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Best website builders for small business in 2025


The right website builder can improve your small business’ visibility and growth. In this article, you’ll find the reviews of the best website builders for small businesses and what these builders can offer.

Top web builder sites for small business: shortlist

Recent update
In this January 2025 update, I have reviewed website builders suitable for small businesses, updating the list to reflect the latest market trends and relevant provider features. Bluehost and IONOS are the newest providers on this list. I also included more relevant information for different types of small business websites.

The best website builder for small businesses: quick video recap

You can also check out our best web builders for small businesses review on YouTube. Learn all about our top provider editors, templates, performance, and more.

Best web builders for small business: detailed list

To assemble the list of the best website builders for small businesses, our research team and I tested our top-rated website builders. Only those fit for small businesses were selected for this list. We determined how fit each provider is for a small business by investigating each one’s eCommerce, SEO, blogging, AI, and general marketing features.

1. Wix – the best website builder for small businesses

wix
Starting price:From $10.50/month
Templates:900+
Current deal:Get Wix with 50% OFF

Wix is a powerful all-in-one solution for small businesses. With over 900 website templates, an online store builder, handy tools for sales and marketing, like custom emails and creative tools, an extensive app store, and 2 very different approaches to building your website, Wix has something for your small business to thrive.

What does Wix offer to small businesses? Practically, Wix has everything a small business would need, including multichannel selling, built-in SEO, email marketing, and AI assistance. Wix AI tools is one of the reasons why it’s also the best website builder that implements AI.

Below, you’ll find an overview of what Wix offers for small businesses as well as what it lacks.

FeaturesBenefitsLimitations
eCommerce features
  • AI item description generator
  • Multichannel selling (online store, Google, and Facebook)
  • Extensive media library
  • Secure payment gateways (such as PayPal and Stripe)
  • Express checkout
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Currency converter
  • Automated tax calculations
  • Inventory management
  • Fulfilment options
  • Dropshipping
  • Mobile app for businesses on the go
  • Advanced API customizations may require developer expertise or external tools
  • Complex operations may require integrating third-party tools or paid apps for full automation
  • More extensive eCommerce features are exclusive to high-tier plans
Marketing tools
  • Analytics and SEO tools
  • Integrations with multiple apps and social media
  • Referral program management
  • Coupons, email marketing and automation
  • Limited marketing tools in basic builder plans
Blogging
  • Supports various types of media
  • Offers AI text and topic generation
  • Straightforward and intuitive blog post management platform
  • More limited compared to specialized CMS platforms like Ghost or WordPress

My experience with Wix. I found the process of creating a website with Wix relatively straightforward. I chose one of the pre-built templates and customized it to my liking using the drag-and-drop editor. However, there is an option for custom CSS.

The designs are visually appealing and hard to mess up. This is great for small businesses who are just starting out, as it takes off the pressure of creating a good-looking website. Musicians, in particular, should find Wix's appealing designs noteworthy, as it’s a particularly good web builder for performers and bands.

While the template selection is huge, I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t change the design once the website was set up, which means if I ever wanted to change the template, I would have to do it manually.

Wix offers many complex features. However, the sheer amount of options can feel overwhelming for beginners. I found it confusing at times as well, even though I have some experience with website builders.

wix-marketing-suite
Wix marketing suite

Price. There’s a free plan that Wix offers that is limited, but a perfect way to test if this website builder works for you. Then there are several different plans with prices starting at $10.50/month, and the more features you need, the price will grow in tandem. However, the best plans for businesses start at $17.00/month.

2. Hostinger Website Builder – a comprehensive startup website builder

hostinger website builder banner
Starting price:From $2.32/month
Templates:150+
Current deal:Get Hostinger Website Builder, 81% OFF + free months

Hostinger Website Builder is an excellent tool to make a modern single or multi-page online store for startups. With its main advantage being the price, Hostinger is probably the cheapest website builder in the whole industry, making it an excellent option for aspiring entrepreneurs on a budget.

What does Hostinger offer to small businesses? Starting at just $2.32/month, Hostinger offers one of the cheapest website builders with great functionality, powerful AI solutions, and basic eCommerce tools.

