Having a website is almost an expense a business can’t afford to not pay. They have the potential to draw many new clients and it’s a great way for exposure. Building one can also be a snap! What a time to be alive, you can create a website without coding! It’s as easy as selecting a design, filling your page with content, and selecting a hosting plan if you plan to go premium.
There is a wide array of website builders to choose from. This is good for variety, bad if you pay for a service that wasn’t right for you. Well, we’ve compiled this list of the best website builders and a couple of pros and cons that will help you decide which service is best for you.
Wix
Wix is a drag-and-drop-centered website builder that is perfect for beginners. It has an easy learning curve.
Some of Wix’s most prominent features include: Ease of use, Design capabilities (full control of elements), Value for the money you pay, and Help and support are great! and even E-commerce support.
Pros
- As mentioned before, Wix has eCommerce capabilities and tools that help you manage your online store.
- Drag and Drop editor that has an easy learning curve
- Complete design freedom, no elements are limited to editing
- Overall, very easy and simple to use. No knowledge of coding is necessary.
- Offers more than 800 templates that are ready to use and customize
- Can manage secure online payments, customer accounts, and or planned or recurring payments.
Cons
- Some people may feel overwhelmed with the number of tools offered
- Advanced functionality may incur additional fees
- Once your website is published, switching out a template requires you to start from scratch
Squarespace
Squarespace is another great choice for no-code website building. It scored surprisingly high in ease of use, design capabilities, SEO and overall being a fun tool to use.
They offer many plans that can adjust to your project ranging from Personal to Online stores, plus the prices are also worth your money. It has an intuitive editor with all the capabilities of website design. The real seller is their large collection of artistic templates. With over 150 to choose from and created by professional artists.
Pros
- A most attractive and creative array of modern templates
- Support for eCommerce capabilities with a small transaction fee, unless you go premium, then the fee is waived
- A great choice for a portfolio site or a personal blog as well as business
- Email marketing support, as well as social media tools and membership systems
Cons
- A bit more powerful than other editors, so the learning curve is a little steeper
- No support for third-party apps
- Pricing may be a bit more expensive than other builders
Webflow
Webflow is a great choice for website building. It is a cloud-based service that you pay monthly or yearly to use. Webflow lets you host your website on their trusted cloud platform or you can export the code to host on your server.
It is possible to create a website with no code, but Webflow allows you to insert personal HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. It is aimed at people such as solo entrepreneurs, small business owners, freelance web designers, large brand and tech companies, and web design agencies. They offer many great templates, over 1,000.
Pros
- Achieve professional design without the need to code
- Advanced design functionality without needing to be a designer
- Secure Hosting
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Limited code customization
- Many varying plans to choose from
- The learning curve is a little steep due to the powerful features
- Traffic may be limited on some plans
Shopify
Shopify is a choice that is slightly more orientated to creating your online store. It provides a wide variety of templates and themes that can be completely customized, just as the other Website builders. Shopify makes it simple to sell digital or physical goods.
It was created to allow beginners to pick up on building an online store all by themselves. No coding is required to set up or launch whatsoever. It also caters to experienced programmers by allowing them to insert personalized HTML, CSS, or Javascript.
Pros
- Ideal for large businesses or stores, powerful backend capable of supporting massive inventory systems
- Sell across all platforms, Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, etc.
- Excellent customer support, staff available 24/7
- Extensive payment options, over 100 to choose from when making a sale
Cons
- An editor could use a little more intuitiveness
- Relies heavily on third-party apps
- Transaction fees may be large, that don’t include gateway charges
Carrd
Carrd focuses on one-page sites. Unlike other website builders, Carrd focuses on minimal functionality. This approach enables their users to create websites faster than the competitors. It has a minimalistic UI Editor which is easy to pick up on.
At the same time, it may lack some of the more powerful features an online shop may have, but it is a great choice for a shop with a smaller catalog of items. It also gives you freedom of design by allowing animations or customized buttons. If you’re looking for a quick and cheap solution to a one-page site, Carrd is a great choice.
Pros
- Much cheaper than competitors
- Build and design time is very agile
- Super intuitive UI that can help you create a professional website in minutes
- SSL is included in the price
Cons
- Fewer templates to choose from than other website builders
- Limited e-commerce functionality, is preferred by smaller businesses
- Some people may not want a one-page website builder
Softr
Softr is an awesome and standout webpage builder. It has a different method for creating websites than others as it introduces modular construction, similar to building with building blocks.
You can drag and drop these blocks on your webpage and watch as you create a professional website in minutes. It allows you to create from Blog sites, to marketplaces and customer portals, as well as support for easily accepting payments online. No code is required of course.
Pros
- Softr provides all the necessary functionality to create online web stores
- You can import your data from Airtable or Google Sheets and display it on your website
- You can add memberships that users will register to depend on your needs
- It’s really easy to learn, building with blocks makes it fun and doesn’t sacrifice any design freedom
Cons
- Adding custom code requires a paid subscription.
- Inability to delete an Airtable record from your Softr app
- Lack of customizability of some of the building blocks.
Can you build a website without code?
Yes. There are many website builders to choose from. None of them require any knowledge of coding whatsoever and allow you to create stunning websites. Hundreds of thousands of web pages on the internet were created with the no-code approach.
Building a website from scratch can be a daunting task especially if you do not know code. There are just so many things that are needed to configure a website, such as design, functionality, web hosting, traffic management, database access, and accessing other apps.
These website builders offer plans or sometimes a free test trial that will help you get started as soon as possible. Choose from many different professionally designed templates and tweak them to your liking!
What is a no-code website?
There has been an increasing need to create websites but it can be expensive to hire a developer or a team of developers. For this reason, some people prefer to do it themselves with a no code website.
This type of website requires no code or any prior knowledge of programming. The downside of making a website with no code is that you have to use the tools that are given to you and maybe pay a fee for using the full potential of those tools.
The upside is of course creating a professional website without code. Technology should be an enabler, not a barrier, and that’s what no-code websites are about. Some examples include WordPress, Wix, Carrd, and Squarespace.
Which website builder is the easiest?
There are many great options for beginners to choose from. Some of the most popular choices for beginners are of course Wix and WordPress. Wix has been recognized for its super easy User Interface and they have a huge catalog of templates to choose from.
Wix is a great choice if you are a beginner because the drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to customize templates. WordPress is another great choice for beginners. They have strived to make it easy to create stunning and fully functional websites.
They both have awesome online tutorials that can help you learn more advanced features such as how to correctly set up online shopping and accept online payments.
Can I create a website without CSS?
Yes. CSS is no longer a requirement to create a website. Website builders give you an interface that lets you select and place an element on the page, with the CSS code being generated in the background, you don’t even see it.
It is generated once you place your elements on your canvas, then that code gets bundled alongside your HTML and you are ready to share your website. CSS is a skill that takes time to learn, especially with many ways to configure it. There are many options that, although easy to understand, can be overwhelming. Luckily, there exist website builders that can manage that for you and create real responsive websites.
What are the pros and cons of using a website builder?
Website builders nowadays offer so many pros that it’s almost a go-to choice for freelancers starting a business or any size business for that matter. The pros include no need for code and great stunning responsive design that can cost thousands of dollars or it could take weeks to develop.
Hosting is also provided by website builders so you can share your work with the world. As for the cons, the downside of working with these is that there is a learning curve to learning any website builder, but that is easier than learning how to program. You may encounter some design limitations depending on which website builder you use, but by coding your website, you have complete freedom and you don’t pay to use website builders.
