Website creation is quite a complicated and time-taking process, which involves a number of must-have steps. If you are aware of coding nuances and have a certain web design background, then you will hardly face problems completing the task.
But what if you are a newbie and this is your first web design experience? In this case, you won’t go without using website builders, which are on the rise these days.
Website builders encompass several important features and help accomplish a number of web design tasks at a time. They make it possible to launch a full-featured project without any skills or expertise required to do that.
You can come across all-in-one systems that allow creating all types of projects as well as specialized platforms, the feature set of which goes down to the creation of a certain website type (online stores, portfolios etc.).
Most contemporary website builders are quite affordable and many of them follow the so-called freemium approach. The latter implies the use of a free trial version (or a free plan) of the selected platform to further upgrade to one of the premium subscriptions.
To help you find a truly cheap website builder and hosting tailored to your personal needs, we decided to do an informative research and make up our own rating of the cheapest website builders available out there. Here you will find the cheapest platform that will work best for your individual web design needs. Let’s get started now.
1. SITE123
| Product Name: | SITE123 |
| Official Website: | site123.com |
| Founded: | 2015 |
| Number of Websites: | 60,203 |
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Free plan: | Yes |
| Cheapest plan: | From $12.80/mo |
SITE123 – is a simple website builder for non-techies, which works well for all types of personal and business projects. What’s important, the system use does not require any coding skills or web design background. Everything is intuitive and easy here. What you need is just to sign up for a personal account, pick a design and proceed to its customization. The website builder has everything you might need to launch a quality web project.
SITE123 generally offers 4 premium subscriptions to meet diverse needs of users. The cheapest plan – Basic – currently costs $12.80/mo granted that you make an annual payment. It comes with 10GB of disk storage space, 5GB of bandwidth and opportunity of free domain name connection for the first year of the system use. The plan also implies absence of SITE123 floating tag and opportunity to send 100 email messages at no cost.
Other highlights of the website builder available on the cheapest subscription include:
- Multilingual Support – The system lets you create several language versions of your project even on the cheapest subscription. This will be a perfect opportunity for business website owners willing to target international markets.
- Logo Maker – An advanced Logo Maker tool makes it possible to build and integrate a logo into any project. Users get access to the set of elements and features they should customize to create personalized logo design.
- App Market – Rich choice of widgets and extensions SITE123 has in stock allows enhancing your project performance based on their niche and your requirements. It is possible to pick and integrate galleries, social widgets, Live Chat, analytic tools etc. here.
- Form Builder – SITE123 has a built-in form builder that lets you create, customize and integrate all types of online forms based on your project type and objectives you intend to reach. This is done with a few clicks and with no programming knowledge at all.
2. uKit
| Product Name: | uKit |
| Official Website: | ukit.com |
| Founded: | 2015 |
| Number of websites: | 31,934 |
| Complexity: | Very easy |
| Free plan: | Free 14-day trial |
| Cheapest plan: | From $4/mo |
uKit – is a low cost website builder for small business and one of the cheapest website builders out there. Working with the system’s editor is absolutely simple: the builder is dominated by a preview of your website so that you can immediately see all your edits in action. The service also offers a set of integrable widgets that can boost your website performance. The site builder lets you create a variety of projects, including personal sites, portfolios, blogs, business websites, landing pages and even webstores (uKit’s commerce is realized via the integration with Ecwid or connecting of the eCommerce plugin).
The website builder currently has four premium subscriptions. There is an opportunity to save big, when paying for 3,6,12 or 24 months at a time. Thus, the cheapest Minimal plan will cost you $4/mo, if billed annually. The plan offers the required toolset and features to set up and manage a quality website for personal or business use. It comes with a custom domain name connection option, unlimited disk space, number of pages and SMS notifications. 24/7 customer support and free hosting are available here as well.
When using the cheapest uKit plan, you will get access to the following features:
- Responsive Designs – The system has a collection of professional, customizable and responsive templates. They are divided into thematic niches to simplify users’ choice.
- Integrable Widgets – The website builder now offers a set of useful widgets that can bring any website to the brand new level. Some of these widgets include uCalc Online Calculator, PRO Tables widget, “Timeline” and “Steps”, Google Maps, Social Network widget and more. uKit has also recently introduced SendPulse and AmoCRM features.
