Best Free Website Builder for Small Business: Top 7 Picks for 2025

Wix: Versatile and User-Friendly

Wix stands out as an all-around site builder, highly recommended for small businesses. Its intuitive drag-and-drop editor makes creating a website a breeze, even for those without coding knowledge. With Wix, users can fully customise their websites, making it ideal for everything from blogs to forums. The platform also offers robust SEO tools and guidance, ensuring that your website is not only beautiful but also highly visible in search engines. Additionally, Wix provides excellent resources for web development and site builders.

What sets Wix apart from other website builders is its versatility and user-friendliness. Whether you’re a small business owner looking to create a professional-looking site or a creative professional needing a highly customizable interface, Wix has got you covered.

So, what exactly makes Wix stand out as a top website builder? Let’s explore its key features and consider its pros and cons.

Key Features of Wix

One of the standout features of Wix is its AI tools that assist users in brainstorming business ideas and creating personalised websites. The AI website builder can create a unique, business-ready site based on user descriptions, making the process of building a website incredibly fast and efficient. Imagine having a professional-looking website drafted in just a few minutes, thanks to Wix’s AI-driven capabilities.

Wix also excels in ecommerce functionality, allowing users to manage orders, shipping, and sell online seamlessly. The integration with marketplaces and social media platforms makes it easier for businesses to expand their reach and boost sales. Furthermore, Wix’s robust SEO tools help ensure that your website ranks well in search engine results, driving more traffic to your site.

Another major benefit is the integration with tools like Mailchimp, which helps automatically add subscribers from Wix Forms. This feature is particularly useful for businesses aiming to grow their email lists and enhance their marketing efforts. With these advanced features and more, Wix proves to be a top-rated website builder for small businesses.

Pros and Cons of Wix

Wix is designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible for small business owners who may not have technical expertise. The platform offers hundreds of integrations with third-party apps, allowing users to enhance their website’s functionality. However, total beginners or non-tech-savvy users might find the vast array of features overwhelming.

One downside of Wix’s free plan is the presence of ads, which can detract from the professional appearance of a website. Additionally, while Wix offers a Light plan to remove ads and include a custom domain, it comes at a cost of $17 per month. The Core plan, priced at $29 per month, offers more features but may be considered expensive compared to other platforms. Users should weigh these factors when deciding to upgrade from the free plan.

Weebly: Ideal for Start-Ups

Weebly is another excellent free website builder, particularly suited for start-ups. Known for its ability to launch the best website quickly while maintaining a professional appearance, Weebly is a favourite among new business owners. Its drag-and-drop editor simplifies the website-building process, making it easy for users to create a website using the best free website builders without any technical skills.

One of the standout features of Weebly is that all its templates are mobile-responsive, ensuring that your website looks good on any device. This is crucial in today’s mobile-first world, where a significant amount of web traffic comes from smartphones and tablets.

What additional benefits does Weebly provide for start-ups? Let’s explore its key features and weigh the pros and cons.

Key Features of Weebly

Weebly provides powerful SEO tools that help enhance the visibility of your website in search engines, including insights from Google Search Console. This is particularly beneficial for start-ups looking to attract organic traffic and grow their online presence. Additionally, Weebly includes essential ecommerce functionalities like product management and payment processing, making it a robust platform for online sales.

The platform also ensures that your site automatically adjusts to different screen sizes, providing a good user experience across all devices. This mobile responsiveness is critical for maintaining user engagement and reducing bounce rates. With these features, Weebly stands out as a user-friendly and efficient website builder for start-ups.

Pros and Cons of Weebly

One of the significant advantages of Weebly is its straightforward interface, which makes it suitable for beginners. This ease of use allows start-ups to create a professional-looking website quickly without any hassle. However, a notable downside is that Weebly offers limited options for customisation compared to other platforms.

While Weebly is known for its simplicity, this can also be a limitation for users who require more advanced customisation options. Despite these drawbacks, Weebly remains a solid choice for start-ups seeking a quick and easy way to build a website.

Hostinger: Best for Speed and AI Integration

Hostinger is celebrated for its AI-driven website builder that ensures fast-loading websites. Launched in 2023, this website builder is designed with speed in mind, providing exceptionally quick loading times that are essential for maintaining user engagement and boosting SEO. Hostinger’s user-friendly interface makes it accessible for beginners, while experienced users can add custom code for further customisation.

