Writer: Andrew Wandola
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Christina Lewis
We’ve come a long way in the world of website building. Take a look at the first-ever website, launched on August 6, 1991, for perspective.
If you’re seeing it for the first time, you’ll think someone copied and pasted the reference section of a Wikipedia page into the website. Nothing inspiring about it. Just plain text and a bunch of hyperlinks.
Today, anyone can build a beautiful, dynamic website with the help of a website builder. Years ago, only web designers and developers had such skills.
Thanks to drag-and-drop website builders, creating a site is as simple as clicking and dragging your mouse across the screen. In this article, I’ll walk you through some of the top free trials for website builders, with the hope you’ll find one that helps bring your web design ideas to life.
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The Best Website Builders with Free Trials
The beauty of a free trial lies in your ability to test a platform risk-free. And with so many options available, of course, you want to try every platform you can.
These website builders are known for giving users access to customizable website templates and eCommerce solutions for a range of online stores, personal websites, and professional portfolios.
What’s better: These platforms allow you to test their services for free.
1. DreamHost: 30-Day Free Trial
DreamHost has been in the hosting game for more than 25 years, so when they build a website builder, it’s worth paying attention. Remixer is their AI-powered answer to the drag-and-drop builders that have dominated the market — except instead of dragging and dropping, you just describe what you want and watch it build.
Seriously. You tell Remixer what kind of site you need — a bakery, a portfolio, a fitness app, a boutique hotel — and it generates a complete, polished website from scratch. From there, you can refine through conversation, tweak layouts, swap images, and adjust colors until it feels exactly right.
DreamHost.com
Monthly Starting Price $9.99
- 30-Day free trial: Build and preview your site with no credit card required
- Remixer AI — describe your site in words, it builds in minutes
- Sell products, take bookings, and publish blogs all in one place
- Every plan includes high-speed hosting, CDN, and SSL security
- Built-in Stripe and Shippo integrations to accept payments
- Get started on DreamHost now.
Christina Lewis
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
What I love most is that the 30-day free trial requires no credit card. You get the full Remixer experience — AI generation, hosting, global CDN, SSL, and 24/7 support — for a full month before you spend a penny. If you decide to publish, paid plans start at $9.99/month.
Built-in Stripe payments, Shippo shipping integration, contact forms, and user management are all included — no plugins, no third-party setup required. For a website builder that actually thinks ahead, Remixer is genuinely impressive.
See our full review of DreamHost >>
2. Wix: 14-Day Free Trial
You’ve probably seen Wix commercials everywhere — on YouTube, on TV, popping up mid-podcast. “Enjoy the world’s easiest drag-and-drop website builder.” “Build a beautiful website in minutes.” Bold claims, but honestly? They deliver.
Wix is one of my favorite drag-and-drop website builders because it actually lives up to the hype. The platform walks you through each step of building a custom, dynamic site, and with so many templates to choose from, you’re certain to find a design that suits you.
As a professional website designer, I’ll admit I was skeptical at first — worried this thing might put me out of a job. But Wix has earned its reputation. It’s easy to use, has numerous clean retina-ready templates for almost every niche, and gives you a 14-day free trial when you sign up. No credit card required.
Wix.com
Monthly Starting Price $17.00
- Trusted by 250 million websites across 190 countries
- 2,000+ designer-made templates for every industry
- Built-in eCommerce, scheduling, blogging, and events
- Built-in SEO tools, email marketing, and Google/Facebook ads
- 99.99% uptime on multi-cloud hosting with enterprise security
- Get started on Wix now.
Lynn Cadet
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 days | 2 GB – Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
As a professional website designer, I was initially worried about losing my job to this website-building platform called Wix, which helps users create websites within minutes.
But you’ve got to give credit where it’s due. This wasn’t just another overhyped web host taking advantage of the lockdown to promote its service.
Since then, Wix has become one of my favorite drag-and-drop website builders. It’s easy to use and has numerous clean retina-ready templates for almost every niche. The best part? You’ll get a 14-day free trial when you sign up. No credit card required.
See our full review of Wix >>>
3. Squarespace: 14-Day Free Trial
Squarespace will give you a 14-day free trial and won’t ask for your credit card information when you sign up. That means you’ll have all the time in the world to explore its features without worrying about being billed for something you don’t need or like.
Speaking of features, I’ll start with the free templates. I like how it has diversified its website templates to suit many industries. So whether you’re an interior designer, a wedding planner, a consultant, or travel blogger, there’s a website template for you at Squarespace.
Squarespace.com
Monthly Starting Price $16.00
- Blueprint AI Builder — named a TIME Best Invention of 2025
- Industry-leading templates built for creatives and businesses
- Built-in eCommerce, scheduling, invoicing, and memberships
- AI-powered content, SEO tools, and email marketing included
- Free trial, no credit card required — cancel anytime
- Get started on Squarespace now.
