Top Website Builder Software: Which One Actually Makes Sense for Your Business

Let's cut through the noise. You need a website, you don't want to code it yourself, and you're trying to figure out which builder won't waste your money or your time.

I've used all of these platforms for various projects. Here's what actually matters when picking a website builder-and which ones are worth your attention.

Quick Comparison: What You'll Actually Pay

Before we dive into features, let's talk money. Here's what you're looking at for entry-level plans (billed annually):

PlatformStarting PriceEcommerce Starting PriceFree Plan?
Squarespace$16/month$16/month (with 2% fee)No (14-day trial)
Wix$17/month$29/monthYes (limited)
WordPress + Hosting$2-10/month$2-10/monthNo
Webflow$14/month$29/monthYes (limited)
Shopify$29/month$29/monthNo (3-day trial)
Hostinger$2/month$2/monthNo

Now let's break down what you actually get for that money.

Squarespace: Best for Design-First Businesses

Squarespace is one of the easiest website builders to use, with an intuitive interface and drag-and-drop editor. Their templates look genuinely professional out of the box-not "template-y" like some competitors.

Squarespace Pricing Breakdown

Squarespace rolled out new pricing in early 2026, replacing the old Personal, Business, and Commerce plans with a simpler four-tier structure:

All annual plans include a free custom domain for the first year. After that, domain renewals cost $20-70/year depending on the extension. Most websites choose Basic or Core-the difference comes down to transaction fees and marketing tools.

What Makes Squarespace Stand Out

The Core plan is the sweet spot for most businesses. At $23/month, you get zero transaction fees on physical products (versus 2% on Basic), access to code injection for custom CSS/JavaScript, and premium integrations like Mailchimp, OpenTable, and Zapier. You also get advanced analytics and marketing tools like pop-ups and announcement bars.

The design templates are genuinely best-in-class. While competitors offer more templates, Squarespace focuses on quality over quantity. Every template is mobile-responsive by default and maintains that polished aesthetic whether you're building a portfolio, restaurant site, or online store.

Who Should Use Squarespace

Photographers, designers, restaurants, consultants, service businesses, anyone selling a limited number of products. If you want beautiful design without hiring a designer and don't want to think about hosting, security, or updates, Squarespace delivers.

The Basic plan works for testing the waters or sites with minimal sales. But if you're running a real business site that needs tracking scripts, marketing tools, or steady product sales, Core is worth the extra $7/month. The transaction fee savings alone will pay for the upgrade after a handful of sales.

Who Should Skip It

If you're building a large ecommerce operation with hundreds of products, complex inventory needs, or require advanced automation, Squarespace's Advanced plan at $99/month doesn't deliver enough additional functionality. You'll want Shopify instead.

Similarly, if you need extensive third-party integrations or plan to heavily customize your site's functionality, WordPress gives you more control (but requires more technical knowledge).

Try Squarespace →

For a deeper dive on costs, check out our Squarespace pricing guide or see how it compares to Wix.

Wix: Most Flexible for Non-Designers

Wix offers a free plan with no time limit, plus more design flexibility than most competitors. The drag-and-drop editor lets you place elements anywhere on the page-literally pixel-perfect control without code.

Wix Pricing Breakdown

Wix simplified their pricing structure but still offers more tiers than most competitors:

Most yearly plans include a free domain voucher for the first year. Domain renewals typically cost around $15/year.

The Wix Advantage

Wix's real strength is design flexibility combined with powerful features. The editor gives you pixel-perfect control-you can position elements anywhere, overlap them, and create custom layouts that would require coding on other platforms.

The Core plan ($29/month) is the best value. It unlocks ecommerce, Wix Bookings for appointments and scheduling, Wix Events for ticket sales, and the full marketing suite. You can sell products, take bookings, manage events, and run marketing campaigns all from one dashboard.

Wix also has the most extensive app market of any website builder. The Wix App Market has thousands of integrations-some free, others premium (typically $5-100/month). This means you can add almost any functionality to your site, from live chat to advanced booking systems.

The Catch With Wix

Wix doesn't offer a free trial for Premium plans, but there is a 14-day money-back guarantee. The free plan is genuinely free forever, but your site will have Wix branding, ads, and limited functionality.