FeaturesBenefitsLimitations
eCommerce features
  • Simple setup with already existing or AI-generated templates for online stores
  • Supports up to 500 products
  • Includes shipping options, product categories, and inventory management
  • AI product information generation
  • Various payment methods, such as PayPal or Stripe
  • Only one plan for eCommerce web builder
  • Only one currency per store is supported
Marketing tools
  • Built-in analytics
  • SEO settings
  • AI tools for SEO optimization, marketing, email campaigns, and product descriptions
  • Analytics rely on third-party integrations for deeper insights
  • Limited third-party app integration compared to Wix
Blogging
  • Basic blog creation features, including multimedia support and scheduling
  • AI blog content generation
  • Lack of advanced blogging tools compared to dedicated blogging platforms like WordPress

My experience with Hostinger. Hostinger is a beginner-friendly website builder, so it’s no surprise that I had zero problems setting up my website with it. I could choose from over 150 templates, each designed for different purposes, such as portfolio, marketing, eCommerce, and creative. Hostinger’s drag-and-drop feature is also one of the best in the market.

One of the best things about Hostinger is the AI tools, and there are many, including an AI writer, image generator, SEO assistant, and even heatmaps. While these features are not perfect, they can set you on the right track when optimizing your website.

In addition, I found Hostinger’s AI assistant, Kodee, to be particularly useful when building a website for the first time. If you’re not sure how to add something to your website, simply ask Kodee, and it will provide expert guidance.

hostinger-AI-tool
Hostinger's AI tools

When it comes to eCommerce, Hostinger’s features are a bit limited. For example, Hostinger allows you to list up to 500 products, whereas Wix allows online stores to sell up to 50,000 products. Therefore, Hostinger is best for startups and small businesses with a small product selection.

Price. Hostinger offers only 1 website builder plan. The price for the plan starts at $2.32/month. It's suitable for eCommerce and business sites and has an incredibly good value for money, as the biggest website builders would charge you several times more.

3. Bluehost – the best web builder to pair with WordPress

Bluehost
Starting price:From $1.99/month
Templates:300+
Current deal:Get up to 83% OFF Bluehost website builder!

Bluehost WonderSuite is a great website builder that merges WordPress CMS with the power of AI to simplify the process. If you like WordPress and all that it has to offer, but find it a bit too complicated, Bluehost is your best bet. Furthermore, Bluehost’s eCommerce features make setting up an e-shop very easy.

What does Bluehost offer to small businesses? Small business owners will benefit from Bluehost WonderSuite’s AI integration, WooCommerce, SEO tools, and over 300 customizable templates. Additionally, everything that WordPress offers, you can get too.

FeaturesBenefitsLimitations
eCommerce features
  • A comprehensive toolkit for cross-selling, upselling, and enhancing sales
  • Simplified payment setup with PayPal, Stripe, and other processors integration
  • WooCommerce and dedicated hosting
  • If you want more features, you’ll need to download WordPress plugins
  • A bit difficult for beginners
Marketing tools
  • Practical SEO and design suggestions in order to improve search engine rankings
  • Integrated tools, like Yoast SEO, for content optimization
  • Additional features require WordPress plugins
Blogging
  • Integration of the most popular WordPress.org CMS
  • AI-powered onboarding and new user guidance
  • Customizable templates and block patterns for blogs
  • Beginner-friendly editor with drag-and-drop options and real-time editing
  • Advanced features need plugins and some technical knowledge

My experience with Bluehost. I found the process of creating a Bluehost website very straightforward, though the initial setup is slightly complex. It’s mainly because you first need to setup hosting and install WordPress. In comparison, Wix makes this part of the process much easier to go through.

However, once the installation is complete, AI-guided setup for the template begins, and the process of setting up a website becomes significantly easier. In the end, you get 3 design options that you can edit and settle on the final version. Small businesses will also benefit from the WonderBlocks website creation tool, Yoast SEO, and WordPress CMS – all pre-installed.

Bluehost wonderblocks wb for small business
Bluehost WonderBlocks website builder with WordPress

It’s worth noting that Bluehost does not provide a dedicated web builder. What you get is a WonderBlocks plugin, which enhances WordPress.org and makes it more beginner-friendly. So, while the opportunities to customize your site are near endless, a lot of Bluehost features are accessible mainly through plugins, most of which cost extra.

I would like to emphasize Bluehost's AI tools. They made the whole process not only much easier but also generated templates, which is a unique feature compared to other web builders. While you can still pick your own templates, having one created by AI can add originality to your eCommerce website or blog posts.

