Best Website Builders for Small Business: Compared for 2025

For a quick overview of the website builders I’ve featured, refer to the comparison table below which will help you when making your final choice:

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BEST FOR SELLING
Shopify	Wix	Squarespace	GoDaddy	Hostinger
Overall Rating 4.9	Overall Rating 4.8	Overall Rating 4.7	Overall Rating 4.1	Overall Rating 3.8
Starting from $29 $1/month for 3 months	Starting from $17 $15.30 with code ‘TAKE10’	Starting from $16 $14.40 with code “WBE10”	Starting from $9.99	Starting from $11.99 Early bird Black Friday price: $2.49 + 3 months free (for 48-months)
Free plan or free trial 3-day free trial	Free plan or free trial Free plan	Free plan or free trial 14-day free trial	Free plan or free trial Free plan	Free plan or free trial 30-day free trial
Number of templates 150+	Number of templates 900+	Number of templates 150+	Number of templates 200+	Number of templates 150+
Visit Shopify	Visit Wix	View Squarespace	Visit GoDaddy	Visit Hostinger

• Shopify pricing: $29 – $299 per month, get your first three months for $1/month
• Read our Shopify review for a detailed look at the website builder

Editor's Choice

Shopify

Best for selling products

Excellent

4.9

out of 5

• Simple product backend
• Extensive app store
• Good for scalability

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $29 - $299 / month

Pros

• Sell on socials like TikTok
• Ideal for complex inventories
• Manage business bills easily

Cons

• Not suitable for small-scale stores
• Lack of tutorials
• Heavy reliance on apps

Shopify Review

Visit Site

If you need your small business website to focus on showcasing products and converting traffic into customers, you’ll want a powerful ecommerce website builder that offers high-quality sales features, such as inventory management tools and multichannel integration. You might already be signed up to a website builder, so it’ll just be a case of upgrading to an ecommerce-friendly plan.

Shopify has the best sales features on the market. The range and quality of Shopify’s ecommerce tools, including abandoned cart recovery, tax calculation, and the option for discount codes, make it a powerful solution for small businesses of any size that want to sell online.

Why Do I Recommend Shopify?

• 🛒 Multichannel selling – Connect Shopify with its POS system for offline selling, a range of social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, or online marketplaces. I like that Shopify merchants can download the Shopify Marketplace Connect app to gain access to marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. This helps you meet customers in the places they’re already browsing and shopping, so you don’t need to rely on your website as the sole channel for sales.
• 💳 Payment options – Shopify supports over 100 different payment gateways, as well as Shopify Payments which eradicates transaction fees if chosen. Using Shopify’s native payment gateway is the easiest way to take payments through the website builder, making the checkout experience more convenient for both the business owner and the customer.
• 🔒 Website security – Shopify provides a built-in SSL certificate, two-step verification, customer logins, and ensures your website is PCI compliant. The majority of these measures are offered by all major website builders, but I really like Shopify’s additional fraud analysis tool which helps small businesses recognize fraudulent orders.

You can watch our video below to learn more about Shopify’s features:

Play

Should You Use Shopify?

Shopify is ideal for growing online businesses, especially if you manage a complex inventory or you’re looking to expand your products. Its advanced sales features and scalability mean you can rest assured Shopify can keep up with your store, and support you throughout the entire journey. That said, I wouldn’t recommend Shopify if you only have a few products to sell – you’ll get the most out of the platform and its sales tools if you have a large inventory. If you’re just starting out, I suggest looking at Wix, which is better suited for smaller product catalogs – but you’ll need to upgrade to a higher plan for unlimited storage and advanced sales tools, such as automated sales tax. These features are available on Shopify from its cheapest plan.

I’d recommend Shopify as the best option for small businesses because of its simple backend tools that let you add products easily, as well as its huge app store which is great for helping small businesses grow and adapt. You’ve got apps like TikTok that can help grow your audience or Klaviyo which is great for setting up email & SMS marketing!

Ollie Simpson Research Executive

• Wix pricing: Free – $159 per month, get 10% off with our code TAKE10
• Read our Wix review for a detailed look at the website builder

Wix

Best for marketing your business

Very Good

4.8

out of 5

• Personalized SEO
• Easy marketing setup
• Well-rounded features

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $17 - $159 / month

Pros

• Email marketing with cheapest plan
• Keyword support from Semrush
• New AI features introduced

Cons

• Not ideal for growing businesses
• Interface can be overwhelming
• Pay more for better marketing

Wix Review

Use code TAKE10 for 10% off

Visit Site

Looking to promote your business online and grow your audience? Need help optimizing your website for search engines? A good website builder should support your marketing efforts so you can get more eyes on your website and small business.

Wix is my top choice for marketing, providing a diverse range of website features and high-quality marketing tools, such as:

• Built-in email marketing
• Internationalization features, supporting 180 languages and auto-translation
• Keyword support from Semrush integration

All of these features from Wix support your business efforts to promote your website and expand your audience reach.

Why Do I Recommend Wix?