The Light plan ($17/month) has no ecommerce features or payment processing. You need at least the Core plan ($29/month) to sell anything online. And while Wix includes basic email marketing, their advanced Email Marketing add-on costs extra ($10-49/month depending on subscriber count).

Also worth noting: professional email isn't included. Google Workspace integration costs $6/month per user, though alternatives like Zoho Workplace offer free email for small teams.

Who Should Use Wix

Small businesses that want maximum design control without code. Local businesses with complex needs like booking, events, or restaurant orders. Anyone who wants to start free and upgrade when ready.

The free plan is genuinely useful for testing ideas, building a placeholder site, or learning the platform. When you're ready to go live professionally, the Light plan works for portfolios and information sites, while Core is the goldilocks option for most businesses.

See our full breakdown in the Squarespace vs Wix comparison.

WordPress: Most Powerful (With a Learning Curve)

WordPress powers over 40% of all websites. It offers unmatched customization through themes, plugins, and full access to your site files. But it requires separate hosting and ongoing maintenance.

What WordPress Actually Costs

WordPress itself is free (the software), but hosting, domain names, and premium themes/plugins cost money. Here's what you'll typically spend:

For basic needs, you can run a WordPress site for $50-100/year. A fully-featured business site typically costs $200-500/year. High-traffic or complex ecommerce sites can run $1000+/year with premium hosting and plugins.

Understanding WordPress Hosting Options

Shared Hosting ($2-10/month): Your site shares server resources with other sites. Affordable but can be slow if other sites on your server get traffic spikes. Good for new sites with under 10,000 monthly visitors. Best options: Hostinger ($2/month), Namecheap ($2.57/month), Bluehost ($4.79/month).

Managed WordPress Hosting ($20-100/month): The host handles updates, security, backups, and performance optimization. Your site loads faster and you don't worry about technical maintenance. Worth it for business-critical sites or if you value your time. Best options: Kinsta ($30/month), WP Engine ($20/month), Cloudways ($11/month).

VPS or Cloud Hosting ($10-50/month): You get dedicated server resources without sharing. More technical but offers better performance and control. Good middle ground for growing sites. Best options: Cloudways, DigitalOcean, Vultr.

The Trade-Off

Website builders offer an all-in-one, beginner-friendly environment. WordPress gives you maximum flexibility and control but requires you to manage updates, security, and backups-though good hosting providers handle much of this.

If you want a tool that lets you build a website in a single day, use a builder. Choose WordPress if you're willing to spend a weekend learning the ropes or have budget to hire help.

WordPress.org vs WordPress.com

WordPress.org is the free, self-hosted version we've been discussing. You download the software, install it on your hosting, and have complete control.

WordPress.com is a hosted service similar to Squarespace or Wix. Plans start at $4/month (Personal) but you'll need the Business plan ($25/month) to install plugins or use custom themes. For most users, self-hosted WordPress.org with affordable hosting offers better value and flexibility.

Who Should Use WordPress

Bloggers, content-heavy sites, anyone who needs extensive customization, businesses planning to scale significantly. Also great if you want to own your data-you can export your entire database and move hosts anytime.

WordPress shines for content publishers, membership sites, online courses, complex ecommerce (with WooCommerce), and any project where you need precise control over functionality.

For design work without code, check out our Canva tutorial.

Shopify: Built for Ecommerce

If selling products is your primary goal, Shopify is purpose-built for ecommerce. While Squarespace and Wix can handle online stores, Shopify's entire platform revolves around selling.

Shopify Pricing Breakdown

All plans include Shopify POS Lite for in-person sales. Transaction fees drop if you use Shopify Payments (their built-in processor). If you use a third-party payment provider like PayPal, Shopify charges an additional 2% (Basic), 1% (Shopify), or 0.6% (Advanced).

Why Shopify Excels for Online Stores

Shopify's checkout converts 15% better on average than other platforms. The platform includes robust inventory management, abandoned cart recovery (on higher plans), customer accounts, discount codes, gift cards, and product variants-all built-in.

