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WordPress alternatives – making website building simple


WordPress is a popular, free Content Management System (CMS) that lets you create any type of website. However, it’s most suitable for blogs or text-heavy content, making it not the best fit for everyone. WordPress also requires technical skills since adding features often involves coding or installing plugins. Additionally, its interface can feel slightly complex, with a learning curve that might not appeal to beginners.

Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives to WordPress that are more beginner-friendly and offer greater customization options without the hassle. These platforms are easier to use, more intuitive, and don’t require coding or managing plugins. Whether you’re looking to create an online store, portfolio, or business website, these alternatives provide a smoother experience.

In this article, I’ll present you with the 7 best WordPress alternatives, perfect for turning your ideas into reality with minimal effort.

Best WordPress alternatives: shortlist

Video guide

If you prefer a video format, our team prepared this alternative guide to the best WordPress alternatives:

Best WordPress alternatives: detailed list

Together with the Cybernews team, I reviewed 32 providers to identify solutions that truly stand out as the best website builders for all types of users. This carefully curated list highlights the best WordPress alternatives, selected based on features, ease of use, pricing, templates, and overall experience.

1. Wix – limitless website builder as a WordPress alternative

wix
Price rangeFrom free to $55.00/month
Standout featureAI-powered website creation
Templates900
Current dealGet Wix with 50% OFF

Wix is best known for its highly flexible website editor, which is also remarkably easy to use. Unlike many other website builders that limit what you can do design-wise, Wix provides a level of flexibility similar to WordPress. The key difference is that with Wix, you can make changes effortlessly, without the technical complexity.

Using Wix

Wix is a highly customizable website builder that allows you to bring any idea to life with ease. It offers over 100 design elements, giving you all the tools you need for flexibility in your website design. In contrast, WordPress relies more on themes, and if you want to make major changes, you’ll likely need coding skills or a premium theme. Wix, however, provides all the editing tools you need right out of the box.

Wix with 900 free templates, which serve as a great starting point for building your site. Plus, one of the main Wix’s features is its AI-powered website creator, which is discussed in the Wix review. It can generate a website tailored to your needs in just seconds, simplifying web building and offering limitless customization options.

Additionally, Wix’s AI tools go beyond website creation. As the best AI website builder, Wix offers powerful tools to streamline design. The AI Text Creator helps craft taglines, titles, or full paragraphs, while the AI Image Editor enhances visuals with features like object erasing and upscaling. These tools make personalization fast and effortless.

wix website builder ai
Wix AI-powered website creator

Just to show how customizable Wix is, here, for instance, you have Wix’s options for just one image. Filters, borders, backgrounds, and anything you can think of are waiting for you among the editing tools. You won’t see as many design options with any other builder.

wix editor interface
Wix editor

Another advantage Wix has over WordPress is ease of use. Creating an account is quick and straightforward, and the dashboard is easy to navigate.

From your Wix dashboard, you can control pretty much anything. You can set up an online shop, create a blog, access analytics, and manage marketing and SEO. While Wix does have an app store, it doesn’t rely on it as much as WordPress relies on its plugin library. So, for many features, you don’t need to install anything.

wix builder dashboard
Wix dashboard

The last thing I have to say about Wix is that it comes with gorgeous templates. The library features 900 themes.

These themes were made by professionals, and Wix has high standards when it comes to looks. As for the niches the templates cover, you’ll find pretty much anything from business, services and online stores to community tabs and blogs.

wix template
Wix templates

Wix pricing

Since Wix comes with everything you need for a professional website, it’s pricing is a little higher. That said, Wix does offer different plans that you can explore based on your needs:

  • Free – only suitable for testing since it contains Wix ads and has a .wixsite.com domain
  • Light ($12.00/month) – great for personal use, no Wix ads on your site, 2GB storage, provides Light marketing suite, allows 2 site collaborators
  • Core ($10.50/month) – 50GB storage, provides Basic marketing suite, allows 5 site collaborators
  • Business ($13.00/month) – 100GB storage, provides Standard marketing suite, allows 10 site collaborators
  • Business Elite ($55.00/month) – unlimited storage, provides Advanced marketing suite, allows 100 site collaborators

I believe this website builder will suit you perfectly if you want to create something genuinely beautiful, but you have no skills when it comes to web development. As an WordPress alternative, Wix is an excellent fit.

