Best No Code Website Builder for 2023

Original Source: https://ecommerce-platforms.com/articles/best-no-code-website-builder

You have an idea. Customers have money. Somehow, you need to connect these two concepts.

For many people, that means taking to web design. Before you can start out with SEO and social media, you need a landing spot—a beautiful website on which potential customers can land. And while you may have a brilliant idea and a wonderful concept of how to attract customers, you’re still running into one little problem.

You’re not a website developer.

Fortunately, we live in a time when a professional website doesn’t have to be designed by a professional website builder. You can handle everything from content management to search engine optimization within a single platform. Best of all—you don’t have to learn a single line of code to do it. The best website builder available these days will give you all-in-one features so you can handle everything you need. Below, we’ll take you through no code website builders, explain how they work, and look more closely at some examples you can try yourself.

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What is “No Code”?

“No code” is a phrase that applies to a wide range of services and products, but always comes back to one principle: you don’t have to write any of the code yourself. This means that you can use drag-and-drop functionality to build a website, for example, without ever hiring someone to write the HTML or CSS code yourself.

In essence, the best no code website builder is going to offer the templates and integrations to take care of the back-end of coding for you.

The net result is that you get to focus on front-end design and overall functionality. For example, let’s say you’re building an online store on Shopify, a popular ecommerce website builder. You can use their intuitive navigation to figure out how you want the site to look and function. It’s then up to Shopify to publish the site itself. This removes you from the more technical aspects of building a website so you can focus on results and appearance.

This might sound limiting at first. But you’d be surprised at how easy it is to build websites with wide-ranging functionality with the best no code website builder options available today. Plugins, in particular, can add all sorts of great technical features to your website without you ever having to touch an inch of code.

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Why Choose a No Code Website Builder?

If you’re new to the idea of website building, then it might sound like a no code website builder is an extra step. After all, isn’t the cheapest way to build something to focus on the building blocks and do it all yourself?

Well, not exactly. Unless you plan on hiring the world’s best bargain of a website developer, you’re probably not going to get the professional finish and functionality that a modern no code website builder can create for you. In essence, finding an affordable website builder is going to be your best option.

Let’s look at some of the reasons people use website builders these days:

Affordability. Many no code website builders are either free, or charge a small monthly fee. In exchange for that, you can skip the entire learning curve of figuring out how to code yourself—which will only delay you.Convenience. Working from templates is the fastest way that beginners can build a website. Even if you have a free plan, you’ll find that having your own website is as simple as a few drag-and-drop customizations and entering in the information you want within the website.Features. Many of these no code builders add marketing tools and SEO tools that make your site far more functional than you might have planned for yourself. If you’re a small business, you need to be able to focus on your business—and let the website take on as much automation as it can.

With that in mind, let’s explore some of the best names in no code website builders, and why you should consider each.

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Shopify

Shopify is one of the world’s leading platforms for building a website that isn’t only robust and beautiful, but capable of behaving like a full online digital retail store.

Most Important Features

Shopify is all about ecommerce, so the most important features here all line up with that. Sure, there’s the usual offerings—customer support, working on a custom domain, etc.—but what will really make the difference is how well you can use their ecommerce features to build a store that has plenty of functionality for a business of nearly any size. Consider:

Shopify’s extensive list of add-ons and plugins is notoriously large, which gives you all sorts of options, from building email newsletters to offering subscription-based products. The more of these add-ons you embrace, the more you can make your store appealing to would-be customers.Business name generators and logo makers are all part of the equation, which means you don’t even have to hire freelancers or use an expensive design tool. You can do everything within Shopify, which makes the price more than worth it. And speaking of pricing…

Pricing

Basic: At $29/month, the basic Shopify plan offers you basic reports, up to 2 staff accounts, and charges a 2.9% + 30c for U.S. credit card transactions online.Shopify: The $79/month option reduces those transaction fees to 2.6%, offers up to 5 staff accounts, and includes more professional reports.Advanced: Go to $299/month and you’ll reduce the transaction fees to 2.4%, not to mention more robust tools for putting your website online.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Exhaustive list of add-ons which means you can accomplish virtually anything with the budget or willingness to do soHighly popular, with extensive documentation for getting things done

Cons:

More for the e-commerce store than the classic business website, or for B2B businessesThe pricing tiers will accelerate quickly if you want to unlock newer and deeper features

Who It’s Best For

Shopify is best for people with something to sell—and it does that very well. But if you have more of a service than a product, you might want to consider a more static website builder.

