The Ultimate Guide to Understanding the Pros and Cons of Using Free Website Builders.

In today’s digital era, having a website is essential for individuals and businesses alike, as it serves as the primary online presence and a gateway for potential customers or audiences to discover and connect with you. A well-crafted website not only enhances credibility and professionalism but also provides a platform for showcasing products, services, or personal work around the clock, reaching a global audience without geographical limitations. Additionally, a website can be a powerful marketing tool, allowing for easy sharing of information, integration with social media, and the ability to engage in e-commerce. In a world where consumers increasingly seek information and make purchasing decisions online, having a website is no longer just an option; it is a necessity for effective communication and growth in the digital landscape. If you are looking for free website builders, you are in the right place, let’s discuss the key features of an excellent website builder below:

User-Friendly Interface: A straightforward and intuitive design that allows users, regardless of their technical skills, to easily navigate and create their websites.
Customization Options: A wide range of templates and design tools that enable users to tailor their sites to match their brand and personal style.
Responsive Design: Templates that automatically adjust to look great on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
SEO Tools: Built-in features that help optimize websites for search engines to improve visibility and attract more visitors.
E-commerce Functionality: Support for online stores, including shopping cart integration, payment processing, and inventory management, for businesses wanting to sell products online.
Performance and Speed: Reliable hosting that ensures quick load times and minimal downtime, enhancing the user experience.
Support and Resources: Access to customer support, tutorials, and other resources to assist users in building and maintaining their websites.
Integrations: Compatibility with third-party apps and services, such as social media, email marketing tools, and analytics platforms, to enhance functionality.
Free or Affordable Plans: Offering valuable features at no cost or with affordable pricing options, allowing users to start without a significant financial commitment.
Security Features: Protection against threats through HTTPS, SSL certificates, and website backups to safeguard user data and websites.

These features collectively contribute to a robust website builder that meets the diverse needs of users.

Over the past few weeks, I experimented with several popular free website builders and have come to the conclusion that these are the top five website builders:

GoDaddy

This is an all in one website builder, including hosting, customizable themes, a visual editor and additional features like email marketing or e-commerce. It doesn’t have a drag and drop builder, meaning you can’t place text or images wherever you want on your page. Instead, you’re limited to placing them in the predetermined position based on the structure provided by GoDaddy. However, this restriction also means that you’ll have less flexibility when it comes to customizing your website. GoDaddy also offers basic features for email marketing, blogging and e-commerce, but if you’re looking for advanced features, it may not be the right option for you.

GoDaddy offers a completely free plan, but you won’t be able to use your own custom domain and there will be an ad at the top of your website. The basic plan starts at $10 per month, and If you’re looking to sell products on your website, then you’re going to have to go with the commerce plan starting at $17 per month. Just keep in mind that these prices are for yearly payments and will be more expensive if you decide to pay on a monthly basis. In conclusion, GoDaddy is a great option for those who want to build a simple websites and don’t need extensive customization options.

Squarespace

Let’s move on to the next option, which is Squarespace. Compared to GoDaddy, Squarespace offers a lot more flexibility when it comes to customizing your website with close to 150 website templates. In various industries like photography, local businesses, restaurants, and a lot more you are likely to find one that fits your needs and all of them are completely free to use and have a modern and clean design. Squarespace recently introduced their so-called fluid engine which allows you to build your website using drag and drop making it easy to achieve the design you have in mind. If you’re looking to start a blog, then Squarespace is a great alternative to WordPress. It allows you to create and manage your blog content very easily without having to install a lot of plugins like you would have to do on WordPress. Squarespace offers 14-day free trial which you can take advantage of to test out everything before committing to a paid plan. The personal plans start at $16 per month if you pay annually, and if you need e-commerce features then you’re going to have to go with the business plans starting at $23 per month, allowing you to accept payments on your website with a 3% transaction fee. To reduce that transaction fee to 0% you’re going to have to go with one of the commerce plans starting at $27 per month. So Squarespace is a great option if you’re looking for an easy to use website builder without sacrificing too much flexibility when it comes to the customization of your website.

Webflow

Next on the list we have Webflow, just like Squarespace. Webflow has a drag and drop website builder but it gives you even more flexibility and customization options when it comes to the website design. So with Webflow you can really make your website look perfect and optimize the design for any screen size. This is why Web flow is a great option for designers and developers who are looking to build something very customized and potentially more complex than your average website. However, it’s definitely more of an advanced website builder that takes longer to learn so I wouldn’t recommend it to complete beginners. Webflow also has an open marketplace for apps and website templates. That’s why there’s currently over 1,500 website templates to choose from, some of which are free and others cost between $50 and $100. If you want to start a blog or create an online store you can also do that with Webflow. Webflow also has a free plan allowing you to publish your website on a Webflow domain. If you want to use your own custom domain then you’re going to have to choose a paid plan starting at $14 per month if you pay annually. For online stores, the plan starts at $29 per month. If you’re looking for a ready-to-go website as quickly as possible then Webflow is probably not the right choice for you. But if you want maximum design freedom and you want to build something completely customized then I can definitely recommend it.

