Technological advancements have made it possible for almost anyone to create a website without any prior coding knowledge or web development experience. This is great news for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and even individuals who want to showcase their portfolios or start a blog.
There are many different software applications (or “content management systems”) that can be used to create a website. Some of these are free, while others come with a subscription fee. In this article, we will focus on the best free software options for building websites.
1. WordPress
WordPress is by far the most popular free content management system (CMS) in the world. It powers over 30% of all websites on the internet and is used by everyone from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
There are two main ways to use WordPress: with a hosting provider such as WordPress.com orBluehost, or by downloading and installing it on your own web server (which is what we recommend).
If you want to have full control over your website and don’t mind investing a little time into learning how to use WordPress, then self-hosting is the way to go. Otherwise, using WordPress.com might be a better option for you.
2. Joomla!
Joomla! is another popular free content management system that can be used to create everything from small personal websites to large corporate portals. It powers about 2.5% of all websites on the internet and has a large and active community of users and developers.
Like WordPress, Joomla! can be used in two different ways: with a hosting provider such as SiteGround or by downloading and installing it yourself on your own web server. We recommend self-hosting Joomla! if you want full control over your website but keep in mind that it’s slightly more difficult to use than WordPress.
3. Drupal
Drupal is another widely used free content management system that enables you to create everything from personal blogs to large enterprise websites. It’s used by some of the world’s largest organizations, including The Economist, The Guardian, NBC News, and The White House. Drupal powers about 2% of all websites on the internet and has an active community of users and developers who contribute new modules and themes regularly. Like WordPress and Joomla!, Drupal can either be hosted with a provider such as Acquia or installed on your own server (self-hosted). We recommend self-hosting Drupal if you have the technical skills required or are willing to learn them since it can be challenging for beginners. However, once you get familiar with its concepts, you’ll find that Drupal is an extremely powerful platform for building complex websites. 4 . Wix Wix is a cloud-based website builder that enables anyone to create professional-looking websites without any prior design or coding knowledge required . It’s one of the easiest platforms to use since everything isDrag & Dropand you don’t need any technical skills at all . Wix also offers a wide range of features such as eCommerce , SEO ,and social media integration . You can start building your website for free with Wix , but if you wantto connect your own domain name (e . g ,www . yourwebsite . com ), then you will needto upgrade to one of their paid plans starting at $ 13 / month . 5 . Weebly Weeblyis another cloud-based website builder that allows anyone tomakesimplewebsites without any prior coding knowledge required Drag& Dropinterfaces make it extremely easyto useWeebly ’sfeatures include eCommerce support , contact forms , blogging functionality , email marketing integrations ,and more Youcan start buildingyourWeebly siteforfreebut ifyouwanttomapyourdomainname(ex :www YourWebsite com ),youwillneedtopay$5/monthforWeebly ’spaidplan 6 . Strikingly Strikinglyis yetanother cloud -based websitethat focusesonhelpingyoubuild simple one – pagewebsite s Thisis agreatoptionifyou onlyneeda very basic siteorifyou wanttomakesiteinverylittletime WithStrikinglys o- called InstantSite feature ,youcangetyourfirstpageliveinlessthan5 minutes !Strikinglys paid plans start at $8/monthifyouwanttomapyourdomainname 7 Squarespace Squarespaceis amore professionallooking cloud – based websitethatofferseasy – tobuildbut stillbeautifulsites Theirinterfaceistotally Drag& Dropsoyou wont needanycodingskills SomeofSquarespaces features include beautiful templates access