2. Hostinger Website Builder – cheap and innovative alternative to WordPress

hostinger website builder banner
Price rangeFrom $2.69/month to $3.59/month
Standout featureExtensive AI tools
Templates150
Current dealGet Hostinger Website Builder, 78% OFF + free months

Hostinger Website Builder is designed for those who prioritize ease of use and affordable pricing. It allows you to create a great website quickly and with minimal effort – something that can’t always be said for WordPress.

Using Hostinger Website Builder

Hostinger Website Builder has a great visual editor. It’s very intuitive and makes website building a breeze – you’re free to customize your pages, add or remove elements, and change the style of your site. All these options are located in the top-left menu of your Hostinger Website Builder editor.

hostinger web builder tools
Hostinger Website Builder editor

As Hostinger Website Builder review shows, the provider stands out for its AI tools, including an AI website builder, AI image generator, AI writing tools, AI blog generator, AI SEO tools, and AI heatmaps. AI tools make designing and optimizing your website much easier. However, compared to Wix’s AI-powered site creator, Hostinger falls slightly behind. Wix offers more detailed customization options for AI-generated websites, while Hostinger's approach still requires manual adjustments.

hostinger web builder ai tools
AI tools on Hostinger Website builder

Hostinger Website Builder is clearly designed with beginners in mind, and this becomes apparent the moment you start using it. Immediately after signing up, you had to choose a template or create one with AI and go explore the editor. Hostinger offers 150 templates covering all major niches, which you can easily customize in the editor.

hostinger web builder templates
Hostinger Website Builder templates

Hostinger Website Builder pricing

Hostinger Website Builder is known for its affordability. It offers two plans, each with flexible billing options: 1, 12, 24, or 48 months. The longer your subscription, the lower the monthly cost. Here’s what each plan includes:

  • Premium Website Builder ($2.69/month) – 100 websites, free email, domain, marketing integrations
  • Business Website Builder ($3.59/month) – 100 websites, free email, domain, marketing integrations, extensive AI and eCommerce tools

As expected, longer plans offer a better monthly rate. For instance, the Premium Website Builder costs $11.99/month if you choose a monthly subscription, but with a 2-year plan, it’s nearly five times cheaper.

Hostinger Website Builder is a worthy competitor when it comes to many website builders. Sure, it may not be as flexible as some, and it doesn’t have thousands of templates, however, it offers great value for the price.

3. Squarespace – visually appealing WordPress competitor

squarespace
Price rangeFrom $16.00/month to $99.00/month
Standout featureProfessional templates with built-in commerce
Templates180
Current dealGet up to 36% OFF Squarespace

Squarespace is a solid alternative to WordPress, offering an easy-to-use interface and is considered one of the best drag-and-drop website builders. Unlike WordPress, it doesn't rely heavily on third-party apps, and it comes with beautiful templates and strong business features.

Using Squarespace

If you’re a beginner, you’re going to love Squarespace. Its editor is minimalistic, and you have access to everything you need in one place. Whether you want to edit your website’s pages, access the settings edit colors, fonts, add animations – it’s all located in the left-side menu.

Squarespace’s AI tools make creating a professional website easy and intuitive. With Blueprint AI, you can build your site by answering questions about your goals, industry, and brand personality. It provides tailored designs, ready-to-use content, and even offers AI-generated logos to choose from. You can also create text, images, and stock backgrounds for a fully personalized experience.

For those looking to set up an online store, Squarespace streamlines the process by asking a few questions during signup. Once complete, your site is automatically designed as an online shop with all necessary features in place.

squarespace store creation
Getting started on Squarespace

The editor is straightforward, and the dashboard is integrated, so navigating Squarespace is easy, even for beginners. Most apps and features are already built-in, and if you run into any issues, Squarespace offers a comprehensive knowledge base for support.

squarespace editor interface
Squarespace editor

If you need additional functionality, you can explore the app library, though it’s smaller compared to platforms like Wix, and some apps may come with a higher price tag.

