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Top 10 Best Website Builders in 2024 - Stand Out with a Professional Website

Head and shoulders photograph of Milena Alexandrova
Top 10 Best Website Builders

To grow your business, you definitely need a website—and not just any website; one that's beautiful, functional, and easy to navigate. A slow website that provides a poor user experience leads to visitors leaving without looking back, according to Arun Arora, senior partner at McKinsey & Company.

The good news is that you no longer need to hire a designer to build a sleek website. You can do it yourself, even if you're a complete beginner. The best website builders are affordable, easy to use, have lots of visually appealing templates, and let you scale your online presence as your business grows. 

In this article, we'll review and compare the top 10 website builders on the market to help you pick the one that truly fits your needs. 

Our Best Website Builders in 2023:

  • Wix - Best website builder overall
  • GoDaddy - Best beginner website builder
  • Hostinger - Best for low-cost websites and online stores
  • WordPress.com - Quickly creating blogging sites
  • Squarespace - Best for image-heavy sites
  • HubSpot - Best all-in-one marketing suite
  • SITE123 - Best for building a simple website
  • IONOS - Best for launching an online store
  • Web.com - Best for design flexibility
  • Shopify - Best for ecommerce beginners
Show more

Compare With Top10.com, Choose the Best for You

At Top10.com, we recognize the importance of thorough and accurate product and service reviews in guiding your choices. Our team, comprising editors and industry experts, conducts extensive research to provide comprehensive insights. Our content is continually updated to reflect the latest market trends, offering current information. 

We provide a range of services including comparison lists and in-depth reviews, all tailored to meet your specific needs. Our goal is to empower you to make confident and informed choices.

40 website builders Evaluated | 7 Evaluation Criteria | 10 Best Website Builders


Our Methodology for Evaluating the Best Website Builders

Authored by Milena Alexandrova, an expert in website development, this article draws from direct testing and extensive research. Our team examined over 40 website builders, focusing on their Key Differentiating Features (KDFs) for a comprehensive view.

In our process, we employed a hands-on approach combined with thorough research. Our team directly tested each website builder to experience their functionality firsthand. To complement this, we also conducted extensive research, gathering insights from a variety of sources such as research reports and customer reviews. This blend of direct testing and in-depth research ensured a well-rounded understanding of each platform's capabilities and user experience.

Evaluation Criteria:

  • Pricing: Assessing cost-effectiveness and value.
  • Free Version Options: Examining the availability and quality of free versions.
  • Ease of Use: Evaluating the user-friendliness and intuitiveness of interfaces.
  • Design Flexibility: Ability to customize and adapt design features.
  • E-commerce Capabilities: Supporting features for online selling and business growth.
  • Customer Support: Quality and responsiveness of support services.
  • User Reviews: Utilizing actual user feedback to measure satisfaction and pinpoint common issues.


Explore More Website Builders Services:

A Closer Look at the Top 10 Website Builders

  • 1
    Wix

    Wix

    • Best forVersatility and its large selection of templates
    • PriceFrom $16/month
    • Free versionYes

    Wix, which serves more than 220 million users, states that its main mission is to provide a platform that anyone can use to build their online presence. It boasts a library of 800+ professionally-designed templates divided into dozens of categories—you can simply pick the best one and use Wix's built-in drag-and-drop editor to customize it. 

    Chris Priebe, founder of Zelt, tells us that his team used Wix to build their website and launched it in just one weekend. Zelt stayed with the platform for much longer than they initially thought they would, as it gave them everything they needed "a web presence, a blog that is easy to set up, an agile way of iterating copy and content."

    Need a feature that Wix doesn't have? You can almost certainly find the right plugin on the Wix App Market, which has over 300 third-party apps to help you customize your webpage. 

    Why we chose Wix: For beginners, Wix's Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) feature enables you to build a professional website quickly. Plus, Wix has everything you need to build an online store—abandoned cart recovery, multi-currency support, and much more. 

    Our experience: We tried the ADI feature and started with a standard template. Both were effortlessly customizable. It's just as easy to publish a new blog article as it is to create a new product page or build a portfolio.

    Pros
    • 800+ templates to choose from
    • Powerful e-commerce features
    • Over 300 apps on the Wix App Market
    Cons
    • You cannot switch between templates
    • Templates may require tweaks to display properly on a mobile device
  • 2
    GoDaddy

    GoDaddy

    • Best forSimple, code-free website creation
    • PriceFrom $16.99
    • Free versionYes, free trial

    The GoDaddy website builder is a versatile option that caters to users of all skill levels. You shouldn’t have any trouble using its intuitive editor, and there are loads of additional tools to help you grow your site, from powerful online booking and marketing tools to an online store builder.

