The 5 best website builders for small businesses With a website builder, there's no need to spend a fortune creating your business site. Using the results from our in-depth user testing, we'll outline the top picks for design, features, and overall value. Written by Emma Ryan Reviewed by Ollie Simpson Updated on 18 December 2025 Our research When reviewing website builders, our expert team of writers and independent researchers focuses in on the most important factors for small business owners. We look at the range of templates and designs available to choose from; how easy it is to get started building your site and customising it; the help and support options available; the range of available plugins, apps and extensions; the ability to customise a mobile design, and above all, the value for money – including any hidden pricing, ongoing fees, and initial setup costs. Startups.co.uk is reader supported – we may earn a commission from our recommendations, at no extra cost to you and without impacting our editorial impartiality. 1 of 3 Featured: Hostinger - best for AI 4.3 Claim Deal 2 of 3 Wix - best overall website builder 4.9 See Pricing 3 of 3 Squarespace - best designed templates 4.6 See Pricing Our latest research found that Wix is the best option for creating a professional-looking website, thanks to its more than 900 templates and simple drag-and-drop builder.After working with our dedicated research team to test 12 top website builders and completing over 1,200 tasks, we’re able to bring you the five most relevant and thoroughly researched recommendations for your small business. The best website builders Wix – Best all-in-one website builderSquarespace – Best for creatives and service-based businessesHostinger – Best for AI enthusiastsGoDaddy – Best for complete beginnersShopify – Ideal for growing your online storeClick on any of the links above to learn more about our top-rated website builders. It’s a tough landscape for online visibility right now, with a recent rise in zero-click searches being driven by Google’s latest AI-powered search features.The best way to strengthen your online presence is to fight fire with fire, and choose a website builder that comes equipped with the right tools and features to help you build an AI-friendly site.Ready to begin comparing your options? Let’s get started. 💡Key takeaways Wix is our top choice for its user-friendly interface, drag-and-drop features, and choice of over 900 templates.Squarespace is the easiest to use builder we tested, and the stylish templates and smart grid editor can help create a professional-looking site.Ecommerce businesses should consider Shopify, thanks it its depth of sales features, like abandoned cart recovery.You can build a website for free, such as with Wix, but you should expect to pay between £3.99 and £25 for a comprehensive business plan.For those on a tight budget, Hostinger is the cheapest website builder, costing between £1.95 and £2.45 per month for 48 months.While Shopify is the best choice for ecommerce businesses, it’s also the most expensive website builder – costing up to £259 per month. The best website builders for small businesses: comparison table 0 out of 0 backward forward Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing Price Free trial or plan Number of templates Transaction fees Add-ons & extra charges FEATURED PROVIDER Hostinger Wix Squarespace GoDaddy Shopify 4.3 4.9 4.6 4.2 4.2 £1.95-£2.45/month (48-month subscription)Up to 81% discounted with code “STARTUPS” £9-£119/month£8.10-£107.10 with code “TAKE10” £12-£79/month, billed annuallyUse code “SU10” to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans £8.99-£16.99/month, billed annually (first term discounts available) £19-£259/month, billed annuallyCurrently £1/month for the first 3 months 7-day free trial Free plan 14-day free trial Free plan 3-day free trial 150+ templates 900+ templates 150+ templates 200+ templates 200+ templates 0% 2.1% + 20p 0%-7% (depending on what you sell), plus a 1.5%-2% + 25p card processing rate Not shared publicly – you’ll need to contact GoDaddy 1.5%-2% + 25p Domain renewalThird-party payment processing feesAdditional email accounts Domain renewalEvents calendar app renewalChargebacksCross-border services feesPremium apps/integrations Domain renewalThird-party payment processing feesPremium extensions Domain renewalThird-party payment processing feesEmail/marketing tool upgradesShipping and fulfilment add-ons (with advanced delivery options) Domain renewalThird-party payment processing feesCurrency conversion/foreign card feesPaid apps/plugins Try Hostinger Try Wix Try Squarespace Try GoDaddy Try Shopify We last updated this article on 18/12/2025 All pricing in this article was verified as accurate as of 18/12/2025. However, we would always recommend confirming any pricing directly with the website builders before making any purchasing decisions for your business. 