Best Free Website Builder: How To Choose a Free Site Builder

	AI website builder	Free templates	Payment gateway integrations	Apps	SEO tools	Advanced customization	G2 ⭐️ rating
Shopify	✅	20+	✅	8,000+	✅	✅	4.4
Wix	✅	900+	✅	800+	✅	⛔	4.2
Google Sites	⛔	6	⛔	0	✅	✅	N/A
Weebly	⛔	50+	✅	355+	✅	⛔	N/A
Canva	⛔	3,400+ paid and free templates	⛔	0	✅	⛔	No
Square Online	⛔	5	✅	400+	✅	⛔	4.2
WordPress	✅	95+	✅	59,000+	⛔	✅	4.4
Webflow	✅	85+	⛔	300+	⛔	✅	4.4

1. Shopify

Shopify, the world’s leading ecommerce platform, has more than 20 free customizable templates and themes, letting you build a polished website quickly, even if you don’t have a web design background. Shopify’s free AI website builder can help you create a site in minutes: You enter prompts about your business and your dream site, and Shopify’s AI generates a design and populates your site with homepage text.

Once you’ve built your ecommerce site, Shopify’s powerful selling tools make it easy to manage your business. You’ll have unlimited product listings, the world’s best-converting checkout, shipping and fulfillment tools, robust analytics, and 24/7 customer support. You’ll also have access to more than 8,000 apps in the Shopify App Store, although the most vital features are built-in, making it easy to manage your entire site from a single interface.

Shopify offers a three-day free trial and $1 per month for three months. From there, plans start at $29 per month for solo entrepreneurs and $79 for small teams, with additional tiers offering advanced features as your business scales.

Who it’s for

Shopify is built for ecommerce businesses of all sizes, including solopreneurs and startups.

Plans and pricing

Shopify offers a three-day free trial, then it’s $1 per month for the first three months. Web hosting is free, and plans start at $5 per month. You can register a domain name directly with Shopify or import your own, even on the least expensive plan.

Features

• AI website builder: Use Shopify’s AI website builder to create a custom storefront in seconds. From there, you can use Shopify’s other AI tools to create landing pages and product listings and get guidance on everything from shipping to analytics.

• More than 20 free templates: Jumpstart your site design with professionally designed free templates. More than 230 paid templates are also available, starting at $100.

• Integrated payment processing: Shopify Payments is an integrated payment gateway accepting all major payment methods. Plus, more than 100 third-party payment providers are compatible.

• Extensive app store: Access the Shopify App Store for over 8,000 add-ons and integrations, many of which are free.

• SEO-optimized: Shopify’s SEO tools help visitors find your site.

• Shopify POS: Integrate with physical retail through Shopify POS, blending online and offline sales channels.

• Shipping and fulfillment: Built-in order, inventory, and shipping tools generate labels, collect import taxes, provide tracking information, manage returns, and more.

• Advanced analytics: Track sales, customer behavior, and other essential ecommerce metrics with analytics and reporting features.

• Advanced customization and API access: While coding isn’t required, you can tailor your storefront and back-end systems to meet your unique needs with extensive customization options and API support.

• Omnichannel and multichannel commerce capabilities: Ensure a consistent customer experience and manage inventory seamlessly across desktop, mobile, social media, marketplace, and in-person retail.

• 24/7 customer support: Enjoy round-the-clock support via email, live chat, and phone.

• G2 ⭐️ rating: 4.4

2. Wix

Wix is a website builder geared toward professionals creating online portfolios and small service and ecommerce businesses designing simple sites. Wix’s free plan has more than 900 templates and gives you access to the platform’s app store, SEO tools, and email and CMS marketing software.

However, Wix’s free plan comes with limitations. You won’t be able to accept payments, and you won’t have access to analytics tools. Your website will also have Wix branding and ads, and you’ll have a Wix branded domain (siteprefix.wixsite.com/siteaddres).