Squarespace is particularly recommended for businesses because it comes with essential business tools that we discussed in our Squarespace review, such as SEO, marketing, and analytics.

Squarespace offers 180 free, professionally designed templates, covering a wide range of industries. Whether you're creating a portfolio, blog, or online store, you'll find a theme that suits your needs.

squarespace template
Squarespace templates

If you feel like this comparison isn’t enough for you to make your decision, check out the comparison on Squarespace vs WordPress.

Squarespace pricing

Squarespace offers four premium plans with a 14-day free trial:

  • Basic ($16.00/month) – basic plan for simple personal websites, Squarespace AI, 2% transaction fee, 2 contributors
  • Core ($23.00/month) – 0% transaction fee, advanced website analytics, unlimited contributors, complete customization with CSS and Javascript, professional email
  • Plus ($39.00/month) – 0% transaction fee, advanced website analytics, unlimited contributors, complete customization with CSS and Javascript, professional email, API integrations for advanced sales functionality
  • Advanced ($99.00/month) – all-included Plus features with lower fees and all advanced eCommerce tools

While selling online is available with the Business plan, you’ll get better eCommerce features if you opt for either Basic eCommerce or Advanced eCommerce because these plans don’t have a transaction fee. To explore more options, check out the guide to the best eCommerce website builders.

Squarespace is a great WordPress alternative for building an online shop, especially if you find WooCommerce too complex.

4. SITE123 – beginner-friendly WordPress alternative

SITE123 user interface
Price rangeFrom $12.80/month to $45.00/month
Standout featurePre-designed, mobile-responsive layouts
Templates80
Current dealSITE123 from $12.80/month

SITE123 is one of the easiest website builders to use, but that doesn't mean it lacks functionality. Additionally, SITE123’s TextAI simplifies content creation by generating tailored text and content ideas based on your website details, like name, category, and focus.

Using SITE123

Getting started with SITE123 is simple. You create an account and are immediately prompted with questions about the type of website you want to create. After choosing your niche and explaining your idea, the platform generates a website for you. You’re then transferred to the editor, where you can begin customizing your site.

site123 editor tools
SITE123 editor

The editor is straightforward. When testing SITE123, I was able to add or remove pages from the left-hand menu, customize website elements, and adjust colors and fonts. When designing your site, everything is organized into pages. In the pages menu, you’ll find various categories and layout examples to choose from, making the process easy. You can simply pick a page design and edit the content.

SITE123 also comes with strong eCommerce features. You can build your store, manage orders, view statistics, and even connect your dropshipping account.

site123 template
SITE123 templates

One thing worth noting is that SITE123 doesn’t offer extensive customization for every individual element. For example, you can change the font only site-wide, not on specific elements. Although this may seem limiting, it's ideal for beginners who want to quickly create and publish a site without spending too much time on details.

One of SITE123’s best features is how easy it is to create a mobile-friendly website. Every element is optimized for both desktop and mobile, so you don’t have to worry about how your site will look on different devices.

SITE123 pricing

SITE123 offers multiple plans, and here’s what each has to offer:

  • Free – subdomain, 250MB storage and bandwidth
  • Basic ($12.80/month) – domain name, 3GB storage, removal of SITE123 tag
  • Advanced ($21.33/month) – domain name, 10GB storage, removal of SITE123 tag, email marketing
  • Professional ($41.00/month) – domain name, 35GB storage, removal of SITE123 tag, email marketing, eCommerce features
  • Gold ($55.00/month) – domain name, 50GB storage, removal of SITE123 tag, email marketing, advanced eCommerce features
  • Platinum ($45.00/month) – domain name, 100GB storage, removal of SITE123 tag, email marketing, premium eCommerce features

Overall, SITE123 is an excellent alternative to WordPress, particularly for those seeking ease of use and quick results.

