Best drag and drop website builders

A drag and drop web builder is a tool that lets you create websites by simply dragging elements onto a page without needing to write any code.

These builders are designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making them perfect for beginners and intermediate users who don't have any coding skills. Just choose the images, videos, and multimedia, drop them onto the page, and, voilà – perfect website in minutes.

But what is a good drag and drop web builder, and how do you choose one?

I’ve tested 32 web builders myself, and here is a list of my top choices for drag-and-drop web builders. They all have a drag-and-drop feature, perform at a high level, and provide additional features.

7 best drag and drop website builders by Cybernews

1. Hostinger Website Builder – flexible drag and drop website builder
2. Squarespace – visually advanced drag and drop website builder
3. IONOS – drag and drop builder with many different features
4. SITE123 – beginner-focused drag and drop website builder
5. Shopify – e-commerce focused website builder
6. Weebly – flexible drag and drop website builder
7. GoDaddy website builder – great price-to-value drag and drop builder

What is a drag and drop website builder?

A drag and drop website builder is a user-friendly web development tool that allows users to create and design websites without coding or technical skills. It provides a visual interface where users can simply drag and drop elements such as text, images, video, or multimedia onto a canvas and arrange them in a way they want a website to look like. Take a look yourself at what our top drag and drop website builders look like.

Best drag and drop web builders – detailed review

Drag and drop website builders are beneficial and easy to use, especially for users who have little to zero technical or coding skills. Hence, together with the research team I tested a dozen of drag and drop website builders and selected 7 of the best ones that not only offer the feature but also perform at lightning-fast speeds and include extra features for a smooth building experience.

1. Hostinger Website Builder – versatile drag-and-drop builder

Editor:	Traditional drag and drop
Templates:	130+
Price:	From $2.54/month
Current deal:	Get Hostinger Website Builder, now 78% OFF + 3 months FREE

Visit Hostinger Website Builder

Hostinger ranks #1 on my list of the best drag and drop website builders. Hostinger is for everyone, from beginners to experienced users looking to quickly create a professional-looking website. It provides easy-to-use web creation tools, a variety of attractive templates, and a user-friendly web editor.

What website is Hostinger's drag and drop editor suitable for?

Website type	Benefits	Limitations
Blog	Easy installation and attractive design options, along with the ability to schedule blog posts	Limited features, numerous tools need extra payment
Portfolio site	Beautiful modern templates for every taste, integration with galleries and other tools for showcasing your work	Limited functionalities so the portfolio site might be very simple
Business site	Easy to use, built-in AI tools, SEO tools	There’s no app store, some tools requires additional payment
eCommerce site	Affordable to start, includes visitor remarketing, and has no commission fees	Some features are still in development

Using Hostinger drag and drop editor

Hostinger Website Builder’s drag-and-drop editor allows you to easily add elements to your web pages and move them around as you see fit. The overall interface isn’t cluttered and boasts intuitive navigation, so you won’t need lots of time to figure out how to build a fully functional website.

During testing of the Hostinger Website Builder, I saw exceptional performance as I built a website with many elements, content blocks, and videos. Yet it loaded in just 1.1 seconds. It’s an excellent result because this fast loading time reduces the likelihood of visitors leaving the site due to long loading periods.

The editor uses a grid system to suggest alignments for page elements, ensuring visual clarity. However, like with the following pick on our list, Squarespace, you can ignore these suggestions and freely drag and drop elements wherever you like. Some might see it as a major advantage, but I find it easier to follow the alignments and make your website visually appealing and orderly by sticking to the grid. Also, keep in mind that if you would like a nice logo or a perfect visual for your website, Hostinger can make it happen, but for an extra payment.

Thanks to its array of features and, of course – intuitive drag-and-drop function, Hostinger Website Builder is great for creating portfolios, small online shops, business sites, or landing pages. It costs $2.54/month, and it’s one of the cheapest drag-and-drop website builders on the list.

2. Squarespace – visually pleasing website builder for selling online

Editor:	Section based
Templates:	160+ modern templates
Price:	Free; from $16.00/month
Current deal:	Get up to 36% OFF Squarespace

View Squarespace

Squarespace is a great section-based website builder with beautiful templates and a solid array of marketing tools and features. It’s an excellent choice for artists and creative professionals looking to create stunning websites.