Price. Bluehost WonderSuite costs from $1.99/month. WordPress.org is free, so you only pay for Bluehost integration. However, to get quality website features you would need to download additional plugins, which may cost money.

4. Squarespace – designer-built templates for creative small businesses

squarespace
Starting price:From $16.00/month
Templates:110+
Current deal:Get up to 36% OFF Squarespace

Squarespace offers a modern, lightweight, design-focused website-building solution for businesses looking to make a beautiful website simply and efficiently. If your business focuses on social media and visuals, Squarespace is the perfect builder for you.

What does Squarespace offer to small businesses? During our Squarespace tests, we found that with over 170 designer-made templates, a grid-style drag-and-drop editor, and generative AI tools, Squarespace is the best website builder for small businesses that prioritizes visuals.

FeaturesBenefitsLimitations
eCommerce features
  • Simple setup with tools for physical and digital product sales
  • Supports payment gateways and inventory management
  • AI product description generation
  • Basic plans lack advanced product and service features
Marketing tools
  • Built-in tools for email marketing, SEO, marketing analytics, and social media integration
  • Advanced features require third-party apps
  • Products and services features are only available in premium plans
Blogging
  • Simple platform for writing and scheduling blog posts
  • Supports multimedia content like images and videos in blogs
  • Generative AI
  • Less advanced blogging tools compared to other website builders like Wix or Hostinger

My experience with Squarespace. Building a website with Squarespace was enjoyable. Its drag-and-drop editor is easy to use, and the grid system ensures that every element is in harmony. Compared to Wix or Shopify, Squarespace is simple, offering easy navigation and fewer features.

I recommend Squarespace to small businesses that do creative work. You can easily create a stunning website to display your work. However, creating an online store or building an online presence is more difficult as Squarespace lacks advanced features unless you opt for the most expensive plan.

I also enjoyed using Generative AI to enhance my website. AI tools like product descriptions produce decent texts, but tools that are supposed to create high-quality relevant content, such as blog posts, are lacking.

squarespace-generative-AI
Squarespace Generative AI

Price. With 3 business plans available, the subscriptions start at $16.00/month for the most basic plan. To access more features and build bigger sites, you’ll have to upgrade to a more expensive plan.

5. IONOS – highly affordable website builder for small businesses

ionos banner new
Starting price:From $1/month
Templates:35+
Current deal:Get up to 91% OFF IONOS website builder

IONOS is on this list due to its remarkably low price (starting from just $1.00/month), simplicity, and integrated SEO tools. Where it lacks in features, it makes up by being the perfect option for those business owners who are just starting out and have limited funds.

What does IONOS offer to small businesses? IONOS offers amazing features: AI assistance in launching a fully functional website, site analytics, SEO tools, and competitor tracking. There is also a built-in website translator, in case you want to reach foreign markets.

FeaturesBenefitsLimitations
eCommerce features
  • Supports sales of physical and digital products, as well as service. Users can manage 5000 items and digital products up to 1GB each, depending on the plan
  • Allows multiple payment methods, such as credit cards and PayPal. Offers flexible shipping, like standard, same-day, or click & collect
  • Users can expand to social media platforms and online marketplaces, like Amazon or eBay
  • Limited actual web building features
Marketing tools
  • Enables store owners to create promotions, vouchers, and discounts
  • Tool for customer engagement, like abandoned cart recovery
  • Competitor and performance monitoring
  • Email marketing
  • Small range of third-party apps and plugins compared to competitors while also having limited features
Blogging
  • Easy blog setup, customizable templates, and intuitive editor
  • Content management through assignment of categories and tags to posts
  • Limited blogging upscale capabilities due to lack of plugins

My experience with IONOS. I found the IONOS website-building process to be very simple. Right from the start, I had a choice of either doing it myself or using AI. While doing it myself seemed more complicated, it was fairly straightforward and didn’t require any technical knowledge. Moreover, I wouldn’t say that doing it yourself makes the website more customized than using AI.

When I was creating the page using AI, I was led through the Q&A section to determine my needs and expectations. Then, I had to pick from several template options. In addition to pre-existing templates, there was also an option for AI-generated ones. So, the lack of professional templates really wasn’t as noticeable as I initially thought it would be. The final steps included SEO setup.

IONOS website creation process for small business
IONOS website creation

Not all was smooth sailing. Compared to other web builders I’ve tested, the lack of advanced AI features were very noticeable. However, if IONOS is your first website builder, you probably won’t notice it. The features were also limited, and I even noticed some bugs when using the web editor.