Compared to other website builders like Strikingly, Hostinger offers more control to users, making it a versatile choice for those who need both speed and flexibility. Discover the key features that make Hostinger a top choice and evaluate its pros and cons.

Key Features of Hostinger

Hostinger offers advanced AI tools that include features for ecommerce and content creation. These tools, such as the AI image generator and blog content generator, help users create a professional-looking website with minimal effort. The AI assistant can draft a website in just 30 seconds, making the setup process incredibly efficient.

The designs generated by Hostinger’s AI are modern and utilise stock images, ensuring your site looks polished and up-to-date. Hostinger also provides two website builder plans: Premium Website Builder and Business Website Builder, catering to different business needs.

With a comprehensive range of templates and a drag-and-drop editor, Hostinger makes building a website using a website maker straightforward and efficient.

Pros and Cons of Hostinger

One of the main advantages of Hostinger is its affordability, with website builder plans starting at just £2.99 per month. This makes it an attractive option for small businesses on a budget. However, a significant drawback is the absence of built-in marketing tools, which can limit users’ capabilities to promote their websites effectively.

Despite this, Hostinger’s AI-driven website builder prioritises speed and efficiency, making it a valuable tool for small businesses. The exceptional loading speeds ensure a smooth user experience, which is crucial for maintaining user engagement and improving SEO.

Squarespace: Perfect for Creatives

Squarespace is renowned for its design flexibility, making it a favourite among creative professionals and service-oriented businesses. The platform allows for extensive customisation of templates, enabling users to align their websites with their brand aesthetics. Additionally, Squarespace provides strong SEO tools, helping users optimise their sites for search engines.

The integration of booking tools is another standout feature, allowing businesses to manage appointments directly through their website functionality. This is particularly useful for service-oriented businesses.

Explore the key features of Squarespace and examine its pros and cons.

Key Features of Squarespace

Squarespace offers customisation options that allow users to tailor templates to their brand aesthetics. This flexibility is ideal for creatives who need their websites to reflect their unique style. The platform also integrates booking tools, enabling businesses to manage appointments seamlessly.

Additionally, Squarespace provides advanced SEO tools that help users optimise their websites for better search engine rankings. These features make Squarespace a powerful tool for creating a professional-looking website that stands out in search results.

Pros and Cons of Squarespace

One of the significant advantages of Squarespace is its visually appealing and free templates, which attract users. These page templates are not only beautiful but also functional, providing a professional look for any website.

However, a notable downside is that Squarespace primarily offers customer support through email and live chat, lacking phone support. Another drawback is that Squarespace does not support in-person selling with card machines or POS hardware, which can be a limitation for some businesses.

Despite these drawbacks, Squarespace remains a top choice for creatives seeking a flexible and visually appealing website builder.

GoDaddy: Quick and Easy Setup

GoDaddy is designed for quick and easy setup, enabling users to launch their websites in about 30 minutes. This makes it a great free option for those experimenting with website building. GoDaddy’s website builder features an intuitive backend and integrated marketing tools, enhancing online presence and engagement for small businesses.

With its custom bookings page, users can manage availability and accept both group and one-to-one appointments. These features make GoDaddy a convenient choice for businesses looking for a simple and efficient one-page website builder to create their own website using Google Sites.

Examine the key features of GoDaddy and consider its pros and cons.

Key Features of GoDaddy

GoDaddy’s website builder can create a site in less than 30 seconds, thanks to its AI-driven capabilities. This rapid setup is complemented by an intuitive backend that simplifies the site creation and management process. GoDaddy also offers integrated marketing tools that help small businesses enhance their online presence and engage with their audience more effectively.

One of the standout features is the custom bookings page, which allows users to manage availability and accept both group and one-to-one appointments. This feature is particularly beneficial for service-based businesses that need a reliable system to handle bookings.

Overall, GoDaddy provides a user-friendly and efficient platform for building a professional-looking website quickly.