You can sell across multiple channels: your Shopify store, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Amazon, eBay, and more. Inventory syncs automatically across all channels. For retail businesses, Shopify POS connects your online and in-person sales seamlessly.

The Shopify App Store has thousands of apps for dropshipping, print-on-demand, email marketing, reviews, upsells, and virtually any ecommerce functionality you can imagine.

Shopify's Limitations

If you're not primarily selling products, Shopify is overkill. The platform is designed for ecommerce-building content pages, portfolios, or service-based sites is awkward compared to Squarespace or WordPress.

Costs add up quickly. Beyond your monthly plan, factor in payment processing fees (2.5-2.9% + 30¢ per sale), premium apps ($5-300/month each), and potentially custom theme costs ($150-350).

For small stores (under 50 products), Squarespace Core at $23/month offers similar features for less. Shopify makes sense when you're serious about ecommerce-selling 100+ products, managing complex inventory, or planning to scale fast.

Who Should Use Shopify

For retailers and brands committed to ecommerce growth, Shopify's $29/month starting price is reasonable. The platform pays for itself through better conversion rates, saved time on inventory management, and seamless multi-channel selling.

See how it stacks up in our Squarespace vs Shopify comparison.

Webflow: The Designer's Choice

Webflow sits between traditional website builders and WordPress. It gives designers pixel-perfect control without code, but has a steeper learning curve than Squarespace or Wix.

Webflow Pricing Breakdown

Webflow has separate pricing for site plans and workspace plans:

Site Plans (per site):

Ecommerce Site Plans:

Workspace Plans (for managing multiple sites):

What Makes Webflow Different

Webflow is a visual development platform. You design websites by manipulating CSS properties through a visual interface. This gives developers and designers precise control-you can create interactions, animations, and layouts that would normally require custom code.

The CMS is powerful and flexible. Unlike WordPress plugins that can conflict, Webflow's CMS is built-in and reliable. You define content structures visually, then populate them with content. Perfect for blogs, portfolios, case studies, or any content-heavy site.

Webflow hosting is fast and secure. Sites load quickly thanks to AWS infrastructure and built-in CDN. You don't worry about updates, security patches, or server management.

The Learning Curve

Webflow requires understanding web design fundamentals-flexbox, grid, responsive design, CSS concepts. The interface mimics how professional developers think about building websites.

If you have design experience or are willing to invest time learning, Webflow is incredibly powerful. If you want something you can figure out in an afternoon, stick with Squarespace or Wix.

Webflow University (their free training platform) has excellent tutorials. Plan to spend several days learning before you're productive, or hire a Webflow designer for $1,500-10,000+ depending on project complexity.

Who Should Use Webflow

Webflow shines for marketing sites, SaaS company websites, portfolios, and landing pages. It's less ideal for ecommerce (limited features compared to Shopify) or if you need extensive third-party integrations.

See our Squarespace vs Webflow comparison for more detail.

Other Notable Website Builders

GoDaddy Website Builder

GoDaddy offers an extremely simple website builder aimed at absolute beginners. Plans start at $10/month and include domain, hosting, and basic features. Good for small local businesses that need something quick, but limited compared to Wix or Squarespace. The editor is very restricted-you can't position elements freely or customize much beyond basic colors and text.

Hostinger Website Builder

Hostinger's builder is one of the most affordable options at $2-3/month. It includes AI website generation, decent templates, and basic ecommerce. Performance is solid for the price. Best for budget-conscious users who need a simple site and don't require advanced features. The interface is straightforward but less polished than premium builders.

Weebly

Weebly (owned by Square) focuses on small business websites and integrates with Square's payment processing. Plans start at $10/month. The builder is simple but dated compared to modern competitors. Consider it if you already use Square for payments and want simple integration, otherwise Wix or Squarespace offer better experiences.

Durable AI Website Builder

Durable uses AI to generate a complete website in about 30 seconds. You describe your business and AI creates pages, copy, and images automatically. Starting at $12/month, it's fascinating technology but the results are generic. Best for getting something online immediately, but you'll want to customize heavily or rebuild on a traditional platform for a professional presence.

