6 Best Builders to Stand Out in 2024

Having a website is an absolute must in today’s digital age. Whether you need a personal website to showcase your talents and skills or a robust online store with compelling product descriptions, tons of platforms compete for the right to create your website using their website builders.

What should you know about small business websites and how to build one? 

We’ve compiled the 6 best platforms for creating your next business website. From drag-and-drop editors to online storefronts, we walk you through how to create it all. 

Here’s what you need to know before you launch your next small business website! 

6 Best Platforms to Create Small Business Websites 

Where can you turn for more guidance on creating small business websites? There are more choices for comprehensive website builders than ever before.

If you’re stuck in analysis paralysis, these six options will get you started when building your new website. 

WordPress: Best Option Overall

Small business owners can sometimes be intimidated by the prospect of setting up their website, but WordPress is one of the easiest platforms to use. Tons of businesses use WordPress (Niche Pursuits, included!) to create a professional website with lots of functionality and customization. I’ve built several sites on here in less than a day. If I can learn it, anyone can!

There is a seemingly endless number of plugins you can integrate that give your small business the exact look and feel it wants. With plugins like WooCommerce, you can even build your online store in a flexible way that caters to your customer’s preferences. 

Don’t forget SEO tools like Yoast SEO or Rank Math as well! Writers like me are usually very familiar with WordPress and can assist you in uploading content to the platform.

With the sheer volume of WordPress experts, you don’t have to be alone in your site creation.

The best part? You can do it all without ever having to learn a line of coding to get the web design you dream about at night. Their blocks make it easy to arrange (and rearrange) your small business website until it hits the nail on the head. 

Themes

There are tons of small business website examples you could look at to see how you could lay out your new website. Free business templates are available, but you may choose to upgrade to something more customizable like Astra, Divi, or GeneratePress themes. 

There may be a small cost to upgrading a small business website design to these, but it’s a worthwhile investment.

The themes are lightweight and, therefore, fast and give you a sleek design that you can use to create a customizable website that stands out in your digital marketing. 

Pricing

WordPress.org doesn’t cost anything.

You just need to pay for inexpensive hosting through a source like Bluehost. Hosting starts at just under $3 per month, billed annually, making it one of the most affordable solutions for building a small business website. 

Squarespace: Decent Runner-Up

Many small business owners want to move ahead with their website quickly without a steep learning curve. Squarespace satisfies this need with its drag-and-drop editor.

If you can click your mouse and drag things into the exact placement you want, then you can create a website in under an hour with this website builder. 

They have many templates, color palettes, fonts, and other customizable elements so that your small business shows up for potential customers just the right way.

More than just a simple portfolio site, this platform enables you to:

• Set appointments 
• Create courses and tutorials
• Invoice
• Create branded marketing efforts.

Don’t forget to check out this detailed guide to the best Squarespace templates for any industry!

Pricing

While this will be more expensive than WordPress, it’s worth every penny if you have the budget for a sleek website. You’ll still save lots over the alternative of hiring a web designer. Pricing plans start at just $16 per month, billed annually. 

Shopify

When your small business needs an online store, why not go to the experts who know exactly what your potential customers are searching for? 

Shopify is an e-commerce expert, making it easy to sell online as well as scale your business.

Like Squarespace, building a small business website here is simple: sign up, choose from free customizable templates, and get started. 

You can use your site as a point-of-sale software for in-person and online sales. Engage visitors with content tailored directly to your audience, no matter what stage of the sales funnel they’re in. 

It also has advanced capabilities on the backend, including analytics and operations tools that keep you moving forward. 

Be sure to see our full Shopify review here for all the details!

Small Business Website Examples

Need a little inspiration for your Shopify storefront? Look no further than these small business websites to get you thinking about what’s possible with this website builder:

Pricing

Shopify is the most expensive website builder on our list here, coming in at $29 per month, billed annually, for their lowest tier. 

Wix

If you want a free small business website and don’t need any of the fancy bells and whistles of Shopify or Squarespace, Wix might be a great step.

Small businesses seeking simplicity in their web design will want to sign up for the free-forever plan.

Site visitors won’t necessarily know that you aren’t paying for your website, and you can still showcase your brand’s commitment to excellent service. 

Plus, they have more than 900 options for free templates ranging from online store setups to blogs. 

Some of the features that every business owner needs are included on Wix:

• SEO capabilities to rank higher on the SERPs
• Easy display on mobile devices
• Connects to Google Search Console
• Allows for custom URL setups.

