Best Free Website Builders (UK Case-Study)

For those of us who don’t have the budget for web services like a paid website builder, free website builders can offer many of the same features as paid ones. It’s estimated that having a website for your business can increase your turnover by a whopping 45%.

Websites created by professional web designers can cost anywhere between £200-£10,000, depending on the requirements.

The free site builder market has expanded year on year. Many website builders offer free web hosting as part of their package, keeping costs down even further and often offer great hosting packages with solid performance.

I’ve gone out and tested over 20+ free website builders, many of which have very similar features and functionality, making it even harder to decide which is the best.

1. Wix: Best Overall Free UK Website Builder

Wix is a great website builder for people who have never used one before. It’s an easy program to pick up and run with. Simply answer a few questions and a website template will be designed and created for you. All you need to do is drag and drop, and customise your site to how you want it.

Wix does have paid options, but today we’re looking at their free plan. Wix’s free plan is free for life, so you won’t be forced to upgrade after a certain time period. Storage and bandwidth will be limited to 500MB, which in honesty is plenty if you just want a small website or blog.

Wix’s free plan does come with adverts on your website, and you can’t use your own domain. You’ll have a domain that looks something similar to www.yoursitename.wixsite.com/yourwebsite – if you’re OK with your website looking like this, you’ll still be able to enjoy most of the features that Wix offers.

Alternatively, if you decide to upgrade to one of their premium plans further down the line, you’ll be able to assign your own custom domain to your website builder plan.

Features

Although Wix offers a free website builder, it doesn’t mean there aren’t great features. You may not be able to indulge in as many tools as you’d get access to on their premium plans, but there’s enough to get your teeth into.

Free Wix subdomain
Wix ads appear on every page
500 MB storage & bandwidth
Wix editor & Wix ADI

Pros:

Easy to use
Drag & drop
Lots of templates

Cons:

Once published, you cannot change the template

2. SITE123:

SITE123’s free website builder is easy to use compared to Wix or Weebly. You start by choosing between a list of categories, and then a basic layout is presented. If you’re happy with this approach and don’t need pin-point customization, it’s a quick and easy way to get your website live for free.

Although SITE123 doesn’t have the same flexibility as other free website builders, it’s very user-friendly and efficient to use. Simply choose from a selection of pre-made designs and apply your custom style, fonts, images, etc. This is a great option if you want a personal website, eCommerce service and tools for a small business, a portfolio, or a blog.

SITE123 has the advantage of offering extremely good customer support. Based on this, I’d recommend them as the best free website builder for beginners and intermediate users. If you’re not sure what you’re doing or just want to get to grips with basic web design, this is a great starting point.

Features

As Site123 only offer 2 plans (free and paid), it makes it quite easy to distinguish between their features. Considering the package is free, you get enough storage space to create a decent website or blog, and bandwidth to start generating traffic. Free SEO tools mean you can get your website underway in no time, spreading your name out there across search engines.

500 MB storage
1 GB bandwidth
Free Site123 subdomain
Mobile-friendly designs
SEO optimisation tools

Pros:

Extremely easy to use
Outstanding customer support
Responsive designs for desktop and mobile

Cons:

Less design flexibility than other systems

3. Weebly

Weebly is another great free website builder, similar to Wix, without quite so many features. This can almost seem like a good thing though if you don’t want to be overwhelmed by too much to learn. Weebly is unique in that it has free SEO tools, making it one of the best free website builders for small businesses looking for great SEO hosting packages.

You’ll have lots of templates to choose from if you choose Weebly as your free website builder. All of their templates are mobile responsive, which means you won’t have to worry about creating a separate mobile website, which is rapidly becoming a digital trend, with many users preferring to use their mobile phone over their computers.

My favourite thing about Weebly is how easy it is to use. You don’t need to know anything about web development to create a stunning website within a matter of hours. You won’t be too limited with Weebly’s free plan, but if you want to take advantage of all the eCommerce features they have to offer, you’ll need to upgrade.

Features

As far as free website builder features goes, Weebly has a lot to offer. Some web hosting plans don’t even include a free SSL certificate, let alone a free website builder. With 500 MB storage, you’ll have plenty of space to start building your website, small business, or blog.