When to Choose Each Platform

Choose Squarespace if:

Choose Wix if:

Choose WordPress if:

Choose Shopify if:

Choose Webflow if:

Features That Actually Matter

Forget the long feature lists. Here's what will actually impact your day-to-day:

SSL Certificate

All the platforms above include free SSL (the padlock in your browser). This is now standard. Don't pay extra for this anywhere. SSL encrypts data between your site and visitors, required for ecommerce and important for SEO.

Mobile Optimization

Squarespace, Wix, and Webflow handle this automatically-their templates are responsive by default. WordPress depends on your theme-most modern themes are mobile-responsive, but always verify. Shopify templates are all mobile-optimized. Over 60% of web traffic is mobile, so this is non-negotiable.

SEO Tools

Built into all platforms but with varying depth. Squarespace includes basic SEO tools that help improve search visibility without requiring technical setup-you can edit page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs. Wix has a decent SEO Wiz tool that guides you through optimization.

WordPress has the most advanced options through plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math (both free with premium upgrades). These give granular control over technical SEO, schema markup, XML sitemaps, and more.

Shopify and Webflow both have solid built-in SEO features. The truth is, the platform matters less than your content quality, site speed, and link building efforts.

Page Speed and Performance

Squarespace, Webflow, and Shopify handle optimization automatically-they use CDNs, image optimization, and caching. You don't think about it.

Wix has improved significantly but can still be slower due to how it generates code. WordPress speed depends on your hosting, theme, and plugins. With good hosting and optimization, WordPress can be the fastest option. With cheap hosting and bloated plugins, it can be the slowest.

Page speed affects user experience, conversion rates, and SEO rankings. Aim for under 3 seconds load time on mobile.

Backup and Security

Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and Shopify handle this for you. Your site is backed up automatically, security updates happen behind the scenes, and you're protected from common attacks.

WordPress requires you to handle backups (or your host does it). Free plugins like UpdraftPlus work well for automated backups. For security, use a plugin like Wordfence or let your managed hosting provider handle it.

Customer Support

Squarespace offers 24/7 email support and live chat. Response times are usually within a few hours. Their knowledge base is comprehensive.

Wix offers 24/7 support via callback requests (they call you). Response times vary but are generally good. Huge knowledge base and community forum.

Shopify offers 24/7 support via phone, email, and live chat. Generally excellent, especially for ecommerce-specific questions.

WordPress.org has no official support-it's community-based through forums. Your hosting provider offers support for hosting-related issues. Managed WordPress hosts like Kinsta offer excellent WordPress-specific support.

Webflow offers email support and a detailed knowledge base. Response times can be slow on lower-tier plans. The community forum is active and helpful.

Ecommerce Features Comparison

If selling products is important, here's what different platforms offer:

Squarespace: Unlimited products on all plans that support ecommerce. Core plan removes transaction fees. Includes inventory tracking, variants, customer accounts (on Plus), abandoned cart recovery (on Plus), shipping integrations, and tax calculations. Good for up to 500 products.

Wix: Sell up to 50,000 products on Core plan. Includes inventory management, product variants, dropshipping apps, abandoned cart recovery (on Business), loyalty programs (on Business), and multi-channel selling. Good for up to 1,000 products.

WordPress + WooCommerce: Unlimited products. Extremely flexible with thousands of extensions. Can handle millions of products with proper hosting. Requires more technical knowledge but most powerful for complex ecommerce needs.

Shopify: Unlimited products on all plans. Most robust ecommerce features including advanced inventory management, multi-location inventory, POS integration, abandoned cart recovery, customer segmentation, and third-party calculated shipping rates. Built for serious ecommerce.

Webflow: Up to 3,000 products on top plan. Basic ecommerce features. Better for small catalogs or businesses where ecommerce is secondary. Transaction fees on lower plans.

Hidden Costs to Watch For

The advertised price rarely tells the full story. Here are costs that add up:

Domain Renewal

Most platforms include a free domain for the first year. Renewal costs $10-70/year depending on the extension. .com domains typically renew at $15-20/year. Specialty domains (.store, .design, .photography) cost more. Budget $15-30/year for domain renewal.

Email Marketing

Most website builders don't include email marketing. Squarespace Email Campaigns costs $5-68/month. Wix removed Ascend and now charges separately for email marketing. Consider third-party tools like Mailchimp (free for up to 500 contacts), ConvertKit ($9/month), or AWeber.