5. GoDaddy website builder – fast and business-centered WordPress competitor

godaddy website builder
Price rangeFrom $9.99/month to $20.99/month
Standout featureGoDaddy Insight
Templates240
Current dealGet Hostinger Website Builder, 78% OFF + free months

GoDaddy is a well-known hosting provider that also offers a great website builder. Its built-in business tools make it a solid competitor to WordPress, especially for those who value ease of use and want to create a functional website quickly.

Using GoDaddy website builder

If you’re a business owner and want to create a website fast, GoDaddy website builder might be the right fit. The process starts by selecting a template, after which you can customize color schemes, fonts, and page elements in the editor.

editor godaddy website builder
GoDaddy website builder editor

GoDaddy’s website builder is designed for both beginners and experienced users. For newcomers, the editor includes a suggestion box to guide you through the next steps, making the whole experience smoother.

godaddy suggestion box
Suggestion box on GoDaddy website builder

The editor also includes options for SEO, social media links, and analytics. If you're unfamiliar with these, the GoDaddy Help Center offers guidance on how to manage them.

One standout feature is GoDaddy InSight, a smart learning system that provides tailored recommendations based on your goals and industry. GoDaddy InSight sets goals for your website and assigns a performance score once you meet them, giving you data-driven insights to improve. This tool is honestly one of a kind, and you can read more about it in the GoDaddy website builder review.

godaddy insights score
GoDaddy InSight score

GoDaddy Airo, the AI-powered tool in GoDaddy's website builder, helps growing businesses create a professional online presence effortlessly. It generates a complete website with built-in SEO, customer insights, and email marketing features. The AI also designs a custom logo, sets up a personalized "Coming Soon" page, and provides a branded professional email to enhance your business.

GoDaddy’s website builder dashboard is very user-friendly. It provides quick access to billing, domain details, and your products and services. Clicking on your website takes you to a separate dashboard, where you can manage your store, appointments, marketing tools, and site settings.

GoDaddy website builder offers a selection of well-designed templates that look great on both desktop and mobile. Plus, you’ll find one that suits your needs because there are 15 categories covering all major niches.

godaddy webbuilder templates
GoDaddy website builder templates

GoDaddy website builder pricing

GoDaddy's website builder is reasonably priced, with 3 premium plans available:

  • Basic ($9.99/month) – includes a custom domain, built-in SEO, GoDaddy Insight
  • Premium ($14.99/month) – adds support for online payments and appointments bookings
  • Commerce ($20.99/month) – full eCommerce features, including product listings, discounts, and promotional features

The plan that you should choose depends highly on what kind of site you’re looking for. The Basic plan is great if you just want to make a personal site, for example, a portfolio. The Premium plan is great for small businesses that don’t plan on selling online – they have SEO optimization and appointment bookings making it easier for you to grow your business’s online presence and book clients. If you’re exploring your options, check out some of the best website builders for small business to find the perfect solution for your needs. For online stores, the Commerce plan is necessary, as it includes all the necessary eCommerce features.

GoDaddy website builder is a good WordPress alternative for beginners, offering an intuitive builder, stylish templates, and powerful business tools, though not the cheapest option.

6. Webflow – WordPress alternative for developers

webflow
Price rangeFrom free to $212.00/month
Standout featureVisual CSS grid
Template6000+
Current dealGet excellent website design tools from $14 a month

Webflow is an capable alternative to WordPress if you’re a designer. This builder is a no-code visual website builder, letting you make custom design choices and functionalities, something WordPress struggles to do. Webflow has everything covered, and with all the editing options, you get the advantages of using a visual editor while building a fully custom website from square one.

Using Webflow

When using Webflow for the first time, the editor can seem a little cluttered. However, don’t let this first impression scare you. All you have to do is go through the initial tutorial and spend some time with the editor getting to know it. As a result, you’ll handle it and create something you can’t with an average website builder. Besides, Webflow’s AI assistant is really helfupl when getting started.

