Top 10: Simple website builders

Updated: August 01, 2023

Simple website builders are user-friendly digital tools that empower individuals and small businesses to create professional-looking websites without the need for extensive technical knowledge or coding skills. These website builders typically feature intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, allowing users to easily customize templates and add content, images, and other elements to their websites. With a variety of pre-designed themes and layouts, users can quickly create a visually appealing and functional website that reflects their brand identity and objectives. Simple website builders often include built-in hosting and domain registration, streamlining the process of getting a website online. While they may have some limitations compared to more complex website development platforms, these builders offer an accessible and cost-effective solution for those looking to establish an online presence with ease and efficiency. Simple website builders democratize website creation, enabling individuals and small businesses to showcase their products, services, and ideas on the internet and reach a broader audience without the need for extensive technical expertise. Some of the most popular simple website builders are listed below.

See also: Top 10 Website building platforms

2019. Zoho Sites gets new Style Editor



Zoho Sites introduces a groundbreaking tool that combines design, flexibility, and simplicity, taking customization to new heights. Our innovative Style Editor equips you with a comprehensive range of customizable design tools for each element, granting you complete authority over your site's design. Previously, achieving this level of design customization necessitated technical expertise in CSS editing. However, unless you have an in-house web designer, hiring one solely to make a few adjustments would be financially impractical. Now, you can rely solely on yourself to craft intricate style customizations. The Style Editor offers various options to personalize the background, typography, border, shadow, and spacing of every element on your page.


2018. Website builder Strikingly raises $10M



Strikingly, a platform for building websites, has successfully secured a Series A+ funding round, raising $10 million. Since its launch in 2012, Strikingly has stood out from other website builders by focusing on the creation of easily built, yet visually appealing mobile-responsive sites. While mobile responsiveness is now a standard feature for website builders, Strikingly continues to distinguish itself from competitors such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, and WordPress through its exceptional user-friendliness. The company proudly claims that the average time required to launch a new website using Strikingly's editor is just 10 minutes.


2018. GoDaddy site builder integrates with Google My Business



Website hosting and small business marketing firm GoDaddy has partnered with Google to streamline the process of setting up and verifying a Google My Business (GMB) profile. Through an integration with their GoCentral website builder, GoDaddy now offers automated GMB registration and submission. This integration enables swift transfer of business data from the website to GMB, significantly reducing the verification time from weeks to days. The GMB integration is available with the Business Plus and Online Store hosting plans. It's important to note that claiming and populating a GMB profile directly on Google remains free of charge. Furthermore, GoDaddy provides comprehensive reporting on GMB-driven traffic and related actions, including profile/listings views, calls, directions requests, and website visits. Notably, it is interesting that Google's own service, Google Sites, has not yet been integrated with GMB.


2018. Zoho Sites adds pre-built website sections



Zoho has unveiled the latest version of its website-builder, Zoho Sites, featuring an upgraded user interface and several new functionalities. The inclusion of pre-built website sections, such as layouts and templates, allows for quick access to design solutions. Moreover, new page elements like content containers, icons, and dividers provide users with additional creative tools to experiment with page design. The introduction of the Element editor further enhances customization options within the platform. Excitingly, users now have the ability to incorporate videos and parallax images as background elements on web pages. Additionally, Zoho Sites offers the option to create private websites, restrict visibility to within your organization, and publish websites exclusively for intranet usage.


2018. Wix integrates with Instagram



The website building service Wix has introduced a new feature that enables users to seamlessly share their Instagram photos and videos on their websites. With the Instagram Feed App, you now have the ability to incorporate links to individual Instagram posts, allowing visitors to navigate directly to your site. You can select from a range of layouts to display your Instagram content, customize colors and fonts, and effortlessly include links to any photo or video within your feed. This feature provides an excellent opportunity to attract new followers and promote products from your Wix Stores collection, among other possibilities.


2016. Duda introduced new responsive website builder



Duda has completely redesigned its responsive website builder to enhance the speed of site creation, improve the user experience, and ultimately deliver a more intuitive platform. The new builder has been developed using React, an open-source JavaScript library renowned for creating dynamic user interfaces. This implementation of Facebook's technology ensures that the platform is highly robust and adaptable. The drag-and-drop functionality now feels even smoother, and the editor itself loads up to 40% faster compared to its previous version. Notable additions to the builder include expanded layout options, an increased selection of color overlays, the introduction of the Icon Widget, 22 additional fonts, interpage anchors, customizable backgrounds per page, the ability to use video backgrounds within columns and popups, support for Open Graph, and a more flexible Photo Gallery feature.


2014. Website building service Zoho Sites goes completely free



Utilizing Zoho Sites, you now have the ability to effortlessly create, edit, and host visually appealing websites without any cost. This latest update equips you with all the essential tools required to establish your personal online presence. Enjoy unlimited pages, storage, bandwidth, galleries, and seamless compatibility across both mobile and desktop platforms, among numerous other features. In comparison, other website builders such as Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly are commendable options, but they often come with hefty price tags. So, what's the catch? Zoho developers clarify that they have no intention of investing millions in advertising campaigns or displaying ads on your website. Instead, they rely on a completely crowd-driven marketing approach. If you're currently reading this news, it's a testament to the effectiveness of their marketing strategy.


2011. Adobe launched website building tool Muse



Adobe has recently unveiled Muse, its latest product designed to streamline website design for traditional medium designers transitioning into web-based projects. Muse is a visually-oriented tool that empowers designers to create websites without having to delve into coding languages such as HTML, CSS, or Javascript. This feature serves as Muse's main selling point, as it eliminates the need for coding knowledge when designing for the web. In contrast, Adobe's Dreamweaver, another website builder, offers more advanced functionality by enabling users to create website elements through code manipulation. However, this requires coding expertise. Muse, on the other hand, is specifically tailored to be user-friendly and can be utilized by individuals with no programming background or by those familiar with basic web design principles. Its simplified approach allows for satisfactory results, making it highly effective for approximately 90% of users. Both Muse and Dreamweaver come equipped with an integrated FTP manager, facilitating the seamless uploading of completed websites to hosting services.