Best website builders in 2026: Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and more

Wix is the best website builder for most beginners: it is flexible, has a free plan and covers sites from portfolios to small shops. Squarespace is the pick for design-led sites, Shopify for serious online stores, WordPress.com for blogging, Hostinger Website Builder for the lowest price, and Webflow for designers who want precise control.

The right choice depends on what the site is for. A portfolio or small-business brochure site needs good templates and simple editing. A shop needs inventory, tax and shipping tools. A publication needs strong content management and search optimisation. Choosing a builder that matches the job matters more than chasing the longest feature list.

Our picks at a glance

Wix: Best for beginners

Wix pairs a drag-and-drop editor with enormous flexibility. You can place elements anywhere, choose from thousands of templates, use AI tools to get started and add apps from a large marketplace. The official plans page lists a Free plan with hosting and the editor, but you will need a paid plan for a custom domain.

Paid plans, billed yearly, are Light at $17.77 per month, Core at $29.77, Business at $39.77 and Business Elite at $159.77. Core and above support ecommerce, with Core offering basic payments, Business standard features and Elite advanced options. The paid plans include a free domain for a year. Prices exclude tax and vary by location.

The trade-offs are that you cannot switch templates freely once a site is live, and the freedom to move elements anywhere can produce messy layouts if you are not careful.

Squarespace: Best for design

Squarespace is known for refined templates and a tidy, all-in-one package covering hosting, SSL, SEO tools and 24/7 support. Every site starts with a 14-day free trial, with no card required, and there is no free plan.

There are three website plans: Basic, Core and Advanced. Online store fees fall as you move up: 2% on Basic, then 0% on Core and Advanced, with digital content and membership fees of 7%, 5% and 0% respectively. Annual plans include a free domain for the first year, and annual billing is cheaper per month than monthly. Squarespace shows prices in local currency, so check the pricing page for your country.

It suits photographers, consultants, restaurants and anyone who wants a beautiful site without much tinkering.

Shopify: Best for online stores

Shopify is a dedicated ecommerce platform rather than a general website builder, and it shows. Inventory, checkout, shipping, discounts, multi-channel selling and a huge app store are all core strengths. Its four plans are Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus; Shopify’s own pages list Basic, Grow and Advanced at $29, $79 and $299 per month billed annually in US dollars, with Plus from $2,300 per month on a three-year term. Higher plans reduce third-party payment fees and add staff accounts. See our Shopify review for the full picture.

It is more than you need for a five-page brochure site, but if selling is the goal, it is the safest foundation.

WordPress.com: Best for blogging

WordPress.com is hosted WordPress, with the maintenance handled for you. Its Free plan includes a subdomain and 1 GB of storage but shows ads and lacks a custom domain or plugins. Prices listed for annual billing are Personal $4, Premium $8, Business $25 and Commerce $45 per month, with lower rates for 2- and 3-year terms. Plugins arrive on the Business plan and above, which also adds SFTP and SSH access, backups and a built-in AI assistant.

It is the strongest choice for writers, publishers and anyone who wants WordPress’s content tools and a vast ecosystem. Note that it is separate from self-hosted WordPress, and the plugin limits on lower plans catch some people out.

Hostinger Website Builder: Best budget builder

Hostinger Website Builder combines a drag-and-drop editor with an AI builder that can generate a site from a prompt, and includes hosting and a free domain for the first year. The listed plans are Premium at $2.49 per month, Unlimited at $3.49 and Cloud Startup at $7.99, all on a 48-month term paid upfront, renewing at $10.99, $16.99 and $25.99 per month respectively.

The low price comes with a long commitment, and renewals are far higher, so treat it as a bargain for the first term and budget for what follows.

Webflow: Best for designers

Webflow is a visual builder that gives designers close control over layout, interactions and content structure, with a built-in CMS. It has a steeper learning curve than Wix or Squarespace and separates site plans from workspace plans, so costs can climb. Check Webflow’s pricing page for current rates before you commit.

Tip

Before you pay, build a test page in two builders. Ten minutes in each editor will tell you more about which suits you than any feature list.

Which builder for which kind of site?

Ecommerce on each platform

Selling changes the comparison, because fees and limits matter more than templates.

• Shopify is built for it. Its plans reduce third-party payment fees as you move up from Basic, and staff accounts start on Grow.
• Squarespace charges a 2% store fee on Basic and 0% on Core and Advanced, which makes its higher plans attractive for small shops.
• Wix adds ecommerce from its Core plan, with more advanced options on Business and above.
• WordPress.com offers selling through its Commerce plan.

If you expect to sell dozens of products or sell on several channels, choose Shopify. If you sell a handful of items and care most about presentation, a design-led builder is usually enough.

Costs beyond the plan

The advertised monthly price is rarely the whole bill.

• Domain. Several plans include a free domain for the first year, after which it renews at the normal rate.
• Renewals. Introductory prices can rise sharply. Hostinger Website Builder is an extreme example, with low first-term pricing and much higher renewals.
• Apps and extensions. Marketplace apps often carry monthly fees.
• Payment processing. Selling online means card fees on every order, whichever platform you pick.
• Email. Business email on your own domain is normally a separate purchase.
• Tax. Listed prices often exclude it.

Before you launch: a checklist

1. Write your page titles and descriptions so search results read well.
2. Add alt text to every image, which helps accessibility and search.
3. Check the site on a phone. Most visitors will see it there first.
4. Connect your domain and make sure the secure version works.
5. Add a privacy policy and contact details, and a cookie notice if you use analytics or marketing tools.
6. Set up analytics so you know what visitors do.
7. Test every form and checkout step with a real order or message.

Common mistakes

• Choosing the template before the structure. Decide what pages and goals the site needs, then pick the design.
• Starting with a free plan for a business site. Free plans show the builder’s branding or ads and exclude a custom domain, which looks unprofessional.
• Ignoring the exit. Moving a site between builders is rarely automatic. Keep copies of your text and images.
• Overlooking speed. Heavy images and too many apps slow a site down. Compress images and install only what you need.
• Copying a competitor. Content that answers your customers’ real questions beats a borrowed layout.

What to look for

• Your main goal. Brochure site, blog or shop? Pick the builder designed for it.
• Total cost. Add the domain, apps, email and renewal prices. Introductory rates often jump.
• Design flexibility. Some editors let you place anything anywhere, others guide you towards good layouts.
• Ecommerce limits. Look at transaction fees, product limits and payment options.
• SEO and speed. Check that you can edit page titles, descriptions and URLs, and that pages load quickly.
• Exit options. Moving a site between builders is rarely automatic, so check what you can export.

How we chose

We chose builders with large user bases and clear pricing. We compared official plans, features and pricing as of October 2026, alongside the consensus of established independent reviews, and weighed ease of use, design quality, ecommerce, value and flexibility.