Every business, big or small, needs a website where their clients can find them and learn about the company’s services or products. But how to make a business website for your small business? And what’s the best website builder for small businesses? Some website-building platforms are more suited to small businesses than others. Here is a list of small business website builders that are reasonably priced, easy to use, and offer the features every small business site needs.
Top Website Builders for Small Businesses
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Wix
Wix is easy to edit using the drag-and-drop feature to move elements around the page. Creating a small business website with Wix is self-explanatory. The downside of Wix is that there is relatively slow loading, and eCommerce options are a little expensive. The top industries using Wix include marketing, advertising, information technology, design, computer software, and entertainment.
Templates: Over 900 themes to choose from. In addition, there is an AI-powered template generator that will create your site after asking you a few questions.
Support: There is 24/7 callback customer service. Website owners with the Premium plan get preferential customer service. There is a Help Center with useful articles and walk-throughs.
Cost: There is a free plan and payment plans from about $6 to $33 per month. Alternatively, Wix business and eCommerce plans (which are essential for accepting payments online) range from $22 to $44 per month.
Best For: If you want great flexibility for free or almost free, and easy website building for small businesses.
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WordPress
WordPress is by far the most well-known and respected site-building platform. But before choosing your small business website builder, you should get to know the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. With WordPress.org you need to purchase your own domain name and hosting service, but you will have full control of every aspect of your site. WordPress.com is easier to set up but has fewer customization options. With WordPress.com, you cannot monetize your site. With the free version of WordPress.com, you cannot create an online store. On WordPress.org you can create an online store to sell goods and accept onsite payments.
Templates: WordPress.com has limited themes, but Premium users have more options.WordPress.org has an endless choice of sleek, professional template themes, and you can upload third-party themes.
Support: With WordPress.com only top tier plans (Premium Business or eCommerce plan) have access to free live chat support. There is a toll-free number, email support, online tutorials, videos, and WordPress forums for all payment plans.
Cost: WordPress.com is free and suitable for new, or small businesses. There are WordPress.com paid plans for larger or growing companies, which cost $4-$50 per month. The Business plan ($28) and eCommerce plan ($50) will best suit small businesses. WordPress.org is free, but you have to pay for hosting and your domain name plus any maintenance.
Best For: If you want comprehensive tools and complete control over your site, use WordPress.org. With WordPress, there is a steep learning curve but the result is extremely professional.
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Squarespace
Squarespace websites are easy to build with a drag-and-drop feature. Their online storefronts suit small businesses. The standout features of Squarespace include email campaigns, and free unlimited hosting. You can create a members-only area, schedule appointments, and host podcasts. The top industries that use Squarespace are advertising, photography, and design.
Templates: Squarespace offers fewer themes than other website builders for small businesses. But they are top quality, fresh, and modern. They are also highly responsive which means they’ll work well on mobile devices.
Support: 24/7 customer service, live chat, webinars, and personal email support.
Cost: Squarespace payment plans go for $12, $18, $26, and $40 per month. The business plan requires a 3% transaction fee. For full business features such as POS, you’ll need one of the upgraded commercial plans.
Best For: An all-round solid choice that gives you modern designs for building small business websites. Squarespace is trustworthy, and good value for money.
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Shopify
The only focus of Shopify is to sell. Shopify offers all the features to build your business site, and you can also download the Shopify POS app. There are over 6,000 apps and tools that are integrated directly with Shopify. Shopify is great for dropshipping businesses, online retail, mobile commerce, and for anyone selling digital or physical products. All the payment plans include unlimited products, various sales channels, manual order creation, discount codes, and gift cards. Interesting special features include a logo maker, free stock photos, and a business name generator. Shopify is easy to build and comprehensive.
Templates:13 free themes and 71 paid themes. The themes are sleek and professional and cover a wide range of business sectors.
Support: 24/7 customer service for troubleshooting or business advice. There is also a Shopify Help Center and Shopify Community.
Cost: Choose from a 14-day free trial; a basic plan ($29 per month); a Shopify plan for growing businesses ($79 per month), or the plan for scaling businesses ($299 per month). There is a transaction fee if you do not use the Shopify Payments system (%2-%0.5).
Best For: Shopify is the top choice for an eCommerce business.
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Weebly (now known as Square)
Weebly suits people with no previous website building experience as there are step-by-step instructions and drag-and-drop tools for online stores or building small business sites. The all-in-one eCommerce tools are simple to use. You can manage your shipping, and payments directly from your Weebly dashboard. There are integrated marketing tools and automated email campaign options. Most of the Weebly eCommerce options come at an additional price.
Templates: Weebly offers the fewest theme options of the website builders on this list, but they are user-friendly and look professional.
Support: Chat and email support for all payment plans. Live phone support is available for higher tier payment plans.
Cost: Weebly has separate price plans for websites and online stores. The website plans include a free option, or $5, $12, or $25 per month depending on your needs. The online store plans are offered for $12, $25, and $38 per month and include a free domain.
Best For: First-time site builders who want a simple option and easy editing should choose Weebly. This is also a great choice for brick-and-mortar stores and small business site building.
So now you know where and how to make a website for a business, it’s time to start. Choose from one of the excellent business website builders listed above, and you’ll be open for business in no time.