Website Builders for Small Business
Picking a proper site builder for a small business website may present a more complex problem than for a large enterprise.
While freelancers, tiny companies, and similar projects have smaller budgets, a site with an awry design and limited functionality won’t satisfy them.
Just like big businesses, they need a professional and seamlessly working website, though its feature requirements may be much simpler.
Does the mission of finding the right builder for your project seem unachievable to you? Take it easy since I’m ready to present you with the Top 5 of such builders.
These are the following platforms:
In my review, I’ll show these platforms’ advantages for the niche in detail, but let me start with an introductory comparison of them.
Quick Comparison of Top 5 Small Business Website Builders
Which of the five candidates displayed in the table is the optimal choice for your project? Read their reviews based on my experience, and you’ll know the answer.
Squarespace
With gorgeous templates and well-thought-out plans, Squarespace can be an ideal solution for the broadest range of smaller businesses. The platform’s capacities are enough to run a blog, a portfolio, a gallery, an online store, and more.
Squarespace Ease of Use
Squarespace is a beginner-friendly platform that offers a clear and simple way to build a website. You can get started by choosing a proper template. Once it is chosen, you quickly register an account and go straight to editing. You can supply your website with everything you need in minutes. Its further management is an easy process, too.
Squarespace Small Business Features
Squarespace gives everything a small project might need to start:
- a custom domain or an ability to transfer the existing one;
- SSL security & unlimited bandwidth;
- a logo maker;
- professional templates;
- a range of eCommerce tools for selling goods and streamlining your teamwork;
- great SEO instruments;
- marketing tools to organize promo campaigns;
- the ability to extend your website’s functionality by adding various apps.
No matter which plan you choose, your website based on Squarespace will be mobile-responsive. You’ll get access to basic statistics and 24/7 support.
Squarespace Website Design Features
Squarespace remains unbeaten when comparing its templates with ones offered by other competitors. These are professionally designed, solid-looking themes grouped in categories. You can choose a suitable one among the most popular templates or in a specific section according to your targeted activity (online store, blog, restaurant, etc.).
Squarespace Cost
There’s a choice of four Squarespace plans to subscribe to. The cheapest one – available at $23 a month – will suit only individual entrepreneurs’ needs. The other three are addressed to businesses and online stores. Each Squarespace plan has a reasonable price/functional set ratio. All plans go with a free trial.
Squarespace Website Examples
Take a look at a couple of Squarespace sites already operating online. It’ll let you get a visual idea of the site builder’s possibilities:
Read also: Squarespace Website Examples on MMThomasblog
Zyro
The most budget-saving solution in my review and in general is Zyro. The site builder is capable of creating simple websites with a minimum of features. When you need a workable site to implement the simplest business activities, Zyro can be a perfect match for your project.
Zyro Ease of Use
No special skills are needed to use the Zyro website editor. You pick a template, make some design changes using Drag & Drop, connect apps, and that’s it. Your website is ready to work online. There are no complex features here, so the maintenance of your website won’t present any difficulty either.
Zyro Small Business Features
Although Zyro has a more moderate set of features than most competitors, it offers enough. At least a small business can benefit from such features as these:
- unlimited storage/bandwidth;
- free/custom domain;
- online payments;
- inventory/order management tools;
- Google Analytics;
- numerous AI tools for optimizing your pages’ content;
- automatically tuned SEO settings;
- a landing page builder.
Want more? Zyro will let you easily integrate your site with the most useful third-party apps.
Zyro Website Design Features
Zyro offers a narrower choice of templates, but their quality is good. All themes are mobile-friendly and look professional. Be sure that Google, Yahoo, and other search engines will rank your website high, no matter which template is chosen.
Ready-made templates with minimum customizations required are the simplest way to build a workable website. However, you have the option of building it from scratch with the help of a blank template. The embed code option will be at your disposal, too.
Zyro Cost
Only two plans are available on Zyro. Moreover, the cheapest Website package ($11.99/mo.) would scarcely suit the needs of even a small company. Chances you’ll need to subscribe to the Business plan ($14.99/mo.) to supply your website with enough functionality. Still, the price is quite affordable.
Zyro Website Examples
Will your Zyro website look primitive? Not at all! The below examples prove it:
SITE123
A fast way to launch a business site in three easy steps is SITE123. When you need a simple and reliable solution for selling goods, SITE123 won’t fail you. The platform offers affordable prices and even a free plan.