Professional Email

[email protected] looks more professional than [email protected]. Google Workspace costs $6/month per user. Zoho Mail offers free email for up to 5 users. Microsoft 365 costs $6/month per user. Budget $60-120/year for professional email.

Premium Apps and Integrations

Wix and Shopify app marketplaces have many paid apps. Live chat ($15/month), advanced forms ($10/month), booking systems ($20/month), email automation ($30/month), and review apps ($15/month) add up quickly. Budget $50-200/month for apps if you need advanced functionality.

Payment Processing Fees

This is often the biggest hidden cost for ecommerce. Stripe and PayPal typically charge 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction in the US. On a $100 order, that's $3.20 in fees. If you're doing $10,000/month in sales, that's $320/month in payment processing fees-more than your website plan.

Shopify Payments and Squarespace (via Stripe) charge these standard rates. Some platforms charge additional transaction fees if you don't use their payment processor.

Premium Themes and Templates

Free templates work for many sites, but premium themes offer more features and flexibility. WordPress themes cost $30-100 one-time. Shopify themes cost $150-350 one-time. The investment usually pays off in better design and functionality.

Professional Help

DIY is great until you get stuck. Designer/developer rates vary widely: freelancers charge $25-150/hour, agencies charge $100-300/hour. A custom Squarespace or Wix site might cost $1,500-5,000. A custom WordPress site costs $3,000-15,000+. A custom Shopify store costs $5,000-50,000+. Factor in $500-2,000 for professional setup and customization if you want a truly polished site.

Making Your Decision

Here's how to choose based on your priorities:

If Price Is Your Top Priority

Hostinger or WordPress with budget hosting. You can run a professional site for $50-100/year total. Hostinger's builder starts at $2/month and includes everything. WordPress on Namecheap hosting costs $2.57/month plus a $10/year domain. Either option gives you a real website for under $50 the first year.

If Ease of Use Is Your Top Priority

Squarespace. The editor is intuitive, templates are beautiful, and everything just works. You can build a professional site in a weekend with zero technical knowledge. Wix is nearly as easy with more flexibility. Both are dramatically easier than WordPress.

If Design Quality Is Your Top Priority

Squarespace or Webflow. Squarespace templates look professionally designed out of the box. Webflow gives designers pixel-perfect control. Both produce beautiful sites. WordPress can match their quality but requires a premium theme and more setup.

If Ecommerce Is Your Top Priority

Shopify for serious online stores (100+ products, planning to scale). Squarespace Core for small stores (under 100 products, ecommerce is secondary). WordPress + WooCommerce for complex requirements or existing WordPress expertise. Wix works for small stores but lags behind Shopify in ecommerce features.

If Content Publishing Is Your Top Priority

WordPress. No other platform matches WordPress for blogs, news sites, magazines, or content-heavy sites. The editor is powerful, SEO plugins are robust, and you can handle thousands of posts without performance issues. Webflow CMS is a close second but more expensive at scale.

If Future Flexibility Is Your Top Priority

WordPress. You own your data, can move hosting providers anytime, and have access to thousands of plugins for any functionality you might need. The platform won't limit your growth. Webflow and Wix also offer good flexibility but with some platform constraints.

The Bottom Line

For most small businesses, I recommend Squarespace. At $16/month for the Basic plan (with selling capabilities) or $23/month for Core (no transaction fees), you get professional design, solid ecommerce, and zero maintenance headaches. The Core plan gives you access to impressive sales tools for a cheaper price than Wix or Shopify.

If you need more flexibility or want to start free, Wix is your best alternative. The free plan lets you test everything before committing. Budget for the Core plan ($29/month) if you want to sell online or use booking features.

WordPress remains the power user's choice, but only makes sense if you have time to learn it or budget to hire someone who knows it. The flexibility is unmatched, but so is the maintenance responsibility. For content-heavy sites or complex functionality, it's worth the learning curve.

Shopify is the clear winner for ecommerce-focused businesses. If you're building an online store as your primary business, don't try to make a general website builder work-pay for the tool built for the job.

