18 Best Platforms for Developing an Impressive Website in 2020

We’ve tested 70 website builders so far. Here’s our top 18

Website builders are online tools that make building your own website quick, easy, and hassle-free. They offer a more budget-friendly option than hiring a web designer, and best of all, you don’t even need to know how to code!

We believe everyone should have the chance to create a website and grow their online presence, regardless of whether you’re a total beginner or a time-pressured entrepreneur. That’s why we made it our mission to bring you the very best website builders on the market.

In this digital era, every business wants to convert their potential visitors into rewarding customers by building deeper relationships with the clients. Designing a good website is the best way as it is the storefront of your business.

After testing over 70 website builders, the results are in… 

1.      Wix                                                         

2.      Squarespace

3.      Weebly 

4.      SITE123

5.      Strikingly

6.      Duda 

7.      GoDaddy 

8.      WordPress.com 

9.      Jimdo 

10.  Creator

   11. SiteBuilder

   12. HubSpot

  13. Magento

  14. Joomla

  15. PHP

  16. 1&1 IONOS

  17. Open Cart

  18. JSP

Wix  & WordPress is the best overall website builder – it combines ease of use with total creative freedom, making it easy for beginners to create professional-looking websites. Squarespace has the best designs on the market, meaning it’s perfect for creatives, while Weebly’s features makes it ideal for small businesses and portfolios.

There are various website development companies which help you to stay ahead of this competitive world as they offer robust websites to their clients by making use of powerful software and tools. HubSpot development is not new, it is helping us in strategizing and mitigating the challenging tasks while developing the site, thereby, delivering the best business results.

Let’s take a rundown at some of the best platforms by using which developers can build rich website applications with a sensible approach. 

1. WordPress

WordPress is an open source website development platform used commonly since 2003. It is one of the most powerful blogging, and CMS platform frequently used nowadays. WordPress can be called as a versatile CMS used by most of the organizations to optimize their website content.

By using WordPress, you can make an SEO friendly website to increase its ranking in this marketing world. Moreover, you can also build a blog, e-commerce, news, photography, etc. 

Best for blogging

Pricing range: free – $25 per month 

Best for Blogging

3.7

out of 5

Ease Of Use

3.5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

4.5 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

3 out of 5 stars

Features

4.5 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

4 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

3.5 out of 5 stars

Try WordPress.com

WordPress.com Pros	WordPress.com Cons
Ideal for blogging	Not beginner friendly
Large range of features	Basic coding needed
Sensible prices	Templates only designed for blogging

WordPress.com Overview

WordPress.com is the simpler version of the popular blogging platform WordPress.org.

WordPress.com is the best website builder for blogging – it’s the perfect choice for those who want a blog, but aren’t quite up for taking on the complexities of WordPress.org.

That said, WordPress.com still isn’t the easiest website builder to use – in order to make the most out of the builder and expand your site, you’ll need to get to grips with some basic coding.

WordPress.com has one free plan and four premium plans, ranging from $4 to $45 per month (billed annually).

Lots of features, high quality blogging tools, and sensible prices make WordPress.com a great choice. Easier to use than WordPress.org but still unsuitable for novices, WordPress.com is perfect for bloggers with some technical confidence.

WordPress assists you in developing the website without hassle as it offers pre-built functionalities to set website themes and plugins without any difficulty. Click here, to know how many WordPress themes are there? 

You don’t have to pay a single penny because WordPress is free! What are you waiting for? Visit WordPress.com and start developing an awesome website with WordPress. 

2. Wix

Best all-round website builder

Pricing range: free – $500 per month 

 Best Overall Website Builder

4.7

out of 5

TOP CHOICE

Ease Of Use

4.5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

4.5 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

4 out of 5 stars

Features

4.5 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

5 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

5 out of 5 stars

Try Wix

Wix Pros	Wix Cons
Best all-round website builder	Can’t change template once site is live
Most likely to be recommended by users	Reliance on apps for scalability
Easy to use and beginner friendly	Number of features can be overwhelming

Wix Overview

Wix is an extremely beginner-friendly website builder that gives you total creative control over your site. Unlike some other builders, it doesn’t sacrifice power or customizability for ease – instead, it combines simple drag-and-drop editing tools with a huge range of features.