Who it’s for

Professionals creating simple personal sites and businesses building basic ecommerce websites.

Plans and pricing

Wix offers a free website builder with limitations including a wixsite.com domain, Wix branding and ads, and no ecommerce functionality. Paid Wix plans cost $17 to $159 per month.

Features

• AI website builder

• More than 900 free templates

• Payment gateway integrations

• More than 800 apps

• SEO tools

• G2 ⭐️ rating: 4.2

3. Google Sites

Google Sites is commonly used for workplace intranets. It integrates with Google Drive, and it’s one of the products in Google’s Workspace suite (which includes products like Gmail and Google Forms). Individuals and small business owners can use Google Sites to create basic websites. 

Google Sites lacks monetization features, meaning you can’t sell products or appointment bookings. Since it doesn’t have an app library, you can’t integrate plug-ins to add ecommerce functionality—although you can work around this by embedding third-party tools.

Note that Google Sites also has only six free templates. You can edit Google Site’s code to customize the templates.

Who it’s for

Teams, companies, and teachers creating intranet sites for privately sharing information.

Plans and pricing

Google Sites is a free website builder with free hosting. Each Google Site comes with a branded domain name, but you can import an existing domain or purchase one through Google’s partners (domain names cost around $15 per year). If you’re a business, Google Sites is included in the Google Workplace package.

Features

• Six free templates

• SEO tools

• Google Sites does not have a G2 rating

4. Weebly

Weebly is a general purpose website builder with upward of 50 templates for online stores, service businesses, portfolios, personal websites, blogs, and events. Its free version offers a few key ecommerce features like inventory management tools and an integrated checkout. Weebly’s free plan is confined to a branded domain, and you’ll need to pay to remove Weebly ads from your site.

Weebly was acquired by Square in 2018, and the platform is merging with Square’s other site builder, Square Online. While you can still create a Weebly site, you need to create a Square account to do so, and the company encourages users to make the switch to Square Online.

Who it’s for

Businesses looking for a basic ecommerce or service business website, or people making basic websites for portfolios or events.

Plans and pricing

Weebly offers a free version of its website builder with a branded domain and ads. Web hosting is included. Plans cost $10 to $26 per month, and you’ll need to sign up for the platform’s $12 per month plan or higher to remove Weebly ads from your site.

Features

• More than 50 templates

• Integrated payment processing with Square, Stripe, or PayPal

• More than 300 apps

• Basic SEO tools

• Advanced analytics

• Weebly does not have a G2 rating

5. Canva

Canva is best known as a design tool for non-designers. But the platform also offers a free website builder for creating simple sites like portfolio websites. Canva’s website building interface is integrated into the platform’s normal design interface (users just select a website template). Keep in mind, some website templates are only available to Canva users on paid subscription plans.

Users can publish sites for free with a branded Canva domain. If you want a custom domain name, you’ll need to purchase it through Canva. Canva offers limited SEO tools, which could hinder your ability to gain traffic from organic search. Canva also doesn’t let you customize your site’s HTML, which limits the amount of personalization you can add. Also, it doesn’t offer payment gateway integrations, so you won’t be able to accept payments on your site.

Who it’s for

Professionals creating portfolios and simple sites, like event websites.

Plans and pricing

Canva offers a free website builder. You can publish your site for free with a branded Canva domain or purchase a domain through Canva (around $19 to $27 per year). Web hosting is included. You’ll need to upgrade to a Canva Pro account ($120 per year) to access some of the platform’s website templates, but even with the upgrade, you won’t be able to accept payments on your site.

Features

• More than 3,400 paid and free templates

• Canva’s website builder does not have a G2 rating.

6. Square Online

Square Online is point-of-sale (POS) company Square’s ecommerce platform. The platform’s free plan lets you connect an online store with the company’s POS system. This allows users to sell in-person and online and sync inventory.

