How to choose the best website builder for you: what to check before you sign up

In this guide, a website builder is a service that lets you make a website by choosing a design and editing it in your browser, without writing code. Your domain name is your website's address, such as yourname.com.

Why the adverts are not enough

Website builder adverts show the best result a product can reach. The detailed terms often say something different. For example:

• A low monthly price may only apply if you pay for several years at once, and may rise after the first year.
• A "free domain" is often free for the first year only.
• Moving your site to another service later can be hard, because the design and pages may not come with you.

So check the same things for every website builder, using its own price page and help pages, for the plan you would actually need.

Before you look at any website builder

Write down your answers to these four points. They decide which checks in the list matter most to you.

• What the site is for. A personal page, a portfolio, a blog, a small business, bookings, or selling products online.
• What it needs. How many pages, a contact form, a blog, a shop, bookings, or several languages.
• Who will build and update it. You alone, or someone else, and how comfortable you are with computers.
• Your budget for years, not months. The yearly price, plus a domain name and any paid extras.

The checklist

The checks are in three groups. Must have means a problem here can make the site hard to run or expensive to keep. Nice to have means it makes a real difference for many people. Optional means it only matters to some people. When you open the checklist in NeutralPick, you can move any check to a different group to match your answers above.

• Must have
• Your own domain nameCan I use my own domain name on the plan I'd choose, and what does the domain cost after the first year?A free plan usually puts the builder's name in your address. Check the domain is registered in your name. Moving it to another company is often blocked for 60 days after buying.
• A price you know for the years aheadWhat will the plan I need cost per year after any first-year offer, and does the low monthly price need payment for years in advance?Introductory prices are common. Compare what you will pay in the second and third years.
• The features you need, on the plan you can affordDoes the plan I can afford include everything I listed, such as forms, a blog, a shop or bookings, without paid add-ons?Many features are only on higher plans. Check the plan comparison page, not the home page.
• You can take your content with youIf I leave, can I export my pages, blog posts, images and shop data, and move my domain name to another company?Some builders let you export little or nothing. Your design usually can't be moved, so check that at least your words, images and shop data can be.
• Looks right on phonesDoes every page look right and work well on a phone, and can I check and adjust the phone version myself?Many visitors use a phone. Check the builder's example sites on your own phone.
• Nice to have
• Easy enough for you to useCan I build and update pages myself, using a free trial or free plan, without help, in the time I have?The best test is to build a real page before you pay.
• Can be found in search enginesCan I set page titles, descriptions and page addresses (such as /contact), and does it create a sitemap (a list of pages for search engines)?These basics help search engines understand your pages. They don't guarantee a high position.
• Selling online, if you need itIf I sell online, which payment methods work in my country, and what fees does the builder take on each sale?Only matters if you sell. Some plans take a share of every sale on top of payment fees.
• Pages load quicklyHow fast do the builder's example sites load on a phone, in a free online speed test?Slow pages lose visitors. Free online speed tests show how fast a page loads.
• Help when you are stuckHow can I get help (chat, email or phone), during my working hours, in my language?Matters most if you are building alone.
• Optional
• Privacy tools for your visitorsDoes it offer a cookie banner and a privacy page template, if the law where I or my visitors are requires them?Rules depend on where you and your visitors are. In many countries, a site that collects visitors' details, such as through a contact form, needs a privacy notice.
• Several languages, if you need themCan the site be shown in more than one language, and does that cost extra?Only matters if your visitors read different languages.

Claims to look at carefully

Adverts and product pages often describe the points below in vague terms. When you see one, look for the specific information shown here. If you cannot find it, assume the answer is "no" or "only partly".

• A low price "per month". Look for how many months you must pay in advance, and the price from the second year.
• "Free domain". Look for how long it is free and what it costs afterwards.
• "SEO-friendly" or "rank higher on search engines". No builder can promise a search position. Look for the basic settings listed above.
• The price. Add the domain name, paid add-ons, fees on sales and email accounts, for at least three years.

What to do with what you found

1. Put all the website builders side by side.
2. Look at the Must have checks first. If one gets a No on one of your must-haves, remove it, however good the rest looks. Look closely at any Partial.
3. Build one real page in the free trial or free plan of each one left, and check it on your phone.
4. Before you pay, note the renewal date and price, and keep a copy of your words and images outside the builder.

Why use NeutralPick to compare website builders

• The same checks for every website builder. You fill in the same checklist for each website builder you are considering, so you compare them in the same way.
• Everything in one table. You see every website builder side by side, check by check, instead of switching between shop pages and notes.
• Nobody can pay to influence it. There are no adverts, no paid placements and no "featured" products. No maker or shop can pay to be shown to you or placed higher.
• Free, with no account. You don't need to sign up or pay anything.

Start with this checklist See an example comparison