Webflow’s AI Assistant makes the design process smoother by offering in-context help, relevant suggestions, and guidance as you build. It’s included with the free plan and has been tested to deliver practical support for beginners. Additionally, Webflow also offers the Modify copy tool, available with paid plans, to generate or edit text in elements based on a prompt, streamlining content creation.

webflow editor
Webflow editor

Next, let’s talk about templates. Webflow has an impressive library, and while you have access to some free templates, most of them are paid. The cheapest I’ve come across was $19, while the most expensive was $149.

webflow template
Webflow templates

In my opinion, Webflow is the perfect WordPress alternative for developers. It offers extensive customization options and compatibility with React/Angular, giving you the possibility to export the code and integrate it with the chosen frameworks for various project needs. Webflow also includes AI tools, full access to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript codes. Additionally, it offers a comprehensive suite of APIs, such as Sites API, Pages API, and Assets API.

Webflow pricing

Webflow offer many plans for different needs. Here are what General plans Webflow offers:

  • Starter (free) – suitable for testing out the platform since includes Webflow.io domain
  • Basic ($14.00/month) – suitable for smaller websites, comes with a domain name and 10GB bandwidth
  • CMS ($23.00/month) – suitable for blogs, comes with a domain name, 50GB bandwidth, and custom search feature
  • Business ($39.00/month) – suitable for larger websites, comes with a domain name, 100GB bandwidth, and custom search feature

Overall, I’d say that Webflow makes for an effective alternative to WordPress if you’re interested in web design. It can help you create awesome websites not just for you but for your clients as well. There’s a learning curve with it, but the templates are modern-looking, and the editing flexibility is impressive.

7. Ghost – WordPress alternative for publishers

ghost
Price rangeFrom $9/month to $199/month
Standout featureBuilt-in membership and subscription platform
Templates90+

Ghost is a decent WordPress alternative for blogging. It provides all the necessary tools for publishing without being complicated, making it an suitable platform for content creators.

Using Ghost

Ghost combines the best features of WordPress into a user-friendly and efficient publishing platform. Getting started is easy as you only need an email and password to create an account. After that, you can begin a 14-day free trial, although you'll need to provide credit card details to activate it.

ghost trial
Creating an account on Ghost

Once you've signed up, you'll access the Ghost dashboard, where you can manage your posts, schedule them, and save drafts. It's similar to WordPress but with less clutter, focusing on content rather than design.

ghost dashboard
Ghost’s dashboard

Ghost is a professional tool for blogging, but it does offer design options through its Cards feature to enhance your site’s look.

ghost cards
Ghost Cards

One of the most renowned Ghost’s features is Memberships. This tool allows to set up member sign up, paid subscriptions, and email newsletters. Most importantly, Ghost takes 0% transaction fee for these subscriptions.

In terms of templates, Ghost offers both free and paid options. These themes cover various niches, including magazines, photography, travel, and lifestyle. While some templates are free, the paid ones can be quite pricey, ranging from $24 to $149. You can also find third-party templates, but their prices are similar, averaging around $100.

ghost themes
Themes on Ghost

Ghost pricing

The last thing you’re probably interested in is the prices. Ghost features 4 plans:

  • Starter ($9/month) – 1 staff user, up to 500 members, built-in integrations, official Ghost themes
  • Creator ($25/month) – 2 staff users, up to 1000 members, custom integrations, and themes
  • Team ($50/month) – 5 staff users, up to 1000 members, priority support, high volume traffic handling
  • Business ($199/month) – unlimited staff users, up to 10,000 members, custom authentication

If you’re a blogger looking for a simpler alternative to WordPress, Ghost is a decent choice. It’s easy to use, allows you to monetize your content through memberships, and has an extensive library of beautiful temples. Plus, it avoids the third-party complications you might encounter with WordPress.

Top WordPress alternatives: comparison list

BrandAI toolsCode accessAPI integrationDomain privacyMigrationMobile optimization
Wix✅ Yes✅ Yes❌ No✅ Yes❌ No✅ Yes
Hostinger Website Builder✅ Yes✅ Yes✅ Yes✅ Yes✅ Yes✅ Yes
Squarespace✅ Yes✅ Yes✅ Yes✅ Yes❌ No✅ Yes
SITE123✅ Yes❌ No❌ No✅ Yes❌ No✅ Yes
GoDaddy website builder✅ Yes❌ No❌ No✅ Yes (for additional price)❌ No✅ Yes
Webflow✅ Yes✅ Yes✅ Yes❌ No❌ No✅ Yes
Ghost❌ No❌ No✅ Yes❌ No✅ Yes✅ Yes

Testing and ranking methodology

When choosing the best WordPress alternatives, I followed a clear testing process to ensure my recommendations are accurate. For more details on our methodology, visit the how we test Web Builders page.