What website is Squarespace's drag and drop editor suitable for?

Website type	Benefits	Limitations
Blog	Easy installation and attractive design options, along with the ability to schedule blog posts	Limited features, numerous tools need extra payment
Portfolio site	Beautiful modern templates for every taste, integration with galleries and other tools for showcasing your work	Limited functionalities so the portfolio site might be very simple
Business site	Easy to use, built-in AI tools, SEO tools	There’s no app store, some tools requires additional payment
eCommerce site	Affordable to start, includes visitor remarketing, and has no commission fees	Some features are still in development

Using Squarespace drag and drop editor

Squarespace provides a straightforward section-based, drag and drop editor that allows you to select and customize different sections to suit your project requirements. With the Squarespace editor, you can effortlessly maintain a consistent style across your entire website, saving you from the laborious task of manual styling.

I decided to put Squarespace to the test and evaluate its performance by building our website. Everything went smoothly, and the test site loaded in approximately 3 seconds, which is a satisfactory result that falls within Google's standards.

I liked that the structured Squarespace editor ensures that the mobile version of your site is almost ready as soon as the desktop version is done. Unlike Hostinger, for instance, where I had to make significant adjustments to the mobile version to achieve the desired look.

Squarespace is an option for beginners or intermediate users looking to build a website within a budget that doesn’t break one’s bank. You can get the website builder for as little as $16.00/month, with the price going up, depending on what you’re looking for.

3. IONOS – feature-rich drag and drop builder

Editor:	Section based
Templates:	Only 28 templates
Price:	From $1.00
Current deal:	Get up to 91% OFF IONOS website builder

Visit IONOS builder

IONOS is a nice website builder that offers a blend of ease-of-use and robust features suitable for both beginners and experienced users. It is most suitable for small businesses and blogs, but more demanding users may find it lacking some essential features.

What website is IONOS's drag and drop editor suitable for?

Website type	Benefits	Limitations
Blog	Simple and easy setup	Not as visually appealing templates as with other providers, no scheduling tool
Portfolio site	Allows to create photo galleries, add testimonials, and embed live feeds from your social media	Templates a bit too corporate
Business site	Templates are designed for corporate businesses	Features are limited, scheduling or booking tools available for additional payment
eCommerce site	Several unique features like competitor tracking,	Most eCommerce features require payment, so setting up an online store will cost you more money

Using IONOS drag and drop editor

The IONOS editor is designed to be user-friendly, allowing users to create websites quickly with its drag-and-drop functionality. The AI-powered setup assists in the initial stages by suggesting templates and layouts based on the user's input about the type of website they want to create. However, unlike some competitors, it may not offer the same level of flexibility for placing elements precisely where you want them on the page.

Testing IONOS performance posed some challenges due to the inability to create an empty site for benchmarking. Instead, I tested a fully built site and a minimal template. The minimal template performed similarly, indicating limitations with IONOS servers. Despite this, the platform remains stable under heavy load, making it suitable for smaller sites and blogs but potentially slower for content-heavy websites.

The drag-and-drop editor is limited to fixed elements on the page, and it only covers the basics. For instance, there's no pop-up feature or extensive options when adding a new section. On the other hand, IONOS would be perfect for those who don’t want to play around and get too creative with their design.

Thanks to its features and basic drag-and-drop functionality, IONOS is suitable for creating portfolios, small online shops, business sites, or landing pages. However, the customization options can be somewhat limited compared to other builders. It costs $1.00/month for the first year, making it an economical choice, though it may not offer as much flexibility or variety in templates as some competitors.

4. SITE123 – beginner-friendly way to build a website

Editor:	Section based
Templates:	160+
Price:	Free; from $12.80/month
Current deal:	SITE123 coupon 40% OFF

Visit SITE123

SITE123’s name reflects its philosophy: getting you online with a fully functional site in minutes. If you have your text and images ready, achieving this goal is entirely feasible. Otherwise, you can use SITE123’s free images, videos, and icons to create a professional-looking website.

What website is SITE123's drag and drop editor suitable for?