Pros and Cons of GoDaddy

GoDaddy’s AI website builder offers a simple and quick setup process, making it ideal for users who need to get online fast. The integrated marketing tools and booking features add significant value, especially for small businesses looking to enhance their online presence. However, there are some limitations to consider.

One notable downside is that you cannot edit how your website appears on mobile with GoDaddy. Additionally, the platform does not provide advanced features for customisation, which might be a drawback for users seeking more control over their website’s design.

Despite these limitations, GoDaddy remains a strong contender for those prioritising ease of use and quick setup.

Jimdo: Future Online Stores

Jimdo is an excellent free website builder for future online store owners. It offers a straightforward and user-friendly interface, making it an attractive option for businesses looking to establish an online store without any hassle. Jimdo’s ecommerce functionalities are designed to cater to the needs of small businesses, providing essential tools for managing products and processing payments.

The platform’s Local Pickup feature is particularly useful, allowing customers to buy online and collect orders directly from the store. Additionally, Jimdo allows users to sync their products with Facebook and Instagram for social media shopping, expanding their reach.

Analyse the key features of Jimdo and evaluate its pros and cons.

Key Features of Jimdo

Jimdo’s ecommerce functionality, available on its most expensive plans, offers several key features:

• Allows users to add products
• Automates email notifications for orders
• Includes an inventory management system that tracks product availability and indicates when an item is sold out

This feature set is essential for selling products in an ecommerce store, as it helps streamline online sales processes by leveraging ecommerce features.

The platform supports various payment gateways, accommodating different customer payment preferences. Jimdo’s premium plans are reasonably affordable, making it a cost-effective option for small businesses looking to sell online.

These features combined make Jimdo a solid choice for creating an ecommerce website.

Pros and Cons of Jimdo

One of the main advantages of Jimdo is its user-friendly interface, which allows for an easy setup, making it accessible for users looking to create a website quickly. However, some users may find Jimdo’s interface less intuitive compared to its competitors. Additionally, the platform offers less design flexibility than other website builders, which might be a limitation for users seeking more customisation options.

Another downside is the limited selection of templates compared to other website builders. Despite these drawbacks, Jimdo remains a practical choice for small businesses looking to establish an online store without incurring significant costs.

Webnode: Great for Events

Weebly is recognised as one of the best platforms for creating event-focused websites. Its quick setup process allows users to create a website within minutes, making it an ideal choice for those needing a fast and efficient solution. Webnode’s clean interface and ease of use are particularly appealing to users with no prior experience in website building.

The platform offers an AI feature that generates three custom website versions based on user responses. This feature helps users quickly find a design that suits their needs.

Investigate the key features of Webnode and consider its pros and cons for event-focused websites.

Key Features of Webnode

Webnode provides excellent SEO settings for each page, ensuring that your website is optimised for search engines. This is crucial for event-focused websites that need to attract attendees through organic search. Additionally, Webnode offers built-in multilingual support, catering to a diverse audience and enhancing the website’s reach.

The platform’s templates prioritise fast loading times, providing a better user experience and reducing bounce rates. These features make Webnode a reliable choice for creating professional-looking event websites quickly and efficiently.

Pros and Cons of Webnode

Webnode is easy to use, with a clean interface that requires no prior experience. This accessibility benefits users. They can create a website quickly. A free plan is available, with paid plans starting at $4.50 per month, making it a budget-friendly option.

However, the editor has limited features and is less flexible compared to other website builders. Despite these limitations, Webnode remains a strong contender for those looking to create event-focused websites with minimal effort.

How to Choose the Right Website Builder

Choosing the right website builder involves considering several factors, such as ease of use, customisation options, and budget. Taking advantage of free trials or plans can help assess the suitability and usability of the builder. A good website builder should offer a large selection of customizable templates for different business needs.

Evaluating your specific requirements is crucial, whether you need basic functionality, advanced features, or ecommerce capabilities. By understanding your needs and comparing the features of different builders, you can find the right website builder for your business.

Evaluating Your Needs

For small businesses, basic functionality is often sufficient to get started online. Wix’s plans, while feature-rich, can be pricier compared to other website builders, which might deter budget-conscious users. Webnode, on the other hand, is considered more budget-friendly compared to many competitors.