I started by reviewing 32 website builders comparable to WordPress. After narrowing it down, I focused on 7 builders, which I evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Features (30%). WordPress is known for its limitless customization options. Thus, I prioritized website builders with a wide range of eCommerce, business, and marketing features.
  • Ease of use (25%). One of WordPress's main drawbacks is that it's not very intuitive. I selected builders that are easy to use for beginners without prior experience.
  • Pricing (25%). I chose builders with affordable pricing, comparable to hosting a WordPress site, ensuring a fair price-to-quality ratio.
  • Templates (10%). WordPress has a vast library of templates, so I picked services that offer a similar variety. I also considered AI-powered builders that generate personalized templates.
  • Personal experience (10%). I considered my own experience using each builder — how intuitive it felt and how quickly I could create a website.

Based on these factors, I ranked each provider from 1 to 7.

When to look for WordPress alternatives?

WordPress is the most used CMS in the world, powering over a third of the internet. It’s free, you can add in tools that you really need, and you can create any type of site with it, making it a great choice for creators. That said, WordPress has pros, that could be cons to some people – in my experience, those features revolve around the following:

You don't want to deal with plugins

Since WordPress is an open-source software, it’s pretty bare by itself. While it lets you choose the exact features you need, website builders are easier to work with as they come with all the essential tools already built in.

You don't work with text-based content

If your site isn't going to have too many text posts, you might not like working with this CMS. WordPress started its life being a blogging platform, so it’s no surprise that everything regarding content is top-notch. While the blogging editor is renowned for its great SEO optimization and simple content transferring, these features aren't too useful if you don't want to clutter your website with text.

You don't want to deal with coding

Installing plugins to do all the work for you isn’t that difficult, but if you want to have some deeper design changes, coding is the way to go in WordPress. WordPress allows to add HTML and CSS elements to your site to tailor it to your preferences, but builders allow you to do extensive design changes without a single line of code.

You don’t want to deal with hosting

When you go for WordPress.org, you need to find a hosting provider before installing WordPress on your hosting account. While managing hosting isn’t complicated, some people don’t want to deal with it. In this case a website builder comes in handy as it usually comes with web hosting.

You’re looking for ease of use

WordPress isn’t a complicated CMS, but some things can get tricky. For example, you need a plugin for every little thing you want on your website. The plugin library is full of them, but picking and installing them takes some time. On the other hand, website builders include all the necessary apps in their plans. Of course, some extra features still might require installing a plugin, but the most used ones are already available.

You don’t know to work with WordPress templates

There’s little you can edit from the empty dashboard. If you install a theme you get access to more editing options, however, it’s not as simple as with a website builder. Sure, you have plugins like Elementor, but nothing is as easy as the drag-and-drop editors website builders provide. Besides, website builder are becoming more flexible and more comparable to WordPress’s limitlessness.

While WordPress is the number one choice for most web developers, that can't be said about regular people with no web building experience. Another thing, some people could have difficulty choosing between WordPress.org and WordPress.com – if you’re one of them, check out our WordPress.org and WordPress.com comparison.

Best WordPress alternatives: final thoughts

WordPress is one of the most well-known website builders and a go-to solution for bloggers, offering over 13,000 templates. However, its interface isn’t very user-friendly, and for almost any feature, you need to install a plugin or code it yourself. Fortunately, there are many alternatives that surpass it.

After thorough research, I’ve found that Wix is the best alternative to WordPress. It provides a strong library of 900+ templates, a helpful AI-powered website creator, a drag-and-drop web builder, eCommerce tools, and numerous built-in features that don’t require installing plugins. A close contender to Wix is Hostinger Website Builder, which is affordable and offers a variety of AI tools that streamline website and content creation.

WordPress alternatives: FAQ

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