Online website builders are arguably the optimal solution for small business owners who can’t afford hiring expensive web design agencies. They’re easy-to-use, fast, affordable, and what’s more important – give full control over the process. This means you’ll be able to make changes in the design and content of your site independently, in a matter of minutes, anytime. Website builders may pose certain functional limitations, but if you’re not going to build another Facebook, these limitations can be neglected :). Millions build and publish their websites using DIY website builders. Millions can’t be wrong.
So, if you want to build a simple website in a speedy and professional manner, consider using one of the free website builders described in this article. They all have free versions, so you can check them out yourself, without entering your credit card details.
#1 Zoho Sites
By far, Zoho Sites is one of the most robust web building and publishing platforms I’ve tested. You don’t have to be a tech guru at all to get the most out of this platform – it is based on a drag-and-drop editor that maximally simplifies the entire process. Among business-specific features of Zoho Sites I would distinguish:
- Easy integration of Google products (AdSense, Google Analytics, Google Custom Search, Webmaster Tools etc.).
- Point-and-click third party widgets integration. Besides default social media widgets (Facebook ,Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, LinkedIn and more), users can insert third-party code snippets.
- Custom web forms. Zoho provides users with a native CRM form builder allowing them to create web forms of any complexity, starting from simple feedback forms to complex surveys and event registrations.
The full-featured Zoho Sites account costs as little as $39 per year.
#2 Weebly
Weebly is also a pretty impressive site constructor. It has a very intuitive editing environment and rich functionality behind it. Over the past year they’ve completely rebuilt the editor and added a whole bunch of new features. Some of these were:
- Powerful eCommerce platform.
- Android and iOS applications allowing Weebly users to edit websites using mobiles and tablets.
- Inbuilt mobile view editor.
- Live chat support.
Weebly accounts range from $0 to $25/month.
#3 Wix
Wix can be the optimal solution if your business relies more on visual format. One of the core advantages is their excellent template collection and incredibly easy-to-use editor. Wix’s templates are very diverse and trendy. They are fully customizable, so the way they look when you pick them is just the beginning. Each single element of the design, be it a logotype, header, footer or social media button can be configured to meet your business goals. To see how your site looks and behaves on mobiles and tablets, Wix introduced Mobile View editor. With its help you may also rearrange design elements and content in the mobile version of your site. Users can add a custom widget (forum, shopping cart, form builder, email marketing and commenting capabilities) via Wix App Market. In other words, with Wix you can build and publish your site in one sitting – everything you may need is integrated in one service.