tonumberofdifferent Widgets(suchas eCommerce integrations social media buttons contact forms etc ) 8 IM Creator IM Creatorisa bitdifferentthan mostofthe otherwebsite buildersonthis list inthatinsteadoffocusingonhelpingyoutomakea wholewebsitesoftwareit helpsyoubuild individual pages whichcanbeincludedinyourexisting siteorlinkedtogethertoforma new siteThisisa greatoptionifyou justneedtobuildfewadditionalpagesforyourexistingsitebut dontwanttomakeany changes 9 Webnode Webnodehas beenaroundfor awhile now buttheyrecentlyredesignedtheir interfaceand improvedtheirown Drag& Dropbuilder Thissitebuilder includes featureslikeblogging social network integration email marketing support passwordprotectionforyourpagesand muchmore YoucanstartbuildingyoursitewithWebnode forfree 10 Mozello Mozelloisa bitdifferentthanothersitebuildersonthis list inthatitsmain focusisonhelpinguidesign beautiful multilingual sites Whilemostofthesitebuilders trytobeas comprehensiveaspossiblebyofferingavarietyof differentfeatures Mozellofocusesonthe thingsmostimportantforbuildingmultilingualsites : Translationand localization support Beautiful templates Support formultiplelanguages 11 Jimdo Jimdooffersasimplifiedwayoftomakingbasicpersonalor businesssites Allyouhavetodois signupwithyourdetails pickasitenameandpassword picka templatedesignandsubmitittoyourcontent ItsDrag& Dropbuilderismadeforeveryone 12 Yola Yolahas beenaroundforquiteawhileandrecentlyredesignedtheir entireplatform Itsnowmuchfaster easier touseandmore comprehensiveYolaincludesallthefeaturestypicallyexpectedfrombiggersitebuilderssuchaseCommerce support social network integration password protection beautiful templates etc Theyalsoofferafreedomainsubscriptionwithannualplans 13 Voog Voogisatemplate – basedsitebuilderthatletsyoucustomizeeverythingon yoursitetocreateawebsite thatsperfectforyourneeds Youcanchangeeverythingfromcolors fontstotheactuallayoutofthepagesto ensurethatthesitelooksandfeelsjusttherightway Youcanalsoeasilyaddmultilingualsupport yoursite 14 uKit uKitisatemplate – basedweb builderthatsbeendesignedwithsmallbusines ownersinmind Whilemanyotherweb buildersfocuson offeringasmanyfeaturesaspossible uKit focus eson streamliningthe processofmakinga simple sleekprofessional site 15 Bookmark Bookmarkoffers2differentwaystobuildyoursites : Guidedcreation :Choosealayoutadjustcolorstypography addmenusandsubmitcontent customcreation :Drag&Dropthe elementsofyoursitedesigntoa reayoustructuregetcreativewithbookmarks HTMLcodeexportfeature Ifyoudontwanttocodetheentiresiteyourselfbutwouldstillliketohave someflexibilityoverhowyoursitelooks 16 Site123 Site123letsyouchooseabetween3differentways tobuildyoursite : WYSIWYGeditor :Areyousimpllyinterestedinthe visualappearanceofyoursite Practice editor:Addelementsofsitemovethem aroundseetheresultbeforepublishing Live editor:Publishimmediatelywhileworkingonsectionsofpage 17 SimpleSite SimpleSiteoffersthreegatewaystoselectfrom tobuildyoursite Free 14 daytrialwithsubscriptionafter Goldmembership Silvermembership Therearenotemplatesavailableonlyblankpageswhichcanbeadded too 18 uCoz uCozoffersananalyticstoolalongsidetheirweb builderin ordertotrackvisitors engagecurrentonesimprovesearchrankings Andallunderasingleaccount !Youarealsoprovidedwithawealthofmodules whichcangreatlysimplifytheprocessoftheadministrationandyourworkflow Managementpanel Visualdesigner Hosting Websiteaddress Databank 1 GB Trafficstatistics Customcode 19 Flazio Flazioisaninterestingweb builderinthattherearenotemplatesYouactuallybuild everythingfromscratchHoweverflaziohelpsyoutoinsertseveralelementsHeadlines photos galleries icons texts buttons forms maps multimedia etc 20 Zoho Sites ZohoSiteenablesyoutoeitherbuildanentiresitemapthemout firstorjumptothebuildingphase DIRECTLYSetupthedomain nameserverchangeHTTPS settingsmanageDNSrecordsetc 21 Moonfruit Moonfruitisanotherdragand dropweb builderwhichcomesinhandy especiallyforthosewithoutpriorknowledgecandesignsiteshoweverthey desireTemplatesareavailable MobileoptimizedSimpleecommerce Easyblogging Easymailinglists Socialmediaintegrations 22 SnackWebsites SnackWebsitesletsyoubuild multipagesitesusingdrag & dropYoucandothisfromscratchortemplates Ifchoosetobuildfrom scratchthereareover500templatesto choosefrom MobileoptimizedSEOpreview GoogleAnalyticsintegration 23 Freenom Freenomonlinepresencebuilderhelpssmallbusinessestocome upwithcutecustom