Shopify

The next website builder I want to introduce is Shopify. Shopify is designed specifically for building online stores and e-commerce businesses. So if the main goal of your website is not to sell products and take payments, then you don’t need to look into Shopify. However, if you plan to create an online store then Shopify is definitely one of the best options. Their website builder is similar to the one of GoDaddy so it’s not a drag and drop website builder. You can simply add elements and then customize them through the site menu, which limits your design freedom but makes building your store very easy and quick. Additionally, everything is fully responsive so your store will look great on mobile devices as well. If you want to use Shopify but you need more design freedom then you can install a third party application such as Gem Pages, allowing you to build your website using a drag and drop builder. The Shopify app store currently has over 8,000 apps giving you endless options to add new features to your store. Shopify comes with a bit over 100 online store templates to choose from with only 11 of them being free to use. The paid ones cost between $200 and $350. Shopify is definitely not the cheapest option but currently they do have a three-day free trial to test out all the features. Paid plans start at $29 per month if you pay annually, or $39 per month if you pay monthly. So Shopify is my top recommendation for anyone who wants to build an e-commerce website very easily and quickly.

WordPress

And now onto the final website builder I want to talk about in this post, which is WordPress. WordPress is still the most popular platform to create websites. In fact, over 43% of all existing websites are running on WordPress compared to the other website builders I’ve mentioned before, this is not an all in one solution. WordPress is a content management system that requires you to handle certain aspects of website management yourself, such as hosting or security. So running your website on WordPress definitely demands you to have a certain level of technical understanding compared to all-in-one solutions like Squarespace. Now, learning how to use WordPress definitely can be a bit overwhelming especially if you don’t have any prior experience. So you need to be willing to spend some time watching tutorials until you get the hang of it. Luckily, because WordPress is such a popular platform there’s tons of resources out there. WordPress gives you complete control over every aspect of your website, leaving you with no limits of what you can do with your website in the future. You have access to over 55,000 plugins that are essentially small pieces of software that add additional functionality to your website. Just like the applications for Shopify and Webflow, this means that you can add virtually any feature to your website, including e-commerce, social media integration, and a lot more. When it comes to the design, WordPress has thousands of free and paid templates to choose from, so it can make a website look exactly how you want it to. There’s also a drag and drop page builder called Elementor that allows you to build your website without any coding. Now WordPress is completely free to use. So for simple websites that don’t require a lot of additional features through paid plugins the only thing you need to pay for really is hosting. The hosting provider that I recommend is called Hostinger, it’s fast, reliable, easy to use and their plans start at only $2.99 per month. Plus, if you get hosting through coupon code you’ll get an additional 10% discount. So if you’re on a really tight budget and you don’t mind spending a bit more time learning how to use WordPress then this is a great option. Also, WordPress is still the number one choice for people who want to start a blog.

So now, which website builder is the right choice for you? When it comes to starting a website, free website builders seem like the perfect solution. But are they really as great as they seem? Here are the pros and cons of using a free website builder:

👍 Pros:

– No upfront costs

– Easy to use interface

– Quick setup

– Variety of templates available

– No need for coding skills

👎 Cons:

– Limited customization options

– Ads on your site

– Less control over your website

– Less professional look

– Restricted functionality

Conclusion:

Each of the above mentioned five website builders has its unique benefits so you need to consider your needs before making your final decision.

If you’re looking for an all in one solution to build simple websites with affordable pricing, then the GoDaddy website builder is probably the right choice for you.

Squarespace is a great option if you’re looking for a flexible website builder that is still easy to use with a bit more customization options.

Webflow is the best option for designers and developers who want to build something very customized, but it’s not really recommended for complete beginners.

Shopify is my top recommendation for those who want to build an e-commerce website very easily and quickly and don’t mind spending a bit more money to get a very powerful all-in-one e-commerce solution.

And finally if you don’t want to put any limits on what you can do with your website and you’re willing to spend a bit more time learning the platform then WordPress is the best option for you.

let me know in the comments down below which website Builder convinced you the most regardless of which one you choose, the most important thing is to get started and build the website you always wanted.