Let me ask you something, have you ever wanted to build your own website, but had no clue which tool to pick? Well, I went through the same phase as you. So I went to the extreme.
I built the exact same website 20 different times using 20 different website builders. Yup, I actually paid for each one and recreated the site from scratch over and over again, just to see which one is worth your time and money.
If you’re thinking to build a website, whether it’s a blog, a business website, for a site to show your portfolio, you’re in the right place. I’ll share you my unbiased opinion on the best website builders I found out and also share the problems I witnessed in the remaining ones.
NOTE: I’m not getting paid to promote any one of these website builders. I’m just sharing my personal opinions after using them to create a website for myself!
Why Build the Same Website 20 Times?
Okay, first let’s discuss why would I create the same freaking website 20 different times? Why not create unique websites and test the website builders?
Well it’s because, if you use the same design and content for every platform, it gives you a fair comparison. Each builder will have the same task that is to build a band website with some core elements:
- A homepage photo with a slogan,
- A simple navigation bar,
- A footer,
- A few extra pages like bios, videos, and other info, etc.
These are the details what most small business or personal sites will have on them. Nothing too fancy. But perfect for testing how flexible, easy, and responsive each builder is.
NOTE: I’ll be Creating the Website for a Music Band. So, the content in it will be accordingly.
What the Website Looked Like?
Before actually start building the site, I wrote the band’s bio, collected some photos and videos, and sketched a basic layout. The homepage will have a big image, some text, and a menu. That’s it!
I picked an image that gave off indie band vibes and wanted a clean footer and easy-to-navigate pages. My goal was simple: can this builder let me build this site without a headache?
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The “Definitely Not” Builders
Let’s start with the builders I won’t recommend anyone, either because they felt shady or were just too limited.
1. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is one of the biggest name in the domain world, but their website builder felt a little sneaky. Every time I tried to upgrade to a paid plan, it auto-added a Microsoft 365 email product to my cart. It looked free but would end up charging $130 a year later on, which is absolutely not cool.
2. Mailchimp
Mailchimp pulled a trick with their signup form: “if you don’t check the box, you’re automatically subscribed to marketing emails.” Also, they charged me two weeks earlier than they said they would. So, that left a bad first impression.
3. Google Sites
Google Sites is a totally free website builder offered by Google itself. But the problem with it is, it’s extremely limited. There’s nothing much you can do in it. You can’t move elements around freely, and it auto-darkens images without any option to fix it. It’s okay for school projects, but not for professional or business purposes.
Blank Canvas Editor: Canva
You can build a simple website with Canva as well. It let’s you drag and drop anything, anywhere. It does sounds great at first, but…Not really!
Websites need structure, especially to look good on all devices. Canva doesn’t handle responsive design well. On mobile, everything just shrinks down and becomes unreadable. So, it feels like designing a poster, not a website.
Section Editors: Easy but Too Rigid
Section editors let’s you add pre-made content blocks (like a “Contact” section or a “Gallery”). Tools like Square make this super easy… but also too limited.
You can’t move elements around or add new ones inside a section. Even if you want to tweak your website’s footer, it will be really tough. These builders are fine if you just want to drag-and-drop and be done, but if you want more customization options, then look for something else.
Just Okay Builders
These builders let me build the site more or less the way I wanted, but they had issues.
1. Wix
While trying Wix, I really felt it to be old-fashioned. You have to use “strips” and “columns,” and it’s hard to figure out how elements will behave on mobile. My footer text kept disappearing on smaller screens and that was really-really frustrating.
2. Others: Duda, WordPress.com, Web.com
These builders did worked… eventually. But I had to keep hunting through menus, trying different settings, and dealing with confusing layouts. They are good compared to the previous ones, but not exactly beginner-friendly.
The AI Site Builders
Everyone talks about AI building your website in seconds. So, I tried some tools like Durable and Framer, but the results were super generic.
Sometimes, the AI didn’t even understand the name of the band. It gave me weird placeholder designs or awkward stock photos.
The only area where AI really helped was in writing text. Most builders now have built-in tools to generate copy. That’s a nice bonus, but don’t expect AI to build a fully-polished site for you, yet!
Budget-Friendly Builders
If you’re on a tight budget, then these two are worth checking out.
1. Hostinger
Hostinger offers a website builder tool that is quite simple to use and affordable as well. Even though it’s cheap, it’s not so powerful, but can create basic websites.
2. Carrd
If you want to build an one-page website, then Carrd can be the cheapest option for you. It costs just $19/Year, whereas other similar website builders charge more than $19 per month. Even it is not super intuitive, but can be unbeatable if your whole site fits on a single page. Like: it can be the best option to create website to showcase your portfolio.
Design Tools: Webflow & Framer
Both Webflow and Framer gives you developer-level control while creating your website; like full access to CSS rules and animations.
That’s awesome if you’re a pro web designer. But for most people, it can be really tough to understand and use. Even setting up simple stuff like navigation took me hours. Both of these are good, but not just for beginners.
The Winner: Squarespace
At the end of the day, Squarespace took the sweet spot.
It was:
- Easy to use,
- Customizable when I needed it,
- Fully responsive on all devices,
- Visually polished out of the box, etc.
The best thing I liked about Squarespace was, how I could build a website really fast with pre-made sections, but still tweak colors, fonts, and layouts when something didn’t quite fit.
Even though I won’t actually recommend it to create a blog website, but for business and portfolio sites, Squarespace can be the best option.
Final Thoughts
Building 20 websites taught me something: You never know if a tool fits until you try it. Some looked good on paper but were frustrating in practice. Others were quite surprising.
If you’re planning to create a website yourself, then:
- Start with your actual content
- Try a couple of builders (most have free trials)
- See which one feels the best for you and your requirement.
And if you’re still stuck, just go with Squarespace. It won’t let you down.