    GoDaddy has an excellent help center, and the main user dashboard enables you to manage all of your GoDaddy products in one place. Its editor does lack design flexibility, the SEO tools are a little basic, and there are only 22 templates available. But with its competitive prices and wide range of tools, overall, it stands out as an excellent option for everyone from beginners creating their first site to advanced webmasters who want an online store.

    Why we chose GoDaddy: A significant reason for our choice to review GoDaddy is the introduction of GoDaddy Airo™. This innovative AI-powered feature enhances GoDaddy's capabilities, making it an excellent website builder service. GoDaddy Airo™ simplifies creating and managing a website, allowing users to quickly establish an online presence, generate content, and optimize SEO strategies without any technical or design skills. This addition demonstrates GoDaddy's commitment to leveraging technology to provide value to users, ensuring that even those building mobile sites can expect a seamless, efficient experience.

    Pros
    • Easy to set up and use
    • Includes advanced marketing tools
    • Integrations with eBay, Etsy, Facebook, and more
    Cons
    • Unable to add custom code
    • Unable to export content
  • 3
    Hostinger

    Hostinger

    • Best forInexpensive website building
    • PriceFrom $2.99 a month
    • Free versionNo

    Hostinger Website Builder is an excellent choice for beginners and individuals seeking an affordable and straightforward solution to create simple personal websites. The limited creative control might not suit those looking for long-term scalability or highly customized designs, but its user-friendly drag-and-drop editor allows for quick setup, and the inclusion of essential features like AI text generation and website analytics adds value. 

    Why we chose Hostinger Website Builder: For its affordability, ease of use, and quick setup, Hostinger is a great option for beginners and those aiming to build simple personal websites.

    Our experience: During testing, we found Hostinger’s website builder very user-friendly, making it a viable choice for those looking for a cost-effective and hassle-free way to get their website up and running. 

    Pros
    • Intuitive, user-friendly interface
    • Affordable pricing for all budget ranges
    • Extensive library of modern templates
    Cons
    • No free plan
    • Can’t swap website templates
  • 4
    WordPress.com

    WordPress.com

    • Best forBlogging
    • PriceFrom $7
    • Free versionYes

    WordPress.com takes care of all the hosting, installation, and updating of a WordPress website for you and throws in a competent drag-and-drop website editor to speed the process even more. 

    It shines for its huge plugin and theme library and industry-leading E-commerce features. But it’s a little pricey, so if you’re dead set on using WordPress, you might want to check out other hosting companies that offer the same content management system (CMS) for less.

    Pros
    • Massive list of plugins and themes
    • Powerful E-commerce features
    • Free-for-life basic plan
    Cons
    • Unintuitive editor
    • Same CMS can be found cheaper elsewhere
    • Most templates are for blogging sites
  • 5
    Squarespace

    Squarespace

    • Best forCreating a beautiful, image-heavy website
    • PriceFrom $16/month
    • Free version14-day free trial

    For a visually impressive website, Squarespace is one of the best choices out there, thanks to its wide variety of striking templates. With Squarespace, you get access to advanced SEO capabilities, robust e-commerce features, unmetered bandwidth, responsive designs, and more. It's one of the more expensive website builders, but it offers flexible pricing options with its personal and business plans.

    The intuitive and powerful Fluid Engine, Squarespace's new and improved drag-and-drop editor, has a ton of customization options while completely simplifying website building and providing an incredible end product.

    Why we chose Squarespace: We were impressed with the quality of Squarespace's templates and varied design styles—it feels as though the templates all have their own unique structure. 

    Our experience: We found the Fluid Engine editor very easy to use: the grid makes it a snap to rearrange elements and even add animations. We could quickly switch between the desktop and mobile versions of a website and adjust designs at the same time. 

    Pros
    • 100+ beautifully designed templates
    • All templates are mobile-responsive
    • Strong SEO and blogging features
    Cons
    • Only suitable for websites with a flat navigation structure
    • No phone support
  • 6
    HubSpot

    HubSpot

    • Best forAn all-in-one marketing suite
    • PriceFrom $25/month
    • Free versionYes

    While your first association with HubSpot may not be website-building software, you can actually use it to create a website too! HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing suite that includes a content management system (CMS) to build websites, known as CMS Hub, and a simple what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editor. 