Lynn Cadet
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 days | Unlimited Storage | FREE (1 year) | ~5 minutes |
Squarespace’s no transaction fee policy is the ultimate game changer. If you’ve ever sold anything online, you’re probably familiar with how transaction fees work. In most cases, the amount you sell the product or service for isn’t usually what appears in your bank account. But that’s not the bank robbing you; it’s the transaction fees you didn’t consider when billing your clients.
A few transactions down the road, you’ll realize how much money you’re losing. To fix this problem, Squarespace lets you pay one predetermined monthly or annual fee for eCommerce plans, and it won’t add transaction fees on each sale.
See how to build your website with Squarespace >>
4. GoDaddy: 7-Day Free Trial
Rumor has it that GoDaddy could survive the apocalypse, and I believe it. This web host has been around since 1997 and boasts of being the world’s largest domain registrar.
With more than 21 million customers and 7,000 employees, GoDaddy’s survival in the competitive world of web hosting is impressive to say the least. Some web hosts that started around the time GoDaddy came into existence are no longer relevant today.
GoDaddy.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.00
- Get started for FREE, no credit-card required
- Easy-to-use interface with tons of customization
- GoDaddy InSight™ provides tailored action plans
- 99.9% uptime with an award-winning support team
- Built-in marketing tools and expertise
- Get started on GoDaddy now.
Lynn Cadet
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | New or Transfer | 5 minutes |
What makes this host unique is that it always keeps its wheels turning with new technology. The drag-and-drop GoDaddy website builder, for example, is powered by Artificial Intelligence, making the website-building process easier.
GoDaddy won’t ask for your credit card details when you sign up. If you’re just starting out and want to learn the basics of web building with a trusted web host that’s stood the test of time, GoDaddy is a great choice for you.
5. Shopify: 3-Day Free Trial
When three friends, Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake, started selling snowboarding equipment online in 2004, they didn’t know they were on course to create the most popular eCommerce platform. Only two years later, Shopify was born, and it didn’t take too long to sprout beyond its limits.
Today, Shopify powers more than 5.6 million live stores worldwide, processing over $235 billion in annual sales — numbers that tell you everything you need to know about how dominant this platform has become.
Shopify.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.00
- Plans include a website builder with tons of Shopify themes
- Get help with your name, logo, and online presence
- Sell unlimited items via social media, a button, or POS
- Developers can easily build on the platform via the API
- Shopify experts available 24/7 to assist you
- Try Shopify FREE for three days.
Toby Sembower
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Day FREE Trial | Unlimited | FREE Subdomain | 5 minutes |
But before you commit to Shopify, be aware that its free trial is significantly shorter than those of other website builders I’ve reviewed. But you can choose to look at it from a different perspective; the short free trial period shows how in-demand this platform is.
That’s totally justifiable. On top of the easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder with tons of templates to choose from, this host also offers a suite of eCommerce applications designed to streamline the overall online shopping experience and a vast community of eCommerce experts to help you if you get stuck.
See our full review of Shopify >>
Best Cheap Website Builders — $1.00 to $5.09/Month
Being on a budget shouldn’t stop you from creating the kind of website you and your users will love. Below, I’ve shared some cheap website builders worth checking out.
These site builders offer a nice balance between price and quality. You’ll get all the essentials to build a responsive website with a professional look and feel for less than a few dollars each month.
That’s a small price to pay for so much value.
Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.69
- Best website builder: The most complete AI-powered builder at this price point.
- Describe your site to AI and go live in minutes
- 300+ designer-made templates with drag-and-drop
- Built-in eCommerce with 0% fees and 100+ payment methods
- Built-in SEO, email marketing, and AI logo maker included
- Free domain for 1 year + 14-day free trial to start
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Sead Fadilpasic
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 25 GB SSD – 100 GB NVMe SSD | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
IONOS.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.00
- No coding skills necessary with MyWebsite Creator
- Free domain name or transfer your existing site
- FREE social media and marketing widgets
- Pro templates with pre-filled text and images
- Multilingual support and tools for SEO
- Get started on IONOS now.
Christina Lewis
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB – Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 5 minutes |
InMotionHosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $5.09
- BoldGrid drag-and-drop builder, free with all WordPress plans
- 200+ industry-specific, mobile-ready starter templates
- Built-in SEO tools, automatic backups & WooCommerce-ready
- 24/7 award-winning support available by phone, chat, or ticket
- 90-day money-back guarantee, longest on this list
- Get started on InMotion now.