SITE123 Ease of Use
You need to sign up at SITE123 to explore its plans. The platform’s editor is a very simple tool, and the building process with SITE123 can even be simpler when using its AI helper. The AI Editor can quickly create the exact website you need itself. It’ll be easy to manage via the integrated dashboard with all instruments gathered in one place.
SITE123 Small Business Features
In terms of features, do not expect too much from the SITE123 builder. The platform is addressed to individuals and small companies with modest requirements for their online sites. I found the platform the most suitable for small online stores since SITE123 offers the following eCommerce-oriented features:
- free website/landing page builders;
- a business website builder;
- a free image gallery;
- multilingual options;
- a logo maker;
- integration with social media channels;
- booking management tools;
- email marketing, and more.
The only drawback with SITE123 is that the most useful features are only accessible when subscribing to a top-price plan.
SITE123 Website Design Features
SITE123 allows building a business website, an eCommerce site, a blog, a delivery website, and so on. For whatever purpose, the platform has a number of mobile-responsive and easily customizable templates. However, not too many changes can be made. Your freedom here will be limited to choosing color schemes, fonts, and block positions.
SITE123 Cost
The platform offers four packages: Basic ($12.80/mo.), Extended ($13.80/mo.), Professional ($19.80/mo.), and Gold ($25.80/mo.) You can also start with a free plan. But the Extended plan can serve as a more reliable basis for a small project. If planning an online store, opt for Professional or Gold.
SITE123 Website Examples
Let’s visit some of the existing SITE123 projects:
Wix
Wix ranks among the top popular site builders. A small business can benefit from this solution thanks to a broad choice of plans with careful feature supply and reasonable pricing. The platform offers a massive collection of templates.
Wix Ease of Use
Wix updates its services constantly, and you can create a website with the help of Wix Editor or Wix ADI. Wix Editor gives more customization freedom to users, but its interface is not always clear to a beginner. However, Wix ADI is a great option for non-coders. In fact, the AI-based editor will ask you a couple of questions and build a proper website for you.
Although the platform allows manipulations with code, Wix is a simpler website builder than WordPress or similar. It offers a comprehensive dashboard to create a website and then manage it.
Wix Small Business Features
Besides common tools necessary for launching a website online, Wix offers a set of specific instruments necessary for businesses. They include the following features:
- a logo maker;
- a business name generator;
- invoice & QR code makers;
- a business card maker;
- form builder;
- a mobile app builder;
- easy connection to social network channels;
- 80+ payment methods;
- booking & dropshipping tools;
- Wix Analytics;
- built-in SEO, and more.
The abundance of features makes Wix an ideal solution for small companies with a more complex scheme of activities.
Wix Website Design Features
With Wix, you can build a website of any complexity. At your disposal will be 800+ quality templates. You are free to build a completely unique site since the platform gives access to coding.
When being a freelancer or ruling a small company, you might prefer a simpler way to create a standalone website on Wix – by selecting a ready-made template suitable for your specification. Even if your web design skills are limited, you’ll be able to customize it enough to make it look professional and unique.
Wix Cost
Besides plans for large enterprises, Wix offers seven plans with a well-thought-out gradation. There are four Website packages ($16-$45/mo.) and three Business packages ($27-$59/mo.) on the Wix platform. The cheapest solutions have such drawbacks as Wix ads and the absence of basic features. So, I’d recommend starting at least with the Unlimited plan at $22/mo.
Wix Website Examples
Want to know how impressive your Wix website can look? Here are a couple of examples to estimate the power of this platform:
Read also: Wix Website Examples on MMThomasblog
IM Creator
A one-of-a-kind website builder, IM Creator, finishes my reviews. The platform’s slogan reads ‘Built by creators, for creators,’ and it tells the truth. The site builder grants fantastic freedom to creatives for whom a smooth, striking design is a must. If you plan your art gallery, blog, or even online store to stand out in the line of similar projects, IM Creator is definitely an option for you.
IM Creator Ease of Use
IM Creator offers an easy-to-use website builder based on Drag & Drop tech. A strong point of the platform is that you can start with the simplest site and easily scale it up or change its settings after it has been launched. So, if you are not sure what your project should look like, or, inversely, if you are sure that you will need to change a lot of things later, IM Creator is your builder, by all means.
