Hiring a web developer is costly and not for everyone, especially when you’re just starting. However, web development has been made easy and accessible over the years, thanks to many excellent website builders to choose from.
So, Website builders have come so far over the years that it is now feasible for someone with zero web development knowledge to create a stellar site. And you do not even need to write a single line of code.
In most cases, an easy website builder will utilize a drag-and-drop interface to assist you in putting together a site in one sitting. Most essentially, unlike hiring an actual web developer, it is incredibly affordable, making it an excellent choice for newbies.
What Is A Website Builder
A website builder is a software that enables you to build a website without manually entering code. It provides various tools that make it simple enough for someone with zero experience to create a stunning website from scratch.
Website builders come in two forms, online & offline.
An offline website builder is a software program that you should install on your PC. Once the website is built, you need to upload the files to your web host. This website builder has one huge benefit; you can edit your website without affecting your live pages.
Online website builders are web-based, meaning that they run on a web browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox). They are by far the most accessible website builder to use. Most of these services come with web hosting features, which saves you an upload step. The main benefit is being able to work from any device in any location.
In many cases, online website builders are far more common in 2020, but ample offline options still exist.
Why Drag & Drop Is Amazing for Web Development
You’ll hear a lot about on this list is drag and drop interfaces, and trust me; it is a big deal.
Suppose you’ve ever looked into web development before drag and drop. In that case, you should know you needed a thorough understanding of HTML to do anything, which made web development inaccessible to most people.
Even the simplest changes were causing difficulty or annoyance, especially if you will not visualize the changes. After all, you couldn’t see the changes in real-time in many instances.
Although, that’s changed in 2020.
Drag and drop interfaces enable you to drag elements onto a page and place them anywhere you want without coding. As a result, web development has never been simple, and all of the excellent website builder tools utilize it.
I would go as far as to say that it’s a requirement at this point. Not merely has it gotten easier over time, but this has sped up web design significantly. And if you go back to before drag and drop, you will find that web pages took days to craft (they still can if you use HTML), especially once they have tons of content.
Although, once again, that’s changed; you can put together a stylish page in under an hour if you’re familiar with the website builder. As such, all of the top-rated website builders on this list will contain this feature.
Who Is A Website Builder For
While website builders are the best way to build a website, numerous will agree that hiring a web developer is worth the higher cost. Therefore, it’s essential to understand who should use a website builder & who should not.
In many cases, the most common customers of website builders include:
Bloggers
Small Business Owners
Freelance Workers
Musicians
Building Online Portfolios
A website builder is great for these audiences because it is cheap and perfect for starting. For instance, if you plan to start a blog, prepare to make virtually no money for quite some time (6-12 months).
Cutting costs is necessary, and a website builder can help you save money.
However, some people and professions should consider going above and beyond when it comes to their website. For instance:
Lawyers
Restaurant Chains
eCommerce
Clubs
Clinics
& others should consider hiring a web developer.
As said, “you will get what you pay for,” and hiring a web designer can provide your site the edge or appearance your customers expect. And if visitors are going to expect a professional site, you need to make sure you’ve one.
Here are some of the top-notch website builders you can use for WordPress & other CMS:
1. Elementor
Elementor is one of the best WordPress website builder available. It began in 2016 & quickly rose to the top of website builders in the WordPress ecosystem. Even though it’s plugin became one of the largest on the platform in record time.
Besides, what makes Elemenetor so successful is how simple it is to build a pixel perfect website with zero experience. Additionally, it is compatible with some of the biggest plugins and tools in the WordPress community, such as Mailchimp. It can’t be stated enough how easy the platform is to use. It offers a massive library of the unique page and post designs that assists your site stand out from the other 455 million WordPress websites. In just some clicks, you’re ready to go.
With the new Expert beta, you can also get help from some of the best Elementor users. Even you can hire them, which will be much cheaper than hiring an actual web developer.
Benefits of Elementor
Drag & drop interface
Over 300 templates to choose from
Pop-up builder
WooCommerce builder
No coding needed
Pricing of Elementor
Free version available
Personal Plan: $49 a year
Plus Plan: $99 a year
Expert Plan: $199 a year
2. Visual Composer
Visual Composer is another best website builder that utilizes a simple drag and drop interface. You can create a ridiculous amount of quirky and stunning WordPress pages to make your site stand out from the competition.
