June 10, 2024
In today's digital landscape, having a strong online presence is essential for success. Website builders offer a convenient and cost-effective way to create professional websites without the need for coding skills. Here's a comprehensive guide to the top website builders available in the UK:
Wix is one of the best all-round website builders available today. Founded in 2006 by Avishai Abrahami, it was one of the first-ever drag-and-drop website builders, a pioneering feature that quickly attracted millions of users. Wix offers a range of features that make it a premier choice for building websites.
Wix is straightforward enough for most beginners to get started on. However, its somewhat cluttered interface and comparatively slow loading times resulted in us knocking down its ease of use score from 4.4/5 to 3.9/5 in our last round of testing.
Wix impressed us from the start with its extreme ease of use. Building our first site with Wix's ADI editor was as simple as answering a few questions about our online goals, colour and design preferences, and the pages we wanted; Wix then created the website in seconds.
As far as website builders go, Wix remains top-tier because it has all the qualities most people look for in a site builder. From sophisticated templates to how easy it is to use, if it's your first time building a website, we suggest you strongly consider Wix.
Squarespace offers a number of advanced web building features, from a custom site engine and custom CSS to a mobile upload system, making the website builder perfect for beginners who are still looking to build a high-performing site – especially those prioritising design like artists, designers, and creative businesses.
After testing Squarespace ourselves, we found that it was especially adept at building content-based websites, thanks to its aesthetically pleasing template designs, intuitive text editor, tab sections, and scrolling banners.
Squarespace scores extremely highly for creative professionals and boasts impressive blogging tools. It features over 100 template designs which are fully adaptable to mobile devices, and visually, its websites are unmatched. Recently, vast improvements have been made in vital areas like UX, and the expanded feature list makes great value for money at £17 per month for businesses.
Squarespace is the easiest website builder we've tested in 2024, outperforming 16 other platforms due to its simple drag-and-drop editor and intuitive interface.
GoDaddy is a big name in the world of website development, and perhaps best known for its website hosting and 24/7 phone support. If you need to get online fast, then you really can’t miss with GoDaddy. It helps time-poor small business owners to achieve everything they need with minimal friction.
GoDaddy scores 4/5 for ease of use. The platform offers the quickest setup time of any other solution we’ve tested, making it ideal for users who don’t have tonnes of time to invest in the process.
GoDaddy offers affordable subscription plans starting from $9.99 per month. There is also a free plan available, making it a good option for budget-conscious users.
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The GoDaddy Website Builder offers great support, with prompt customer support responses and excellent 24/7 tech support.
Time is money for most small businesses. So, if you don’t have tonnes of spare time to create a site, GoDaddy will be a safe bet.
Shopify is one of the best ecommerce website builders on the market today. It offers an unmatched selection of features that are geared towards building your online store and managing your digital inventory. Even better, Shopify had the highest customer score across our research with 4.8/5, which means the average user is considerably happy with the website builder on a regular basis.
Shopify websites are all about ecommerce, which is why having lots of purchase options is important. Luckily, Shopify added the “Buy with Prime” button from Amazon that allows you to pay through the popular ecommerce platform.
Shopify is perfect for users looking for that all-in-one online store solution. Its ability to predict what a merchant will need next when creating a website is a brilliant feature, and its countless apps give you complete control over your business.
Shopify's diverse multi-channel integration options and automated SMS and email marketing enable you to grow your business. It is definitely better suited to store owners with complex, larger inventories.
Shopify also rolled out rich attributes for each product category, making it easier for users to create, classify, and organise products, and automatically generate variants.
Site123 is best known for its site speed and storage space. It scored a perfect 5 out of 5 in our research into website builder storage space, offering 30GB for just $12.80 per year on the professional plan. This makes it a great return on investment compared to others like Squarespace or Wix.
Site123 offers a free tier, which is ideal for bloggers rather than entrepreneurs. The premium tier is priced at $12.80 per month and includes:
While Site123 excels in speed and storage, its website features menu is quite limited. The range of templates is slimmer than other providers like Wix, which could make it harder to get a professional end product.
Site123 scores the highest performance score (92/100) in our speed research, with a speed index of just 1.2 seconds.