    Once you build your website, you can track its success with HubSpot's customer relationship management (CRM) platform and use the rest of HubSpot's marketing tools to build a strong online presence and scale your business. Beyond building a site, you can also easily create a landing page. Plus, HubSpot's app store features 1,250+ integrations, which is good news for businesses that use multiple apps. 

    Why we chose HubSpot: According to McKinsey & Company, data-driven marketing is critical for any business's growth. That's exactly why we added HubSpot to this list: its range of marketing tools covers all your promotional needs—including building a website, A/B testing, SEO optimization, adding contact forms, and more. 

    Our experience: We were impressed by HubSpot's selection of templates and quality. We also found the HubSpot content manager to be easy to use, enabling you to quickly add different blocks and design elements and preview everything instantly.

    Pros
    • Perfect for brands that rely on inbound marketing and SEO
    • Integrates with the entire HubSpot ecosystem and 1,250+ other apps
    • Supports multi-language websites
    Cons
    • Expensive if you only need a website
    • Marketing features can take a while to master
  • 7
    SITE123

    SITE123

    • Best forBuilding a simple website fast
    • PriceFrom $12.80/month
    • Free versionYes

    SITE123 is one of the most intuitive and simple website builders out there, making it ideal for beginners. It's an all-in-one solution for all your site-creation needs, featuring an intuitive no-code editor, free hosting, powerful SEO tools, and responsive templates.

    Creating an online store is very straightforward, too. Since its e-commerce features are limited, it might not be the best choice if you're planning to scale your business fast. It'll serve you well should you be looking for an easy way to start selling online. 

    Why we chose SITE123: SITE123 is a beginner-friendly, hassle-free platform that can help you launch your site in no time. Plus, it offers a free version for you to test before you commit.

    Our experience: Compared to other website builders we've tested, SITE123 was perhaps the easiest to use. All we had to do was pick the type of website we wanted to create, the name we wanted to use, and our favorite template. 

    Pros
    • Free version with 250 MB of storage
    • Hundreds of mobile-responsive templates to choose from
    • 24/7 live chat support and a knowledge base with lots of tutorials
    Cons
    • Basic customization options
    • Unable to export your website
  • 8
    IONOS

    IONOS

    • Best forLaunching an online store quickly
    • PriceFrom $1/month
    • Free versionNo

    IONOS is a reliable e-commerce website builder geared toward small business owners. With IONOS, creating a website is hassle-free—even if you've never done it before. You can easily cross-sell and upsell products on individual product pages to boost your profits, and you get a comprehensive abandoned cart recovery feature (which not all website builders offer). 

    It's easy to scale your business with IONOS, and even sell across the most popular social networks and marketplaces, such as Facebook, Instagram, Google Shopping, and Amazon. It has a limited number of templates (we counted 19), but they're all well-designed and built for mobile responsiveness.

    Why we chose IONOS: IONOS is a top choice if you want to build an e-commerce store fast. Its subscription fees (even for the premium plans) are quite affordable, especially in the first 6-12 months. After this period, subscription fees increase but IONOS is transparent with its pricing—no nasty surprises.

    Our experience: We found IONOS' dashboard, known as the Presence Suite, to be an intuitive system for managing your website and online presence. Plus, the website builder is specifically designed for beginners, so it's pretty easy to figure out. 

    Pros
    • Powerful e-commerce features at a reasonable price
    • Mobile-responsive templates
    • Track your competitors' activity on Google and social media
    Cons
    • Limited number of templates
    • Only 10 pages with the first-tier plan
  • 9
    Web.com

    Web.com

    • Best forBeginners looking for a simple solution
    • Price From $4.95/month
    • Free versionNo

    Web.com is a US-based company providing website-building services, domain name registration, and web hosting to small and mid-sized companies. It's been around since 1999, making it one of the pioneers in this industry. Web.com's website builder is beginner-friendly and intuitive (albeit a bit lacking in customization options) and offers 150+ industry-specific templates that enable you to get online quickly, even if you have zero experience building websites.

    According to Abhishek Shah, founder of Testlify, Web.com's power lies in the "variety of services it offers beyond just website building", such as SEO and PPC, web security solutions, and hosting.

    All its plans come with free hosting services, domain registration, and basic marketing features. Plus, with Web.com, you get one hour of dedicated support from expert web designers for free. 

    Why we chose Web.com: We like that Web.com is straightforward and simple to use, making it a great choice if you're looking to get online fast. 