- Free SSL Certificate – Opportunity of free SSL Certificate connection is also available in uKit. This allows boosting your website security and confidentiality of information provided.
- Temporary Website Management Access Rights – If you plan to work on your project development with colleagues, you can assign temporary website access rights to other team members. The overall duration of the temporary website access constitutes up to 999 days.
3. WordPress
| Product Name: | WordPress |
| Official Website: | wordpress.org |
| Founded: | 2003 |
| Number of websites: | 60,247,688 |
| Complexity: | Complex |
| Free plan: | Completely free |
| Cheapest plan: | Depends on the features |
WordPress – is one of the cheapest Content Management Systems. Its application sphere initially came down to blog design. As the service kept developing, it gained popularity with users as an all-in-one solution for the creation of different types of projects, including portfolios, business websites, landing pages, online stores etc. The CMS implies coding proficiency to build and customize websites yet this does not take much time and effort.
You may need to invest in templates, website development and ongoing maintenance support, customization and other issues you will encounter during the website creation process.
4. Wix
| Product Name: | Wix |
| Official Website: | wix.com |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Number of Websites: | 10,400,393 |
| Complexity: | Very easy |
| Free plan: | Yes |
| Cheapest plan: | From $22/mo |
Wix – is the most affordable website builder, which lets you launch various types of projects that differ in complexity, size, functionality, design and budget. The system is one of the most affordable contemporary web building solutions and it offers an extensive set of features to come up to any web building needs.
The website builder offers two types of subscriptions – Website and Business/eCommerce. Its cheapest plan – Combo – is included in the Website Package, costing $22/mo. The plan is intended for personal use, offering 2GB of bandwidth and 3GB of disk storage space. A nice feature is the absence of the system ad banners on your ready-made website. If you decide to work with the system, it makes sense to pay for the whole year. In this case, you will get a free domain name as a bonus and opportunity to advertise in Google Ads for free.
The cheapest Wix plan grants the following advantages:
- Blogging – The system allows connecting and managing a blog to your website with a few clicks only. You can add and edit posts, enable user comments, configure blog settings etc.
- Wix ADI – The advanced AI-based tool allows creating websites in the most intuitive, automated and hassle-free way based on the content you will provide upon its request.
- App Market – Users get access to the built-in app Market, where you can find multiple widgets/add-ons and add them to your project at no cost. Mind that paid extensions are available here as well.
- Rich Template Gallery – Wix boasts an extensive collection of free mobile-ready templates, which are 100% customizable. You can reach the required section and pick a theme that corresponds to your website specialization.
- Video Integration – Wix Combo plan comes with 30 minutes of free videos you can upload to the server and then integrate into your website.
5. Shopify
| Product Name: | Shopify |
| Official Website: | shopify.com |
| Founded: | 2004 |
| Number of Websites: | 5,808,829 |
| Complexity: | Medium |
| Free plan: | No, free 14-day trial |
| Cheapest plan: | $9/mo |
Shopify – is an affordable online store builder and the most popular, professional and full-featured eCommerce software. It is used to start and manage small-to-large digital stores. Its range of features along with trusted customer support and multiple guidelines make it possible to launch quality web stores even without any web design background or expertise.
The software has four premium plans. The cheapest of them is Shopify Lite, which costs $9/mo only. The plan allows selling unlimited items, but it is not possible to run a full-featured web store here. Users are only able to sell via physical locations or Facebook. If you need more extended functionality, it makes sense to opt directly for Basic Shopify subscription, the price of which constitutes $29/mo. The plan implies an opportunity to manage 2 staff accounts and 4 locations yet it charges 2% transaction fee.
Other Basic Shopify plan advantages are:
- Point of Sale (POS) Software – The platform allows selling items not only online, but also in physical storefronts, accepting credit cards and working with built-in inventory tools.
- Marketing Opportunities – Along with POS software, Shopify grants access to customer profiles, Ping mobile app, rich and regularly updated app store, Buy One Get One discounts, dynamic checkout and Shopify Tap & Chip Reader, advanced retail features, access to Google Pay service, advanced UPS Shopify Shipping feature and many more.