Website Examples

Are you interested in which small business website example might be the right fit for your brand?

Check out these inspiring small business websites and explore the possibilities:

Pricing

The real highlight of a Wix website is that you can opt into their free forever plan and only pay for a domain name (or get a free domain name using some of these strategies). If you decide to upgrade to their Lite plan, you get a free domain and it will set you back $17 per month. 

Hostinger

Another option if you want an extremely affordable small business website builder is Hostinger, which can accommodate a couple of different options. First, they can serve as an inexpensive host for your new WordPress site instead of Bluehost. They’re slightly less expensive, but this isn’t the main draw. 

Many people prefer to use Hostinger to help with their small business website design. Their premium website builder has a drag-and-drop editor, just like Squarespace. Plus, they enable small business owners to harness the power of artificial intelligence with their AI website builder, available on their lowest-tiered plan. 

With an upgrade to a more expensive tier, you can also utilize AI images, blogs, heat maps, SEO, and more. This also enables you to start an e-commerce store. 

Website Examples

Check out some of these examples of small business websites built with Hostinger for inspiration:

Pricing

Their Premium website builder starts at $2.99 per month, and the Business website builder starts at $3.99 per month, making this one of the most affordable options. 

Hubspot

Want to display customer testimonials to persuade potential customers that your business is worth a second look? Want to format your blog pages so site visitors can easily bounce from one blog to the next?

Whatever your goal for your small business websites, you can accomplish it with Hubspot’s What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor. 

Like most of the best builders, you must select a theme, drag and drop your modules into place, and preview it before you release it to the world. 

However, the real benefit of using Hubspot for your small business website is that it integrates with all of its other tools. Create forms, set up live chats, and use their CRM software to launch your business successfully. You can track every lead from capture to closed deal with Hubspot’s CRM behind you. 

Small Business Websites Built with Hubspot

Hubspot may not get the same attention as a business website built through other platforms, but it should still make your short list of builders. Here are a few small business website examples to consider:

Pricing

While you can build small business websites with a free version of Hubspot, you may want to consider upgrading your plan.

For just $15 per month, you can remove their branding from your design, create up to 30 pages, and display up to 1 million products—so you have plenty of room to grow! 

What to Look for in a Small Business Website

What features do you absolutely need in a business website? Here are some essentials to look for in your small business web design. 

Fast Loading Times with Lightweight Themes

How much time do you give a website to load before you bounce from the page? Most people bounce if a page takes longer than three seconds to load. If you hit the five-second mark, there is a sharper drop-off point, according to Pingdom. 

That means a website loaded with complex code bloat may not perform with your target audience. 

Look for lightweight WordPress themes like Astra and Divi so that your small business site appears quickly on prospective customers’ screens. 

Must Be Mobile Friendly

According to Exploding Topics, more than 92 percent of people access the internet through a mobile device. That means that your various small business websites aren’t only found on desktop monitors. They need to look just as good on the small screen as they do up close on a smartphone. 

Make sure your site is optimized for the small screen. 

Intuitive and User-Friendly Design

Nothing is worse than having someone visit your website just to bounce because they don’t understand how things are laid out. Build small business websites that have the user experience in mind. From your homepage features to your blog, make sure everything flows and is easily accessible to everyone. 

If you don’t understand how pages function in the grand scheme of things, your target audience won’t either. 

Security for eCommerce Transactions

When you’re collecting sensitive data, like payment information for purchases made on your website, you need to ensure that the information is protected. This is why it can be helpful to go through a website builder that specializes in eCommerce like Shopify. 

They handle all of the payment details so that you can focus on web design instead of encryption and data management. If you’ll be taking online payments, make sure your store is PCI-compliant. 

Customization for Branding

Whether you are launching a personal website or an online store, a good business website features your branding. This means it should have your brand colors, fonts, and images. If your new template doesn’t allow customization, you should try to choose a different one. 

When people land on your page, they should know what to expect from your brand.

Inconsistent brand images and presentations can confuse them and may make them think they landed on the wrong business website, causing higher bounce rates and a lower rank on the search engines. 

Final Thoughts: How Do These Small Business Websites Inspire You? 

Are you ready to start building small business websites that stand out in a sea of fierce competition? It seems the internet is growing daily, and everyone needs a digital presence to stay as relevant as possible.

These website builders will help you create business websites that you can proudly present to your target audience. 

Which one will you choose to go with today?