Writer: Ryan Frankel
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Cristian Lopez
A WordPress website builder sounds like the best of both worlds, combining the world’s most popular content management system with ultra-simple, drag-and-drop web design.
Although WordPress can be wonderful, the platform can also be tricky to learn and operate effectively. Once you install the free software, you have to actually build your site, which doesn’t come easy to those who lack programming skills. WordPress is not a website builder, but the best web hosting, themes, and page builder plugins help bridge the gap.
Fortunately, these tools will make building your new site simple as can be — even if you’re a first-timer. Let’s take a look at the very best of these WordPress website builder options, along with other considerations you should have along the way:
First, Set Up WordPress Hosting
Before we dive into themes and plugins to ease your WordPress experience, keep in mind that you can’t build a site without first setting up web hosting. Web hosting costs just a few bucks per month, and the best hosts will let you download and install WordPress in one click. Some even have WordPress pre-installed for you.
Once you’ve set up a web hosting account and successfully installed WordPress, you’re ready to start designing. In the next section, we’ll cover the top theme and plugin options for building your WordPress site. We’ve tested all the popular web hosts, rating them on everything from cost to support to eCommerce features, and we highly recommend these three as the best hosts for WordPress:
A2Hosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.99
- FREE Cloudflare CDN and 1-click WP installs
- Turbo Server, SSD speed, and optimized caching
- A2-optimized plugins for performance and security
- FREE SSL certificates and 24/7 support
- FREE HackScan and KernelCare
- Get started on A2 Hosting now.
As experts in performance optimization, A2 Hosting is a top choice for powering resource-heavy WordPress websites. The company offers shared or managed plans for the ultra-popular content management system, with the benefits extending to Joomla, Drupal, and other platforms. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB SSD - Unlimited SSD | New or Transfer | 4 minutes |
Bluehost.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.99
- Recommended by WordPress.org since 2005
- Automatic WordPress updates and initial install
- FREE WordPress themes in the Bluehost Marketplace
- 24/7 support via live chat, phone, and email
- Get exclusive discounts on WordPress plans
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost's WordPress hosting packages are aimed at first-time site owners and personal bloggers. These services come at a premium compared to the standard Bluehost web hosting (basic shared hosting) plans, but the WordPress optimization and platform-specific resources are arguably worth the cost. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD - 100 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 7 minutes |
Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.69
- Officially endorsed by WordPress.org
- 1-click WP install, PHP 7+, HTTP/2, and LiteSpeed
- All-in-one security protections from BitNinja
- No price markup for WordPress services
- Daily backups, FREE SSL certificates, and AI Tools
- Get started on Hostinger now.
As much as we love WordPress, one of our biggest pet peeves is when hosting providers exploit the popularity of the world's most-used content management system by offering so-called WordPress hosting that, in reality, is exactly the same as the host's shared server plans. Fortunately, Hostinger's ultra-fast infrastructure and easy access to SSL certificates and backups sets up the company to outperform the vast majority of the violators of our admittedly made-up rule. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 100 GB SSD - 200 GB NVMe | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
See more WordPress hosting reviews »
Design Option 1: Choose a Page Builder Plugin
As those who are familiar with WordPress can tell you, there are two easy ways to build a WordPress site yourself without having to write code: themes and plugins.
Themes are simply pre-made templates that you can manipulate to make a site look and function as you wish, while plugins are a common form of software that you can install on your WordPress backend to get a certain type of functionality — in this case, site-building functionality.
Page builders get the closest to the traditional drag-and-drop website building experience. The plugins, which you can install from your WordPress dashboard, convert the WordPress editing interface to include content blocks that you can arrange however you’d like.
To help you perfect your layout and content, plugins work with your WordPress theme — making dragging and dropping and manipulating elements of your site’s design that much easier. These free WordPress website builder plugins also come with the option to upgrade to a premium license, which gives you access to expert support and more customization features than non-licensed versions.
1. BoldGrid
Created by the WordPress experts at InMotion Hosting, BoldGrid quickly shows beginners and experienced pros the path to website inspiration with a plugin that steers you to the right design, features, and content you may need. The platform offers several themes and variations tailored to specific industries and even fills in relevant text and imagery to help you get started.
