What are the best free website builders available, considering factors like ease of use for beginners, the availability of pre-designed templates, the ability to customize designs without coding knowledge (drag-and-drop functionality), limitations on storage and bandwidth in the free plan, whether a custom domain is allowed (or required), if the builder adds its own branding to the website, the availability of e-commerce features (even in a limited capacity), and the potential for SEO optimization? Furthermore, how well do these builders support mobile responsiveness and what type of customer support (community forums, tutorials, or direct support) is offered on the free tier? I’m primarily interested in creating a simple portfolio website or a small business landing page.

Answer

Several free website builders offer a range of features suitable for different needs. Here’s a breakdown of some of the best, categorized by their strengths:

Simplicity and Ease of Use (Great for Beginners):

• Google Sites: A very basic and intuitive builder integrated with the Google ecosystem. Ideal for internal team sites, simple project pages, or personal websites if you already use Google Workspace. It excels in collaborative editing. Drag-and-drop functionality is straightforward, but customization is limited.

• Strikingly: Known for its one-page website design. Strikingly’s free plan is incredibly easy to use, focusing on guiding you through a simple process. Good for portfolios, simple landing pages, or personal profiles. The downside is the lack of a full-fledged blog or e-commerce support on the free plan.

• Mobirise: An offline website builder for Windows and Mac. It’s a drag-and-drop editor with a visual interface, which is easy to learn. The free version includes a good collection of pre-designed blocks and templates. You can download the website files and host them anywhere. However, the free version has limited features compared to the paid version. Requires local installation, which can be a pro or con depending on your preferences.

Feature-Rich Options (More Customization but Slightly Steeper Learning Curve):

• Wix: A popular drag-and-drop builder with a massive app market. The free plan offers a decent amount of features and customization options. Good for small businesses, portfolios, and personal websites. Downsides of the free plan include Wix branding on your site, limited bandwidth, and storage. You also can’t use your own domain name. While the drag-and-drop interface is flexible, it can sometimes lead to design inconsistencies if you’re not careful.

• Weebly: Acquired by Square, Weebly is a solid option, especially if you plan to sell online. It offers drag-and-drop functionality and a user-friendly interface. The free plan includes e-commerce features (although with transaction fees). Weebly is good for small online stores, blogs, and business websites. The free version includes Weebly branding, limited storage, and you can’t use your own domain.

• WordPress.com (Free Plan): It is important to differentiate between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. WordPress.com’s free plan is a hosted solution; you do not need to find a hosting provider. WordPress.org is the self-hosted open-source version, and it is always free, but requires a hosting provider.

  WordPress.com’s free plan is a good starting point if you want to learn the WordPress platform. It offers a limited selection of themes and plugins, but it provides a functional blogging platform. The free plan includes WordPress.com branding and doesn’t allow custom themes or plugins. The main advantage is familiarizing yourself with the WordPress environment.

Specialized Use Cases:

• Carrd: Specifically designed for one-page websites and landing pages. Carrd offers a clean and modern aesthetic, making it ideal for personal profiles, coming soon pages, and simple call-to-action focused websites. The free plan is limited to 3 sites with Carrd branding.

• Ucraft: Offers a free landing page builder and a free website builder with certain limitations. Ucraft stands out with its focus on design and its multilingual capabilities. The free plan provides a good selection of design templates, SEO tools, and integrations. It’s a good option if you need a basic website with multilingual support.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Free Website Builder:

• Branding: Most free website builders will include their branding on your site (e.g., a footer link or a banner). Consider if this is acceptable for your needs.

• Domain Name: Free plans typically require you to use a subdomain (e.g., yourname.wixsite.com/mysite). If you want a custom domain name (e.g., yourname.com), you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

• Storage and Bandwidth: Free plans usually have limitations on storage space for your website files and bandwidth for website traffic.

• Features: Determine which features are essential for your website (e.g., e-commerce, blogging, contact forms) and make sure the free plan offers them or that you can upgrade affordably.

• SEO: Some free website builders offer limited SEO features. Consider how important search engine optimization is for your website.

• E-commerce: Many website builders offer e-commerce solutions; however, the free plans typically include transaction fees.

• Support: Free plans usually come with limited customer support.

Before committing to a free website builder, try out a few different options to see which one best suits your needs and technical skills. Consider your long-term goals for your website; the limitations of a free plan may eventually necessitate upgrading to a paid plan.