1. Wix: best all-in-one website builder Wix 4.9 Number one website builder for features, design, and support. Try Wix Full Wix Review Free plan Yes Price from £9/month Good balance of usability and complex features Customisable 'drag-and-drop' templates 24/7 customer support is available Summary Wix has undoubtedly earned its place as our best website builder, offering an unparalleled list of features and wide-ranging payment options for small businesses. Because of this, Wix is an excellent choice for a variety of users, whether you’re new to website building or a seasoned expert looking for endless customisability. Show moreless Wix is good for... Small businesses – Wix caters to a huge number of industry types with its diverse suite of templates and features Portfolios – create a stylish site to display your work thanks to Wix’s versatile editor and customisation options International businesses – Wix will help you translate your site for other markets and support international selling Wix is bad for... Large or complex businesses – Wix doesn’t offer the same scalability as other platforms, such as Shopify, which is better suited for larger online stores Niche websites – because Wix is a “Jack-of-all-trades”, it isn’t ideal for specialised industries Basic needs – first time users might find Wix to be slightly overwhelming What’s it like building a website with Wix?Wix takes the top spot for the best all-in-one website builder for small businesses.Among its great features – including its Royal Mail integration in October 2025 – I was particularly impressed by its design tools, its huge library of professional templates and its built-in AI capabilities that make it easy for businesses to build, run and grow their online presence.And thanks to its templates and drag-and-drop editor, I could get a fully polished website live within a day.My favourite part about Wix’s onboarding process was the Wix Astro AI chatbot, as its conversational approach made it feel very natural. All I had to do was respond to a few simple questions about my site and business needs to get a personalised site built for me.Wix’s AI chatbot adapted to my responses and asked detailed questions to help build a customised site. Source: Startups.co.ukAlternatively, I could choose from over 900 professional-looking templates across various industries, such as ‘Wellness’ and ‘Travel Services’. These stunning website themes, alongside Wix’s versatile drag-and-drop editor, make it incredibly easy for small businesses to design a website without any prior building experience.The AI image generator also stood out as a highlight, particularly as it gives you the option to choose from different styles, including photo, illustration, painting, sketch and cartoon.I had the freedom to drag elements wherever I wanted with Wix’s editor. Source: Startups.co.ukThat said, while the design process with Wix is incredibly straightforward and intuitive, beginners might feel overwhelmed by the number of choices. If you just want a basic, simple-to-use website builder, you could find Squarespace more suitable.I test website builders for a living, and even I got lost or needed to browse Wix’s Help Centre to seek advice at times. Thankfully, Wix is one of the best builders for support, offering expert 24/7 phone support and live chat to website owners.How much does Wix cost?As Wix offers a free plan, you can start right away at zero cost.You can read our full Wix pricing guide for a breakdown of each pricing tier, but here’s a quick summary of the available plans, billed annually:Light plan: £9 per monthCore plan: £16 per monthBusiness: £25 per monthBusiness Elite: £119 per monthEnterprise: Bespoke quoteWe found that Wix is the best option for creating a professional website, thanks to over 900 templates and its simple drag-and-drop builder. Its range of plans also supports scalability, making it great value for money. Expert insights – Emma Ryan I really liked that Wix pulled through relevant information from my chat with the AI builder previously and the site brief really walks you through why it has made the decisions it has for your template. I “tweaked” and “regenerated” the design a couple of times, just to see other options – the initial design was fine but it would be nice if there were a few template styles to click between from the start, instead of regenerating it each time. Still, I appreciated being able to click through the different versions once generated. The bottom line: is Wix right for you? 💻 As an excellent all-rounder, Wix caters to a wide range of industries, making it our top choice for most small businesses due to its extensive functionality.What also makes it stand out is that, unlike most platforms on this list, Wix offers a free plan for its users – offering its drag-and-drop features, template library, basic search engine optimisation (SEO) tools, and 500MB of storage at zero cost.However, it’s important to note that sticking with the free plan means getting Wix ads and branding on your site, a Wix subdomain (instead of your own), and a lack of advanced features (like ecommerce functionality).On the other hand, Wix’s cheapest plan is just £9 per month and offers a generous amount of features, including a free domain for a year, 2GB of storage space and basic marketing tools. 