• 📨 Marketing features – Wix provides a built-in email marketing package with its website builder plans to help build audience engagement and increase your brand’s visibility online. You can set up automated workflows, use brand assets from your site, coordinate communications with Wix’s Mailchimp partnership, and generate personalized messages to speak directly with your customers. This isn’t something all builders provide either (Hostinger lacks any email marketing tools).
• 🔍 SEO – Wix, like most website builders, handles the SEO basics, such as meta titles and image alt text. But, I love how Wix delivers personalized SEO guidance for website owners and small businesses. Plus, you can utilize Wix’s SEO Learning Hub and other tools, such as its AI Meta Tag Creator and keyword research tool powered by Semrush, to help your website appear in search engine results. It’s no surprise Wix scores a perfect 5 out of 5 in our SEO testing, with only Shopify sharing the same rating.
• 🤖 AI Tools – With Wix, you can use its AI website builder to build your site in just a few minutes (which is great for small businesses just starting out and looking to get online quickly). You can also use Wix’s AI Text Creator to generate website copy, blog posts, product descriptions, and more. However, when trialing the AI tool myself, I found the prompt restrictive since it made me choose a topic before adding keywords. Wix has also recently rolled out an AI Theme Assistant to support design decisions.

Should You Use Wix?

The great thing about Wix is that the majority of tools are built in and you can start building your website for free – though I recommend upgrading to one of its premium plans to remove ads and unlock additional features.

With other builders, like Shopify, you’ll need to browse a large app market for additional features, such as email marketing. But, do you have time to shop around for the right third-party apps or would you rather have everything at your fingertips within your website builder’s dashboard?

• Squarespace pricing: $16 – $52 per month, get 10% off with our code WBE10
• Read our Squarespace review for a detailed look at the website builder

Squarespace

Best for stylish designs

Very Good

4.7

out of 5

• Stylish templates
• Recommended by users
• Impressive backend

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $16 - $52 / month

Pros

• Unique content tools
• Ideal for creative businesses
• Edit your site on the mobile app

Cons

• Not suitable for larger stores
• Less creative freedom than Wix
• Bad for multilingual sites

Squarespace Review

Use code WBE10 for 10% off

Visit Site

We know that first impressions make all the difference, which is why template variety, sleek design elements, and quality content are so important. If this sounds like something your small business wants to prioritize, then Squarespace is your best bet for a stylish website.

Squarespace uses the popular drag-and-drop style editor – but with a twist. When editing, you’ll notice a grid-style overlay, helping you snap elements into position. While this might sound more restrictive than other website builders, Squarespace’s grid layout helps your elements align neatly with one another. You’ll find it difficult to create anything messy or bland when using Squarespace, once you combine its editor with the quality of its designs and templates.

Why Do I Recommend Squarespace?

• 🎨 Template quality – Squarespace’s 150+ templates cover a wide range of industries, including “Fashion,” “Media & Podcasts,” “Real Estate & Properties,” and “Travel.” It’s a far cry from Wix’s 900+, but Squarespace focuses on quality over quantity. You can browse its selection without needing to sign up, and each template works harmoniously with every Squarespace element, feature, and design option. Alternatively, you can use Squarespace’s AI builder, Blueprint AI. I found it incredibly easy to use, and I had a functional yet sleek website live in 10 minutes.
• ✏️ Content tools – Squarespace provides dozens of professionally designed elements to place on your pages, meaning you can display your content in a variety of ways. For example, an accordion is great if you want to hide additional content so visitors aren’t overwhelmed, or you could add a map to make the location of your small business really easy to spot. Using elements like these, or even carousels and charts, help make your content digestible to website visitors. People consume information in different ways, so breaking up your content into alternative formats ensures your key points are delivered.

Should You Use Squarespace?

I especially recommend Squarespace for artist websites and creative businesses – or anyone looking to focus on visuals and appearance over other factors, such as ecommerce or backend power. Its stylish templates and design options, paired with an easy-to-use editor, makes it easy to bring your website vision to life.

• GoDaddy pricing: Free – $20.99 per month
• Read our GoDaddy review for a detailed look at the website builder

GoDaddy

Best for expert guidance

Good

4.1

out of 5

• Fast response time
• Best value for money
• 24/7 phone + live chat

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $9.99 - $20.99 / month

Pros

• Excellent support for beginners
• Quick way to get online
• Interactive resources

Cons

• Lacks quality design options
• No email support
• Wouldn't recommend for larger businesses

GoDaddy Review

Visit Site

You don’t need to be an expert in building or running a website from the get-go. If you feel like you’ll want a helping hand, or appreciate a few educational resources to help you get started, then we recommend choosing GoDaddy which offers expert guidance and support.

GoDaddy offers a simplified editor so you shouldn’t have any trouble navigating the builder’s features and tools. That said, GoDaddy lacks the drag-and-drop editor of Wix, Squarespace, and Hostinger, so you might find yourself creatively blocked at times.

Why Do I Recommend GoDaddy?

