Creating an online presence is crucial for small businesses in 2024.
An impressive website helps you connect with customers, sell products and services, and establish credibility. But hiring a professional web developer can be expensive and time-consuming for small business owners on a budget. This is where DIY website builders come in handy!
In this article, we'll compare the top 5 website builders specifically optimized for small businesses. We evaluated them based on features, templates, ease of use, built-in ecommerce, pricing, and more.
TL;DR - Our top picks for small business website builders are:
- Wix - User-friendly with 500+ designer templates ideal for small biz sites. Built-in marketing tools and seamless mobile optimization.
- Squarespace - Gorgeous modern templates to showcase products/services. Powerful built-in ecommerce and SEO.
- Weebly - Easy drag and drop editor and affordable pricing. Not as many design choices.
- Webflow - More advanced but very customizable. Great for complex, unique sites. Steep learning curve.
- WordPress - Open source CMS popular for its flexibility and scalability. Requires self-hosting and tech skills.
#1 Wix
Wix is our top choice for small business website builders in 2024. It's extremely user-friendly, with over 500 designer-made templates ideal for creating sites to sell products, book services, showcase portfolios, and more.
Wix covers hosting, a free domain for a year, top-notch security, and seamless mobile optimization. The built-in SEO and marketing tools like email newsletters, social media integration, and blog options make it easy to connect with customers.
Flexible pricing plans include free options, removing financial barriers to building an online presence. Overall, Wix provides the best value for beginners wanting a professional website quickly and affordably.
#2 Squarespace
Squarespace is another robust website builder option with gorgeous modern templates optimized to showcase your brand aesthetic. The powerful built-in ecommerce integrations allow you to easily sell products and services through your site.
Squarespace also offers reliable hosting, top-notch security, SEO enhancements, and 24/7 customer support. While Squarespace's pricing plans are higher than competitors, they include a custom domain registration and enhanced support services. Overall an excellent choice for a polished, professional small business website.
#3 Weebly
For small business owners on a tight budget, Weebly is one of the most affordable options for DIY website builders. It uses an easy drag and drop editor to create sites from hundreds of available templates.
While Weebly doesn't offer quite as many design choices as Wix or Squarespace, its low prices and built-in ecommerce capabilities make it a great value. It also covers hosting, site security, and SEO optimization features.
The main downsides are the lack of a free tier beyond basic blogging sites, limited template selection, and less flexibility. But for a basic yet professional small business site on a budget, Weebly is a solid choice.
#4 Webflow
For advanced users wanting maximum design flexibility, Webflow is a great (but more complex) option. It uses a robust drag and drop editor for crafting custom sites not limited by template restrictions.
Webflow allows for pixel-perfect customization and interactive, animated elements perfect for complex and modern sites. It generates clean code behind the scenes, with hosting and speed optimizations built-in.
The main downside is Webflow's steep learning curve. But for tech-savvy users wanting total creative control over advanced websites, Webflow can't be beat.
Conclusion
While all five of these website builders are great for small businesses, Wix provides the best overall blend of ease of use, features, and affordability. For most small business owners with limited time, budget and tech skills, Wix is our top recommended website builder for 2024.
It empowers you to quickly create a professional, fully-featured website optimized for your brand and goals. With Wix, small businesses can establish a polished online presence in no time!
