Building a website can be expensive. You’ll probably need to invest in web hosting and a few other tools. Also, not all platforms have a drag-and-drop editor, which can be a deal-breaker for many beginners. Therefore, a free website builder might be worth considering for some projects.
While it’s possible to start a website for free, be prepared for a few trade-offs. For example, you probably need to use a generic subdomain and your website contains the provider’s ads, which you can’t monetize. You will also get stuck with relatively low disk space and bandwidth. Still, you can create a decent website with a simple visual editor and host it for free. Tools for tasks like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can also be built-in.
Reading: How to create a free blog website
In this article, we give you an overview of our top six free website builders. Let’s dive right in!
Best Free Website Builder Tools
Now that we’ve shared some of the limitations of free website builders, let’s take a look, what you actually get from free plans. Each of these builders offers generous features, so the one that suits you best boils down to what your site needs to succeed.
1. Wix
Our first recommendation for the best free website builder is Wix, one of the leading brands out there. It offers various beginner-friendly features as well as advanced options for professional designers.
Wix gives you access to over 500 templates that you can customize with a drag-and-drop editor. If you need an up and running website in a short time, you can also use Wix’s Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) tool, which will generate a complete website for you based on a short questionnaire.
If If you want , you can also skip the template and start your design from scratch, giving you full control over the creation of your website. You can even add eye-catching elements like parallax, video backgrounds, or various animation effects.
Wix also offers you basic website analytics, SEO tools, and social media integration. However, the free version of this website builder does not allow you to remove ads. Also, you’re stuck with a subdomain username.wixsite.com/siteaddress, which isn’t very user-friendly.
⚙️ Features:
Access to various apps / / Mobile-friendly design // Stock photos // Unlimited websites // Various marketing tools // 500 MB of storage and bandwidth // SSL Certificate
You can check out some sample Wix websites to see it in action See.
💵 Pricing: If you want to increase storage, connect your custom domain and remove Wix branding, pricing starts at $16 per month.
👉 Interested in Wix? Learn how to create a website with Wix
2. Weebly
Next on our list is Weebly, another free website builder that is fully hosted. Like Wix, it offers a selection of professional themes that you can customize with a responsive editor.
Weebly’s Customizer allows you to drag and drop different content elements into your editing screen. You can also edit your text like you would in a typical word processor and see your changes unfold in real-time.
Although the customization options aren’t as advanced as in Wix, you can still create various modern effects. For example, you can add a video background, create a dynamic header, or use full-width sections for a contemporary design.
If you need e-commerce capabilities, Weebly has some great options at affordable prices. Its online shopping capabilities are powered by Square, giving you access to cutting-edge online retail tools.
See also: Website Development Planning Process
However, if you just need a basic free website, you get a simple yourname.weebly.com subdomain and features like:
⚙️ Features:
Access to various apps // Mobile-friendly design // 500 MB storage space // Unlimited pages // Built-in SEO // SSL certificate // Lead capture and contact forms // Basic website analytics // Social media integration
💵 Pricing: You can connect a custom domain starting at $10 per month or upgrade to the Pro plan for $12 per month to remove Weebly ads and access additional features like phone support.
3. Jimdo
Jimdo is a relatively new free website builder, but it’s quickly establishing itself as a worthy contender. This Germany-based provider allows you to launch a website using its AI technology.
Jimdo gives you access to two website building modes:
- Dolphin creates a custom design based on a few questions.It will also fill your website with content that best fits your chosen niche. You can adjust most settings if you need to tweak the results. This is similar to Wix’s ADI tool.
- Creator, on the other hand, gives you more customization options. Instead of using the questionnaire, choose a template that you can personalize with a drag-and-drop editor. Advanced users can also add custom code.
The freemium version offers you a Jimdo branded domain yoursite.jimdofree.com along with:
⚙️ Features:
2 GB bandwidth // 500 MB storage // SSL certificate // Mobile apps // Basic e-commerce functionality for up to five items // Responsive design // Integrated SEO / / One password protected area
💵 Pricing: If you want to connect a custom domain, remove ads and access advanced features, pricing starts at just $9 per month.
4. Strikingly
If you’re looking for a one-page solution to showcase your portfolio or small business, Strikingly might be worth a try. It’s an excellent option for users who find most website building tools too overwhelming.
Once you’ve signed up, you can choose from dozens of beautiful themes that you personalize with an intuitive visual editor can. This free website builder also suggests various calls-to-action (CTAs), which is a helpful tool for users with little design experience. You also get access to a live support chat.
The free plan gives you a subdomain yourname.strikingly.com and features like:
⚙️ Features:
5 GB monthly bandwidth // 500 MB disk space // Unlimited websites (with basic features) // Simple e-commerce functionality for a single product // Employee access
💵 Pricing: You can claim a custom domain and increase storage with an annual plan starting at $8 per month. Advanced users should consider the Pro plan, which removes Strikingly branding. It also allows you to create a membership site and add multiple sites for $16 per year.
5. Site123
Site123 is another relatively new fully hosted platform that will get your website up and running in under an hour. It also promises to be the easiest website builder to use, which may or may not be accurate depending on your expectations.
See also: Resume Objective Statements: Examples, How-To, and FAQ
Although the visual editor feels a bit dated, it’s still quite intuitive and gives you a fair amount of customization options. Unfortunately, you’re stuck with the themes available for the specific niche you select when you sign up (e.g. personal blog). However, all the designs generally keep the same structure.
On the other hand, if you need to get your website out quickly, Site123 could be an excellent solution. All you have to do is replace the dummy content and images with your own and start when you are ready.
The free option of this website builder gives you a branded subdomain yourname .site123.me with the following features:
⚙️ Features:
250 MB disk space and bandwidth // Mobile-friendly design // SEO Tools // Access Stock Images // Live Chat Support
💵 Pricing: Site123 only has an ad-free plan that starts at $12.80 per month. It gives you a free custom domain for a year, e-commerce capabilities, and more generous storage and bandwidth.
6. Mozello
Our final recommendation is Mozello, a no-fuss free website builder that lets you create multilingual websites. Its free plan is also not as ad-heavy as the other candidates on this list, with just a small Mozello link in the footer.
This platform offers various themes that you can easily customize with its visual editor. Like Site123, it doesn’t offer much flexibility as each template keeps the same structure. Still, you can easily change fonts, add images, and customize the color scheme to your liking.
The free plan gives you a subdomain yourname.mozello.com and comes with a number of handy features. For example, you can access decent SEO tools and create a simple online store for up to five products. Plus, you can easily add languages and translate your content while creating your website.
⚙️ Features:
500 MB of storage // Mobile-friendly design / / Social Media Integration // Google Analytics Support // Custom HTML // Online Payments (PayPal)
💵 Pricing: Starting at just $8 a month, you can have a free custom domain, remove Mozello branding and increase storage to 50GB. If you want to start an online store with unlimited items and all payment gateways, pricing starts at $16 per month.
Try one of these free website building tools today
In In this article, we have discussed six of the best free website builders suitable for different needs.
If you’re still undecided about paying for your website builder, you can also check out our collection of the best premium website builders to see how they compare to the free options .
And if you’ve decided that Wix is your best option, you can follow our guide to building a website with Wix to get started.
Have questions about one of the following? those free website builders? Let us know in the comments below!
* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on any of the product links and then purchase the product, we will earn a commission . But don’t worry, you’ll still pay the standard amount, so you won’t incur any additional costs.
See also: The Right Way to Submit References During Your Job Search (Template Included)
.