Square Online’s free plan carries limitations: You can’t import a custom domain, so you’ll be stuck with one with the Square name (yourbusiness.square.site). The free plan is limited to one of five basic layouts. You also won’t be able to access site statistics and ecommerce analytics.

Who it’s for

Ecommerce businesses looking for a simple website.

Plans and pricing

Square Online offers a free plan with a branded domain. Paid plans cost $29 per month and $79 per month. Hosting is included in all plans.

Features

• Five free templates

• Integrated payment processing with Square

• More than 400 apps

• SEO tools

• Square POS

• Shipping and fulfillment tools

• Omnichannel and multichannel commerce capabilities

• G2 ⭐️ rating: 4.2

7. WordPress

WordPress launched in 2003 as a free open-source software for users to self-publish blogs and other text-based websites. That software powers WordPress’s two products: WordPress.org and WordPress.com. WordPress.org is free, but you’ll need to pay for your own hosting, which carries an annual subscription. WordPress.com manages hosting for you, and it offers a low-cost plan for personal websites. All in all, neither option is completely free.

You’ll probably want a decent amount of tech know-how to manage your own hosting with WordPress.org. If you don’t have a technical background, WordPress.com might be the easier choice. It also has an AI website builder, which can help you create a site quickly.

To add ecommerce functionality to WordPress.com, you’ll need to add the WooCommerce plug-in. The plug-in is free but offers paid upgrades for features like marketing automations and integrations with major shipping carriers.

Who it’s for

Bloggers.

Plans and pricing

WordPress.org is free, but you’ll need to obtain your own web hosting (which averages around $10 to $20 per month). WordPress.com costs $4 to $25 per month. Hosting is included.

Features

• AI website builder (WordPress.com)

• More than 95 free templates (WordPress.com); more than 13,000 free themes (WordPress.org)

• Integrated payment gateway with WooCommerce

• More than 59,000 apps

• Advanced customization and API access 

• Omnichannel and multichannel commerce capabilities

• 24/7 customer support (WordPress.com)

• G2 ⭐️ rating: 4.4 for both WordPress.org and WordPress.com 

8. Webflow

Webflow is a general purpose website builder with a high level of design choice (it has more than 2,000 typefaces, for example). For less design-minded users, Webflow has more than 85 free templates and video tutorials to help you build a site. It also has an AI site builder: You input information on your business and the site you want to build, the AI shows you a number of tailored templates. Then you customize the layout of the template you choose.

Webflow offers a free plan to test its platform, but you won’t be able to publish your site (the free plan isn’t time-bound, making it different from a free trial). The free plan also only lets you create two pages, and you won’t have access to ecommerce features.

Who it’s for

Web designers.

Plans and pricing

Webflow offers a free version of its platform, but you won’t be able to publish your site. Non-ecommerce plans cost $14 to $39 per month. Ecommerce plans cost $29 to $212 per month. Hosting is included.

Features

• AI website builder

• More than 85 free templates

• Integrated payment processing

• More than 300 apps

• Advanced customization and API access

• G2 ⭐️ rating: 4.4

Limitations of free website builders

• Branded domain names
• Restricted ecommerce functionality
• Limited SEO tools
• Lack of customization options
• No AI website builders
• Limited scalability
• Small app libraries

Compared to their paid counterparts, even the best free website builders may have limitations. Keep an eye on the following as you decide between platforms:

Branded domain names

Free website builders often come with branded subdomains. This means your site’s address will look something like “sites.google.com/domain.com/siteURL” (in the case of Google Sites, for example).

There are a few cases where this might not be a problem. If you’re creating a portfolio site to link in résumés or if you’re a teacher creating a site for students to access course materials, for example, you might not care about having your own domain name. If you’re creating a site for your business or even a personal website, however, a branded subdomain may come across as unprofessional.

