Guide 2 of 5 · 8 min read

The best website builder for a small business

By the ContentMetric team · Checked on 17 October 2026

Start with one question

Do you want to build the site yourself, or do you want it done for you? Almost every builder is good at one and weaker at the other. Once you know your answer, the shortlist gets short.

We make ContentMetric, so we are one of the six builders below. We say where each one is the better pick, including where it is not us. We checked each company's own pages on 17 October 2026 and left out anything we could not confirm.

The shortlist at a glance

Prices are what each vendor listed when we checked and change by country. For the broader picture, including builders aimed at designers, see our comparison of AI website builders.

Wix: the best if you want to do it yourself

Wix has a free plan, and its paid plans start at $17 a month on the Light tier when paid yearly. Core is $29 and Business is $39. Its pricing page lists more than 2,000 templates and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Wix says its AI can build a site from a description, and that you can then change it with Aria, its built-in AI agent, or by drag and drop.

Where Wix wins: it gives you hands-on control, a free plan to start on, and a large set of business tools such as scheduling on the Core plan and above. If you enjoy building and want to be in the driver's seat, it is a strong pick.

Watch for: a custom domain and online payments need a paid plan. And the work is yours. If you want someone else to design and update the site, you hire a separate expert. See our Wix comparison.

Squarespace: the best for trying before you pay

Squarespace has no free plan, but every site starts with a 14-day free trial and its FAQ says no credit card is needed. It has three website plans: Basic, Core and Advanced. When we checked from Singapore, the page showed Basic at SGD 22 a month paid yearly or SGD 30 paid monthly. Your price may be different.

Where Squarespace wins: you can build a full site during the trial and decide afterwards, without paying first. It also keeps its plan list short: three plans, easy to compare.

Watch for: annual plans include a free domain for the first year only, and it "will renew at our standard rate" after that, so note the date.

WordPress.com: the best for room to grow

WordPress.com has a free plan on a WordPress.com address. Its page lists Personal at $4 a month billed yearly, with plugin installation available on every paid plan and a free domain for the first year on annual plans.

Where WordPress.com wins: plugins. If you think you may later need a feature a builder does not offer, WordPress is built for adding things.

Watch for: more choices mean more to learn and more to keep updated.

Hostinger: the best for a low first-term price

Hostinger bundles hosting and its builder. Its page shows a 14-day free trial and a Premium plan at $2.99 a month on the 48-month offer. That is $143.52 paid up front, and the same page says it "renews at $10.99/mo". The free domain and mailboxes are free for 1 year.

Where Hostinger wins: if you can pay for four years up front and want the lowest monthly figure of the full builders on this list, it is hard to beat.

Watch for: the price after the first term, which is over three times higher.

Carrd: the best for a very small site

Carrd's pricing page lists Pro Lite at $9 a year for 3 sites, and Pro Standard at $19 a year for 10 sites with custom domains and forms. It also offers a 7-day Pro trial.

Where Carrd wins: price. If you need one simple page, like a link-in-bio or a single services page, it is hard to beat $19 a year.

Watch for: the cheapest tier, Pro Lite, lists no forms and no custom domains. You need Pro Standard for those.

ContentMetric: the best if you want it done for you

ContentMetric has a free plan that stays online, with 30 AI credits a month, a contentmetric.com address and a small badge. Pro is $49 a month, or $470 a year. On Pro, a design specialist designs your site and handles updates. You also get your own domain, 150 credits a month, and the option to hide the badge.

You can also change the site by asking. Type the change into the editor, or connect your own Claude or ChatGPT (beta) account on Pro or above. Edits made by AI go to a draft until you press Publish, so nothing changes in front of customers by surprise. See how to edit your website with AI.

Where we win: you want the site designed and kept current without learning an editor. Where we do not: a do-it-yourself plan from Wix, WordPress.com or Hostinger can cost less per month, and Wix has many more templates and tools. We do not sell domain names, so you buy one elsewhere. If selling many products online is the main job of your site, a store platform or Wix is the better choice.

Five checks that matter more than the logo

Whatever you pick, test these before you pay. They decide whether the site helps your business or just exists.

• Your own domain. A web address with your business name looks more trustworthy than a shared one. Check which plan allows it. On ContentMetric a custom domain starts on Pro.
• The year-two price. Free first-year domains and long-term offers both change price later. Write the renewal date down.
• Who keeps it updated. Most small business sites go out of date because nobody has time. Decide now whether that person is you.
• Whether Google can find it. A site on a free shared address is often not listed by search engines. Read how to get your business on Google.
• How easy it is to leave. Ask what you can export and what happens if you stop paying. On ContentMetric a site stays live on the Free plan and your work is kept.

How to choose, in three minutes

• I want to build it myself and have time: Wix or Squarespace. Try the Squarespace trial or Wix's free plan first.
• I want the lowest price and can pay for years up front: Hostinger, with the renewal price in mind.
• I need a single page, cheaply: Carrd.
• I may want plugins later: WordPress.com.
• I do not want to touch the design or the updates: ContentMetric Pro.

Whichever you pick, check the result against our list of what a small business website should have, and see how much a website really costs before you commit.

Common questions