Whatever you choose, start with a trial or free plan before committing. All these platforms let you build and test before paying-use that time wisely. Build a few pages, add some content, test the features you need. The best website builder is the one you'll actually use.

Getting Started: Your Action Plan

Here's exactly how to move forward:

Step 1: Clarify Your Needs
Write down your top 3 priorities. Is it price, ease of use, ecommerce, design quality, or something else? Be honest about your technical skills and time availability.

Step 2: Choose Your Top Two Platforms
Based on your priorities, pick two platforms to test. For most people, that's Squarespace and Wix. For ecommerce, test Shopify and Squarespace. For content, test WordPress and Webflow.

Step 3: Sign Up for Free Trials
Squarespace offers 14 days free, Wix has a free plan forever, Shopify gives 3 days free, WordPress is always free to try. Spend an hour with each platform building a simple version of your site.

Step 4: Build Something Real
Don't just browse templates. Create actual pages with your content, add images, set up your navigation. This reveals which editor you prefer and which platform fits your workflow.

Step 5: Compare Total Costs
Calculate first-year costs including plan, domain, email, and any apps you need. Then calculate year 2+ costs at renewal rates. Factor in payment processing fees if you're selling products.

Step 6: Make Your Decision
Choose the platform that best fits your priorities and budget. Don't overthink it-you can always migrate later if needed (though it's a hassle, so choose carefully).

Step 7: Commit and Launch
Pick an annual plan to save money. Set a deadline to launch (30-60 days). Done is better than perfect-launch a good site now rather than waiting months for a perfect site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch website builders later?

Yes, but it's not fun. You can export content from most platforms, but design and structure don't transfer. Budget several days to weeks for a migration, or hire a professional. Better to choose carefully upfront.

Do I need a separate domain provider?

No. All platforms sell domains and include one free for the first year with annual plans. Buying separately gives you more control and sometimes lower renewal costs, but the convenience of bundling is worth it for most users.

Can I build a website myself or should I hire someone?

You can absolutely DIY with modern website builders. Squarespace and Wix are designed for non-technical users. Budget 10-40 hours depending on site complexity. Hire a professional if you have budget ($1,500-5,000) and want a polished result without the learning curve.

What about WordPress.com vs WordPress.org?

WordPress.com is a hosted service like Squarespace-easier but more limited and expensive for comparable features. WordPress.org is self-hosted-requires more setup but offers complete control and better value. For most users wanting "WordPress," you want WordPress.org with affordable hosting.

How long does it take to build a website?

With a website builder: 2-8 hours for a simple site (5-10 pages), 20-60 hours for a complex site with ecommerce. Spread over a few weekends. With WordPress: add 50% more time for learning and setup. With a professional: 2-8 weeks depending on complexity and revisions.

Do I need coding skills?

No for Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, or basic WordPress. Maybe for advanced WordPress customization or Webflow (CSS knowledge helps). All modern platforms are designed for non-coders. You can build professional sites without touching code.

Which platform is best for SEO?

WordPress offers the most advanced SEO tools via plugins. But all major platforms (Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, Webflow) provide adequate SEO features. Your content quality, site speed, and backlinks matter more than your platform choice. Any modern website builder can rank in Google with proper SEO practices.

Final Thoughts

The best website builder is the one that fits your specific needs, skills, and budget. There's no universal "best" choice-only the best choice for you.

Most small businesses and creators will be happiest with Squarespace or Wix. They offer the best balance of ease of use, design quality, features, and price. You can launch a professional site quickly without technical headaches.

Serious ecommerce businesses should go with Shopify. The specialized features and better conversion rates justify the higher cost when your business depends on online sales.

Content publishers and developers benefit from WordPress's flexibility and control. The learning curve pays off in long-term capabilities and cost savings at scale.

Designers and agencies love Webflow's pixel-perfect control. It's worth learning if you're building sites professionally or want maximum creative control.

The website builder market has matured. You can build genuinely professional websites on any platform we've discussed. Your limiting factor is rarely the tool-it's usually content, design skills, or time.

Start with a trial, build something real, and launch. You can always improve your site after it's live. Perfect is the enemy of done, and done beats perfect every time.

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