Website type	Benefits	Limitations
Blog	Robust SEO and marketing tools, ideal for optimization	Could use more tools focused on content
Portfolio site	Templates and content blocks that emphasize visuals	Customization options are limited
Business site	Online selling tools, email marketing, and a robust plugin library	The tools provided are basic—they work but leave much to be desired
eCommerce site	Provides straightforward sales features for beginners and robust SEO and marketing tools	The Professional, Gold, and Platinum plans provide a good eCommerce experience, allowing users to accept more payment gateways

Using SITE123 drag and drop editor

SITE123 offers a practical section-based ADI editor, allowing users to customize website blocks using pre-designed options. However, due to its focus on simplicity, SITE123’s editor doesn’t give you traditional drag-and-drop flexibility but it allows adding pre-designed content blocks to your page and edit them quickly and easily.

During an in-house test building a website with SITE123, it emerged as one of the fastest website builders. Despite incorporating numerous text blocks, images, videos, and even some heavy documents, the website Iwe created loaded in less than a second, showcasing an exceptional outcome.

A nice feature of this provider is the free plan. Not many web builders can offer that. Although SITE123’s free plan is limited in features, it’s a great way to get to know the builder. It still includes useful tools like a schedule booking tool and links for social media and audio/video streaming. While some of the best features are available only in the paid plans, these plans offer good value.

SITE123 is the most suitable website builder for small businesses or individuals looking to sell online. The Basic ($12.80/month) and Advanced ($11.88/month) plans are more ideal for simple personal websites, while the expensive plans are better suited to business websites with a focus on e-commerce.

5. Shopify – eCommerce-focused online store builder

Editor:	Section based
Templates:	110+
Price:	From $29.00/month
Current deal:	Try Shopify free for 3 days + 1 month for $1

View Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce builder that allows individuals and businesses to create online stores within seconds, thanks to its user-friendly building experience. While it’s not a 100% drag and drop website builder, Shopify makes it into the list due to an extremely easy, customizable, and straightforward website-building process.

What website is Shopify's drag and drop editor suitable for?

Website type	Benefits	Limitations
Blog	Easy to use, mobile friendly, seamless integration with eCommerce if you’re looking to start a blog for your shop	Compared to dedicated blogging services, Shopify is quite limited with features
Portfolio site	SEO tools, analytics, and a wide range of pre-made templates	While user-friendly, mastering Shopify’s full potential may require some additional learning
Business site	Easy to set up and use, scales with your business growth	Monthly fees and transaction fees can add up, especially with additional apps and themes
eCommerce site	Supports numerous payment gateways, has an extensive app store with various plugins, built-in SEO tools	Some advanced features may only be available through paid apps, adding to operational costs

Using Shopify drag and drop editor

While Shopify isn’t entirely a drag and drop website builder, the provider made it into the list due to its extensive customization capabilities. When it comes to designing your online store, Shopify provides a section-based editor that ensures straightforward navigation, appearing slightly outdated when compared to advanced AI-powered editors like Hostinger.

We ran an in-house test by building a fully functional e-commerce site. Shopify loaded in less than 4 seconds, slightly exceeding the ideal speed recommended by Google. Additionally, the visual loading time was under 2 seconds, ensuring that your visitors won't face prolonged waits on a blank loading screen.

Shopify is primarily an e-commerce builder. In addition to basic online store tools, Shopify offers features for creating appointments, digital subscriptions, online menus, and more. Therefore, it’s ideal for people looking to create a fully functioning eCommerce website. Even Hostinger can’t compete with Shopify in this area. The only thing that stops me from truly relying on Shopify is its high cost.

The prices start at $29.00/month, and can go up to $299.00/month, depending on what functionalities you’re looking for.

6. Weebly – great builder for small to medium e-commerce sites

Editor:	Traditional drag and drop and AI
Templates:	60+
Price:	From $6.00/month
Current deal:	Get up to 33% OFF Weebly

Visit Weebly

Weebly has carved a niche for itself as a go-to website builder for those who prefer simplicity over complexity. It's especially favored by beginners and small business owners who need to get a website up and running without delving into the nitty-gritty of web design. Whether you're looking to launch a small online store, a portfolio, or just a personal blog, Weebly offers all the essential tools wrapped in a user-friendly package.

What website is Weebly's drag and drop editor suitable for?