Free SSL certificate
500 MB storage
Weebly branded domain
SEO tools
Lead capture & contact forms
Customer support & community forum

Pros:

Great website builder with SEO included
Scalability options to upgrade
Simple drag and drop

Cons:

Limited features on free plan

4. Mozello

If you’re looking for a free website builder that allows you to build multilingual websites, Mozello is a great option. You can make your content available in a range of other languages, opening the door to a potentially wider audience. Mozello allows you to create functional blog sites as well as an online store with up to 5 products (on their free plan).

When you sign up to Mozello’s free plan, you’ll be provided with a Mozello domain. For example www.yourwebsite.mozello.com (like most free website builders). Mozello’s website editor is easy to use and great for beginners. However, it doesn’t provide many features or much flexibility.

Unfortunately, Mozello doesn’t offer a free SSL certificate. Not all free website builders do, but some offer this. With their free plan, Mozello also includes certain marketing tools like SEO support, social network support, Google Analytics (which is super easy to install) and a range of template designs.

Features

Though it may not be as intuitive as other free website builders, Mozello does have some cool features. One of my favourite features is the ability to create an online store for free, with up to 5 products. This may not seem like a lot, but it’s free, and a great way to test out how your online store could look with more products.

Free online store (5 products)
500 MB storage
Mobile device support
Plenty of designs and editing tools
PayPal support

Pros:

Create multilingual websites
Easy to use interface
eCommerce included on free plan

Cons:

Limited editor

5. Strikingly

The main aim of Strikingly is to be able to get it’s customer’s online quickly. Because of this, Strikingly doesn’t offer as many features as the likes of Wix or Weebly, but it does allow the creation of one-page websites that look… well, striking! Simply choose a template that you like and you can customise it to what you want it to be.

The beauty of Strikingly is that you can change your template once your website is live. This means you can experiment a little more than you would be able to with other free website builders. Strikingly is a brilliant platform, especially if you’re a blogger – beginners or pros, you’ll be able to create something great.

With Strikingly’s free plan you can create as many one page websites as you like. You’ll have 5GB bandwidth each month and you can sell one product if you so wish. I think in terms of free plans, this is one of the better ones for space, traffic, and bandwidth.

Features

Another website builder who offers plenty of free features. You can build unlimited free websites with Strikingly’s website builder with a Strikingly branded domain name. You’ll get a generous 5 GB bandwidth and an online store. Although you can only sell one product, it’s a great offer to test the waters.

Unlimited websites
Free Strikingly domain name
5 GB bandwidth
1 product per site online store
24/7 support

Pros:

Simple, professional templates
24/7 support
Great for bloggers

Cons:

Only able to create one-page websites

6. WordPress.com

WordPress.com (different to WordPress.org) is a free version of WordPress. WordPress.com is ideal for blogging because of it’s unique built-in features. For example, comments boxes, RSS feeds, analytics, etc. You can adjust your website’s settings so that it performs it’s best for the purpose you intended it to be used for.

WordPress.com has many similar features to it’s .org counterpart, but a little more simplified. However, it still can be a little difficult to get your head round at first if you’ve never used a website builder before. You won’t necessarily need to know how to code to use WordPress.com, but it would be worth watching a few tutorial videos on the basics.

The free version of WordPress includes a WordPres.com subdomain, community support, lots of free themes, and more. So if you want to dip your toes into the world of WordPress, I’d definitely recommend the free version of this website builder to begin with.

Features

When you sign up to WordPress.com free plan, you’ll get exclusive access to Jetpack essentials. This gives you essential security and performance boosts to your website. This is very generous given you’re unable to install plugins in their free plan, so will come in very handy. You’ll still have access to dozens of free themes, as well as a nice 3 GB storage space.

Jetpack essentials
3 GB storage space
Loads of free themes

Pros:

Great for blogging
Lots of free templates
More features than other free site builders

Cons:

Slightly more difficult to use
WordPress.com subdomain on free version

7. Jimdo

Jimdo is a less well known free website builder, but it’s still making our top 10 list for a reason. Jimdo may not have as many features as the likes of Wix and Weebly, but you can create a free online store. Jimdo is very easy to use, allowing you to get a website online very quickly.

