at digital products/services.
Squarespace and Wix provide automatic sitemaps and meta tag editing.
Shopify (24/7 live chat) and GoDaddy (phone support) lead here.
Builder | Best For | Starting Price | Free Plan |
---|---|---|---|
Wix | Creative businesses | $16/month | Yes |
Squarespace | Portfolios/bloggers | $16/month | 14-day trial |
Shopify | Online stores | $29/month | 3-day trial |
Weebly | Service businesses | $10/month | Yes |
GoDaddy | Quick launches | $9.99/month | No |
Yes, but migrating content can be challenging. Wix and Squarespace are particularly "walled gardens." Consider WordPress.org if you anticipate needing advanced flexibility later.
All modern builders are SEO-friendly, but Squarespace and Wix have the most robust built-in SEO tools for beginners.
No! All listed builders include hosting in their plans. You only need to purchase a custom domain (usually $10-$15/year).
Pro Tip:
Before committing, use each platform’s free trial to test: 1) Editor comfort 2) Mobile previews 3) Loading speeds via Google PageSpeed Insights.