Its main features include mobile editing, template import and export support, an icon library, Facebook widgets, custom Gutenberg editor blocks, 404-page templates, Yoast SEO support, and plenty more.
It’s just scratching the surface of the features it offers.
The live Frontend editor, Tree view, and Inline editor all make editing your website a breeze. Seeing the changes you make in real-time is critical for creating pages on time, and Visual Composer has one of the great to offer.
Benefits of Visual Composer
Frontend editor
Mobile editing support
Yoast SEO support
Icon library
No coding necessary
Pricing of Visual Composer
Free version available
Single Website: $49 a year
Three Websites: $99 a year
Unlimited Websites: $349 a year
3. Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is a premium drag & drops the page building plugin for WordPress. This plugin is one of the great available when it comes to page building in WordPress. It comes with an incredible amount of customization & page options to choose from.
Some of these include multiple content modules, an excellent support team, sliders, video row backgrounds (best for showing off products), lightweight, works with any WordPress theme, and optimized for speed, and so much more.
Unlike many other websites or page builders on this list, you can create these stunning pages without ever leaving your WordPress website. It makes creating & adding pages/posts on the fly a cinch.
Once you get used to it, there is no going back.
Benefits of Beaver Builder
Allows you to build pages straight on WordPress
Video row background support
Compatible with any WordPress theme
Optimized for speed
Excellent support team
Pricing of Beaver Builder
Standard: $99 a year
Pro: $199 a year
Agency: $399 a year
4. Themify Builder
Themify Builder is one of the best & intuitive page designers for WordPress. You probably already be using a Themify theme. Each of these themes comes automatically with the Themify page builder and enables you to make changes on your website’s front and back end.
Besides, it comes with a host of features that include row & column customization, custom layout parts (reusable!), over 70 animation effects, and translating your website to another language a cinch & multi-site support.
While Themeify Builder will work on any theme, you’ll get excellent results if you combine it with a Themify theme. These themes are made to work correctly with the builder and, when combined, can open up customization options you never thought feasible.
Benefits of Themify Builder
Easy translations
Multi-site support
Built into every Themify theme
Over 70 layouts to choose from
Draggable column widths
Pricing of Themify Builder
Free version available
Builder Pro: $69 a year
5. Weebly
Last but not Least, Weebly is one of the best website builders available. The free version is baked in so everyone can take benefit of it.
Contact customer support to activate it for you.
We choose Weebly because it is one of the simplest website builders to use. It offers customers the customization they need to create any website.
Starting a website is no simple task. Even with the great tools, it is still hard to pull it off.
Moreover, some of the key features include no transaction fees, Instagram & Pinterest integration, form building, multiple blogging templates, and much more.
Benefits of Weebly
Drag and drop editor
Ecommerce ready
Mobile Friendly
Form building
Social media integration
Pricing of Weebly
Free version available
Practice Makes Perfect
I have said ample times that using a website builder is extremely easy. Although, it still takes some getting used too.
After all, you’re building a website.
While these software are much easier than building a website from scratch, expect a learning curve. But there’s good news. These website builders have been all around for years, and comprehensive guides & tutorials exist to help you make the most of them.
In many cases, the website builder will offer instructional videos & tips to help you along. And do not forget to take full advantage of support teams as they can help you if you’re brand new to web development, especially if you are not familiar with the terminology.
If you first create a website, I strongly recommend having buddies and family try out the pages you create. Often, you can overlook simple details that can easily get pointed out with a second opinion. For instance, if the font is hard for them to read, other visitors will probably feel the same way. Thus, it would help if you never let a page go live without getting a second opinion. The last thing you need is an offensive or inappropriate typo getting through.
Have A Plan Before You Begin
I’ve one last tip to offer you; make a plan.
Well, there are over 1 billion websites online in 2020, & standing out from that large crowd is not simple and easy.
Having a sharp web design is a huge part of that. Take a long glance at the colors, find ones that complement each other, study the competition, what kind of layouts they use, and develop ways to improve. I can assure you that it’ll not look perfect if you try to put something together without a plan.
Dear Visitors, which website builder did you like the most? What do you think is the essential feature? Did you find anything incredibly hard while using a website builder?