In the end, the website ended up being close to what I expected, mainly thanks to the AI-generated options, which added design variety to pre-existing templates. Also, if you consider how much it costs to create all of it, IONOS definitely becomes one of the most appealing options for small businesses.

Price. Pricing for IONOS starts at just $1.00/month. However, full eCommerce features can cost up to $17.00/month. I’m afraid if you want more than just the basics, getting a pricier plan will be inevitable.

6. SITE123 – a simplistic website builder great for blogs

site123
Starting price:From $12.80/month
Templates:160+
Current deal:SITE123 from $12.80/month

SITE123 is a simplistic website builder that is best for beginners in site-building and for small businesses that rely on blogs for traffic. It’s a speedy provider on a budget that will help you create the perfect site. For those who care about the results and not the journey, SITE123 is a smart choice.

What does SITE123 offer to small businesses? SITE123 is designed with simplicity in mind and offers everything you need to launch an online store. However, if you have a large selection of products, you will need a more complex website builder, like Wix.

FeaturesBenefitsLimitations
eCommerce features
  • Simple setup with product management, shipping, tax, currency selection, and inventory tracking
  • Coupons, digital downloads, and product reviews
  • Lack of advanced features
Marketing tools
  • Built-in SEO tools
  • Social media integration
  • Email marketing
  • Third-party apps needed for more quality website features
Blogging
  • Easy-to-use blog editor with support for images, videos, and scheduling
  • Basic blogging features compared to specialized platforms like WordPress

My experience with SITE123. I had a good, although rather limited, experience building a website with SITE123. It offers over 160 templates, all of which are free, and while the designs are nice, they didn’t blow me away.

The interface is easy to navigate and straightforward, allowing you to fully edit your website without any coding. Its simplicity makes SITE123 a good option for beginners, as it's less overwhelming compared to Wix or Shopify. That said, for more experienced users and small businesses with greater needs, SITE123 may feel limited.

site123-product-management
SITE123 product management

I found SITE123 to be great for blogging for beginners. It’s easy to set up and launch your first post and allows for easy monetization. Moreover, SITE123 includes basic SEO features – meta tags and titles, automatically generated sitemaps, aids for search engines, and integration with Google’s Webmaster Tools, making it excellent for blog-driven websites. Furthermore, SITE123 offers great business features to help your website grow.

With the rise of AI, most of the major website builders employ AI to streamline the process of building and managing a website. While SITE123 has a few AI tools, such as a text generator, I missed advanced AI solutions, such as generating and enhancing images that you can find with Wix or Shopify.

Price. SITE123 offers a basic free plan for user testing, and then the premium subscriptions start at $21.33/month. To get more features for growing your business, you’ll need to upgrade your plan.

7. Shopify – the best advanced eCommerce platform for selling online

shopify
Starting price:From $29.00/month
Templates:70+
Current deal:Try Shopify free for 3 days + 1 month for $1

Shopify is an eCommerce juggernaut, striking a perfect balance between being highly customizable and offering an absolute truckload of sales features – both offline and online. Shopify is perhaps the best website builder for small business that wants to sell, and sell big.

What does Shopify offer to small businesses? Shopify includes all of the key features needed for small business websites to be successful, including online and offline selling, fulfillment network, shipping, subscriptions, discounts, pre-orders, tax settings, third-party apps, and much more. Shopify is also one of the best website builders for eCommerce.

FeaturesBenefitsLimitations
eCommerce features
  • Customizable themes for online stores
  • Integrated payment and inventory management
  • Supports global sales and multi-channel integration
  • AI item description
  • Shopify Shipping helps streamline order fulfillment and tracking
  • Integration with POS for in-store sales
  • Shopify Magic, an AI-powered eCommerce assistant
  • Some features and their higher capacities are in more expensive plans
  • More advanced fulfillment features may require third-party apps or Shopify Fulfillment Network
Marketing tools
  • Built-in SEO
  • Email marketing
  • Social media integration
  • Analytics, reports, and live view
  • Some marketing automation tools/customer support options are only available in premium plans
Blogging
  • Easy-to-use blog editor with support for images and videos
  • Schedule publishing
  • Doesn’t provide the same extensive features as a professional CMS

My experience with Shopify. Creating an online store with Shopify was fairly easy as it walks you through the entire process step by step. In terms of templates and design, I found Shopify quite limited, especially when compared to the customization options of Wix or Hostinger.