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Wix

A leading option for creating an attractive website, especially a static website for a new venture, Wix is an easy-to-use no code platform for getting your website up and running in a hurry.

Most Important Features

Don’t expect Wix to be as robust as Shopify when it comes to the customization features, or being able to sell online. Wix is a free option. You can even use a free domain (or at least a free subdomain) to get your website up and running in a hurry.

The page builder helps you build a responsive website in quick work. Especially great if you want to build a simple website, but there are all sorts of ecommerce-friendly tools as well.Wix’s tools for specific businesses—like restaurants—make it ideal if you fit one of the more common in-person business niches.

Pricing

Free! Sort of. Wix does offer a free version that lets you get poking around, but there are also pricing tiers you can try if you want to get something more robust:

VIP: At $45/month, VIP will give you a custom domain, a free domain for one year, and removes the Wix ads that pop up with the free version—and yes, you read us right. More on that in the pros and cons section.Pro: Down to $27/month, Pro also deactivates the ads, but it doesn’t have the priority support that comes with the VIP tier.Unlimited: At $22/month, you’ll also deactivate the ads, though you’ll lose out on some storage space, which will only be 5 GB.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Simple, straightforward drag-and-drop features make it easy to publish a website in minutesAffordable, user-friendly plans, including a free plan to get started trying out

Cons:

Ads come with the free version—so how free is it really?You’ll only activate analytics with the more robust pricing tiers

Who It’s Best For

Wix is best for beginners or anyone with a specific business that fits into Wix’s target demographic, such as restaurant owners.

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Squarespace

Want an attractive, professional-looking website that doesn’t remind you of the cheesy WordPress templates so many people seem to use? Enter Squarespace, a viable alternative.

Most Important Features

Squarespace is a little low on the analytics, so the best features are the site builder tools you can access with an affordable monthly plan. As far as your standard web builder goes, we think this creates some of the most attractive B2B and freelancer sites around.

Perhaps the most important feature here is the quality of the templates—“award-winning,” Squarespace says, and we’re inclined to agree. For static web pages or putting up a quick store, it’s hard to beat.

Pricing

Personal: $16/month charged annually. Features a free custom domain and SSL certificate, which helps you handle commerce online with ease.Business: $23/month. Go from 2 contributors to unlimited, which opens your web application management to the entire team.Commerce: $27/month unlocks more ecommerce features like Point of Sale options and analytics.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Some of the best-looking templates on the listMinimal design required; simply plug-and-goHighly affordable

Cons:

Add-ons aren’t as robust as Shopify, for exampleBlog content management is simple, without many customization options

Who It’s Best For

Squarespace is best for anyone building a new business who doesn’t have any experience using web designers online. Rather than watching countless WordPress tutorials to get your site looking just how you want it, simply pick up one of the paid plans from Squarespace, put up your website, and call it a day. It’s not exactly a free website builder, but the functional website you’ll end up with offers plenty of professionalism no matter what business you’re in.

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BigCommerce

BigCommerce is one of the top competitors for Shopify, aimed almost exclusively at the ecommerce audience. But its approach is different—BigCommerce tries to offer all of its features in an out-of-the-box solution. There are plenty of website templates and the usual features, of course, but you’ll love all of the ecommerce tools that come native with its offerings.

Most Important Features

Where do we start? Think of BigCommerce as a complete tool for ecommerce, offering plenty of ease of use as a drag-and-drop website builder—but it’s also great for entrepreneurs who are building something more akin to an ecommerce startup. That’s a long, fancy way of saying that BigCommerce has a little bit of everything.

Pricing

Standard: $29.95/mo. If these prices sound familiar to you, that’s because BigCommerce is right there with Shopify—which really makes selecting the best no code website builder as simple as choosing your personal preference.Plus: $79.95/mo. Add features like “persistent cart” when you upgrade your BigCommerce pricing tier.Pro: $299.95/mo. Add custom product filtering, which makes your website feel like a large retailer.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

All-in-one solution that will give your ecommerce site instant credibility as you build it upWon’t rely as much as add-ons; there are plenty of “unlimited” features built in to BigCommerce’s offerings

Cons:

You’ll see limits for online sales per year before you enter the “enterprise” stage of pricingWhat if you do want add-ons to customize the experience you get (and how much you pay)?