Dave McQuilling
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 100 GB SSD – Unlimited SSD/NVMe | Select Plans | 6 minutes |
Our internal team of web hosting experts has tested and approved each website builder I’ve listed above. That’s because we know that sometimes cheap is expensive, and it takes a little digging through the pile to find hosts worth spending your money on.
See the best website builders in 2026 >>
What Is Included in a Website Builder Free Trial?
Each site builder is unique, and with the stiff competition in the web hosting industry, these hosting companies always try to outdo themselves. That said, in a typical website builder free trial, you’ll find essential features such as:
- Website themes and templates
- Drag-and-drop interfaces
- Email marketing tools
- SEO analysis and eCommerce functionality
It’s not uncommon to see these web builders going out of their way to provide more advanced features for users. For example, Squarespace has partnered with Unsplash, a stock photography platform, to provide high-quality photos for websites.
GoDaddy, on the other hand, harnesses the power of AI to help users build beautiful websites using its platform. Some will even throw a free SEO tool in there.
Whether you’re working on a personal website for your portfolio or a business website for a client, using a popular website builder makes website creation a breeze.
After your free trial wraps up, the site builder will likely offer several pricing plans to keep your site live. While you might not score a completely free website builder, we’ve found that most options are very budget-friendly. If you’re crafting a professional website, investing a small monthly fee is worthwhile for the feature-packed experience many popular platforms offer you.
What Is the Easiest Website Builder for Beginners?
GoDaddy and Wix are neck and neck if you’re looking for a beginner-friendly website builder. As mentioned, the use of AI is what makes GoDaddy special. And if you’ve used platforms like ChatGPT, you’re probably already familiar with AI’s power and influence.
To start, you’ll answer some questions about what kind of site you’re building (a personal website, business website, online store, or another kind), and the AI site builder will generate template suggestions.
But overall, I’d go for Wix. The signup process for both site builders is easy, but Wix’s templates are more beautiful, and the platform allows for greater personalization. The customization options make it easier to get the exact look and feel you want.
And with more than 2,000 templates to choose from, you won’t get stuck in the design process with a template that’s not right for you.
How Do I Make an Online Store with a Website Builder?
The first thing you need to know is that website builders are never the same. In other words, the process of building a website with Wix isn’t the same as GoDaddy’s.
With that out of the way, most web builders have made this process easy, and that’s because they know that half of the time, when people use these tools, they need help building a website.
The other half, which often makes up web designers or developers, is probably trying to work smart, not hard. Whichever way you look at it, we all have the same goals, whether you’re a web designer, developer, or beginner. The goal is to build a beautiful and interactive website.
The building process typically begins with signing up for a web hosting plan, usually offered by the web builder. That’s the only way you can publish your website once you’re done building it.
Back to the building process, after signing up, you’ll:
- Choose a hosting plan, provide your custom domain name, and then access the website builder. You’ll likely need to answer a few questions about the kind of website you want to build. Is it a personal blog, an eCommerce website, a portfolio, or anything else?
- Whatever answer you provide will prompt the web builder to generate themes or templates that align with your specific niche or industry.
- From there, all you’ll need to do is drag and drop additional features, delete what you don’t want or like, add some text, throw in some photos or videos, spice it up with some cool features like effects for animation, scrolling, transitions, or your own custom code.
The best part about the site builders on this list is that they come with web hosting, so you don’t need to take additional steps to put your site online. When you’re done building your site, click “Publish,” and you’re all set.
What Is the Best Free Website Builder?
Outside of a free trial, some website builders offer entirely free plans, though the honest answer is that you usually get what you pay for. Free plans typically strip out custom domains, limit your storage, and slap the builder’s branding on your site. For learning the ropes or building a personal hobby project, that’s fine. For anything professional, you’ll want to upgrade eventually.
That said, if you’re truly on a zero-dollar budget and need to get something live, GoDaddy’s free website builder is the most capable option on this list. No credit card required, hundreds of professional templates, and an AI-assisted setup that makes the process genuinely beginner-friendly. You’ll be on a subdomain, but you’ll have a real, functioning website.
When you’re ready to take it seriously, any of the free trials above will get you started without spending a dime — and DreamHost’s 30-day Remixer trial in particular gives you enough time to build something you’re actually proud of before committing to a plan.
Finding the Best Website Builder Just Got Easier
Back in the day, website builders didn’t offer free trials because competition wasn’t as fierce as it is now. Users had very limited choices. But today, things are completely different.
Web hosting companies know that you have many options to choose from if you’re looking for the best website builder. That’s one reason they offer a free trial in the first place to grab your attention and hopefully convince you to try their services risk-free. Some have sweetened their offers by not asking for your credit card information.
So, what’s your excuse? You should consider taking advantage of these options I’ve covered. That way, you’ll find a website builder that matches your skill level, budget, and needs.
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