• ☎️ Help and support – GoDaddy offers an impressive range of support channels, including 24/7 phone support, social media channels, 24/7 live chat, a knowledge center, and a community forum. Unfortunately, you can’t reach GoDaddy via email, so I’d recommend looking at Shopify or Squarespace if this is something you require. Despite this, I was particularly impressed by GoDaddy’s live chat response time. In my tests, GoDaddy’s live chat responded in less than 10 seconds every time.

Should You Use GoDaddy?

Of all the builders we’ve tested, GoDaddy is the best value for money. It offers nearly all of the same standard features that you’d find on Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify, such as SEO and marketing tools, but for a fraction of the price. So, if you don’t mind GoDaddy’s simplicity, it’s a beginner-friendly and affordable builder to choose.

• Hostinger pricing: $2.99 – $3.99 per month, get 10% off with code WBE
• Read our Hostinger website builder review for a detailed look at the website builder

Hostinger

Best for selling as a side hustle

Good

4.1

out of 5

• Impressive AI tools
• Affordable plans
• Beginner-friendly editor

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $2.99 - $109.99 / month

Pros

• 24/7 help and support
• Quick way to get online
• Great for simple sites

Cons

• Limited scalability
• No app market
• Not for advanced designs

Hostinger Review

Visit Site

If you’re new to the world of selling online or want to test out your business idea as a side hustle or small business, then Hostinger offers brilliant AI tools and a beginner-friendly editor to help you get online quickly.

To sell online, you’ll need the $3.99 Business Website Builder plan to unlock Hostinger’s ecommerce features and AI tools. But, for such a cheap price, the upgrade doesn’t seem as big a leap as other website builders.

Why Do I Recommend Hostinger?

• ⏰ Time-saving AI tools – Hostinger relies heavily on its suite of AI tools, including an AI-powered website builder, but this makes it ideal for beginners and businesses looking to get online fast. Using a single prompt, you can generate images, text, blog posts, and more. If you use the Business Website Builder plan ($3.99 per month), you’ll have access to a range of AI features.

Should You Use Hostinger?

Hostinger’s one of the easiest website builders I’ve tested, second only to Squarespace. So, if you’re looking to get your business online and need something simple and supportive, Hostinger’s affordable website builder plans are ideal. Despite having a drag-and-drop editor, I wouldn’t recommend using Hostinger if you’re after advanced creative control or need to manage a complex inventory since its plans aren’t very scalable.

I think busy entrepreneurs would really benefit from Hostinger’s suite of time-saving AI tools. This is what makes Hostinger a smart choice for small businesses – it gives you a helping hand with things like website creation, content generation, and tracking customer engagement. Sure, with no email marketing it’s not the most scalable option, but when you’re a new business owner juggling all the tasks that comes with those early days of building and running a website, these AI tools can make a real difference and help you set up fast!

Lucy Carney Deputy Editor

We’ve conducted in-depth testing on the top website builders for small businesses to bring you data-led recommendations. Our goal is to help you find a website builder that meets your needs – we cover the good, the bad, and everything in between so you have all of the facts.

For small businesses, we look at seven core categories:

• Sales features – 38%
  • We look at the ecommerce features on offer to support your online store, from payment options to abandoned cart recovery.
• Website features – 20%
  • Looking at the quality and quantity of a website builder’s features, such as SEO, AI, and marketing.
• Help and support – 17%
  • We test a builder’s help and support options and knowledge centers because we know every small business might need a helping hand now and then.
• User experience – 10%
  • We look at a website builder’s ease of use and accessibility by testing the builders ourselves.
• Design functionality – 7%
  • This category covers a website builder’s aesthetic capabilities and design options, such as templates and mobile editors.
• Value for money – 5%
  • We review a website builder’s pricing plans and what you can get for your money.
• Customer score – 3%
  • To see how a website builder performs in the market and against competitors.

Following our testing, each website builder is awarded a rating out of five, which we then use to determine our rankings.

Still struggling to choose the best website builder for your small business? Take our quiz below to find a suitable option for you:

I’ve shared our recommendations depending on your brand’s needs, but our top choice for small businesses is Shopify. It offers a powerful all-in-one solution for small businesses, performing well across our research categories. It also has the best sales features out of all the builders we tested.

If you’re still unsure, here’s a reminder of our top five small business website builders and how they can help you:

• Shopify is the best small business website builder overall, but I specifically recommend it for businesses looking to sell online
• Wix offers high-quality website features, helping small businesses promote their websites online
• Squarespace is ideal for designing a stylish website, especially for creative small businesses – see how well it performed in our best website builder for artists and best website builder for musicians research
• GoDaddy provides small businesses with responsive help and support, and its affordable plans make it the best value for money
• Hostinger offers great AI tools to save small businesses time when setting up an online store

See how Shopify, our recommended choice for small businesses, compares to the rest in our detailed comparison pages: Shopify vs Wix, Shopify vs Squarespace, and Shopify vs GoDaddy.

All of these website builders offer either a free trial or a free plan, so you can try them out first to help you find the right fit for your small business.