    Our experience: We think Web.com is a solid option for beginners, although its editor may feel a bit clunky until you get the hang of it. We especially liked the variety of templates you can use when getting started. 

    Pros
    • Well-designed templates
    • Free stock images and photos
    • One hour of support from a web design expert
    Cons
    • Limited customization options
    • No free trial
  • 10
    Shopify

    Shopify

    • Best forEcommerce beginners
    • Price$29 to $299
    • Free versionNo

    Shopify offers advanced ecommerce solutions for online stores of all shapes and sizes. An excellent selection of marketing, online selling, and management tools are included, and you can add extra functionality via the Shopify App Store. 

    Prices are a little high, but there’s still excellent value for money on offer. The help center contains countless detailed resources, and features such as the Hatchful logo maker are very useful. If you can look past Shopify’s substandard store page editor, there’s a lot to like here. It’s easy to see why it’s such a popular option. 

    Pros
    • Excellent store dashboard and management panels
    • Highly scalable online store solutions
    • Extensive app store
    Cons
    • Design flexibility is limited without code editing
    • Transaction fees can be a little high


How to Compare the Best Website Builders

The comparison chart below compares the best website builders and gives you an overview of the most important criteria to consider. When comparing website builders, it's important to pay special attention to the price, number of templates, online store options and SEO features. 

When comparing different website builders, it's good to first identify which factors are most important to you and then focus on the platforms that align with your desired goals. 

Website Builder
Price
Free Plan
Number of Templates
Online Store Options
SEO Features
Wix
From $16/month
Yes
900+
Yes
Built-in SEO tools
GoDaddy
From $16.99/month
Yes, free trial
22
Yes
Basic SEO tools, enhanced with GoDaddy Airo™
Web.com
From $4.95/month
No
150+
Not specified
Offers services like SEO and PPC
Squarespace
From $16/month
14-day free trial
100+
Yes
Advanced SEO capabilities
Network Solutions
From $14.95/month
No
100
Yes
Not specified
IONOS
From $1/month
No
19
Yes
Competitor activity tracking on Google and social media
Jimdo
From $9/month
Yes
100+
Yes
Good SEO tools
SITE123
From $12.80/month
Yes
160+
Yes, but limited
Powerful SEO tools
HostGator
From $3.84/month
No
200+
Yes
Not specified
Fiverr
From $5/gig
No
N/A
Yes
Depends on the freelancer


Our  Website Builders Experts

Top10.com's content is developed and reviewed by an elite team of tech experts. This panel of technical consultants, tech journalists and consumer experts helps to review articles and provides unbiased opinions.

What is a Website Builder?

A website builder is a user-friendly platform that lets you create and launch a website in no time, even if you're a beginner with no coding or tech skills. Most website builders feature an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, a selection of pre-designed templates that you can customize, an e-commerce suite, and SEO tools.

How Do Website Builders Work?

Website builders come with built-in editors that translate your design into code. These editors enable you to create your site, control how it looks, add different elements (photos, content, contact forms, and more), and create new pages.

Most website builders have extensive template libraries. From here, you can choose a design that best fits your brand image and vision. Then, you can customize it and add images and content. 

The Advantages of Website Builders

Website builders have tons of advantages for business owners who want to launch an online presence quickly without spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars. 

  1. Ease of use: Website builders are pretty intuitive, and you don’t need any coding or special tech skills to use most of them.
  2. Customization options: Site-building platforms usually have a wide selection of professionally designed templates you can customize to build a website that fits your vision. 
  3. Affordability: Hiring a web designer can cost thousands. Website builders are a much more budget-friendly solution, starting at only $1/month for a builder like IONOS.
  4. Easy maintenance: Maintaining and growing your website is easy if you're using a website builder. You can create new pages, list new products, add more content, and change any design element from the platform itself. 

How to Choose the Best Website Builder for Your Needs?

5 Questions to Help Determine Your Website Builder Needs

Choosing the best option depends on what you need. Here are five questions that will help you decide:

  1. What type of website are you planning to build? (Portfolio, blog, online store, etc.)
  2. Will you sell products and/or services?
  3. What's your yearly budget—and are you willing to pay extra for features you need? 
  4. Do you need a platform with lots of customization options, or are you looking to build a simple website and launch it quickly?
  5. How comfortable are you with learning to use a new platform?