Website type	Benefits	Limitations
Blog	Easy to set up with attractive design options	Advanced bloggers might find Weebly's features too basic, lacking options like deep categorization and tagging
Portfolio site	Offers modern templates and tools for media integration	Templates can be rigid, limiting customization beyond basic changes, which may not satisfy those with specific design visions
Business site	Simple to use with essential built-in marketing and SEO tools	Advanced SEO tools and extensive app integrations are lacking
eCommerce site	Affordable to start with basic eCommerce functionalities	Limited payment options and advanced eCommerce features, which may not support larger-scale operations effectively​

Using Weebly's drag and drop editor

Weebly makes our list not because it offers the deepest customization but because it's easy to use. Its drag-and-drop editor lets anyone easily create a website.

You can simply select any element here and drag and drop it onto your website.

In our tests, we built a site with Weebly and clocked the page load at just over 2.5 seconds, well below the 3-second mark that Google likes to see for good SEO and keeping visitors happy. This means quick loading times that don’t make visitors wait.

Weebly is great for small to medium e-commerce sites. It has all the basics, like product pages and secure checkouts, but doesn’t bog you down with too many bells and whistles. It’s not as customizable as IONOS, but it’s a lot simpler to handle for someone who doesn’t want to get into the weeds.

Weebly’s pricing is straightforward. There’s a free plan that works for basic needs, and paid plans start at $6.00 a month and can go up to $26 a month, making it affordable for those watching their budget.

7. GoDaddy website builder – great price-to-value website builder for beginners

Editor:	Section based
Templates:	20+
Price:	Free; from $9.99/month
Current deal:	Get up to 34% OFF GoDaddy website builder

Visit GoDaddy website builder

GoDaddy Website Builder is a section-based website builder that’s ideal for individuals and businesses looking to build websites quickly and easily. As a comprehensive solution combining eCommerce, marketing tools, and website-building capabilities, this platform has everything a small business needs to launch successfully.

What website is GoDaddy's drag and drop editor suitable for?

Website type	Benefits	Limitations
Blog	A straightforward blogging editor with effective SEO tools	The blogging editor is quite basic. Other website builders offer more advanced options
Portfolio site	Many modern design templates to showcase your art beautifully, paired with a user-friendly editor	Customization options are limited due to the straightforward design editor, which makes it easy to use
Business site	Basic site-building tools. Strong business and marketing features with effective SEO tools	Limited website editing, SEO tools are not included in the cheapest plan
eCommerce site	Excellent eCommerce features, with helpful guides for beginners	There's only one plan that includes eCommerce functionality

UsingGoDaddy drag and drop editor

GoDaddy website builder incorporates a user-friendly drag and drop editor that allows you to customize and add sections, modify layouts, select themes, and more. It consists of three primary sections - website, theme, and settings - which make it effortless to navigate and understand. Alternatively, you can utilize the Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) feature by providing the necessary details, resulting in the completion of your website in a few minutes.

I built a website using GoDaddy to evaluate how well it performs. The site loaded in approximately 1 second, which is one of the best loading times we’ve witnessed among providers.

I liked that GoDaddy has such key eCommerce features as product catalogs, secure payments, and promotional tools. While not as extensive as platforms like WooCommerce, GoDaddy allows the selling of both physical and digital products. It also offers management features like AI-generated product descriptions and customer reviews.

GoDaddy website builder is the best for those looking to build a simple personal site. For this, a Basic plan for $9.99/month will be enough, but if you decide to go for a full e-commerce functionality, the price can go up to $29.99/month.

Best drag and drop website builders comparison

Here's how each provider compares in terms of ratings, price, features, and more:

Brand	Rating	Best for	Editor	Templates	SEO features	eCommerce	Starting price
Hostinger website builder	4.6 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Portfolios and simple websites (beginners and advanced)	Drag and drop	130+	Meta titles, meta descriptions, Google Analytics, URL structures	✅ Yes	$2.54/month
Squarespace	4 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆	SEO-optimized business site	Section based	110+	Keyword research, meta titles, meta descriptions	✅ Yes	$16.00/month
IONOS	4.4 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆	Personal and small business websites	Section based	28	SEO checker, website analysis	✅ Yes	$1.00/month
SITE123	4.3 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆	Personal and small business websites	Section based	160+	SEO Pages – Audit tool, sitemaps, meta tags, 301 redirect tool	✅ Yes	$12.80/month
Shopify	3.9 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆	Building webshops	Section based	70+	Title tags, meta titles and descriptions, URLs editor	✅ Yes	$29.00/month
Weebly	3.9 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆	Small businesses, portfolios, online stores	Drag and drop	60+	Basic SEO tools, editable meta tags, alt text, custom URLs	✅ Yes	$6.00/month
GoDaddy	3.8 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆	Small business websites and hosting	Section based	20+	SEO Wizard, GoDaddy InSight, alt attributes, keyword research support	✅ Yes	$9.99/month

