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“This guide is for anyone who wants to create a free website but doesn’t know which website builder to pick.”
They may all be free, but sometimes this comes at a price – join us as we sort the good from the bad.
You might be thinking that a free website builder sounds too good to be true. We thought so too, once upon a time – but there’s actually some real quality out there. The trick is knowing where to find it.
That’s where we come in. We’re here to make your life as easy as possible by giving you the lowdown on the best free website builders – yep, they really are free! – as determined by our own independent research.
We also get people like you to test each website builder and give us their feedback, which we use to rate each builder on factors like ease of use and template design.
Plus, we’re always sure to look at the ‘price’ you pay for your free site in the form of a tradeoff. Whether it’s garish advertising, a dodgy-looking domain name, or restricted storage, we’ll cover each free plan’s ‘cons’ in plenty of detail so you can make an informed decision.
10 Best Free Website Builders
Based on our research, the top free website builders are:
- Wix – Best All-Around Website Builder (read review)
- SITE123 – Great Design Assistance (read review)
- Weebly – Ideal for Small Businesses (read review)
- Strikingly – Made for Simple Websites (read review)
- Jimdo – Small Online Store Builder (read review)
- WordPress.com – Perfect for Blogging (read review)
- IM Creator – Great for White Label Businesses (read review)
- Webnode – Quick and Easy Setup (read review)
- Mozello – Create Simple Multilingual Sites (read review)
- SimpleSite – Great Mobile Editor (read review)
Wix has a very generous free plan, which is super easy to use – it combines creative freedom with tons of features. SITE123 is very beginner-friendly, with a focus on helping you get online. Weebly’s simple, stylish designs and handy tools make it ideal for small businesses.
By the end of this guide, you’ll have a much clearer idea of what makes a good free website builder, which are the best platforms to use and how to choose the right one for you.
We conduct our own research to decide which website builder is best for different purposes. Take our quiz to get a recommendation that’s personalized to your needs.
Further Information
- How do these builders match up side by side? Find out in our Website Builder Comparison Chart.
- Take a look at the Cheapest Website Builders if you want a low-cost builder.
- Do you just want the best for your site? Our review of the 10 Best Website Builders of 2019 gives you the definitive list.
Best All-Around Website Builder
“Wix is by far the best all-round free website builder on the market today.”
| What we like | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Easy to use drag-and-drop functionality |
| #2 | Wide range of templates |
| #3 | Majority of features available on free plan |
| #4 | Ultimate customization |
| What needs improving | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Free plan domain names look like this: https://yourname.wixsite.com/yoursite – they’re not the catchiest! |
| #2 | The free plan sticky ads are very noticeable |
| #3 | Can’t change your theme once your site goes live |
With Wix, you can create and publish your site without spending a cent. You don’t have to upgrade after a certain time – if you’d prefer, you can keep your site free forever. This is what makes Wix’s free plan unusually generous for a website builder, and is the reason why it tops our list!
Wix came out top in our user testing for ease of use. With its selection of more than 500 templates – most of which are free – and a huge choice of tools and elements, like galleries, buttons, and social media icons, Wix makes creating a website easier than ever.
You will find limitations to Wix’s free plan, though. For starters, there’s a banner ad for Wix which stays in place as you scroll down the site. It’s fairly subtle, but a bit intrusive.
You also can’t use a personal domain (aka your personal website address) – your domain will follow the format www.yourname.wixsite.com/yoursite. So instead of www.lucycarneyphotography.com, you’ll be stuck with www.lucycarney5.wixsite.com/lcarneyphotography (you’re restricted to 20 characters for the ‘yoursite’ part of your address).
With the free plan, storage and bandwidth are both capped at just 500MB. This will prevent you from using too many images or videos on your site, as well as potentially limiting how many visitors you can get. You also can’t sell any products through Wix on its free plan.
Free Blog Site Weblog
Premium plans start at $13/month. Based on our research, Wix is the best value for money website builder, so if you do ever decide to upgrade you’re in good hands!
For more information on Wix, read the following:
- Wix Review – If you’re looking for more information on Wix then this is a great place to start.
- Wix Pricing Guide – We take a closer look at the costs of each Wix premium plan and what you get for your money.