It has a free plan, and eight premium plans starting at $13 per month. You get over 500 templates to choose from, but choose carefully – you can’t switch your template once your site goes live.

In our testing, Wix received the highest “likely to recommend” score from our users – so our advice is, if you’re unsure about which website builder to use, give Wix a spin for free and see how you get on.

3. HubSpot

HubSpot is one of the commonly used all-in-one platforms which help the developers to build a powerful website in a customized way. It is a fully integrated CMS tool which also helps you in managing the visitors content at one centralized place. 

Have you ever thought to perform, marketing, sales, and development services from one place? Seems to be a challenging task? HubSpot is the place where you can perform all such activities in the fastest possible way. 

HubSpot CMS offers various features such as drag and drop, SEO, social media, landing pages, email, and marketing automation, analytics, templates, etc. 

By using these features, you can easily develop the website in Hubspot CMS even if you don’t have coding skills. Furthermore, you can also personalize your website content for every visitor in your HubSpot CMS. 

If you are a starter in HubSpot development, then you should start converting anonymous visitors into qualified leads by visiting HubSpot.com and availing its free services. 

4. Squarespace

Best for creatives and quality designs

Pricing range: $12 – $40 per month 

 Best for Creatives

4.3

out of 5

Ease Of Use

3.5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

5 out of 5 stars

Features

4 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

4 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4.5 out of 5 stars

Try Squarespace

Read our full review

Squarespace Pros	Squarespace Cons
Best quality features of any builder	Can be difficult to get to grips with
Best template designs on the market	Not the fastest builder to create a website with
Ideal for creative industries	Limited number of pricing plans can feel restrictive

Squarespace Overview

Squarespace is a sophisticated website builder that has a lot to offer creatives and businesses alike. It’s not the easiest to use builder on the market, but it still won’t take long to get used to – it just needs a little more time and patience than Wix.

Where Squarespace really shines is its template designs – they’re the best on the market, and are perfect for creatives who want a visually impressive website. It’s not a case of style over substance, however – Squarespace also has a huge range of features to give your site the power it needs.

Squarespace also has a 14-day free trial. If you love the trial and want to sign up, there are four premium plans to choose from, starting from $12 per month.

Squarespace is the best website builder for creatives – it’s powerful, stylish, and expertly designed.

5. HubSpot

HubSpot is one of the commonly used all-in-one platforms which help the developers to build a powerful website in a customized way. It is a fully integrated CMS tool which also helps you in managing the visitors content at one centralized place. 

Have you ever thought to perform, marketing, sales, and development services from one place? Seems to be a challenging task? HubSpot is the place where you can perform all such activities in the fastest possible way. 

HubSpot CMS offers various features such as drag and drop, SEO, social media, landing pages, email, and marketing automation, analytics, templates, etc. 

By using these features, you can easily develop the website in Hubspot CMS even if you don’t have coding skills. Furthermore, you can also personalize your website content for every visitor in your HubSpot CMS. 

If you are a starter in HubSpot development, then you should start converting anonymous visitors into qualified leads by visiting HubSpot.com and availing its free services. 

6. Magento

Magento is a fully customized, secure and stable e-commerce platform which is used by the developers to create a flexible website. 

The comprehensive development tool offers a vast range of features and applications like website management, SEO, analytics, and reporting, order management, catalog management, customer accounts, inventory management and many more. 

In Magento, the entity-attribute-value database model is used for storing the data in a customized form. It provides a highly active user forum which helps the talented web developers in building a scalable website. 

Therefore, it is considered as a complete solution for the developers and marketers to achieve business goals and objectives. Hence, it is another free platform which you can use to develop web applications with the help of thousands of extensions. 