Restricted ecommerce functionality

Some free website builders let you start selling products right away. Others require paid plug-ins or even restrict ecommerce functionality entirely. If you’re planning to sell products or services on your free website, here’s what to look for:

• Payment gateway integrations. You’ll need to integrate a payment gateway like Shopify Payments, Stripe, or Square to accept payments on your website. Free website builders like Shopify come with this functionality, whereas others, like WordPress, require you to upgrade in order to integrate a payment gateway.

• Inventory, shipping, and fulfillment tools. Inventory management features help you keep track of the items you have in stock and the items you’ve sold. Features like automatically calculated shipping rates and the ability to print shipping labels can help you streamline the fulfillment process.

Limited SEO tools

If you’re creating a site visitors will find through a link (like a portfolio site for your résumé or a shared website for your work team), you might not need advanced search engine optimization (SEO) tools. If you’re running a public facing site like an ecommerce storefront, however, you’ll want to make sure people can find your store via search engines. Some free website builders have limited SEO tools, which can prevent your site from ranking in search results.

Lack of customization options

A unique and polished site can help your company appear professional. Look for a free website builder with a wide range of theme options, which can help ensure your site is distinct.

You might also look for the ability to customize your site through the platform’s API or HTML code, which will let you add more tailored changes to your site down the line. Those might be design or user experience changes. 

A comprehensive ecommerce platform like Shopify will have optimized features built-in, with the ability to add apps to further tailor your site experience.

No AI website builders

AI website builders let you create a professional-looking website quickly. They can be particularly helpful if you don’t have a design background and are unfamiliar with the process of customizing website templates.

To get the most out of these AI tools, enter prompts explaining:

• What your business does and who it serves

• The personality you want your site to have (like lighthearted or luxurious)

• The features you need (like an About Us page and an ecommerce checkout)

• The key elements of your visual brand identity (your color scheme and typography, for example)

Limited scalability

Even if you only need a barebones site now, you might need a more comprehensive website in the future—especially if you’re an ecommerce business looking to grow. Look at the platform’s paid plans to make sure they offer functionality you might need in the future at a price your growing business could afford. It will be easier to stick with a single platform rather than recreate your site with a new, unfamiliar website builder.

For example, the next Shopify plan after the $5 per month Starter plan costs $29 per month and includes all the features you’ll need to run an ecommerce business. This includes shipping and fulfillment tools and integrated marketing tools like email marketing software. Platforms not designed explicitly for ecommerce, like Wordpress, might make scaling more complicated and expensive. You may need to connect multiple plug-ins to get the same features, which can carry additional subscription costs.

Here are a few ecommerce features you might need as you grow:

• POS integration. POS systems let you accept payments in person and sync inventory between your online and physical storefronts. Even if you don’t plan to open a retail shop, having a POS integration can make it easy to host pop-ups and sell at events.

• Advanced analytics. Advanced ecommerce analytics give you insight into everything from how your conversion rate has changed over time to which marketing campaigns drove the most users or customers to your site. This type of data can be invaluable in making informed decisions about how to improve your business.

• Omnichannel commerce capabilities. Omnichannel commerce ensures a seamless brand experience across every customer touchpoint. For example, if a customer adds a product to their cart on your website, you might send them an email highlighting that product.

• Multichannel commerce capabilities. Multichannel commerce lets you sell across different platforms, not just your ecommerce website. For example, maybe you also sell your products on a marketplace like Amazon and a social media platform on Instagram. This lets you reach more potential customers and lets you meet customers where they are, making buying from you more convenient.

Ecommerce platforms like Shopify also offer financial benefits at higher tiers, like lower payment processing fees and discounted shipping rates. These types of discounts can make a big difference in your bottom line, especially as you start selling a higher volume of products.

Small app libraries

As you run and improve your ecommerce website, you might find that you need a few miscellaneous features here and there, like appointment booking or photo reviews. Website builders with large app libraries make it easy to add these types of features to your site, often for free.

Popular platforms like Shopify also include made-for-Shopify apps that seamlessly integrate with your site, keeping your back end simple and maintaining a streamlined customer experience.