Who It’s Best For

BigCommerce is also a big-time solution for anyone who wants something more than a static page with Google Analytics on it. While there are plenty of options for a drag-and-drop editor you can use to build a website, signing up for BigCommerce will have you building a legitimate ecommerce presence that makes sales even while you’re asleep.

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Webflow

Build a website with Webflow and you’ll likely be amazed at how much you can get away with without having to hire anyone to do the coding. The design works a bit like Elementor, giving you full control over the ultimate appearance of your site.

Most Important Features

A full designer, CMS, and website editor, it might seem like it’s a low-code solution (involving some code), but Webflow actually offers easy design and features that will stack up against any of the items on this list. In terms of web design, we liked the following features:

Build from a blank canvas and turn out an HTML5-compliant website. This is great for static websites, or if you want to put up a website for an agency business.Intuitive navigation elements on the left may look like a no-code solution, but it’s actually just a handy way of incorporating the design elements and keeping track of all the changes you’ve made.

Pricing

Starter is free, and opens up a webflow.io domain for you use—but you’ll generally want to use this as a poking-around option rather than a solution in and of itself.Basic at $14/month when charged yearly will give you that custom domain you seek. You’ll also be able to accept up to 500 monthly web form submission.CMS is $23/month, and certainly affordable enough, offering you a custom domain and up to 1,000 monthly form submissions.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Highly affordable, featuring pricing that’s both free or on par with SquarespaceIncludes 1 GB of bandwidth on the free option, letting you poke around

Cons:

Limited capacity for large businesses with a lot of customers on basic plansMore of a “get started” option for agencies

Who It’s Best For

Rather than big-time retailers, we think that Webflow is going to be better for smaller service-based businesses and solopreneurs with a limited budget.

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Carrd

As you can probably tell from the name, Carrd is like an online business card: a simple and free option for planting your flag online and getting publishing as soon as possible. It’s not robust enough to function as a store, but is more of a funnel—capturing potential leads like coaching clients.

Most Important Features

Carrd’s features are all slanted towards simplicity. You can choose from ready-made templates that give you a static, one-page website with ease. You may not be able to operate a complicated SaaS offering from a Carrd website you make, but if you just want to highlight a simple service or your personal profile, it’s the ideal starting point.

Pricing

Carrd is free, but it does offer “pro” solutions that open additional templates and options.If you do go Pro for only $19/year, you’ll be able to use custom domains that feature full SSL support.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Simple, easy to use, and will have you up and running with a website within minutesElegant themes make it easy to look professional while barely expending any work

Cons:

Not a true, robust tool for extensive online web commerce, especially if you sell productsLargely a funnel for other services, such as scheduling prospects through Calendly

Who It’s Best For

As you can probably tell by the pros and cons list, Carrd isn’t for everybody. If you have a large company with lots of products to sell, you’re not going to want to use Carrd. But if you have a freelance or solo service to highlight, it can be a great way to get your name online in a hurry. In the age of Carrd, there’s no excuse not to have a website. It’s free, it’s easy, and it looks professional. If you want the simplest no code website builder on this list, you’ve found it.

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Pagecloud

A drag-and-drip no code website builder for stores, websites, and landing pages, you’ll find Pagecloud makes it easy to start with a free page and begin poking around all that the Internet has to offer for your website—even if you’re running a more complex ecommerce operation.

Most Important Features

The landing pages here are the most unique features—it’s not that other website builders don’t offer landing pages, but that it’s a point of emphasis and quality with Pagecloud. Heck, it’s in the name. You can also use these landing pages to serve as hubs for a larger Internet presence, including linking to your social media and solo pages.