7. Weebly

Best for small businesses and portfolios

Pricing range: free – $38 per month 

 Best for Small Businesses and Portfolios

4.1

out of 5

Ease Of Use

3.5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

4.5 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

4 out of 5 stars

Features

4.5 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

3.5 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

5 out of 5 stars

Try Weebly

Weebly Pros	Weebly Cons
Best features for scaling your website	Template structure restricts creative freedom
Large app store	No personal restore option means you’re reliant on Weebly to restore your site
Built-in SEO guides	Higher price plans are fairly expensive

Weebly Overview

Weebly is a simple website builder that nevertheless packs a powerful punch when it comes to features – especially ecommerce and blogging. It’s pretty easy to use, but is also more limited than its competitors in terms of design and customizability.

It has a free plan, and four paid plans ranging from just $5 up to $38 per month (billed annually). These cheap starter plans makes Weebly one of the most affordable website builders on the market.

Weebly is nice and simple to use, and a perfect choice if you’re building a business website or online portfolio.

8. SITE123

Best for help and support via live chat

Pricing range: free – $12.80 per month 

Best help and support

4

out of 5

Ease of Use

4 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3.5 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

3 out of 5 stars

Features

3.5 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

4 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

5 out of 5 stars

Try Site123

Read our full review

SITE123 Pros	SITE123 Cons
Excellent live chat support	Lack of creative control
Easy to build a basic website	Features lack quality and scalability
Beginner friendly	Can’t change template once site is live

SITE123 Overview

SITE123 gets back to basics to bring you a super simple and beginner-friendly website builder. It’s best for those with no tech experience, as it can quickly become limiting if you ask too much from it.

SITE123 makes it easy to create simple websites. Thanks to its live chat support and straightforward design, you can publish your website without wasting a moment.

Brilliant customer support is this website builder’s main strength. The live chat feature means you can easily get help if you get stuck while creating or editing your website. If you’re a beginner or are looking to set up your site fast, SITE123 is a safe choice.

However, it’s not a powerful builder – it lacks advanced features, and isn’t a scalable option for growing a website. Still, with a free plan and great support, SITE123 is a perfect choice for first-time builders.

SITE123 is a safe choice, especially for nervous beginners who want a lot of support.

9. Strikingly

Best for value for money

Pricing range: free – $49 per month 

Best for Value for Money

4

out of 5

Ease of Use

4 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

4.5 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

3.5 out of 5 stars

Features

3 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

4.5 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4 out of 5 stars

Try Strikingly

Read Full Review

Strikingly Pros	Strikingly Cons
Best value for money	Limited creative control
Great blogging tools	Can only create one page websites
Beginner friendly	Lack of features for scalability

Strikingly Overview

Strikingly is another beginner-friendly website builder that specializes in one-page websites. It also provides the best value for money out of all the website builders we tested!

It’s not ideal for complex websites, but Strikingly’s free plan includes some great basic features, making it popular with bloggers and freelancers. That said, you might find the one-page design and basic level of customization limiting if you have grand plans for your site.

If you want to use a personalized domain name, you’ll need one of Strikingly’s three premium plans, which range from $8 to $49 per month (billed annually).

Strikingly offers great value for money, and is a good blogging builder for beginners.

Joomla

Do you want to access the content management system without paying any amount? Joomla is another flexible platform which helps to empower website creators. 

Joomla enables you to build powerful online applications and web sites since 2005 as it has thousands of free templates and extensions. It will allow you to manage your website in such a way that it fits your business desires. 

This tool is preferred by various developers because it offers a variety of functions You can edit your site design quickly, enhance its efficiency and makes a versatile infrastructure. 

Joomla is completely free created by using two open source platforms that are MYSQL and PHP. There are various brands which are using Joomla to build dynamic sites and increase their traffic such as iHop, Harvard, etc. 

Do you know Joomla is a multi-tasking tool? 

This platform is not only used for website development, but it also helps in connecting visitors data in a variety of ways. As per the research, Joomla empowers nearly  2 million active websites. 

Therefore, If you are looking for a scalable and versatile platform for developing a site, Go for Joomla!

10. PHP

PHP is one of the well- known server-side scripting languages which is preferred by most of the developers for building amazing and dynamic websites. One of the reasons for its preference is that it provides the benefits and functionalities similar to the paid scripting language.  

As it is an open source, therefore, it is free. You can build a powerful website by handling various challenges that you may face while developing secure, versatile and database friendly website. 

