Best Website Builder of 2020 – 5 Options Compared

With people still stuck at home more often than ever before in the digital age, more and more businesses are realizing that they need an effective online presence. In most cases this will mean having a professional website.

While it’s always ideal to hire a website design agency to build the site for you, such projects can be expensive and not all businesses will have the budget. That’s why we put together this list of the best website builders (free and premium) of 2020. With all the great options on this list, you’re bound to find one that will work for you and your needs.

What is a Website Builder?

A website builder is a type of software you can use to create websites. Most website builders are completely cloud-based. This means you don’t have to download anything to use them – the software exists entirely online.

Different website builders have different functionality. If you just want a static “brochure” style website, your needs will be different than someone who wants a sales funnel website. While most website builders do have most functions at this point, they are often gated behind increasingly expensive pricing tiers.

With our “best website builder” guide, it’ll be easy for you to determine the best tool for your needs. Just read our description and glance over the features table we’ve created for each option. Compare the prices of whichever ones will suit your needs, and then click the link and get started!

How do I Get Started Building a Website?

Most of the options on this list will have a suite of tutorials built into the onboarding process. If they don’t, try searching Google and Youtube for “builder + tutorial”, you’re bound to find something helpful.

For general web design, there are some key things you should keep in mind:

  • Make sure your design is responsive (looks good on all devices). Most web browsers like Chrome and Firefox have responsive testing tools built in to their developer tools.
  • Choose an appealing and appropriate color palette before you start building (try using a tool like https://coolors.co/).
  • Don’t reinvent the wheel; use modern design best practices or pick a good template to work from.
  • Test functionality before publishing and promoting your site!

If you can follow those four points, you should be able to create an appealing and functional website fairly quickly.

What Should I Consider When Choosing a Website Builder?

While there are design differences, most modern builders are capable of producing beautiful designs. When deciding which builder to use, focus on making sure it has the functionality you need and then think about things like pricing and design. At the end of the day, a website is a tool for your business and it’s pretty much pointless if it doesn’t work properly.

Top 5 Website Builders of 2020

There are a lot of changes to this list from our 2019 version, but that’s because the dev teams of the website building world have been busy! While these technically aren’t in any special order, we did our best to rank them based on overall value.

  1. GrooveFunnels (GroovePages)
  2. Bitrix24
  3. Weebly
  4. Wix
  5. Squarespace

Now let’s take a close look at each of these options, and break down their functionality and pricing.

Option 1: GrooveFunnels (GroovePages)

GrooveFunnels is actually a suite of web apps designed to provide everything a business owner needs to make money online. GroovePages is the page/website builder in that suite. It’s a drag-and-drop tool that is highly intuitive for anyone familiar with web design. GroovePages creates attractive websites that load fast even when carrying heavy images and videos.

Because GrooveFunnels is at this time still in beta, there are only two pricing options; the free tier, and the platinum tier. Both of these are currently lifetime deals. Let’s take a look at the features available in the free version of GrooveFunnels, which includes GroovePages Lite as well as GrooveSell (a shopping cart tool) and GrooveAffiliate (an affiliate platform).

GroovePages Lite Feature Available?
Drag-and-drop / Point-and-click functionality Yes
Can connect custom domain(s) Yes (up to 3 on free tier)
Integrates with autoresponders Yes
Integrates with zapier Yes
Mobile friendly out of the box Yes
Templates included Yes (limited options on free tier)
App marketplace In development
Media hosting Images only (other media must be embedded)
Varied fonts available Yes
Can be search engine optimized Yes
Tutorials included Yes
Free SSL Included on GroovePages subdomains, available via CloudFlare for custom domains
Free hosting Yes
Social sharing Yes
Can include a blog No
Can accept payments Yes (via GrooveSell, which is included)
Price Free (upgrade to premium available)

As you can see, the Groove dev team has packed a ton of features into GrooveFunnels, allowing their free users to create beautiful websites easily and sell products without incurring any costs.

Option 2: Bitrix24 CRM

Bitrix24 is an advanced Customer Relationship Management tool (CRM) which  also includes advanced features such as the ability to build and host websites. They currently have a forever free tier available which is different from GrooveFunnels, but just as valuable in other ways. Depending on your needs, Bitrix24’s free tier could provide you with everything you need.