2. Squarespace: best for creatives and service-based businesses Squarespace 4.6 Ideal for professional and creative businesses that appreciate affordable plans and an easy-to-use platform. Try Squarespace Squarespace Full Review Free trial 14-day Price from £12/month Use code "SU10" to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans Over 150 stunning free templates Great value for money Use code 'SU10' to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans Summary Squarespace scores extremely highly in our testing, catering to creative professionals with its mobile-responsive templates and visual designs. In comparison with Wix and GoDaddy, Squarespace is the easiest website builder on the market, thanks to its intuitive drag-and-drop editor, though it lacks the creative freedom of Wix. Plus, Squarespace’s affordable plans make it an accessible option for small businesses. Show moreless Squarespace is good for... Creative businesses – Squarespace’s stylish templates and designs help showcase your work online Selling services – the builder makes it easy to offer services and appointments online with recent improvements and new tools, such as branded invoices Squarespace is bad for... Prioritising site speed – Squarespace was found to be lacking in our site speed analysis Complex inventories – Squarespace can help your online store get started, but larger businesses will be better off with a builder like Shopify What’s it like building a website with Squarespace?In comparison to other builders, like Wix, Squarespace is a real walk in the park and the easiest platform I’ve tested. While it’s a little more expensive, the setup process took me no time at all.The stylish designs are great for creative and service-based enterprises that need a sleek site to show off their business. Anyone, from accountants to graphic designers, can showcase their brand with the built-in tools.Many of our users also enjoyed the features offered by Blueprint AI – Squarespace’s step-by-step, customisable AI builder. All you have to do is answer a couple of questions about your business, what you want to achieve and your desired style, and it’ll generate a fully structured website in seconds.Its recent SquareGPT tool, as part of its October 2025 update, also allows you to create an entire website just by chatting with ChatGPT.However, I would personally advise using one of the more than 150 templates instead, as I don’t think the AI themes compare with the stylish look of Squarespace’s ready-to-use templates.I found Squarespace Blueprint easy to use, but the template it generated was pretty generic, so I’d recommend choosing from the template library instead. Source: Startups.co.ukOnce I selected a template, it was time to edit with Squarespace’s drag-and-drop editor.What makes Squarespace stand out from Wix is the smart grid it adds to the editor. I found this so useful to align elements and keep my pages tidy – Hostinger offers the same feature in its editor as well.Despite this perk, Squarespace doesn’t offer the same level of creative freedom as Wix.With Wix, you can drag elements and sections anywhere on the page, whereas Squarespace locks you into the grid layout. That said, with Squarespace’s designs, you won’t need to make as many tweaks.Squarespace’s editor made it easy for me to move elements around. Source: Startups.co.ukOf all the builders I’ve tested, Squarespace is the easiest to use, and it also offers great help and support. This is key for small business owners who are having to create a website for themselves from scratch, so you should have no issues launching your slick new site to show off your services.Just be wary of the slow site speeds, as a competitor like Hostinger provides much speedier sites.You can reach out for help 24/7 via email or live chat on weekdays, or you could even hire a Squarespace Expert, for additional support and to save you the hassle of fixing any problems yourself. Just keep in mind that, unlike Wix, there’s no phone support.How much does Squarespace cost?Squarespace’s pricing plans are fairly decent value for money, but our research shows Squarespace isn’t quite on par with either Wix or GoDaddy, cost-wise. Squarespace has four plans to choose from – their annual pricing is listed below:Basic: £12 per monthCore: £17 per monthPlus: £29 per monthAdvanced: £79 per monthYou can read our dedicated Squarespace pricing review for an in-depth look at the different plans. Expert insights – Emma Ryan With Squarespace, it's easy to remove the existing element and replace it with a new section. I'm always SO impressed by the designs and styles, and how many layout options there are for each section – the intro section had over 20 styles to choose from alone! The bottom line: is Squarespace right for you? 💻 Squarespace trumps all other builders for ease of use, thanks to its intuitive editor. It’s a dream for anyone looking to showcase their business – such as a design consultancy, photographer, artist or interior decorator – and those selling services.While not quite as cheap as Wix and GoDaddy, the price is worth it for its simplicity.Moreover, following its new pricing plans introduced in February 2025, Squarespace now offers ecommerce functionalities from its cheapest plan, including the ability to sell unlimited products and memberships, as well as send invoices at no extra cost. 3. Hostinger: best for AI enthusiasts Hostinger 4.3 This affordable website builder makes building simple with its suite of AI tools. Try Hostinger Free trial 7-day Price from £1.95/month Affordable deals for beginners The drag-and-drop editor is very easy to use A growing suite of AI features Summary Hostinger is a simple and low-cost website builder, offering affordable plans and introductory deals for new businesses. However, its features aren’t as sophisticated as rival website builders’, and it lacks basic functionalities like email marketing. That said, its design options are