If you get stuck, Site123’s help and support is strong. It offers live chat, a knowledge base, a community forum, and onsite editor help.
WordPress.com is an incredibly popular blogging platform and serves as the foundation for millions of websites globally. Favoured by bloggers and small businesses, it offers a range of sophisticated tools and integration capabilities, making your website highly customisable.
WordPress.com is best suited for those who need a highly customisable website and are willing to invest time in learning the platform. It is particularly recommended for small businesses that need to host a lot of content.
Hostinger is a simplistic and low-cost website builder with decent first-term discounts. If you want to get your website up and running with minimal fuss, Hostinger is the website builder for you. Instead of offering a bewildering array of templates, Hostinger chooses one of its simple but effective website designs for you based on your answers to a few questions.
Hostinger makes it cheap and easy to get a business website up and running with minimal fuss, though that does come at the expense of in-depth features and unique designs.
Hostinger offers a substantial list of advanced functions, which means it can play the role of multiple people in your organisation. Users can build a logo in Hostinger, and there’s an AI writer tool that can create content for your site in an instant. For those looking to start an online business in the UK, Hostinger provides a straightforward and affordable option.
Weebly is one of the simplest and cheapest website builder platforms available, making it an excellent choice for those on a budget. Founded in 2006 by David Rusenko in San Francisco, Weebly quickly grew to 1 million customers within a year and now boasts 48 million users.
Weebly offers a range of features that make it a strong contender in the website builder market:
Overall, Weebly is one of the top website builders in the United Kingdom that covers all the bases while still delivering a great price. This makes it a great option for small business websites and one-page websites.
Jimdo is a versatile website builder that is particularly well-suited for designers and photographers. Its platform is incredibly user-friendly, requiring no coding experience. Users can create stunning drag-and-drop websites that are fully mobile responsive and come with built-in SEO tools.
Jimdo offers a range of pricing plans to suit different needs:
If your site prioritises imagery, Jimdo might just be the website builder you need. The range of clean and flexible templates makes it a great choice for anyone looking to display their portfolio online.
Webflow is a unique website builder that combines the ease of a drag-and-drop editor with the power of custom code. This makes it an excellent choice for designers and developers who want more control over their site's appearance and functionality.
Webflow places a huge emphasis on design features and animations, allowing users to create visually stunning websites. The platform offers a wide range of templates and design tools that cater to both beginners and advanced users.
While Webflow is powerful, it does come with a steeper learning curve compared to other website builders. However, once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless. The platform provides extensive tutorials and resources to help you get started.
Webflow offers a variety of pricing plans to suit different needs, from free options to more advanced plans for businesses. The pricing is flexible, allowing you to scale your plan as your website grows.
Webflow is ideal for those who want a balance between design flexibility and ease of use.
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In conclusion, building a successful online presence in the UK has never been easier with the variety of website builders available today. From the versatile and user-friendly Wix to the robust and ecommerce-focused Shopify, there is a platform to suit every need and budget. By leveraging these tools, you can save thousands of pounds that would otherwise be spent on developers and designers, while still achieving a professional and polished website. We hope this guide has provided you with valuable insights and helped you make an informed decision. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to reach out. Happy building!
A website builder is a tool that allows users to create and design websites without needing to write code. These tools typically offer drag-and-drop functionality, templates, and various customisation options to make website creation accessible to everyone.
Yes, website builders are ideal for small businesses. They provide cost-effective solutions to create professional-looking websites without the need for a web developer. Many website builders also offer ecommerce functionality, making it easier for small businesses to sell products and services online.
Shopify is widely regarded as the best website builder for ecommerce. It offers a range of features specifically designed for online stores, including inventory management, payment gateways, and shipping options.
Yes, most website builders allow you to use your own domain name. You can either purchase a domain through the website builder or connect an existing domain that you already own.
Yes, there are free website builders available, such as Wix and Weebly. However, free plans often come with limitations, such as displaying the website builder's ads and having a branded domain name (e.g., yoursite.wixsite.com). For a more professional appearance, upgrading to a paid plan is recommended.
Choosing the right website builder depends on your specific needs and goals. Consider factors such as ease of use, design flexibility, available features, pricing, and customer support. It's also helpful to read reviews and try out free trials to see which platform best suits your requirements.
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