How we tested best drag and drop web builders

To evaluate and choose the best drag-and-drop website builders, together with a research team, I started by building sites from scratch as new users. Throughout testing, I focused on specific factors that determine a builder's quality. Firstly, I excluded providers that don't offer drag-and-drop options. Here are the other factors we considered:

1. Drag and drop functionality(35%). Not all website builders offer drag-and-drop functionality. We examined how each provider's builder compares to others. Shopify, though not strictly a drag-and-drop website builder, stands out on our list. It doesn't have a dedicated drag-and-drop feature but makes up for it with strong customization options.
2. Additional features(25%). In addition to the convenient drag and drop feature, it’s essential for website builder to include tools that enable tracking and enhancing site performance. As a result, our list comprises providers that offer a range of features, including SEO tools, marketing functionalities, e-commerce capabilities, and analytics. This ensures that both the business and aesthetic aspects of a website are effectively addressed.
3. Performance(25%). Performance is a crucial factor in creating a website that is seamless and efficient. We conducted tests by setting up fully functional websites with each provider. This process allowed us to evaluate the loading speed with tools like GTMetrix and determine if the performance aligns with Google's recommendations.
4. Value for money(15%). The compilation of the top drag and drop website builders comprises providers that offer a variety of pricing options. All of these providers offer comprehensive features, templates, and customization options, providing transparency in what you are paying for and ensuring you get the best value for your money.

We ranked these providers from 1 to 7 based on their performance in the mentioned categories, comparing them with competitors and considering pricing. This ensures you get comprehensive and trustworthy recommendations for your website requirements.

Drag and drop vs section-based editors

While reading about individual editors you probably noticed two phrases appearing here and there – drag and drop and section-based. What’s the difference between these two types of editors?

Traditional drag and drop website builder

Drag and drop website builders, in simple words, allow anyone with a computer and internet connection to effortlessly create a website. These builders don’t require any experience in coding – they allow you to add predetermined elements to your site by selecting them and dragging them to the place you want them to be. Usually, the elements you can add are similar to the following:

• Text
• Buttons
• Images and galleries
• Videos
• Slideshows
• Forms
• Structural elements (background images, spaces, headings, menus)

Creating a website with a drag and drop builder takes very little time – your website can be ready in just a few hours. And all of that can be done with little to no experience in web development.

Section-based website builders

Section-based website builders are extremely similar to drag and drop builders in several ways:

• You can add predetermined elements
• You can create a website with no web development skills
• You can create a website very quickly and effortlessly

So what’s the main difference?

Section-based editors are more limited. When creating a website with an editor like that, you’ll notice that you can only add elements in certain places. This has both pros and cons: while you can’t let your creative juices flow freely, you can be certain that the end product of your website will be very neat and structured.

Which is better – drag and drop or section based editor?

The answer depends solely on your needs and experience. Building a website using a drag and drop builder is a quick process, allowing you to have your website up and running in just a few hours. The best part is that you don't need any significant web development experience to accomplish this.

On the other hand, section-based editors have certain limitations. When using such an editor, you will notice that you can only add elements in specific designated areas. This approach has its advantages and disadvantages. While it may restrict your ability to freely express your creativity, it ensures that the final result of your website will be clean and well-structured.

Best drag and drop website builder – conclusion

Selecting the optimal drag and drop website builder can be a daunting task due to the abundance of providers offering this functionality. However, not all of them deliver a comprehensive range of features, templates, and outstanding performance that aligns with your desired value for money. That’s why we tested numerous providers and curated a list of the best ones.

Among the recommended options for a functional and budget-friendly drag and drop website builder, Hostinger stands out as the best one. It excels with its exceptional customization capabilities, fast website loading speeds, an extensive set of useful AI features, and a great selection of over 130 customizable templates. With Hostinger website builder, you can enjoy a hassle-free web-building process even if you don’t have any web development experience.

Best drag and drop website builder – FAQ