For example, Shopify has a vast selection of themes; however, the majority of them are paid, and can cost anywhere between $100 and $500. Buying a template can be quite expensive for a small business, considering it’s already paying for a Shopify plan. Therefore, if you have limited resources and visuals are a priority, Shopify likely won’t be your initial choice.

If your main focus is selling, Shopify is one of the best options. Shopify eCommerce features are what make Shopify truly stand out. Shopify has practically every feature your online store might ever need.

On top of all that, Shopify includes in-house marketing tools, letting you send out emails and do social media or SMS outreach. I found the extensive built-in analytics tool especially useful. It allowed me to get a better understanding on how my website is doing.

shopify-analytics
Shopify Analytics

Price. There’s no free plan option available. Shopify’s subscription plans start at $29.00/month, and if you need to upgrade to more features and for a bigger site, then the prices will grow.

Comparison of the small businesses web builders

Website builderRatingFree domain nameCustom emailTemplatesFree plan
Wix
4.8
✅ Yes✅ Yes900+✅ Yes
Hostinger Web Builder
4.6
✅ Yes✅ Yes130+❌ No
Bluehost
4.4
✅ Yes✅ Yes300+❌ No
Squarespace
4
✅ Yes✅ Yes110+❌ No
IONOS
4.4
✅ Yes✅ Yes35+❌ No
SITE123
4.3
✅ Yes✅ Yes160+✅ Yes
Shopify
3.9
✅ Yes✅ Yes70+❌ No

Small business website builders: ranking methodology

Here at Cybernews, we follow a rigorous testing process to assess website builders. Together with the research team, we overviewed 32 and picked the best 7 website builders for small businesses to test in terms of:

  • Website builder system (25%). Small businesses don’t have the time nor the resources to spend building a website. We picked website builders that are easy to use, offer pre-built templates that can be customized, and AI assistance for an even smoother website-building process.
  • Blogging (25%). For small businesses that rely on blogging, we picked website builders with built-in blogging systems and SEO optimization to make your blog visible online.
  • Price (20%). Most small businesses don’t have the budget for a website, so we selected affordable website builders that offer a great price-to-value ratio. All of our picks have budget-friendly starting plans that can be upgraded as your business grows.
  • eCommerce features (15%). For small businesses that sell products or services, we looked for website builders with eCommerce tools, such as product galleries, inventory management, and payment gateways. Ideally, these tools are easy to set up and manage.
  • Marketing tools (15%). Small businesses need to be seen. We chose website builders that provide marketing solutions, including email marketing, ad campaigns, social media integration, and more.

Best website creator for small business: wrapping up

Based on all the factors, such as eCommerce features, template count, simplicity of use, and price, as well our test results, the best website creator for small business is Wix. It has just enough well-designed templates to be original, is very beginner-friendly, and has all the eCommerce and marketing tools a small business owner might need.

Wix also stands out by offering the ability to create a full website for free, allowing users to experiment and plan before launching the finished site and investing in a subscription. While many other providers have stand-out features, such as Hostinger with its quality content generation and management, and IONOS with its affordability, Wix seems to blend a little bit of every best practice.

FAQ

Comments

Ann Weeks
prefix 3 years ago
What is the simplest and most cost-efficient website builder for small companies that requires no coding experience?
Paulius Masiliauskas
prefix 3 years ago
Hello Ann!

I really like Squarespace's contributor options, so you can add other people and give them whatever level of access you wish to attribute. It's also very user-friendly and helpful in building a modern-looking site. If you're looking for something hassle-free and great for small businesses, Squarespace is a top pick.
SLAY
prefix 3 years ago
I want to create small business website and it's so easy to get lost in this saturated web builders market. I like how wix offers to build a website automatically based on a questionnaire, so helpful 👍
Paulius Masiliauskas
prefix 3 years ago
Hey, thanks for the comment! I'm glad this helped. :)
beatriz
prefix 3 years ago
hello! Thanks for the small business website builder recommendations! I could have never tried everything myself, but now I got this useful list and I'm looking forward to start my business with the best thing available (probably wix).
Paulius Masiliauskas
prefix 3 years ago
Hey, Beatriz! I believe you're making a good choice. Plus, you can try Wix out for free and upgrade if you like it. :)
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