how-to
Contrary to what you may think, the best website makers are not, in fact, wizards hidden away, toiling over a bubbling cauldron. Creating a new website is not sorcery or magic, and it doesn’t have to include the stress and headaches of manual coding.
Whether you are interested in launching an online store, need a new look for your professional site, or just want to do some blogging about your cat, you should know that designing a website doesn’t have to be hard.
And it doesn’t have to be expensive, either. Today, a number of hosting providers offer free website makers with free domain names, making it easier and more affordable than ever to build and maintain your online presence.
2020‘s Best “Website Builder” Hosting Services
Many web hosts (wait – what the heck is a web host?) include website makers, more commonly known as website builders, that allow you to drag and drop elements to build your site and set up an ecommerce store in minutes.
In addition to the extremely simple and intuitive design tools, these hosts will often include a free domain name and include all the features needed for your site for an extremely low monthly rate. It is incredible how much today’s hosts can provide for very little charge.
We know hosting, and these hosts listed below know how to make hosting, designing, and launching a website easy and affordable — even for first-timers.
What these hosts all have in common is they offer some of the most intuitive, sleek, and easy-to-learn site-building tools you’ll find out there. Best of all, the vast majority of our top website building hosts will include a domain name registration (or existing site transfer) absolutely free.
1.
Wix.com
- No coding skills needed with drag-and-drop builder
- 100s of templates with niche-specific designs
- Add features via the App Market and Wix Events
- Easily create ecommerce functionality easily
- Great way to build small sites on a budget
- Get started on Wix now.
Wix: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Website Builder Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 days | 500 MB - 20 GB | Transfer | www.wix.com/site-builder |
2.
iPage.com
- Choice of Weebly or WebsiteBuilder by iPage
- Mobile-optimized options and easy-to-use setup wizards
- 100s of professionally designed, customizable themes
- FREE online store, shopping cart, and blogging platform
- Get +75% off your first month
- Get started on iPage now.
iPage: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Website Builder Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.ipage.com/site-builder |
3.
HostGator.com
- Drag-and-drop design with the Gator™ website builder
- Hundreds of mobile-friendly, industry-specific templates
- FREE hosting, domain name, and SSL certificate
- Easily add a blog, ecommerce, and social media marketing
- Analytics portal helps you gauge your site’s performance
- Get started on HostGator now.
HostGator: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Website Builder Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.hostgator.com/site-builder |
4.
BoldGrid.com
- Integration with Fotolia and Flickr image databases
- Pre-built and customizable content with GridBlocks
- Responsive themes with tablet and mobile editing views
- Generates clean, efficient, and compliant HTML
- SEO, gallery, and forms plugins
- Get started on BoldGrid now.
BoldGrid: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Website Builder Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 40 GB SSD - 120 GB SD | FREE (1 year) | www.inmotionhosting.com/boldgrid |
5.
Bluehost.com
- Weebly or goMobi site builder
- FREE domain name registration
- Automatic daily, weekly, and monthly backups
- Gain exposure with $200 in FREE advertising credits
- Optional professional services help design, build and market your site
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Website Builder Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB SSD - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com/site-builder |
2020‘s Best Hosting With Free Domains
Just like website builders include the hosting and domain for free, many of the world’s best hosting providers also include a website builder and free domain registration.
Your domain is the first thing people will notice about your website, so be sure to find a URL that is short, descriptive, and easy to remember. If you need some help brainstorming, check out some domain name generators.
Domains are reserved on a year-to-year basis, but the hosts we list below will cover your costs for the first year. If your site doesn’t take off, no harm, no foul. But be ready to contribute an extra $10 to $15 when you renew your plan if you’d like to keep your site up and running. Take a look at our top picks for affordable web hosting, intuitive site builders, and awesome domain tools.
6.
iPage.com
- FREE domain registration and transfer
- Unlimited disk space, domains, and MySQL databases
- $200 toward Google AdWords and Bing advertising
- Unlimited bandwidth and email addresses
- FREE online store and website builder
- Get started on iPage now.
iPage: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Domain Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.ipage.com/domain |
7.
Bluehost.com
- FREE domain name registration and site-building tools
- Get up to unlimited domains, emails, and bandwidth
- Up to $200 in offers with Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
- 1-click WordPress install and WordPress’s endorsement
- 24/7 customer support and online tutorials
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Domain Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com/domain |
8.
GoDaddy.com
- World’s largest domain registrar with 17+ million domains under management
- FREE domain included with annual plans
- Manage your domains via cPanel or Plesk
- FREE email hosting at your domain
- 99.9% website uptime guaranteed
- Get started on GoDaddy now.
GoDaddy: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Domain Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 100 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.godaddy.com/domain |
See other top hosts with free domains »
Some Other Perks You’ll Enjoy
In addition to a free website maker and free domain name, these web hosts have outdone themselves with extra add-ons. Some of the freebies you’ll find include:
- Unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email accounts
- Thousands of pre-made, professional-looking, and customizable site design templates
- Up to $250 in free advertising credits to help your new site gain exposure to search engines
- Friendly and knowledgeable customer support ready to help 24/7, should you get into a panic (Remember: breathe.)
If you’re looking for the best free website builder, be sure to consider the additional free stuff!
Ready, Set, Go Build Your Dream Website!
You now know everything you need to know to get a website made with confidence — the beauty there being that you don’t actually have to know anything. These days, building a website can be done with zero programming knowledge or coding experience. So what are you waiting for?!
Start Building Your Website Now
Still stuck? Not enjoying your website builder experience? Consider switching to WordPress hosting, which leverages the world’s most popular content management system. The interface isn’t quite as intuitive as other site makers we’ve featured, but you’ll catch on quickly. Even better, take a look at BoldGrid, an interesting website builder created just for WordPress — the best of both worlds!
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