impressive and its suite of AI tools makes building a website quick and easy. Show moreless Hostinger is good for... Simple sites – Hostinger’s AI tools can handle image and content creation for you Beginners – Hostinger’s cheap price point suits budding entrepreneurs, and its simplicity makes it an easy builder to wrap your head around Side hustles – Hostinger’s a great option if you don’t want to spend too much on a builder until your business is off the ground Hostinger is bad for... Growing businesses – with only two available plans (and only one supporting ecommerce), there’s little room to scale your website Experienced designers – Hostinger’s simple editor and tools are more suitable for beginners What’s it like building a website with Hostinger?Jumping from the number five slot up to the top three in our latest round of research is Hostinger – the cheapest website builder on this list, and our number one pick for AI enthusiasts.Since I last tested Hostinger, it’s improved its site speed, making it the fastest website builder in the roundup.It’s also made some impressive improvements to both navigation and the interface, making building a site with Hostinger even easier.Its AI tools allowed me to sign up and get started with building in less than a minute – all I had to do was fill out a simple form, and it would generate a website for me. It also gives you a rating on your prompt, helping you get the best results from the start.I got a personalised template built for me using Hostinger’s AI builder. Source: Startups.co.ukThe template it generated needed a little work, but Hostinger’s AI website builder is pretty impressive nonetheless, and I had no trouble making edits with the drag-and-drop editor. In fact, Hostinger gave me more creative freedom than Squarespace because I could place design elements anywhere on the page.With Hostinger, you can kit out your website in no time. The pre-designed sections provide a great starting point (with options for a contact form and social icons), and its AI assistant, Kodee, is easily accessible if you’re stuck on anything.Like Wix, Hostinger let me move and place elements wherever I wanted. Source: Startups.co.ukUnfortunately, Hostinger is let down by its limited built-in features and basic support options. You won’t be able to create email marketing campaigns with Hostinger directly and its ecommerce functionality is limited to 500 products.However, users can build a business logo with Hostinger, and I recommend making the most of Hostinger’s suite of AI tools to set up a professional-looking website.For online stores, you can use the AI-Powered Product Information Generator, which generates product titles, subtitles, descriptions and labels – helping you save time when adding new products to your inventory. You can also upload photos of your products, which the AI will analyse to generate relevant text.How much does Hostinger cost?Hostinger’s biggest pull factor is undoubtedly its low-cost pricing plans, which make it a great option for startups looking for minimal overhead spending.That said, the cheap price comes at the expense of features like email and advertorial marketing and an app market.Hostinger has also recently introduced a free trial, so you can try before you buy – another reason it jumped up in our rankings.The cheapest pricing is available with a 48-month subscription:Premium Website Builder: £1.95 per monthBusiness Website Builder: £2.45 per month Expert insight – Natasha McMullen I'm really impressed with how Hostinger's AI took the information and formed a ready-to-go site. It's amazing how all the AI generated product photos have the brand name on the images – it's this type of detail that will go a long way with users. The bottom line: is Hostinger right for you? 💻 Not only is Hostinger the cheapest website builder, but it’s also easy to get a business website up and running with minimal fuss – especially with its impressive AI features.That being said, its cheap cost means you’ll sacrifice some advanced functionality, as well as the ability to scale your business. If you’re after a more complex website, you may want to look elsewhere, such as Wix. 4. GoDaddy: best for beginners GoDaddy 4.2 An easy-to-use website builder with great value plans. Try GoDaddy GoDaddy Full Review Free plan Yes Price from £8.99/month Great value for money Fastest way to create a website Very simple features Summary GoDaddy is known for making it easy for small business owners with little or no website-building experience to start growing a business online. The builder’s simplicity makes it ideal for beginners, but the limited customisation options might frustrate those who are looking to get creative. Show moreless GoDaddy is good for... Beginners – GoDaddy is quick and easy to get the hang of and its free plan is a good starting point Small, new businesses – the basic features and design options are ideal for new businesses with limited needs Local stores – GoDaddy provides promotional tools, such as social media integration, to help you connect with local customers GoDaddy is bad for... Large online stores – GoDaddy only has one ecommerce plan, so there’s limited room to grow your business Creative businesses – the simple design options aren’t as stylish as what’s on offer from Squarespace or Wix Experienced builders – designers and creatives will be frustrated by the rigid editor