Pricing

Small Business: At $19/month, the Small Business feature will give you one site and 100 pages possible, which is plenty robust to start your ecommerce career with a nice little website that’s capable of scaling down the line.Business: $29/month, including one site and 200 pages instead. It should be noted that all of the pricing tiers mentioned here include a custom domain.Pro: At $58/month, this reasonably-priced option allows up to five sites, which is great for anyone who is building multiple stores or wants to scale what’s already working.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Templates and landing page libraries are extensive, letting you get started with easePlenty of app integrations, including a library of 100+ add-ons that you can use to add to your ecommerce site’s functionality

Cons:

The features are limited in the lower pricing tiers, which may offset some of the favorable pricingThe free option lets you poke around, but you’ll have to upgrade quickly

Who It’s Best For

This is a great option for someone who wants a simple ecommerce page at the price of one of the more straightforward website builders. If you need to poke around and see what’s possible in the world of ecommerce no code site builders, consider Pagecloud a nice starting point.

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Jimdo

One of the key features of Jimdo is that it lets you keep your revenue—which is a major argument in its favor as an ecommerce website builder. But does it have the features and functions capable of competing with Shopify and BigCommerce?

Most Important Features

Featuring everything from a website builder to online store features and even a logo maker, Jimdo is much like Shopify in that it seeks to be a front-to-end solution for getting your first store online. In building a website, there’s also a large library of copyright-free photos exclusive to Jimdo that will give you an edge in creating a visually exciting storefront.

Pricing

Play: At $0/month (or free, in other words), the “Play” feature from Jimdo includes the website builder, which you will have to use on a Jimdo subdomain.Start: The ad-free version begins at $9/month, which is aimed at giving you the ability to launch a personal website.Grow: At $14/month, this is the “business” version of Jimdo, giving you access to more robust options like analytics and SEO.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

One of the more affordable options on this list, even the higher pricing tiers come under many of the other no code website builders you see hereDomain included with the $9/month “start” pricing tier

Cons:

In using the free version, you’ll have to employ ads and use the Jimdo subdomain, which essentially only makes it good for testing out, if you want to build a legitimate web presenceThe database of add-ons is nothing like Shopify’s, which may limit your ability to customize according to your needs

Who It’s Best For

Jimdo is a nice introduction to a front-to-end ecommerce website builder. You can use it to poke around with the features and set up a nice, efficient, quick web store.

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Webnode

Featuring a user-friendly website builder and a robust free option, Webnode is a great (and quick) way to publish something online.

Most Important Features

It’s all about the website builder here, with one-click options for adding all sorts of different content to the page you’re building. You can also register domains through the site when you opt for the premium plans, so if you plan on building something much bigger than a Wix-style free site, keep that in mind.

Pricing

Webnode is free, but there is a premium feature if you want to upgrade what you’re doing and make it a little bit more like the other services you see on this list.

Limited: Costs $3.90 per month, but does not add in the free domain.Mini: $7.50 per month, you’ll now get a 1-year domain and 1GB of storage.Standard: Triple the storage at just $12.90, plus the 1-year domain included.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

The least-expensive option on this list, if you don’t count CarrdEase of use—very simple to use the intuitive design features

Cons:

Not robust if you want add-on ecommerce featuresEven the lowest pricing tier uses a subdomain

Who It’s Best For

You’ll find that this works best as an introductory course to the world of drag-and-drop style builders.

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Webydo

A complete in-browser, Webydo is one of those services that makes you think: “Okay, there’s no more excuses. I can build a website today.”

Most Important Features

The most important features of Webydo come in its in-browser web design capabilities. It’s one of the most robust ways to do it all from a single window—which makes it easy to create a website while you’re sitting at a coffee shop. It also has pixel-responsive websites so you don’t have to worry about what your user is browsing on.

Pricing

Pro: At $75/month, the lowest pricing tier at Webydo gives you free hosting for 10 sites, as well as email support.Team: The $150/month option offers three designer accounts and fre hosting for up to 30 sites.Agency: $400/month will get you up to 100 sites, in addition to other features like a customer template generator.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

First month free, which lets you preview everything on offer—especially useful for these pricing tiersHighly responsive websites which look good on the modern, mobile-ready web

Cons:

A little pricier than other options on this list, especially relative to what you’ll getThe ability to add more sites for your pricing tier isn’t especially incentivizing

Who It’s Best For

This is great for anyone who wants a creative yet straightforward no code website builder that will get their store off the ground.

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Making the Most of Your No Code Website Builder

A no code website builder might seem like a simple tool, but when you explore the above, you’ll find they’re capable of almost anything. You can run your own store, build an extensive digital retail presence, and launch a business. The only question that remains: which one will you choose?

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