- Abandoned Shopping Cart Recovery – The feature allows customers to continue shopping when it is more convenient to them, even if they have previously abandoned their shopping carts.
- Blogging – With Shopify, you can connect a blog to your online store to keep in touch with current/potential customers and to notify them about the upcoming news, events, products and other related info.
- Product Management – The software makes it possible to integrate a shopping cart and to customize it as required. You can create multiple product cards here, assign special item parameters, automatically generate product embed codesetc. CSV file import/export options are available here as well.
- Integrations – It is possible to integrate your Shopify account with world-popular accounting software and trusted marketplaces like Amazon, Xero etc. You can sell your products on these platforms, thus building a customer base and generating profit.
6. Hostinger Website Builder (ex.Zyro)
| Product Name: | Hostinger Website Builder |
| Official Website: | hostinger.com |
| Founded: | 2019 |
| Number of websites: | 37,766 |
| Complexity: | Average |
| Free plan: | Unlimited |
| Paid plan: | From $2.79/mo |
Hostinger Website Builder (ex.Zyro) – is an intuitive AI-powered website builder, which belongs to the new generation of web design platforms. Due to the built-in Artificial Intelligence, the system lets everyone create, customize and promote projects with zero programming knowledge and web design expertise. The software is known for its advanced design customization, marketing and business management tools available in stock.
The system offers four pricing solutions, the most affordable of which is Basic plan. Its cost constitutes $2.79/mo. The plan works great for professional portfolios, business websites and blogs. Among its features, it makes sense to mention free domain for 1 year, 24/7 customer support, free email for 3 months and multiple marketing integrations.
Additionally, the software offers the following highlights:
- AI Tools – The website builder grants access to multiple AI tools that simplify the process of design customization. Thus, the AI Writer tool automatically generates website content that is SEO-friendly and informative at a time. Other AI tools encompass Slogan and Business Name Generator, AI Heat maps and more.
- Google Maps – Whatever project type you run, you will certainly appreciate an opportunity of Google Maps integration to specify the physical location of your business, for example.
- Logo Maker – If you don’t have a business logo yet, Hostinger Website Builder will help you design one due to its built-in Logo Maker tool. You will get access to multiple elements and parameters to create a personalized website logo.
- CTA Buttons Embedding – Integration of CTA buttons allows reaching multiple business objectives. You will not only attract user attention, but will be able to encourage them to complete your major goals.
7. Sellfy
| Product Name: | Sellfy |
| Official Website: | sellfy.com |
| Founded: | 2011 |
| Number of Websites: | 1,624 |
| Complexity: | Average |
| Free plan: | Yes |
| Cheapest plan: | $22/mo |
Sellfy – is a budget eCommerce platform for creators, which is quite easy-to-use and convenient for all the entrepreneurs willing to start a web store with it. The system allows selling physical or digital products through multiple platforms and social networks, such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, Instagram and many more. Sellfy comes with an extensive variety of features that make it possible to effectively design, customize and present products offered for sale.
The website builder has a free plan and three premium subscriptions to match diverse user criteria. The cheapest Starter plan costs $22/mo, providing an opportunity to sell an unlimited number of digital/physical/ subscription products and create print-on-demand items. The subscription also allows connecting your own domain name and making use of extensive email marketing solutions. Starter plan is meant for businesses with up to $10K in sales per year.
Have a look at other Sellfy advantages now:
- Extensive eCommerce Options – This is the all-in-one eCommerce solution that allows designing a functional online store absolutely from scratch and with no special coding skills involved. It’s up to you to create and customize product lists to further embed them into your website, add product descriptions and images, assign product categories and link them to specific products, customize the integrated shopping cart, adjust payment/shipping parameters etc.
- App Market – Sellfy grants access to its own app market, where you can browse multiple add-ons, widgets, applications and extensions that can contribute to your web store performance. However, the selection of apps available in the market is quite limited and includes Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel and Chat and Zapier to mention a few.
- Built-In Marketing Tools – The platform allows using email marketing options, discount solutions and upselling tools to boost your web store promotion.
