Top Website Builder Platform In 2021
Creating a website is now possible without the rigors of coding. After all, not everyone can code. With website builder platforms, not everyone needs to. Website builders take away the bulk work of website building – the need to code – and let you create full-featured websites. There are a number of defining features that a good website builder should have. These include ease of use, quality and customizable web design templates, blogging tools, and eCommerce solutions, to mention some. Having an SEO tool in the platform and a strong customer support team is also important. This article looks at top website builder platforms in 2021 with these features.
10 Top Website Builder Platforms in 2021
WIX – overall best website builder
Weebly – easiest website builder
GoDaddy – top website builder for basic sites
Squarespace – best website builder with prepackaged design
Site123 – website builder with the best support
Duda – best website builder for a customized experience
BigCommerce – best website builder for large stores
Shopify – best website builder for basic eCommerce stores
WordPress – best builder for blogging and writers' websites
Gator – best website builder with intuitive commerce tools
Now, let’s dive into the mix.
1.) WIX
With its robust features, Wix is one of the most powerful website builder platforms that there are. Over 100 million websites originate from this platform and it is an obvious favorite of many. This is not surprising as Wix lets you put in the least effort and the most creativity to produce your website.
Features
Free account option
Online site assets storage
Third-party site widget gallery
Powerful commerce and blogging features
Pricing
Wix has a free basic site-builder plan with ads. For an ad-free premium experience, however, these two plans are available:
Combo – $13/month
Business VIP – $49/month
Pros
Wix comes with a lot of site gadgets.
This website builder has efficient tools for mobile site-building.
It has an extremely intuitive interface.
Also, there is a free site option.
There are great web-store functions available.
With Wix, you get hundreds of template options, including those for specific businesses.
They offer amazing customer support.
Cons
You cannot switch templates after publishing your site.
Each plan tier has its data limitations.
Wix does not come with an analytics and statistics feature.
2.) Weebly
With over 50 million users, this app offers some excellent options to meet a wide variety of user needs. If you want a simple and easy-to-use website editor, then Weebly is it. Although its ease of use translates to limited design flexibility and fewer add-ons, you can still create great sites within those constraints.
Features
Responsive design themes
Downloadable site code in HTML/CSS format.
Pricing
In addition to its free basic plan, Weebly has the following pricing options, when paid annually:
For Websites:
Connect – $5/mo
Pro – $12/mo
Business – $25/mo
For Online Stores:
Pro – $12/mo
Business – $25/mo
Business Plus – $38/mo
Pros
Weebly It can create relatively large sites (25 - 30 pages).
It comes with full commerce options.
There is an app for iPad site editing.
Cons
The mobile sites are not customizable.
It lacks reusable storage for photos.
3.) GoDaddy
Although better known for offering domain and web hosting services, GoDaddy is a website creator that is perfect for designing basic sites.
Features
30-day free trial
Social media and email marketing
PayPal payments
An SEO tool, except on the Basic plan
Online store features such as shipping options and product listings
Pricing
Basic – £6.99/mo
Standard – £9.99/mo
Premium – £14.99/mo
eCommerce – £19.99/mo
Pros
GoDaddy has a clean easy-to-use interface.
Sites have a great outlook on both mobile and desktop.
It has useful SEO and marketing tools.
The storage and bandwidth are fairly generous.
Cons
There is a limit to what you can do with page design, photo-editing, and layout customization.
Not all tiers have the online store feature.
4.) Squarespace
With a perfect blend of cool, impeccable, and fresh, Squarespace is definitely worth a shot at website building. It allows your website to stand out with its award-winning prepackaged web designs.
Features
Over 100 adjustable templates
Flexible portfolios
Blog tools
In-built SEO tools
Analytics
Pricing
Personal – $12
Business – $18
Basic Online store – $26
Advanced online store – $40
Pros
Squarespace allows your website to effectively use blogging as its main element. It also allows you to host a podcast to this end.
Due to the live chat feature, immediate responses and support are given. Sometimes screencasts are used.
Squarespace works effectively on both IOS and Android.
Cons
Changes made to your website are not automatically saved, rather, a save-as-you-go method is adopted.
Squarespace's templates are rated as slow by the Google Page Speed Tool. This could cause a reduction in your search engine rankings.
It is quite difficult and nearly impossible to create multilingual websites using Squarespace.
5.) Site123
Here is another useful website building platform with several features. Site123 makes building a website like a walk in the park. Its design is categorized and later divided into niches.