BoldGrid.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.99
- FREE drag-and-drop WordPress website builder
- WordPress pre-installed by InMotion Hosting
- Pre-built and customizable content with GridBlocks
- FREE WordPress themes with mobile/tablet editing
- PayPal integration and shopping carts available
- Get started on BoldGrid now.
InMotion Hosting leads in shared, VPS, dedicated, and WordPress hosting, so it’s only fitting the team would craft one of the web’s first drag-and-drop site-building interface to sit atop WordPress. BoldGrid is a revolutionary platform that welcomes beginners and impresses professional developers. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 100 GB SSD - Unlimited SSD | FREE (1 year) | 7 minutes |
See more WordPress hosting reviews »
2. Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is certainly one of the most popular page builder plugins for WordPress out there. There’s no need to bother with HTML or custom styling, because Beaver Builder allows you to visually edit elements of your site right on the frontend. If you are slightly tech-savvy, you’ll be happy to hear that you can add your own CSS classes and IDs, plus widgets and shortcodes.
The Beaver Builder plugin allows you to drag and drop photos, audio and video clips, and sidebars directly onto your site.
3. Live Composer
The page builder of choice for over 30,000 site owners, Live Composer is an extremely easy-to-use drag-and-drop frontend editor. You can edit your content in real-time, so you can have a ready-to-convert landing page or a blog boasting your recent travels up on the Web in minutes.
Live Composer is a frontend page builder, meaning you can visually edit elements of your site right on the page.
4.MotoPress
MotoPress is a drag-and-drop frontend builder that’s compatible with nearly any WordPress theme. It features over 30 content elements, with the option to gain additional customization options with MotoPress add-ons. The end result is a completely mobile-responsive website.
MotoPress works with many WordPress themes — allowing you to create a responsive site by dragging and dropping.
Design Option 2: Choose a Free WordPress Theme
The WordPress theme directory features thousands of free themes, which will work great for first-time site owners looking to create something small like a blog or professional portfolio. Businesses and developers with more lofty goals, however, are probably best suited by investing in a premium theme. Paid themes generally come with more features and more modern and secure code, and can cost between $50 and $100.
The following themes are not only beautiful and intuitive, but they also feature easy customization tools for users of all skill levels. In addition to drag-and-drop editing, you’ll also get responsive (mobile-friendly) designs and tons of customization options.
1. Sydney
Sydney allows site owners access to all Google fonts, with full control over layout, coloring, and navigation options. Professionals can upload logos, header images, and full-screen slider content to create eye-catching, responsive designs.
A responsive theme ideal for professionals, Sydney offers Google fonts, logo upload, full-screen sliders, and more.
2. Astrid
Astrid features a sleek, seamless layout that allows site visitors to scroll through the facets of your business with ease. The template is dynamic and designing is intuitive. You’ll get color options, the ability to add a full-width header image, options for blogging, and custom widget support.
Looking to blog or add custom widgets? Astrid is the ideal theme for building a beautiful business site quickly.
3. Llorix One Lite
An all-star in the 1-page design arena, Llorix One Lite is ideal for professional-looking landing pages and basic personal site building needs. It includes a full-width template, a responsive blog section with threaded comment capabilities, and an array of color theme options to choose from.
If a single-page site is all you need, Llorix One Lite includes a responsive blog section and eCommerce functionality.
4. Pixova Lite
For clean lines and a modern feel, Pixova Lite offers a variety of content options to make your site look like it was designed by the pros. Included features are custom slider, animations, 2-column and full-width layout, responsiveness, and custom menus and headers.
For a more modern look, try Pixova Lite with its customizable sliders and animation options.
5. Moesia
Featuring cool animations, 11 predefined site elements, and two blog page layouts, Moesia makes building professional sites a breeze. This theme comes with an attentive support team, regular updates, and support for all the popular web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, IE9+, & Opera).
Moesia makes professional site-creation simple. Choose from 11 pre-made design blocks and begin building!
Design Option 3: Pay for a Premium Theme
WordPress themes are great, because even a non-techy can have a professional-looking website — complete with beautiful photo sliders, eye-catching buttons, and custom sidebars or menus — without touching a line of code. However, you can’t expect to get everything you want for free.