- Integrated Analytics – With Sellfy, you can track marketing statistics, results and other info required to monitor emails, new subscribers, general web store performance data, traffic sources, transactions, conversion rates etc.
How to Choose a Cheap Website Builder?
If you have an intention to start a full-featured website, but realize that you’re pressed for money, you may consider using one of the most affordable website builders listed above. Mind, however, that each website builder comes with its individual pros and cons, which might affect your final choice.
Thus, when browsing the web building tools, you should initially check out what niche specification this or that system has and whether it comes up to your actual web design needs. If you plan to start a web store, then it makes sense to pick either a specialized system or the one that comes with a powerful and secure eCommerce engine/plan. The same is about other types of projects.
The next aspect that is worth the attention is the availability of a free plan/trial. Website builders that offer free plans usually imply certain restrictions that do not allow getting the most out of project functionality. However, free plans and trials make it possible to test the system before upgrading to the paid subscription. This matters a lot, when it comes to budget economy.
What you should also find out is whether the platform includes a free domain name into its paid plans (especially the cheapest one). If it doesn’t, then get ready to additionally invest into domain name purchase. This might become one of the decisive factors, when making the final choice.
Finally, check out the entire feature set included into the plans website builders offer and compare them to make a really worthy choice. It goes without saying that the best website builder does not have to be too cheap. What matters most is that its pricing policy should comply with your web design needs and expectations. This is the surefire way to get a full-featured professional website.
How to Create a Cheap Website
When it comes to website development, correct choice of the web building tool matters most. However, that’s not the only aspect to consider, if you wish to get a feature-laden website at an affordable cost. Here is a quick overview of steps you should complete to get a worthy website:
- Choose the Platform – This is the first and the most important step you won’t go without, if you wish to gain success. As mentioned above, the final choice should be based upon the niche focus of the system, goals it is used for, functionality, customer support and design customization options and, of course, pricing policy. The latter should not only fit into your budget, bit it should absolutely cover your web design expectations and requirements.
- Decide on the Domain Name and Hosting – If you select a website builder, this step will be somewhat simplified for you as most systems offer plans that come with integrated hosting and domain. However, if you decide to work with WordPress, then get ready to take care of hosting and domain selection on your own as the CMS doesn’t offer any integrated solutions.
- Pick a Template – Design selection should go down to the needs of your project. Fortunately, most website builders offer extensive collections of themes, many of which fall into thematic categories. Additionally, there is frequently an opportunity to pick a blank template and customize it from scratch. Thus, you’ll have more chances to get a truly unique and personalized design. When working with CMS, you may face an opportunity to look for an external website theme – there are myriads of free and paid designs to choose from on the web.
- Customize the Theme – Whether you decide to work with a website builder or a CMS, you’ll have a set of design customization tools to choose from. Thus, you’ll have an opportunity to edit website elements, insert media files, integrate social media accounts, upload content, images and other required elements.
- Insert Widgets/Plugins – To diversify your website design, you will certainly face the need to integrate extra widgets (when working with website builders) or plugins (while working with WordPress or any other CMS).
- Adjust SEO Parameters – As soon as you are done with your website design customization, you’ll need to take care of website Search Engine Optimization. To boost your project positions in the search engines, you’ll have to adjust the major SEO parameters available on corresponding pages. Fortunately, most contemporary web building systems are SEO-friendly, which reduces the need to set up deep SEO parameters.
- Publish the Website – This is the final stage of the entire website development process. It makes sense, though, to preview the project before the publication to make sure it looks and functions correctly. Is everything ok? Then go ahead to publish your ready-made website!
Bottom Line
Today, you don’t need a truckload of money to build a perfect website. Code-free website builders make the process of website creation as easy as it gets for only $3-$7 a month without any setup fees. For that price, you will get a website template, secure hosting, the site building software itself and professional support.
Whatever system you will eventually decide to go for, get ready to invest a certain budget into website development and its further promotion. Otherwise, it will be close to impossible to get a full-featured website that will cover all your needs. Fortunately, the modern web design niche has many trusted and functional services to offer, which allows for the freedom of choice and ensures great results.