Jimdo’s free website builder has some really nice templates to choose from. In my opinion they look really professional, and would work well for blogs, websites, or online stores. Speaking of online stores, you can create one for free with Jimdo.

You’ll have a limit on how many products you can sell, and you’ll incur transaction fees unless you upgrade to their paid plan. All in all, I think Jimdo is a good option if you want to experiment with selling online, but you don’t want to risk out paying lots of money initially.

Features

I have to take my hat off to Jimdo. They’ve done a great job at producing a taster of an online store for free. This website builder is ideal to practice with and is very generous. You’ll be able to sell 5 items per store as well as taking PayPal payments. All designs are mobile responsive and offer a generous 2 GB bandwidth (higher than other free website builders).

500 MB storage
2 GB bandwidth
1 password protected area
Customer support
Responsive designs
Mobile app access
5 store items

Pros:

Free online store
Easy to use
Professional templates

Cons:

Not many templates to choose from
Not as creatively intuitive as other site builders

8. Webnode

Webnode has recently had an overhaul. It’s now a modern free website builder which is becoming very popular. They have plenty of stylish (and responsive) themes and templates. However, once you’ve chosen a theme, you can’t change it. This is quite similar to Wix which is a little frustrating. Overall, the website builder is intuitive and easy to use, with the option of upgrading to a paid plan later down the line.

Unlike some of the other free website builders on this list, Webnode doesn’t offer an eCommerce option. There are basic blogging tools, but if you want more features you’ll need to upgrade to at least their limited plan. On the flip side, you can create as many websites as you want using their free website builder (with free web hosting).

If you do decide to upgrade, they offer a 15-day money-back guarantee. There’s lots of templates to choose from on the free plan, carefully outlined in useful categories to search through. Whether you’re looking for a personal website to build or a place to display your works of art, Webnode have plenty of options to choose from.

Features

There’s nothing too complex when it comes to Webnode’s free website builder. You’ll be able to indulge in plenty of response website templates with no page limits. Their SEO tools can be altered to cater for each page on your website. If you want to start a basic website for free, you’ll be able to use 100 MB storage to get you started.

Responsive design templates
100 MB storage
SEO settings for each page
Modern editor

Pros:

Unlimited websites and pages
Easy to use

Cons:

No eCommerce builder

9. IM Creator

If you’re looking for a free website builder that allows you to get a website live very quickly, this is a great option. Once you select a template with IM Creator, the layout and content will be pre-populated, saving you lots of valuable time. Of course, if you want to get creative, you can do.

The main issue for me with IM Creator is that it doesn’t have anywhere near as many features as other free website builders. However, if you are pressed for time and you want a free website that looks good, then it would be a good place to start.

The lack of features makes it a popular choice for beginners, because there’s nothing too overwhelming to learn. It’s simple to get to grips with for any type of user.

Features

As far as free website builders go, IM Creator doesn’t offer much in the way of features. However, they do still offer some features which are useful. After all, the service is free, so it’s difficult to expect too much. You’ll still get access to their entire templates collection, as you would if you were to pay for a premium plan.

50 MB hosting
imxprs domain name
Basic support
Entire templates collection

Pros:

Some nice looking templates
Easy to use
Can create a website quickly

Cons:

Not many features

10. Webs.com

Webs.com is a simple and user friendly free website builder. It’s got an integrated membership function which allows your website visitors to sign up via a members app. You can then interact with your members via your Webs.com dashboard which is really handy, and saves the cost or hassle of using a third party.

Webs.com is a free drag and drop website builder. This means it’s really easy to get your head around and the learning curve is very small. You can access their app store, similar to WordPress, allowing you to add/remove more features to your website.

You can create a free eCommerce store with Webs.com, but you can’t actually take payment unless you upgrade to their paid plan. A bit of a catch, but I suppose it let’s you explore the functionality for free before deciding whether it’s right for you or not.

Features

A free website with Webs.com will give you access to some basic features. You’ll have SEO-ready tools to hand to get your website online. What’s more, this is done automatically for you after answering a few questions. This is also true of their mobile-ready feature which will be automatically installed upon creation.

SEO tools
Mobile optimised
Connection to social media

Pros:

Integrated membership functionality
Easy to use

Cons:

Limited customer support
Upgrade to paid plan required to take payments