If you’re willing to commit around $50 to your site building endeavor, you can get the same drag-and-drop functionality, with more customization options, dynamic design options that may be limited in the free version, and all-around advanced features for premium-quality site building.
The following are our favorite premium WordPress theme options for site building:
1. Avada ($59)
Our favorite of the premium WordPress website builders, Avada comes with an incredible amount of template layouts, header options, color choices, and additional integrations. Whether you want to blog, sell, or display photos, Avada is the #1 pick in premium WordPress themes.
Featuring a brand-new theme options panel, Avada is the #1 pick in premium WordPress themes.
2. X ($64)
With X, you also get nearly two dozen extensions, including MailChimp integration, Envira photo gallery, and Olark chat. Plus, X users get to take advantage of the extremely popular UberMenu, so your site has a navigation menu that matches the look you want.
Complete with 20+ included extensions, X is the only theme to come with separate plugins for optimized site performance.
3. Enfold ($59)
Enfold is great for an easy start in WordPress site building. Its creators offer different versions for bloggers, business folks, resume posters, and for various industry-specific niches. The drag-and-drop editor and narrated video tutorials warrant its reputation for mega-fast 2-minute setup.
With an ever-growing list of pre-made content options, Enfold is boasted as the “user-friendliest” WordPress theme.
4. BeTheme ($59)
BeTheme is actually a beastly package of over 210 fantastic pre-made site templates, so you’re sure to find the design that matches your style. It’s fully customizable and easy to use — starting with the 1-click installation, all the way down to the custom font uploader.
The BeTheme creators offer 200+ beautiful pre-made websites for you to choose from. Need I say more?
5. Massive Dynamic ($59)
Massive Dynamic features a live website builder that allows you to customize colors, layouts, and shortcodes and preview how it will look on your site easily. Design the perfect header to meet your objectives — whether you want visitors to pick up the phone or check out your portfolio — using the customizable menu designs.
WordPress website builder Massive Dynamic allows you to customize, edit, and manage multiple WordPress sites.
Design Option 4: WordPress Website Builder Alternatives
Ask yourself this: Why does your site have to be built with WordPress?
If you don’t have a highly technical answer to that question, your site probably doesn’t need to use WordPress at all. While WordPress is a nice and popular platform, there are plenty of website builder options that will give your site the same look and functionality as a WordPress-based site.
Next up are hosts that offer a super-easy combo package: hosting with a free website builder. For just a few dollars a month, these hosts will give you the excellent web hosting you deserve, plus free drag-and-drop website builders and tons of free templates to make your own.
The beauty of these combo deals is that you get a free drag-and-drop editor to create beautiful, responsive designs and all you have to do is pay for the hosting — typically $3 to $10 per month.
Wix.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.00
- 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.
Website building is where Wix shines. The thousands of templates, the intuitive editor, the industry-leading designs that cater to a variety of specific fields and use cases — all these facets represent a platform that excels at facilitating easy web design for the non-tech-savvy user. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14-day FREE trial | 2 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 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 1&1 IONOS now.
If you're in need of a one-stop shop for designing and launching a website, you should be pleased to hear that 1&1 IONOS offers its own custom website building tools for both desktop and mobile devices. In addition to a free domain and email address, along with unlimited storage space, the 1&1 IONOS MyWebsite platform includes all the essentials for starting a site from scratch. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 5 minutes |
Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.69
- Drag-and-drop design from custom tools
- FREE access to hundreds of specialized templates
- Built-in eCommerce and payment processing
- Easily switch among widescreen, desktop, tablet, and mobile previews
- Support for 31 languages and 99.9% uptime
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Whether you're taking your first foray into website hosting or are a developer looking to save some time, a strong website builder can dramatically streamline the creation process and enable users to launch a website in five minutes or less. Fortunately for customers, Hostinger has invested heavily in crafting an impressive visual editor sure to appeal to users of all levels of experience. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 100 GB SSD - 200 GB NVMe SSD | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
See more website builder reviews »
Ready to Start Building Your Site?
WordPress currently powers 36% of the web — and your site could be next. While the increasingly popular platform can be tricky for non-techies, now that you’re equipped with the best options for hosting and building your WordPress site, there’s no reason not to get started today.
Let me know in the comments below how you do — I’d love to hear your success story!
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