5 Best Website Builders for Your Small Business

Recent research from Zippia showed that 75% of customers will judge a company based on its site, 85% of customers will consult a site before deciding to make a purchase (whether online or not) and it takes only 10 seconds for the average visitor to decide to stay on a site or search elsewhere. That makes it pretty vital to have a good one.

These days, you don't need to be a coding whizz to launch a site as there are multiple options to create a professional production yourself. Much like physical office space, a digital space should be clean, inviting and easy to navigate – almost 40% of users will log off a cluttered or clunky site.

A wide suite of website builders can offer platforms for all kinds of businesses. But which are the top picks?

Picture 1 of 5 Best Website Builders for Your Small Business

Zyro

We've profiled Zyro previously but its recent incorporation into the Hostinger platform means it bears revisiting. Zyro is fairly basic compared to some other builders - you select a template from a few options and get straight to building a site. You don't have full editorial control, however the slightly bare-bones approach means Zyro sites run quickly. Couple that with a free built-in SSL certificate (vital for security-conscious customers) and Zyro makes an attractive, economical option for simple retail eCommerce sites.

Square Online

In Namechk's rundown of the best website builders for 2023, they put Square Online at the top of the virtual tree. Starting life as a payment processor, Square then moved into furnishing websites utilizing a payment processor and Square Online is particularly adept at small business eCommerce. Drag and drop features enable you to customize pages quickly and easily. Inventory management helps keep track of stock and a flat rate pricing scale means no nasty surprises. Mobile optimization is excellent, which is particularly prescient when we countenance that over 70% of online purchases are made with mobile devices.

Shopify

If a retail business is starting to scale up, Shopify can offer complete solutions, albeit at a higher cost than Square Online. Shopify is global, allowing you to sell across countries, and on separate platforms like Amazon, eBay and Etsy where you can reach a truly worldwide customer base in addition to your own website. Shopify eschews drag and drop functionality for site construction; the editor is more akin to working on a Word document, which some prefer. All themes are mobile-responsive from the get-go. Like Square, it has a built-in payment processor which ranks highly on customer trust surveys. Shopify comes with its own app store where you can choose from over 6000 plug-ins for your site, enabling you to install the most relevant features at the click of a button.

Webflow

Powered by Amazon Web Services, Webflow is a compelling option for sites which sell more premium and less volume - say big ticket custom items or even payment of deposits for consultancy fees. On a subscription basis, Webflow's eCommerce platform is more expensive than the competition. However paying fees per transaction when there are fewer of them can sting less. Webflow's killer app is its built-in advanced SEO tools, helping power small sites up the search engine rankings to be on the same page as the big players.

Carrd

For simpler projects - particularly when no purchasing is involved - Carrd specializes in single page sites. The free version allows you to create three, which can make nice landing pages to show off a creative vision. The paid version – at a princely sum of $20 per year – allows for the creation of up to 500. Real estate agent looking to give each house a unique website (and it's often possible to get the street address and .com as a domain name) with some photos and a video walkthrough? Carrd is ideal. Buttons can be added so interested parties can click to call, or link to socials to scope out the business more deeply.

A good website can be the key to making a great business. Launch onto the web on the platform that will take it to the next level.

Jessica Tanner

Update 14 April 2023