For example, let's say you've just launched your first apparel brand and want to build an online store quickly. You have no prior web design experience, which makes you lean towards simpler solutions, and your budget is limited. In this case, look for a low-cost, easy-to-use website builder with comprehensive e-commerce features like IONOS or HostGator. 

On the other hand, Squarespace or Wix might be a better fit if you have a higher budget and a ton of product photos.

9 Key Features of the Best Website Builders

The best website builders have a few things in common. Here are the key features to consider when you pick a platform: 

  1. A variety of quality templates: A good website builder will offer a wide range of high-quality templates to make creating a visually appealing site simple. 
  2. Design flexibility: Website customization options are key if you're looking to tailor-make something that truly feels yours. 
  3. Adequate storage and bandwidth: Think about your needed storage space. Websites with only photos and text will probably need less storage space than those with lots of videos.
  4. E-commerce features: Pay special attention to the website builder you choose for your e-commerce store. Some are a better fit than others, especially if you plan to scale.
  5. SEO tools: Search engine optimization is crucial if you're counting on organic traffic to grow your business. Your selected website builder should provide the SEO features you need to be discoverable on search engines. 
  6. Google Analytics integration: Google Analytics lets you look into the performance of your website and your visitors' demographics. 
  7. Third-party plugins and apps: To add extra functionality to your website (chatbots, forms, testimonials, etc.), you may need to use a third-party app. Make sure you choose a website builder that allows this.
  8. Mobile responsiveness: Nearly 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, so it's essential to build a responsive website that adapts to all screen sizes. 
  9. Domain name and hosting: Most website builders offer an all-in-one solution that features domain name registration and web hosting. 

How Much Does it Cost to Build a Website?

The cost of building a website varies depending on your needs. A simple website that you build yourself can cost as little as $100/year if you pick the most budget-friendly tools and subscription plans. However, your yearly costs will increase if you want to add an online store or third-party plugins. 

For example, with IONOS's Starter plan, a website without a store will cost you $5/month for the first six months and $9/month after that. With a store, it'll cost you $5/month for the first six months and then $19/month. 

To create a website where you have control over every design element, you might need to hire a professional web designer. This can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on the complexity, number of pages, and your exact requirements.

Do You Need a Website Builder?

Website builders are ideal for industrious business owners who have a limited budget—but also for anyone who wants to launch a website and is willing to put some time and effort into creating it themselves. 

Making Money From Your Website

To monetize your website, try some of these common options:

  1. Sell ad space: Visitors' attention is one of the most precious resources you have—and you can monetize it by selling ad space.
  2. Add products or services for sale: Creating an online store is another way to monetize your website's traffic.
  3. Join an affiliate marketing network: Affiliate marketing is responsible for 16% of e-commerce sales, making it an important marketing channel for brands.
  4. Build a membership program: A subscription-based membership program enables you to monetize a loyal fan base easily.
  5. Launch an online course: Global revenue from online education is expected to grow by approximately 10% each year over the next few years, so now is an ideal time to get started. 
  6. Publish sponsored content: If you get a lot of organic traffic, sponsored content can be an excellent way to make money from your website.

What Types of Sites Can You Create with a Website Builder?

You can create almost any type of online presence with the help of a website builder, from a portfolio to a restaurant website, online store, or the website of a school, university, or non-profit organization. 

Here are examples of the kinds of sites you can create with a website builder: 

In short, the possibilities are almost unlimited. Need more help deciding? Below, we'll help you narrow down your options and choose the website builder that best fits your specific need. 

The Best Website Builders for Photography

Squarespace and Web.com are two of the best website builders for photographers. Both make it easy to build and launch a beautiful portfolio website quickly and easily, even if you know nothing about web design.

The Best Website Builders for Small Businesses

Look no further than Wix and SITE123—two of the best website builders for small businesses. Their editors are very straightforward and intuitive, so you'll have a professional-looking website for your small business in no time.

The Best Website Builders for SEO

Going to rely on organic traffic to grow your business? WordPress.com and Jimdo are two of the best website builders for SEO. They both come with all the SEO tools you need to get started, even if you have no prior experience. 

Jimdo has its own RankingCoach tool, which gives you short SEO tasks to improve your website's ranking, while WordPress.com has its own Page Structure Editor to change the way your site appears in search engines.

The Best Website Builders for E-Commerce

IONOS and HostGator are among the best e-commerce builders. With both, you get streamlined inventory and order management, easy online payments, and integrated shipping management. 