IM Creator Small Business Features
Although the key audience of IM Creator is artists, photographers, and musicians, the platform allows for building and carefully managing a business or eCommerce website. The range of useful features includes the following:
- mobile-responsive templates;
- ads-free plans;
- the Mix & Match option for simplifying design modifications;
- great SEO tools;
- Google Analytics;
- a management console;
- payment management tools, and more.
An IM Creator website based on cheap plans will have the most basic features necessary to run a business. Yet, individuals and small companies can build workable websites with attractive designs.
IM Creator Website Design Features
It takes minutes to build a website with the help of the IM Creator editor. It does not require coding skills. You choose a template out of 100+ professionally designed options, tune it up, preview your ready website, and publish it.
Your customization rights on IM Creator will be truly impressive. Besides common changes in colors and fonts, you can move elements any way you wish, add blocks from other templates, etc.
IM Creator Cost
Three plans are available at IM Creator: the free one, Premium ($9.95/mo.), and Pro & Whitelabel (from $350/mo.) I’d recommend the free option only to individuals whose key goal is to place their artwork, teaching course, blog, or a similar service online. Obviously, the most affordable solution for small businesses is the Premium package.
IM Creator Website Examples
Real giants like CNN and The New York Times have based their branch sites on IM Creator. However, smaller companies’ online showcases also merit your attention:
Read also: IM Creator Website Examples on MMThomasblog
How Do I Estimate Small Business Website Builders?
Small businesses are diverse, so proper site builders for them should offer a variety of simple but indispensable instruments. Since most businesses are related to eCommerce these days, their basic features should let a business showcase its product or brand and comfortably sell/deliver it to its customers.
One more essential of good small business website builders is an easy-to-use editor. Modern companies can be ruled by an individual who represents a CEO, an accountant, a shop assistant, and a web designer, too! So, an optimal solution for such a company is one with a beginner-friendly interface and an easy-to-use editor. Code knowledge here can be an option but not a requirement. The constructor should offer enough templates addressed to various types of businesses. Their proper quality is an obligatory element.
Finally, I factor in pricing. Personally, I prefer site builders with a choice of plans. I’m not a fan of free options. However, they surely can serve as a precious variant for certain startups and small companies.
How to Choose a Proper Website Builder for Small Businesses?
It all depends on your business specification and budget. Let’s observe the basics a website constructor should offer to the most common small business types.
For Freelance
A freelancer needs a quick and mainly cheap solution with a minimum set of features. A good site builder for them should offer enough options for blogging, creating portfolios, and so on. It should offer beautifully designed templates or give certain customization freedom to let a freelancer make their online home unique. One more “must” is the presence of at least the simplest monetization tools.
For a Small Company
A company – be it small or big – needs a website with the exact number of tools to successfully carry out its activities and ensure stable growth. Here, the wider range of eCommerce, marketing, and analytical tools the site builder offers, the better. In most cases, a small company cannot afford a team of developers, so it also needs a site builder with easy-to-use editors designed for non-coders.
For a Cafe/Restaurant
What do people expect from a food delivery website? First, it’s an appealing look. So, design options play an important role in such businesses. There should be a variety of professional templates tailored for cafe/restaurant activities.
On the other hand, a workable restaurant website should be fast, run equally seamlessly across all gadgets, and be able to process orders as soon as possible. So, a proper set of order management tools, delivery management tools, and payment instruments should be present in the plans of the targeted website builder for this business niche.
For a Service Company
When a website sells a service, its needs are similar to those of an online store or a restaurant. Such a business should have a professionally looking website with easy access to service options and payment solutions. The site should be fast and available on mobile platforms.
Final Thought
With all the above-mentioned factors in mind, I give the palm to Squarespace and regard it as a universal solution for any small business. Although I showed cheaper solutions, each Squarespace plan can bring you more benefits than some of the most expensive plans of other competitors. Squarespace’s strongest points include options crucial for small businesses, like gorgeous, professionally built templates and enough eCommerce tools.
Yet, you can rely on other solutions from this review as well since they are all reliable and time-proven. Be it Zyro, Wix, or IM Creator, you can expect to find enough instruments there to create a simple but workable website. Here, your choice may depend on your budget standing, design expectations, and other specialties.