Features
Responsive web design
Online sales function
Free website domain
Manage a mailbox under your domain name
Customer form builder
Pricing
Site123 has the following pricing plans –
Free
Basic – 10,01€
Advanced – 15,58€
Professional – 21,14€
Gold – 26,70€
Pros
With Site123, you have the opportunity to translate your website.
You can test the services of Site123 using the free version for as long as you would like.
Its predefined layout makes it easy to fill in the information correctly.
Cons
Site123 has no email newsletter integration.
There are no third-party widget stores.
6.) Duda
Duda is a well-featured, mobile-friendly website builder. It creates sites suitable for services ranging from small mobile phones to large desktop monitors.
Features
Keyboard shortcuts for completing various functions
"Duplicate page" feature
"Import page" for incorporating an existing site on the net with yours
Backup and restoration of saved site data.
Pricing
Here are the available pricing plans on Duda:
Basic – $14.25 per month
Pro – $9.75 per site per month and a $249 yearly platform fee.
The conversion of an existing site costs $7.20 per month. This service comes with a 10-product store.
Pros
There is social media integration available.
Duda comes with site-traffic analysis.
Free accounts can carry out online sales.
It has a clear interface.
Cons
There is no email newsletter integration.
There are no third-party widget stores.
7.) BigCommerce
This Australian company has now become quite popular. BigCommerce strives to provide all your website needs to become successful. They make building and running a sizable commerce website easier.
Features
Customization of themes
Mobile optimization
Pre-Publish Review
Storefront conversion
WordPress integration
Pricing
Standard – $29.95 per month
Plus – $79.95 per month
Pro – $299.95 per month
Enterprise, which depends on the customer's online sales.
Pros
The addition of variant products is limitless, flexible, and easy.
None of the plans offered by BigCommerce come with transaction fees.
BigCommerce is highly capable in terms of SEO.
Cons
BigCommerce has no inbuilt multilingual functions. This can only be achieved using a code.
Creating regular content like "about us" and blogs is challenging.
8.) Shopify
If you want a basic eCommerce site, then Shopify will give you what you need to create one. Even if you do not have commerce experience, your site will have all the necessary features. This user-friendly and easy-to-use eCommerce site builder is an obvious favorite for online retailers because of its efficient sales features.
Features
Templates that are compatible across devices
Picture gallery, zoom function, and video
Shipping and dropshipping
Pricing
Basic Shopify – $26
Shopify – $71
Advanced Shopify – $266
Pros
Shopify is easy to use.
It has a mobile-friendly design with several themes.
There is a large community of experts to provide you with the help you need.
Cons
It is fairly expensive as prices are above the market average.
9.) WordPress
Everything that you need for blogging, you can find on the WordPress site builder. Unlike Wix and Weebly, however, it does not have the intuitive drag and drop feature. Yet, overall, WordPress is great for bloggers and writers who need a website to share their voice without having the need to code.
Features
SEO features
Several widgets
Retina-display enabled
Multiple page styles
Pricing
The WordPress software is open-source and completely free. However, to build your website, you will need to pay for the following:
Web hosting
Domain name
Design
Extensions and plugins
A low-budget site could cost anything between $46 to $100 but a site with more features could cost as much as $500 to $3000. And if you want a custom WordPress site, you could spend as much as $15000 or more.
Pros
Its Content Management System is user friendly.
You can preview site themes without activating them.
Upgrades are automatic and come with amazing support.
Cons
Getting additional features is dependent on plugins.
Themes and plugins need frequent updates.
Custom sites require coding by a web developer and could be expensive.
10.) Gator
Gator by Hostgator is relatively new in the website-building scene. Although its catalog can be confusing, HostGator offers almost every hosting feature. Its shared hosting is suitable for those seeking website-building providers that do not measure bandwidth and offer large storage.
Features
WordPress hosting
Email features
Domain names
Virtual private services
Intuitive commerce tools
Pricing
HostGator's first-term pricing plan includes:
Hatchling – $5.95
Baby – $8.95
Business – $8.95
And the following are the renewal plans:
Hatchling – $8.95
Baby – $11.95
Business – $16.95
Pros
Every plan has unlimited storage space.
Hosting plans can be purchased on flexible terms.
Amazing UX
HostGator provides various programming languages.
There is no limit to the traffic your site can receive.
Cons
Their back-end has unnecessary upsell options.
There is room for improvement in their uptime.
Support response time is often slow.
What qualifies as the top website builder platform is relative. It depends on your individual or business' needs. With more website builders joining the industry, you get to choose one that is most suitable for the intended result. Bear in mind the purpose and size of your site, how much control you want over designing, and other important considerations. Then, you can choose from the top website builder platforms in 2021 for your desired website.
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