Website builders now make it quick and easy for small businesses, sole traders and side hustlers to build their own website. You no longer need technical expertise, coding knowledge or design know-how. You can put together a simple website in as little as a few hours, at a limited cost – or even for free – or invest more time to build something really impressive
Here are our quick reviews of some of the UK’s most popular website builders to help you choose the right website builder for your particular needs.
**Prices correct at 15/04/24 (note that limited-time special offers may be available)
Find out more about these popular website builders:
Wix
Market-leading and easy-to-use website builder – but with plenty of advanced functionality available if you need it.
- Wide range of templates suited for any kind of business
- Built-in marketing tools including search engine optimisation, e-mail and social media
- Full ecommerce functionality available
- Upgrade options for advanced users
- £9 per month for websites; £16-£119 per month for ecommerce sites
Visit the Wix website.
Ionos
One of the best options for start-ups that want to get going quickly – but with the power to do more later.
- Simple DIY approach makes it easy to build a good-looking website or online store
- user-friendly website and customer service
- Advanced packages offer more powerful ecommerce functionality (but at a price)
- £10-£30 per month for websites; online store £20-£62 per month
Visit the Ionos website.
GoDaddy
Best known as a website hosting provider, GoDaddy also offers a good range of website-building options.
- Another good choice for start-ups that want a quick start
- Doesn’t offer the more advanced ecommerce features provided by some competitors
- Flexibility to upgrade to working with their recommended designers, or using GoDaddy to host your own professionally-designed website
- £6.99 for a basic site up to £12.99 for ecommerce when you take an annual plan
Visit the GoDaddy website.
Shopify
Market-leading ecommerce platform – and with good reason.
- Integrated marketing, inventory and business management functionality
- Platform supports multi-channel selling (including physical retail)
- Popular £19 per month package; £49-£259 for packages offering advanced reporting and automation, with more competitive payment processing fees
Visit the Shopify website.
Square Online
Square offers everything you need to accept payments online or in-store – and that includes Square Online.
- Ideal for restaurants and retailers that already use Square and want to add an online presence
- Clean, app-style site design and integrations with Instagram and Facebook
- Integrations with third-party providers like Wix if you need added flexibility
- Competitive payment processing fees
- Free starter package (with Square advertising). Paid plans £20-£64 per month
Visit the Square website.
SquareSpace
Stand-out template design make this a strong choice for building a beautiful website
- High visual appeal that can work well for artists, designers and any business with visual appeal
- Range of powerful tools available, including for scheduling classes or building membership communities
- £12 per month ‘personal’ website, £17 ‘business’ (with additional 3% payment processing fee), £23-£35 for more fully-featured ecommerce
Visit the SquareSpace website.
BigCommerce
Powerful ecommerce platform, but not as user-friendly as some simpler offerings
- Designed to offer superior search engine performance
- More options to fine-tune your website – but demanding more time and expertise to make the most of what is on offer
- Flexible customisations including using your own payment processor, and integrations with platforms like Amazon and eBay
- ‘Essentials’ packages $29-$299 per month, depending on value of online sales and optional features required
Visit the BigCommerce website.
WordPress
WordPress is an incredibly popular blogging platform and is the basis for millions of websites around the world.
- Publish and upload blogs from the mobile app and share them on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter
- Simple drag and drop and customisation options
- Jetpack Social makes sharing to social easier
- Built-in payments and PayPal blocks means you can sell from your site
- Free blogging with no expiry date, websites from £3 - £20 per month with a custom domain
Visit the WordPress website.
Your website requirements
The right approach to building a website depends on what you want your website to achieve.
At the simplest, you might not need your own dedicated website at all. Many small businesses focus instead on setting up profiles and building their presence on the social media platforms they use to reach customers.
At the other end of the scale, you might want to build a sophisticated website. If so you may need to invest in working with specialists such as a website designer.
This guide is aimed at the many small businesses that fall somewhere between these two extremes. When choosing a website builder, start by identifying what your priorities are.
- How much are you prepared to spend? The cheapest (or free) options offer less powerful features, and may require your site to carry advertising. Is this good enough for the image you want to create?
- How important is the design of your website? Are the ready-made templates offered by the website builder good enough for you? How much flexibility do you need to customise pages or add your own imagery?
- Do you have any technical expertise – or are you prepared to learn? Making the most of more advanced packages is not straightforward.
- What functionality do you require? For example, not all website builders offer everything you need for an ecommerce site that can handle online payments.
- How many pages will your website have and how often will you be updating them? Will you be tracking your website’s performance to make continual improvements? Website maintenance and reporting can be as important as the initial build – and the right website builder can provide tools to make this easier.
- How do you plan to market your website? For example, do you hope to reach potential customers through online advertising, social media or search engines?
- What are your future plans? An ambitious start-up may want a provider offering an easy starter package – plus the potential to transition to more powerful features as the business grows.
What do website builders cost?
The prices and details here is based on information gathered on 30/01/24. Prices exclude VAT. Most website builders charge extra for paying monthly. Prices exclude introductory offers and free trials. Many website builders also offer higher-priced packages suitable for larger businesses.
It’s worth checking for up-to-date details and pricing before making a choice. Check carefully to see exactly what’s included – for example, if there are extra charges for custom domain names and services like email. Look out for limits on the total bandwidth included – particularly if you expect a high level of website traffic or want to include videos.
If you are planning an ecommerce website, pay close attention to payment processing fees. These can easily outweigh the monthly package cost.