Bitrix24 Free Tier Feature Available?
Drag-and-drop / Point-and-click functionality Yes
Can connect custom domain(s) Yes (one)
Integrates with autoresponders No (you can collect emails into the CRM and then contact people manually)
Integrates with zapier No
Mobile friendly out of the box Yes
Templates included Yes
App marketplace Yes
Media hosting Yes (up to 5GB)
Varied fonts available Yes
Can be search engine optimized Yes
Tutorials included Yes
Free SSL Yes
Free hosting Yes
Social sharing Yes (no fulfilment is provided though)
Can include a blog No
Can accept payments Yes
Price Free (upgrade to premium available)

Bitrix24 is a very different option from GrooveFunnels, although some of the basic necessities such as custom domain connection and payment processing are covered by both. If you’re looking to sell your own products or affiliate market other products, GrooveFunnels is almost certainly the better option. But if you’re trying to gain clients and create an online service-based business, you’ll probably have more luck with Bitrix24.

Option 3: Weebly eCommerce by Square

Weebly is a popular, easy-to-use website builder with eCommerce functionality. Owned by the Square payment processor, Weebly’s free tier includes the bare necessities for doing business online. Let’s see how Weebly stacks up against our first two options:

Weebly eCommerce by Square Feature Available?
Drag-and-drop / Point-and-click functionality Yes
Can connect custom domain(s) No
Integrates with autoresponders No (has native email marketing built in)
Integrates with zapier No
Mobile friendly out of the box Yes
Templates included Yes
App marketplace Yes
Media hosting Yes (limited)
Varied fonts available Yes
Can be search engine optimized Yes
Tutorials included Yes
Free SSL Yes
Free hosting Yes
Social sharing Yes
Can include a blog No
Can accept payments Yes
Price Free (premium upgrade available)

Weebly can do a lot and it’s easy to use because everything exists under a single platform – there’s no need to integrate an autoresponder, for example. However the fact that you can’t connect a custom domain on the free plan lowers the overall value of this package. That said, Weebly’s premium tiers are very reasonably priced and all include the ability to connect your own domain.

Option 4: Wix Website Builder

Wix is one of the best-known website builders on the market, and it has been dominant in its niche for many years. While it has been outstripped recently by other website builders, Wix is still standing strong and likely to continue being a powerhouse for years to come. Wix does have a free tier, but it’s so limited that we’ll be looking at their $5 tier instead.

Wix Connect Domain Tier Feature Available?
Drag-and-drop / Point-and-click functionality Yes
Can connect custom domain(s) Yes
Integrates with autoresponders Yes
Integrates with zapier No
Mobile friendly out of the box Yes
Templates included Yes
App marketplace Yes
Media hosting Limited (only 500MB)
Varied fonts available Yes
Can be search engine optimized Yes (limited)
Tutorials included Yes
Free SSL Yes
Free hosting Yes
Social sharing Yes
Can include a blog No
Can accept payments No
Price $5USD/month

Let’s be honest; Wix is a bit of a dinosaur in the world of website builders. You have to pay at least $20/month just to accept payments, and most other key features are also gated behind rising paywalls. To offset this the company offers things like free domain names and ad credits. These may seem appealing to newbies, but anyone with experience in the website building/hosting niche can realize how unappealing the plans look without these temporary “bonuses”.

Option 5: Squarespace

Squarespace is another very well known website builder that may have fallen behind the times a bit. While they have made more of an effort to keep up with their new competitors than Wix, Squarespace charges quite a bit for the same set of features you can get elsewhere for free or limited costs. That said, Squarespace is probably the best option on this list for blogging, so if having a blog is important to you it’s definitely one to consider. Squarespace is also known for being easy to use and ideal for creating beautiful websites.

Squarespace doesn’t have a free tier, so let’s examine their least expensive option which starts at $12USD/month.

Squarespace Personal Feature Available?
Drag-and-drop / Point-and-click functionality Yes
Can connect custom domain(s) Yes
Integrates with autoresponders No
Integrates with zapier No
Mobile friendly out of the box Yes
Templates included Yes
App marketplace No
Media hosting Yes
Varied fonts available Yes
Can be search engine optimized Yes
Tutorials included Yes
Free SSL Yes
Free hosting Yes
Social sharing Yes
Can include a blog Yes
Can accept payments No
Price $12USD/month

Squarespace is definitely the priciest option, and the lower tiers have some limitations, but it may be the best option for some businesses and individuals due to its strong brand, easy to use interface, and beautiful templates.

Choosing the Best Website Builder For You

Hopefully the tables we’ve provided will make it easy for you to decide on a builder. We suggest making a list of features you absolutely need and comparing it against the features available on each platform. Remember that most of these options have higher priced upgrades that come with more options and functionality.

The truth is, most website builders can do everything you need if you throw enough money at them. But if you’re just getting started you’ll probably want to budget as much as possible. That’s why we arranged this list based on overall value and compared the lowest priced options.

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