What’s it like building a website with GoDaddy?GoDaddy is one of the simplest website builders you can choose, with a user-friendly focus and straightforwardness that meant I could get a basic business site ready in under an hour. This makes it a great choice for small business owners who are short on time and looking to get online fast.Like Wix, GoDaddy also offers a free plan, making it financially accessible for complete beginners. Its cheapest paid plan starts at £8.99 per month (billed annually), giving you a lower cost overall because of its simple features.GoDaddy gave me the option to choose from suggested sections before getting into the editor. Source: Startups.co.ukIf you’ve got no tech or coding skills, don’t fear – GoDaddy keeps these complexities far away. Similar to Hostinger, its AI tool (GoDaddy Airo) also generates a fully-designed website through a prompt, which is perfect for those looking to build a website quickly.Its AI-powered social media marketing tool is also useful for creating and scheduling posts across multiple channels, including Facebook and Instagram. This, along with its automated social media calendar, is super useful if you’re looking to kickstart your first campaign quickly and easily.But in terms of web design, I’d argue that GoDaddy keeps things almost too streamlined. Its section-based editor lacks the functionality and flexibility of other builders such as Wix and Squarespace, which use a drag-and-drop style instead. With GoDaddy, I could only move blocks up or down within the page structure.I found that my customisation options were quite limited with GoDaddy. Source: Startups.co.ukIf you do hit any stumbling blocks, you can try and find a solution through its 24/7 live chat or look through its online guides and resources. However, our researchers found that the knowledge centre wasn’t quite as helpful as Shopify’s or Wix’s.How much does GoDaddy cost?GoDaddy is on par with Wix as one of the best value builders we’ve tested.You can read our GoDaddy pricing page for a deeper insight into the different packages, but here’s a summary of its three affordable plans (billed annually):Basic: £8.99 per monthPremium: £13.99 per monthCommerce: £16.99 per month Expert insight – Emma Ryan GoDaddy doesn't have drag-and-drop functionality, but I could edit text for text boxes directly on the site. That said, text on buttons had to be tweaked in the sidebar, so it was a little strange to have different rules for different elements. The bottom line: is GoDaddy right for you? 💻 For time-poor small business owners or beginners, GoDaddy’s simplicity and affordability work in its favour.Like Wix, GoDaddy also offers a free plan – offering built-in marketing tools, mobile optimisation and 24/7 support.But as you’d expect, this comes with its own limitations, such as adverts across your website, as well as a lack of a custom domain name and ecommerce functionalities.That said, with similar pricing to Wix, its cheapest plan offers a great range of features, including a free business email, the ability to send email marketing campaigns and customer service functionality (live chats and contact forms). 5. Shopify: best for expanding online shops Shopify (Web Builder) 4.2 The ideal platform for online stores looking to start selling right away. Try Shopify Full review of Shopify Free trial 3-day Price from £19/month Best range of features and apps for ecommerce sites AI-powered Shopify Magic tool for business support Regularly adds new features or makes improvements Summary Shopify is perfect for users looking for that all-in-one online store solution. Its ability to predict what a merchant will need next when creating a website is a brilliant feature, and its countless apps give you complete control over your business, enabling you to grow through diverse multi-channel integration options and email marketing. Shopify is better suited to store owners with complex, larger inventories because of its expensive plans and additional costs to consider, such as purchasing a domain name – something other builders usually include as part of their packages. Show moreless Shopify is good for... Online stores – Shopify has the best sales features and business-focused support Rapidly expanding businesses – Shopify’s plans can grow with your online store and there’s a bespoke option for enterprise-level businesses Shopify is bad for... Creative or visual sites – Shopify Magic makes the design process easier, but I found Shopify’s editor difficult to use Budget-conscious users – despite getting a lot of bang for your buck, Shopify’s plans are very expensive and its free trial is brief Total building novices – the complex editor and limited built-in features aren’t ideal for beginners What’s it like building a website with Shopify?Shopify is one of the best ecommerce website builders, and it’s very popular with large brands, such as Gymshark, and celebrities, like Kylie Jenner and Jennifer Aniston. From our research, it’s easy to see why – Shopify is well-equipped to help businesses grow online thanks to its unparalleled sales features.When testing Shopify myself, I did find its editor difficult to use. It took me longer to create a visually pleasing site with Shopify than it did with other builders, such as Squarespace. This is mostly because of Shopify’s section-based editor – which doesn’t give you as much freedom as a drag-and-drop – and its lack of free templates.However, small business owners can now use the AI-powered Shopify Magic tool to generate templates. All I had to do was input one or two words that described my brand or products, and it generated three templates in less than a minute. I recommend using Shopify Magic if you want a lot of the creative work done for you.Shopify Magic helped me create a stylish-looking online store. Source: Startups.co.ukDespite its design shortcomings, Shopify excels when it comes to functionality, especially for ecommerce. Its industry-leading range of sales features, such as abandoned cart recovery, will help you streamline the sales process, increase conversions and make selling to your customers as simple as possible.But, if things get overly complicated, don’t give up! Shopify – alongside Wix – is one of our two top-performing builders for help and support. I found Shopify’s 24/7 live chat to be super responsive, and I appreciated having the option to hire a Shopify Expert should I need an extra helping hand.I always got a helpful answer from Shopify’s virtual assistant, but I could connect with a human support advisor if I needed more help. Source: Startups.co.ukAs part of the Shopify Editions: Winter ‘25 announcement – which unveiled over 100 new products and updates – the platform’s AI-powered personal assistant, Shopify Sidekick, was introduced.Throughout the design process, Sidekick offers a step-by-step to-do list on what to do next, as well as an AI chatbot function if you have any queries. This goes to show that Shopify considers its users and continues to make improvements for its merchants.How much does Shopify cost?Shopify isn’t the most affordable website builder for small businesses, but you get plenty of bang for your buck. While the other options on this list are more affordable, Shopify is oriented towards those who are seriously looking to scale their business and want access to more advanced ecommerce features.When billed annually, Shopify pricing is as follows:Basic: £19 per monthGrow: £49 per monthAdvanced: £259 per monthHead to our dedicated Shopify pricing page to learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of each pricing tier. Expert insight – James Macey I found product information input easy because of the instructions provided on the task. However, it'd be good to have “?” hover icons to provide more information on things like shipping zones and shipping rates because, as a layman, I'm not sure how confident I'd be completing this by myself. The bottom line: is Shopify right for you? 💻 Shopify’s sales features are unrivalled, which is why it’s one of our top choices for small businesses looking to sell online.However, Shopify’s plans are a considerable investment, so keep that in mind when planning your budget.It also isn’t the most beginner-friendly platform out there, so it might be worth looking for a cheaper website builder that offers better ease of use.That said, Shopify’s incomparable ecommerce features – particularly its unlimited products, over 13,000 third-party app integrations, and advanced checkout options – definitely makes it worth the price, especially for fast-growing online stores. How to choose the right website builder for your businessEvery website builder seems to make the same boasts – ‘stunning templates’, ‘happy customers’ and ‘get online with ease’ among them. And it’s true, a lot of website builders will help you do much the same thing – create a website for your business or personal brand.But, there are some key differences in how they go about this, which you can see from our top five builders. What should you be looking for? How much do you want to spend?Here are a few pointers from our time spent researching and testing the best website builders on the market:If you’re creating an online store: your best options are Wix (for smaller, boutique stores), Shopify (for larger stores that handle higher volumes of transactions) and Squarespace (for design-focused stores and creatives).If you’re creating a simple business information site: you can’t go wrong with GoDaddy or Hostinger. Both of these builders have simple interfaces and design options if you’re looking to create a landing page or two. Plus, they both offer cheap starting plans.If you’re creating a portfolio site: to show off your designs, photos, or inspiring examples of your past work, I highly recommend Wix or Squarespace. You can choose from beautiful pre-designed templates to give you a professional-looking site that’s bound to impress. How we test website builders for small businessesWhy can you trust us? We tested 12 website builders to deliver our latest recommendations to UK-based small businesses.In 2025, we have conducted fresh research and hands-on testing to make sure our recommendations are up to date and accurate. This included 54 individual user tests, with over 1,200 individual tasks completed.Our new research favoured usability and support provision more heavily than our previous rounds of research, reflecting the relevance of these to small businesses.Our rigorous testing process means these builders have been scored and rated in six main categories of investigation and 36 subcategories. We’ve also given each category a score and a ‘relevance weighting’ to ensure the categories that are most important to our readers contribute more to each builder’s overall score.Our