While using free website builders may lead to a lesser quality product and weak customisation, they offer an excellent starting point for a small business website. Weighing the trade-offs and considering the long-term growth of your business is vital.

Comparing Features

A well-rounded seo feature should allow users to modify meta descriptions and keywords effectively. Website builders can enhance SEO performance by providing plugins that optimise the site’s visibility. Wix’s built-in SEO tools enable seamless communication with audiences.

Weebly provides integrated analytics tools, including Google Analytics, that allow users to monitor their website’s performance and traffic in real-time. Customisation options are essential, allowing the builder to reflect the unique identity of a business. Comparing these features can help you choose the right website builder for your specific needs.

It is possible to build a professional website for free. However, there are some limitations involved. Free website builders like Wix provide a free plan that allows users to explore their features without a financial commitment. However, many free plans come with drawbacks such as advertising and restricted storage.

The main advantage of free website builders for small businesses is the ability to build a website easily without hiring an expert developer. While these platforms have evolved to offer helpful features for beginners, there are times when upgrading to a premium plan becomes necessary for growth and enhanced functionality.

Understanding Free Plans

Free plans often have limited customisation options and may require upgrades for more advanced features. Common drawbacks include the presence of advertisements and the lack of a free domain. For instance, Wix’s free plan lacks a custom domain name, which can detract from the professional appearance of your site.

Despite these limitations, free website builders have evolved to offer platforms geared towards beginners with no coding experience. Understanding the limitations and potential of free plans can help you make an informed decision about whether to stick with the free option or upgrade to a premium plan.

When to Upgrade

Switching from a free website plan to a premium plan is crucial for businesses aiming for growth and enhanced functionality. Upgrading can unlock advanced sales features and enhance the credibility of your website. Businesses should consider upgrading when they require additional features or when they begin to expand.

Upgrading to a premium plan can also remove advertisements and allow for the use of a custom domain and your own domain, providing a more professional appearance for your website.

By evaluating your business needs and growth potential, you can determine the right time to upgrade from a free plan.

Can You Really Build a Professional Website for Free?

It is possible to build a professional website for free. However, there are some limitations involved. Free website builders like Wix provide a free plan that allows users to explore their features without a financial commitment. However, many free plans come with drawbacks such as advertising and restricted storage.

The main advantage of free website builders for small businesses is the ability to build a website easily without hiring an expert developer. While these platforms have evolved to offer helpful features for beginners, there are times when upgrading to a premium plan becomes necessary for growth and enhanced functionality.

Understanding Free Plans

Free plans often have limited customisation options and may require upgrades for more advanced features. Common drawbacks include the presence of advertisements and the lack of a free domain. For instance, Wix’s free plan lacks a custom domain name, which can detract from the professional appearance of your site.

Despite these limitations, free website builders have evolved to offer platforms geared towards beginners with no coding experience. Understanding the limitations and potential of free plans can help you make an informed decision about whether to stick with the free option or upgrade to a premium plan.

When to Upgrade

Switching from a free website plan to a premium plan is crucial for businesses aiming for growth and enhanced functionality. Upgrading can unlock advanced sales features and enhance the credibility of your website. Businesses should consider upgrading when they require additional features or when they begin to expand.

Upgrading to a premium plan can also remove advertisements and allow for the use of a custom domain and your own domain, providing a more professional appearance for your website.

By evaluating your business needs and growth potential, you can determine the right time to upgrade from a free plan.

Summary

In conclusion, several free website builders are available in 2025, each offering unique features and benefits for small businesses. Wix stands out for its versatility and user-friendly interface, while Weebly is ideal for start-ups looking for a quick and professional site launch. Hostinger excels in speed and AI integration, making it a top choice for those who prioritise fast-loading websites. Squarespace offers design flexibility, perfect for creatives, and GoDaddy provides a quick setup with integrated marketing tools. Jimdo is a solid option for future online store owners, and Webnode is excellent for creating event-focused websites.

Choosing the right website builder involves evaluating your specific needs, comparing features, and considering budget constraints. Free website builders offer a great starting point, but upgrading to a premium plan may be necessary for businesses aiming for growth and enhanced functionality. By understanding the strengths and limitations of each platform, you can make an informed decision and build a professional-looking website that meets your business goals.

Frequently Asked Questions