The Best Website Builders for Blogs

When you're looking for the best blog website builders, HubSpot and Network Solutions are your best options. With them, you can build a strong online presence, publish blog posts easily, and scale your content. 

Other Website Builders Worth Considering

Our recommendations are the result of a rigorous research, review, and selection process. While only 10 made it to the final list, we've reviewed many more website builders, including:

  • WordPress.com - Best advanced blogging functionality
  • BoldGrid - Best for creating professional websites on WordPress
  • Weebly - Best marketing and e-commerce features
  • Zyro - Best user-friendly web design tools
  • Hibu - Best for one-on-one digital marketing services

Interesting Articles You Might Find Helpful :


Creating a Website Is Effortless With the Right Website Builder

Building a strong online presence is a must if you want to grow your business. For this, you need the right tools in your toolbox. And we can confidently say that a website builder is the best way to create a professional-looking website and get online fast. 

We researched the top website builders exhaustively and found that the 10 presented here are the best options and cover a breadth of diverse needs. There's something for everyone in our comparison of the best website builders, from all-in-one platforms like Wix to AI-powered web design assistants like Jimdo Dolphin.

To explore other options, check out these top Jimdo alternatives for e-commerce.

Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free website builder?+-

Website builders like Wix, Jimdo, and SITE123 have free plans you can use indefinitely. Keep in mind, however, that you won't be able to connect your website to a custom domain, and that the platform you choose might display ads on your site.

How much should a website cost?+-

A simple site that you build yourself with a website-building platform typically costs around $150-600 per year. For example, with Squarespace's business plan ($23/month), your website will cost around $276/year. With Wix's VIP plan ($45/month), your yearly costs will be about $540. This cost can increase if you have an online store, and it could decrease if you simply need to upload your portfolio, contact info, and price list.

Can I build a website for free?+-

Yes, it's possible to build a website for free with Wix, Jimdo, and SITE123, but you won't have your own domain name. Instead, your URL will be something like "yourbrand.wix.com."

How can I make my site look more professional with the help of a website builder?+-

To make your website look more professional, there are a few things you can do using your selected site builder. For example, you can start by choosing a well-designed, minimalistic template. Next, pick the right color palette and use white space generously. Lastly, upload high-resolution photos and images. Website builders like Wix and Squarespace are perfect for creating an elegant-looking site. Their professionally designed templates make it easy to choose the right colors for your website, even if you're not familiar with the basics of color theory. Plus, most themes leave plenty of white space around key design elements (such as headings, photos, buttons, and text), giving your website a sleek, uncluttered look.

Do website builders have built-in SEO tools?+-

Yes, most professional website builders have built-in SEO features to get you started.

What are the limitations of website builders?+-

While they're an excellent option for most business owners, website builders have a few limitations: 1) Drag-and-drop editors provide varying degrees of design flexibility 2) Not all templates are responsive from the get-go 3) Technical SEO features can be basic 4) It might be difficult or impossible to migrate your website to another builder or server. Plus, hiring a web designer might be the only way to go if you truly need a custom design with lots of unique features and interactive design elements. This is where a marketplace like Fiverr can help. You can connect to a professional web design freelancer who can meet all your requirements.

Is web hosting necessary?+-

Yes, you need web hosting if you have a website. Web hosting refers to the storage space and bandwidth your website needs. Most DIY website builders offer free website hosting as part of their subscription plans, so if you're paying for a website builder, you usually don't need to worry about hosting.

What is the difference between a website builder and web hosting?+-

Web hosting provides a place to store your website, while a website builder gives you the tools to design it. Most website builders companies offer hosting services as well.

Which one is better: hosted or self-hosted software for website building?+-

Hosted software (e.g., an all-in-one solution like Wix or Squarespace) is the better option if you're just getting started and have no experience. This can get everything you need in one place: an editor to design your website, website hosting services, and domain name registration. If you already have solid experience with building websites, you may want to opt for self-hosted software like WordPress, a popular CMS used by 43% of all websites. This gives you more control over the way your website looks, where it's hosted, and its security.

Are there any drawbacks to using a website builder?+-

Website builders typically use templates and drag-and-drop editors, which means that you don't have total design freedom.

Head and shoulders photograph of Milena Alexandrova
As a Top10 writer, Milena Alexandrova crafts content to help people make tech-related decisions and promote their businesses. She has a master's degree in economics and social sciences from Pantheon-Sorbonne. Milena has a strong background both in marketing and as a legal and technical consultant and has contributed to services like TestGorilla, Zelt, and LeadPost.