main testing categories for website builders are:Website Functionality: 25% – the capabilities of a builder beyond just design elements, like SEO and marketing tools.User Experience: 25% – how user-friendly and intuitive a website builder is for people of all skills and experience levels.Design Features: 15% – the look and visual layout of a website created using the website builder, including themes, templates and AI assistance.Pricing 15% – looking at pricing plans, free trials and the balance between the cost of a website builder and the features you’ll get.Help and Support: 15% – the assistance and resources available to users if they run into issues while using a website builder.Reputation: 5% – a combination of competitor reviews, online and market analysis, and user feedback to determine the overall reputation of the builder. Our verdict and next stepsAlthough all of the website builders that feature on our list have their strengths and weaknesses, Wix is the strongest choice for building a small business website. I was impressed by its range of built-in features, stylish design options and available support channels.Of course, Wix won’t be the perfect fit for every business. Squarespace is ideal for creatives, whereas Shopify is best for large online stores. Whichever website builder you choose, make sure it fits the needs of your business and your ambitions to scale in future.Most builders offer free plans or trials, so it’s easy to try them out and find what works best. And, with AI-powered website builders helping you get set up in minutes, there’s never been a better time to dive in and see what you can create. Jump back up to any of our reviews: Website builder comparison table 1. Wix: best all-in-one website builder 2. Squarespace: best for creatives and services 3. Hostinger: best for AI enthusiasts 4. GoDaddy: best for beginners 5. Shopify: best for expanding online shops How to choose the right website builder for your business How we test website builders for small businesses Our verdict and next steps Frequently Asked Questions Which is the most affordable website builder? Hostinger is the most affordable website builder, as it has the cheapest pricing plans. For a 48-month subscription, Hostinger's Premium Website Builder costs £1.95 per month, while its Business Website builder is £2.45 per month. Does a website builder plan include a free domain name? Wix, Squarespace and Hostinger offer a free custom domain for the first year. For Shopify and GoDaddy, you will either have to connect an existing domain (if you have one) or purchase one through the platforms. What are the limitations of a free website builder plan? A free plan is a great starting point, but it isn't viable in the long run. Some website builders (such as Wix and GoDaddy) will place branded ads on your website, which can hinder your site's professionalism. You'll also have limited storage space and won't be able to set up a custom domain or sell products until you upgrade. Can I easily move my site to another builder if I decide to switch? Yes, but it's not an easy process. Most builders aren't compatible with each other, so you can't just “export” and “import” your whole site. You usually have to rebuild pages, layouts and sometimes even redesign certain parts from scratch. I already own a domain name. Can I use it with any of these website builders? Yes. All website builders on this list allow you to connect an existing domain name, so you won't have to create a new one. Is Shopify better for ecommerce than Wix? While Shopify is the best choice for growing online stores, Wix is the better option if you're looking for something cheaper and more beginner-friendly. It also has its own strong ecommerce features, including the ability to offer discounts and multichannel selling – ideal for those who want the benefits of ecommerce functionality without the complexity. Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags Recommendations Written by: Emma Ryan Lead Writer Emma works on Startups’ reviews and recommendations for building a website for your business. She is the Lead Writer at Website Builder Expert, having first joined the team in 2022. She manages Website Builder Expert’s topical content strategy to help website owners navigate the highs and lows of being online. Emma specialises in hands-on testing and research of all the leading website builder platforms, including Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify. Her work and expertise have been featured in Digiday, TechRound, Industry Today, and Digital Information World. Reviewed by: Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive After three years of refining my skills in data analysis, I transitioned to a role as a researcher to help understand our readers' preferences and needs. My professional journey started as a researcher in law enforcement, where I developed strong analytical abilities. Later, I moved into operations, strengthening my understanding of quantitative data. Now, I blend my quantitative analysis skills with qualitative research to explore both audience preferences and product nuances. Armed with a UX design diploma, I translate research findings into actionable insights that facilitate informed decision-making. Whether enhancing Startups offerings or delivering research presentations, I am driven by a relentless pursuit of improvement and results.