It’s nearly impossible to run a successful business without a fully functional, responsive, SEO-compatible website – but you don’t have to spend a fortune to get one.
There are numerous options for free website development and design, many of which require little to no coding knowledge. And, in many cases, the quality of these website builders is comparable to that of paid alternatives, particularly for small businesses or personal brands.
SEO benefits, embedded analytics systems, mobile optimization, and professional-looking templates are all available with the free website builders we’re sharing today. If you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford to hire a professional builder, these are the next best thing.
Continue reading to learn about 16 of the best free website builders, so you can create a website for free without sacrificing quality.
Table of Contents
Wix
With 110 million users, Wix is one of the most popular free website builders available. The fully hosted platform includes an easy drag-and-drop editor as well as a large collection of professional-looking templates suitable for small businesses, online stores, restaurants, or personal portfolios.
Wix includes Google Analytics built-in to monitor your site and even offers additional apps for personal preferences. Wix can even design your site for you if you want. The main disadvantage of Wix’s free version is that it is not ad-free, and each page of your site will include a prominent Wix ad. Ad-free is only available if you purchase the premium version.
Weebly
This open source SaaS is suitable for businesses and startups because it provides web hosting, domain registration, web design, and even ecommerce functions. Weebly is a particularly versatile website builder that is easy to use and compatible with every device and platform.
Weebly, like Wix, supports drag-and-drop, as well as an integrated CMS solution and hand-coded HTML files. The in-house editor includes SEO tools as well as Google Analytics. Weebly is an excellent choice for ecommerce businesses, as it includes PayPal integration, an automatic tax calculator, digital gift cards, and other features. Weebly, unlike some of its free competitors, is ad-free.
WordPress
WordPress is a well-known free website builder that also allows you to purchase a web domain. You can also run your site live with a WordPress-owned URL if you don’t want to pay for a domain.
WordPress, like Wix and many of the other builders on this list, allows you to create visually stunning websites, blogs, and landing pages. Contact forms, videos, and embedded content can also be added to many WordPress pages.
WordPress provides an easy-to-understand backend interface with minimal to no coding required for those with less experience in website creation.
WordPress is especially beneficial for web editors who have little design experience. You can build a site on this platform using a professionally predesigned template or theme, or you can get more technical and customize your own.
Elementor
While WordPress is a great platform for creating a website, it’s sometimes helpful to have a little assistance as you get started with designing from scratch. That’s where a WordPress page builder comes in handy.
Elementor is a drag-and-drop builder that has over 5,000,000 users and is a great no-code option for getting a WordPress site up and running quickly. You can choose from hundreds of available templates, customize them, and ensure your site displays correctly regardless of device size using Elementor’s page builder. It’s designed with design in mind, so you can create pixel-perfect pages without having to worry about the underlying code.
WebNode
WebNode is a popular choice for both personal brands and professionals because it is simple to use and allows you to create a website in a different language or on a different platform to meet the needs of your business. WebNode supports ecommerce stores, and the sites are mobile-friendly for Android, Mac, and iOS devices. WebNode will provide free statistics to track the success of your site, and even the free version will not contain advertisements.
Jimdo
Jimdo, based in Germany, is a valuable option for international businesses, offering the ability to create a website in more than nine different languages. The builder is compatible with smartphones and tablets, and there is a mobile app available to help you create a mobile-optimized site.
With no page limit and 500 MB of space, you’ll likely have more than enough space to build your site, and it even offers HTTPS/SSL encryption, ensuring the security of your visitors’ information. You can also seamlessly integrate your site with social media accounts. If you do decide to use Jimdo, keep in mind that the builder prevents search engines from indexing free websites.
Mozello
One of the most appealing features of this Latvian-based company is that the builder allows you to create a multilingual site for free, which is unrivaled by other website builders.
Mozello has a blog, an online store, SEO options, and 500 MB of storage. There is an advertisement, but it is only a link in the footer, so most visitors will not notice it. The only disadvantage is that the drag-and-drop system isn’t as intuitive or complex as some of the other options, and there aren’t many design customization options.
WebStarts
WebStarts makes building a website as simple as possible with a large collection of beautiful templates and a user-friendly drag and drop functionality: best of all, whatever you see when designing is exactly what your visitors will see when you publish the site. This can help to eliminate some of the guesswork from the process.
Webflow
While the majority of the other builders on this list are for people who don’t have a lot of coding knowledge, Webflow is designed specifically for designers and agencies who build sites for clients — this means you have complete control over the HTML and CSS.
After you’ve created a Webflow site, you’ll need to migrate it to a content management system. Some features, such as drag-and-drop widgets for adding social components, maps, and videos, do not necessitate coding knowledge. However, in order to reap the full benefits of Webflow, you must be familiar with HTML or CSS. There are a few themes available, a responsive interface, and your Webflow site can be customized for desktop, tablets, or smartphones.
Aside from the requirement of knowing code, another disadvantage of Webflow is that you can only have two pages and 500 visits for free users.
IM Creator
With over 11 million sites built on IM Creator, it’s a popular option for a number of reasons, including an easy point-and-click interface, a large selection of templates and images, and unlimited web hosting and domain services. Furthermore, the platform is scalable, and you can have single or multipage layouts. This builder is unique in that it includes built-in ecommerce tools, as well as SEO and Google Analytics to fully optimize your site for search engines.
SITE123
Site123, arguably one of the most adaptable and user-friendly builders, allows you to customize everything and includes a one-click installation wizard with graphics and templates. Site123 stands out for its free image library, professional fonts for adding visual elements to your site, and inventive DIY plans for creating multiple pages (which are unlimited). Furthermore, because it includes web hosting domain registration, 500 MB of storage space, Google Analytics, and is ad-free, you won’t feel compelled to upgrade to a paid plan.
Strikingly
Strikingly takes pride in assisting its users in creating a website without the need for programming knowledge. Thousands of sites have been launched using this website builder, and users can begin designing their own by choosing from a plethora of templates contributed by site owners all over the world. Website designs for startups, ecommerce stores, blogs, events, product launches, and personal branding are available.
Strikingly’s free plan includes unlimited free sites but only 5 GB of monthly bandwidth. Unless you upgrade to a paid plan, which starts at $8 per month, you’re also limited to a strikingly.com domain.
Duda
Duda is a feature-rich website builder with a plethora of site widgets and media files that allow you to piece together a website to meet your specific requirements. In addition to site templates and a large content library, Duda includes a team collaboration tool and basic analytics to show you how visitors interact with various parts of your website.
Duda provides a free trial as well as plans starting at $14 per month billed annually.
Sqaurespace
Squarespace, like WordPress and Wix, allows you to work with pre-designed themes or build a site from scratch using its wire-framing features. Squarespace claims to require no plugins and to provide its users with 24-hour support.
Squarespace’s pre-designed themes typically emphasize imagery or video, making it ideal for those working in visual media, entertainment, dining, or fashion. Many templates, such as the one shown below, are both simple and mobile-friendly.
GoDaddy
While GoDaddy is well-known for being a website where you can buy cheap domains, it also has its own website builder for website owners who want to buy domains and design their site at the same time.
The website templates provided by GoDaddy are simple, clean, and effective. For those who prefer to use WordPress’ software, they can also be uploaded to WordPress sites.
Strikingly
Strikingly is yet another simple and code-free website builder that allows you to create a website using templates optimized for various screen sizes. It also includes basic image editing tools to help you make your photos look crisp and clean.
Choosing a Website Builder
So there you have it. Because all of these website builders are free, try out a few if you’re not sure which one is best for you. Take particular note of what you really want to get out of your site to ensure that one of these free builders will meet your needs.
