Websites are key to the success of any small business in Canada — and you can finally make one from scratch by using website builders. Free website builders help you create a basic site, customize your site with different features and tools and also sign up for paid plans if advanced customization is required.
This article will cover everything you need to know about website builders — from what they are and the best options available — so you can choose one and create your first website.
What is a Website Builder?
A website builder allows you to build a website without coding or design experience. It’s an excellent solution for small business owners, freelancers, and anyone who wants to have a website without spending thousands of dollars.
Website builders come with drag-and-drop features and ready-to-use templates, making it easier to create a site aligned with your brand vision and target audience. You can create a basic site using a free website builder, but features or customization options are often limited.
Best Website Builders For Small Businesses (Free and Paid)
1. Squarespace
Squarespace is an excellent option for creating websites for small businesses. It helps freelancers and entrepreneurs build the most stylish websites. Customer support is available 24/7 through live chat boxes and email tickets.
You can choose from hundreds of website templates and get access to experts if you need help setting up your shop. Easily create your logo using their logo maker, and add stock photos or upload your own.
You can easily start with a free website trial (no credit card required). Annual plans include a free custom domain name for the first year.
Pricing: Starts at $16 a month, but you’ll need to pay at least $18 a month to use custom codes and eCommerce features.
2. Wix
Wix is one of the best website builders for small businesses due to its ease of use. If you know how to use PowerPoint, creating a site on Wix will become a breeze. It also offers several add-ons, like Google reviews, form builder, pricing table, photo gallery, and social media icons.
Free sites made from Wix come with annoying and long URLs, and pages take time to load.
Pricing: eCommerce plan: $16.17 a month, Unlimited: $12.45 a month
3. GoDaddy
The GoDaddy website builder is a good option if you want to set up and publish a website fast. It uses Artificial Design Intelligence or ADI to ask questions on how you want your site to look and function, and it’ll build your website for you!
GoDaddy’s live chat support isn’t available 24/7, and its internal speeds aren’t always the best. These can pose issues to larger businesses.
Pricing: Free trial available, paid plans: $9.99 to $469.99 a month
4. WordPress
WordPress is one of the cheapest website builders for small businesses, as its plan comes with built-in tools for content management. With this feature, anyone can edit pages and upload content. WordPress also has thousands of plugins that allow you to customize your site.
Because WordPress is highly customizable, it’s also breakable. This means that you can accidentally mess up your site if you’re unsure what to do.
Pricing: Free plan available, premium plans: $4 a month, eCommerce plan: $45 a month
Related: Best web hosting services in Canada.
5. Duda
Because it offers a client management suite, Duda is an excellent option for businesses and freelancers with several clients. It also has a large pool of pre-filled and blank templates, which you can edit with Duda’s drag-and-drop builder.
Duda doesn’t offer a free pricing plan, and its pricing plans are more expensive than most website builders.
Pricing: Starts at $14 a month
6. Weebly
Although Weebly is not as advanced as most website builders, it’s an excellent platform for small businesses as it’s cheap and easy to use. Weebly offers a variety of apps to compensate for their lack of built-in features and works well when it comes to SEO.
To enjoy an ad-free experience when creating a website on Weebly, you need to pay $12.
Pricing: Free plan is available, and paid plans start at $10 a month
7. WebFlow
WebFlow gives you more creative freedom as you can completely customize your site. It also helps you create and add animations without using any code. Unlike other website builders, WebFlow allows you to invite collaborators and editors to review content on your site.
WebFlow is relatively difficult to use compared to other website builders. Its plans are also more expensive, and the platform lacks phone or live chat support.
Pricing: Its basic plan costs $12 a month, its CMS package $16 a month, and its business package $36 a month.
8. HostGator
With HostGator, you’ll no longer have to worry about hosting as it provides an all-in-one website hosting and building solution. It’s an excellent website builder for small businesses because it’s easy to use and offers more than 200 professionally-designed templates.
However, HostGator isn’t the best option if you’re going to launch an eCommerce store because it lacks advanced features, and its site performance hasn’t always been the best.
Pricing: Starts at $3.46 a month, including a domain and hosting name
Best Website Builders For Small Businesses: eCommerce
9. Shopify
Shopify is a popular website builder used by millions. It has many advanced eCommerce features, helping small and medium-sized businesses sell online. It has extensive payment options, so customers can pick the payment method that’s most convenient for them.
However, Shopify isn’t the easiest to use and has high transaction fees.
Pricing: Starts at $29 a month
10. Big Cartel
Big Cartel is a fully-hosted eCommerce platform, perfect for artistic and creative sellers to showcase and sell their works. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of other eCommerce platforms, but it’s cost-effective, easy to use, and affordable.