It includes PHP code modules by utilizing it you can enhance your website performance. For example, Facebook- mostly used social networking site is built by using PHP. 

If you have the same goal which is to develop an interactive website, then it is the best possible solution in your top list. 

11. Open Cart

Open Cart is another popular e-commerce platform similar to Ruby, Drupal, etc used for creating a responsive website with super-fast speed. It is also an open source platform mostly preferred due to its user-friendly nature and impressive inbuilt e-commerce features. 

By using this brilliant web development tool, you can upgrade your business ROI by developing an attractive interface and fulfilling customers demands. 

Moreover, it offers integration services, which will help you to customize the development services by using lifetime free support and regular software updates. 

Are you planning to install this platform for creating an effective website? Open cart is one of them as it is easy to install on different shared hosting sites and provides a variety of themes and templates to give a dynamic vision to your site. 

12. JSP

JSP stands for Java Server Pages. It is a technology which helps the developers in creating an appealing website. 

Java programming language is used in JSP for developing a website. If you want to create dynamic web pages based on HTML, XML and other documents, prefer using JSP technology. 

It provides some predefined actions similar to PHP and ASP which helps you in developing an interactive website. However, it also includes XML or HTML frameworks, and static templates to code the site content systematically.

13. Duda

Best for lending a creative hand

Pricing range: $14 – $74 per month 

Best for Lending a Creative Hand

4

out of 5

Ease Of Use

4 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

1.5 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

5 out of 5 stars

Features

3.5 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

4 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4 out of 5 stars

Try Duda

Duda Pros	Duda Cons
Creative control is guided by the template’s design	Expensive pricing plans
Offers incredible in-house widgets and apps	Less creative freedom than other builders
Simple, user-friendly designs	Basic SEO tools

Duda Overview

Duda is a clear winner for anyone in search of website design that’s pure, polished, and simple.

The builder is easy to use, giving you drag-and-drop functionality combined with structured and stylish templates. This makes it perfect for anyone who cares about design, but isn’t ready for total creative freedom over their site.

There are over 90 templates to choose from, covering a range of industries from business to lifestyle. You get creative control over customization, but within the template’s limits – you’re still largely guided by your chosen design.

These features make Duda ideal for web designers creating multiple websites for clients – in fact, that’s what Duda was originally built for!

The main drawback of Duda is that it’s the most expensive website builder on our list, with prices starting at $14 per month. Still, there’s a 14-day free trial for you to have a go on.

Duda is a very design-focused website builder that helps you create a stylish website.

14. GoDaddy

Best for creating and publishing websites fast

Pricing range: $10 – $25 per month 

Best for Building Websites Fast

3.8

out of 5

Ease Of Use

4 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

2.5 out of 5 stars

Features

2.5 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

3 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4.5 out of 5 stars

Try GoDaddy

Read our full review

GoDaddy Pros	GoDaddy Cons
Fastest builder for creating a website	Lack of quality features - only suitable for building basic sites
Switch templates at any time	Limited creative freedom
Very user-friendly	Cheapest plan doesn’t provide SEO tools

GoDaddy Overview

GoDaddy is very user-friendly, and is the fastest outright website builder for creating a website. Its design assistance means you just have to enter your details, before GoDaddy creates a tailored website for you to customize.

Simple layouts and guidance on adding elements to your site make for an extremely straightforward and speedy building process.

However, GoDaddy isn’t the best choice for powerful or complex websites – it may offer speed and simplicity, but this also means it’s not the best choice for building a truly personalized website.

GoDaddy may be the best website builder for speed, but its prices aren’t quite so impressive – plans range from $10 to $25 per month. Luckily, GoDaddy has a very generous one-month free trial, so you can make sure it’s right for you before signing up.

GoDaddy is the best website builder for anyone who needs a simple, stylish website online as fast as possible.

15. Jimdo

Best for removing adverts cheaply

Pricing range: free – $40 per month 

Best for Removing Adverts Cheaply

3.6

out of 5

Ease Of Use

4 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3.5 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

2.5 out of 5 stars

Features

3.5 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

2.5 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4 out of 5 stars

Try Jimdo

Read our full review

Jimdo Pros	Jimdo Cons
Charges the least to remove adverts from your website ($9/month)	Very little creative control
Easy to add elements to your page	Limited designs and rigid editing process
You can sell on the free plan	No restore option

Jimdo Overview

Jimdo is a basic website builder that’s best for creating simple websites, rather than anything complex or flashy.

Jimdo actually has two different editors – Jimdo Dolphin and Jimdo Creator. Jimdo Dolphin uses ADI to help you create your site, while Jimdo Creator lets you build your site your way (similar to Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly).

Jimdo Creator has all the basic features you need to build your website. But if you want the power to edit, personalize, or create something more advanced, the builder will start to feel rigid very quickly.

Each editor has its own set of price plans, and both come with a free plan so you can build risk-free. Jimdo Dolphin has four plans ranging from $9 to $39 per month (billed annually), while Jimdo Creator has four price plans ranging from $10 to $40 per month (billed annually).

Jimdo is a middle-of-the-road builder that caters for small businesses wanting to get online.

16. 1&1 IONOS

Best for multilingual websites and white collar businesses

Pricing range: $1 – $45 per month  

Best for Multilingual Sites and White Collar Businesses

3.6

out of 5

Ease Of Use

3.5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

2.5 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

2.5 out of 5 stars

Features

3.5 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

3.5 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4 out of 5 stars

Try 1&1 IONOS

Read our full review

1&1 IONOS Pros	1&1 IONOS Cons
Lots of tools to scale your business	Designs are basic and dated
Multilingual options	No free plan or free trial
Templates cover a range of industries	Confusing editing interface

17. 1&1 IONOS Overview

1&1 IONOS has everything you need to create a functional, standard website. It won’t look like a Squarespace site or win awards for its designs, but it will get the job done. The builder has all the basic features you need, especially for small corporate businesses.

It’s also a great option for those on a budget, because although 1&1 IONOS doesn’t have a free plan, its prices start at just $1 per month!

One of the main drawbacks of 1&1 IONOS is that its designs look pretty dated compared to the other best website builders in this list. 1&1 IONOS is a functional, rather than stylish website builder – it won’t create the best-looking site on the internet, but it has the features to make your site or business succeed.

1&1 IONOS charges $1 for your first month, then charges $5 per month after that on its cheapest plan. There are four plans in total, three of which are for building online stores.

1&1 IONOS is a cheap website builder that includes multi language tools on all its plans.

18. SiteBuilder

Best for beginners

Pricing range: $11 – $20 per month 

Best for Beginners

3.8

out of 5

Ease Of Use

4.5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

4 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

3 out of 5 stars

Features

3 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

1.5 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4 out of 5 stars

Try SiteBuilder

Read our full review

SiteBuilder Pros	SiteBuilder Cons
Easy to use	Low quality features
Quick to build a simple website	No free plan or trial
Basic ecommerce functions on highest plan	Outdated and inflexible templates

SiteBuilder Overview

SiteBuilder is the best website builder for beginners – it’s extremely easy to use, and makes creating your first website a quick and simple experience.

However, this is a classic example of where a builder has sacrificed power and quality for simplicity. The basic editor quickly becomes limiting rather than convenient, and this is reflected in SiteBuilder’s star ratings – ease of use is through the roof, while the scores for other areas languish somewhere around the three-star mark.

SiteBuilder’s designs cover a huge range of industries, but don’t offer much creative freedom. You also can’t view the designs until you’ve signed up for an account.

There are three paid plans to choose from, ranging from $11 to $20 per month (billed annually). The good news is, there’s almost always a sale on – usually around 50% off – so you can save a lot when you sign up!

SiteBuilder has its limitations, but despite all that, it really is the easiest to use website builder if you’re after pure simplicity.

In a Crux

Hope the above list helps you find the best platform to develop your website accurately and effectively.

Don’t get confused in selecting one platform! If you know your limitations, goals, and strengths, then you can easily choose the best to streamline your website development process in the best possible form. 

So, evaluate your objective behind creating an interactive website and select the appropriate platform to better business success. 

What are you waiting for? Select the best web development platform and develop an optimized website.  

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