You can only sell a maximum of 500 products on Big Cartel. Additionally, the platform only gives sellers little room to modify their site and doesn’t have 24/7 phone support and live chat.
Pricing: Its Gold Plan is free, Platinum Plan starts at $9.99 a month, and Diamond Plan is at $19.99 a month.
11. Volusion
From creating your online store to managing tasks necessary to run an eCommerce business, Volusion has ensured you can do it all effortlessly. It’s one of the best website builders for small businesses because it offers lots of templates, reporting features, and 24/7 support.
Volusion is more expensive than most website builders because, besides the monthly pricing plans, you have to pay for transaction fees, credit card fees, and other add-on fees.
Pricing: Its personal plan starts at $26 a month, professional plan at $71 a month, and business plan at $269 a month.
12. 3dcart
3dcart is a cloud-based eCommerce solution that allows users to create an online store and sell various products. It’s an all-inclusive platform with over 200 built-in features, including drop shipping support, SEO optimization, and abandoned cart saver tools.
Free themes offered in the platform are limited and don’t look as modern, clean, and professional as other competitors.
Pricing: Its nano plan starts at $9.99 a month, mini-plan at $19.99 a month, starter plan at $35.99 a month, professional plan at $65.99 a month, and professional plus plan at $99.99 a month.
Top 5 Best Website Builders for Small Businesses Compared
| Wix | Squarespace | GoDaddy | Shopify | Weebly | |
| Websites created | 220 million | 2 million | 18 million | 800,000 | 2 million |
| Free trial | × | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | × |
| Free plan | ✔ | × | × | × | ✔ |
| Entry plan | $16 | $16 | $9.99 | $29 | $10 |
| Free custom domain | ✔ | ✔ | × | × | ✔ |
| Support | |||||
| ✔ | ✔ | × | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Phone | ✔ | × | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Live Chat | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Related: How to start a small business in Canada.
Pros and Cons of Website Builders
Website builders help businesses create an online presence, but they’re not foolproof. Here, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of website builders.
Pros
- Cheap packages: You can use affordable or free website builders today.
- No coding skills required: With website builders, you can use the drag-and-drop interface to make any changes to your site.
- No design skills required: Aside from being able to use themes, website builders also let you decide the placement of different elements on your site.
- No need for training: Using a website builder enables you to create and update your site without training.
Cons
- Domain name issues: Free website builders don’t allow you to use your own URL, which can mean using an unprofessional or forgettable domain name.
- Not custom-designed: Your site might look too generic as you’ll be using templates other businesses are already using.
- Restricted features: Most free website builders limit the number of pages you can create, preventing you from expanding your content, brand, and online reach.
How to Choose a Website Builder
The list of website builders available for entrepreneurs today is long, making it challenging to choose one. Consider the factors discussed below to help you choose a website builder fast.
Budget
Many website builders offer a free plan but will charge anywhere from $10 to $40 monthly plans that will give you access to more features. If you have a limited budget, look for a website builder with bundle plans, like the price of the builder and hosting. You’ll need to pay for both, so a plan that covers these services for the price of one will help cut costs.
Needs and Priorities
Assess what you want to achieve in your website, including your experience in design and the type of media you want to include. These will narrow down your options as you’ll know what to look for when comparing the best website builders for small businesses and eCommerce.
Themes
Avoid using a website builder with limited customization options. Instead, choose one that offers enough themes that you’ll be able to use one apt for your business type and branding.
Ease of Use
Choose a website builder with an intuitive editor that makes any change easier to make and apply. A drag-and-drop functionality will also help you navigate and update your site.
SEO Features
The best website builders have SEO features that make on-site optimization easy. Additionally, the website builder should allow you to update all SEO elements (image alt tags, meta description, and others) without any hassles.
Customer Support
Check reviews to determine if the website builder offers top-notch customer service. The amount of help you can get affects your ability to maximize the website builder and its features.
Utilize Website Builders
Compare various website builders and use one that fits your needs and budget. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can utilize an online platform that’ll get your business off the ground.
FAQs
It depends on the website type. A brochure-type website built by a web designer can cost anywhere from $625 to $1,225, a small- to medium-sized eCommerce site for $1,680 to $6,000, and a large custom site for at least $10,000.
Wix is the best for beginners as it comes with more than 500 templates and is easy to use. It also gives you access to SEMrush’s SEO keyword data, giving you more control over your site’s technical SEO setup.
Yes, thanks to the many website builders available today. These can help you create a beautiful and functional website even if you don’t have any coding experience.
You can create and publish a basic site for free on Wix. However, there will be additional costs if you want to use more features or create a premium website.
Related: Learn about Bluehost web hosting.
