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Lena Borelli
Contributor
Lena is a freelance contributor to Newsweek’s small business team. A business owner herself, today she advises on business owners of all kinds on proper management, software, and tools to maximize productivity and improve their exposure. She is based in sunny Tampa Bay, Florida, and has been featured in leading publications such as TIME, Forbes, Bankrate, Digital Trends and Techopedia.
Shannon Ullman
Editor
Shannon is a freelance editor for Newsweek Vault. She has previously worked as an editor in the B2B space, primarily focusing on cryptocurrency and finance tools for small businesses. She does freelance review writing in the health space as a hobby. Some of her bylines can be found on sites like Business Insider and Shape.
Updated December 30, 2023 at 7:00 am
From professional web designers and developers to small business owners and artists, everybody who has a vision for a website needs help to create it. The best web design software on the market is and invaluable resource that can simplify the process and help make your dream website a reality.
While the best web design services will vary depending on your website goals, there are certain tried-and-true companies that give users the tools to design, build and host a website that is guaranteed to stand out from the crowd.
To compile this list, we reviewed the top services on the market, compared the specs and features, and created a short list of the top website design service sites. Then, we used product descriptions, reviews, ratings and hands-on experience to find the best website design services for each category.
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Wix has been a powerful tool in web design since 2006 and has become one of the most popular web design services thanks to its user-friendly interface and long list of templates. The release of Wix ADI, a powerful AI assistant that helps build websites even quicker, is a great addition for people who want quick turnarounds.
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Elementor is a WordPress plugin designed to make building a website on the platform easier. While WordPress provides the framework for website design, powering nearly half of all websites on the internet, Elementor simplifies the website building process to make it accessible to everyone, from amateurs to professional website designers.
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Weebly has had a part in creating more than 50 million websites for millions of different businesses. Purchased by Square in 2018, this popular web design service has shifted focus to e-commerce and offers small businesses the chance to sell their wares online for free.
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Why we chose it: Squarespace makes “better websites for all,” which is why we think it’s the best web design software for beginners. With a fast route to a slick website, people new to web developers can kickstart a website dream with Squarespace.
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GoDaddy is the big daddy of domain registrations. It’s also a solid pick if you want to design a clean website in a short time that will always be online.
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If you want a website for selling and for selling only, then Shopify is the answer. The e-commerce specialists make it easier for stores to sell online, on mobile and even in person.
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Duda was created to assist web designers in making multiple websites for clients more quickly. However, you can still use the popular website designer if you want to build a single website and have limited experience.
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Good websites need to work wonders fast. This is due, in part, to the average adult internet user only having an attention span of just over eight seconds. If a website grasps somebody’s attention within this time frame, the same user is likely to stick around for less than a minute before abandoning their cart, closing the tab and going somewhere else.
The easiest way to produce, publish and maintain an unforgettable website that will have people coming back time and time again is by choosing the right website design service. From graphic design tools that help users create unique and eye-catching material to simplifying code to give people access to backend development with less chance of mistakes, these services offer a variety of features that lend themselves to website creation and upkeep.
If you’re thinking of building a top-quality website from scratch without any help, you’ll need to know some serious code and have a lot of time on your hands.
For everybody else, there are website design services. These platforms exist to make website designers, business owners and everybody else’s lives easier when it comes time to design and build a website, providing templates, drag-and-drop features, simplifying e-commerce and more so that people can spend their precious time on their businesses and hobbies, and not on the upkeep of a website.
All different website design software will offer a different user experience and interface, but the majority have a similar function—to bring your website to life on the screen. Nobody knows your dream website better than you, which is why these platforms put creativity in your hands.
Website designers (that’s you!) can pick from a variety of tantalizing templates, add multimedia like moving backgrounds and video, use drag-and-drop features to manipulate each page into a masterpiece and decide on a domain that best represents their business or passion. Web design software deals with the backend bits to give you the chance to design the front end of your website how you want it.
While the pros can really benefit from these platforms to increase productivity and output for clients, people with little to no computer knowledge can use them to build the website they’ve always wanted. The best web designers offer customer support, video tutorials and more to guide beginners through the wonderful world of websites.
From small businesses and startups to entrepreneurs, nonprofits and freelancers, the need for a great website in the modern age is vital. These organizations and individuals can benefit from the assistance of a great web design service to make every website dream a reality.
When you’re deciding which website design software to choose, there are a variety of different things to consider before signing up for a service. Here’s how to choose the right website design software for you.
From free to start to premium monthly costs, website design software varies wildly when it comes to pricing. If you’re starting a new blog for your cat, you may be happy with Weebly’s free plan, whereas people who want to start an e-commerce empire may want to spend more cash on a premium plan that allows more room for growth. Most free software gives users the opportunity to unlock more features with pricier packages. Before you decide to splash the cash on a premium plan, take into consideration what the package offers and if it is necessary for your website and business.
Would you describe yourself as can’t code/won’t code? If you answered “yes” to this question, then you should sign up for a code-free website design software like Wix or Weebly. People with coding chops who want more flexibility when it comes to editing may prefer to use a more complex code writing and editing platform like Adobe Dreamweaver.
How do you want to be able to design your website? Look out for features like drag-and-drop editing, which allows you to decide where every little thing on your website ends up and
WYSIWYG, which stands for “what you see is what you get,” allows you to see the end product while you work on your website. The rise of AI has also led to web design services adding AI features to their products. If you’re looking to save time and build a website in minutes, look out for platforms with AI tools. There are tons more features on offer from a variety of different companies that are designed to simplify website design, some of which are listed above in the table.
While some web design services make it difficult to edit templates like Duda, others like Wix may lock you into a template after you publish. It’s important to know how much wiggle room and creative freedom you actually have before you start to customize your website. Elementor is a great offering for people who want true autonomy and customization but lack the coding skills to tackle WordPress directly.
Canva is taking the world of graphic design by storm. While there’s no substitute for a good eye, this free service gives people without design skills the chance to create something beautiful with just a few clicks. Jazz up the look of your website by making your own templates, images, videos, gifs and more.
For $14.99 per month, users can upgrade to Canva Pro to unlock incredible design features like removing the background of any video, instant animation, incredible templates and more.
Released in 1997, Adobe Dreamweaver is one of the original tools for website design. This software has stood the test of time and evolved along with the internet, providing features like WYSIWYG and an advanced code editor for people with more coding knowledge who want more control over the editing process. While it remains a popular pick, the main criticism for Dreamweaver is that the interface is outdated and has compatibility issues at times.
For $20.99 per month, you can purchase Adobe Creative Cloud, which contains Dreamweaver and 20+ more Adobe apps including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and InDesign.
Framer gives people the opportunity to build a site using a visual canvas with absolutely no code. Starting life as a place for designers to create with UI components, this user-friendly website design software is great for people who see the world in pictures and want help to create a beautiful website. Framer also includes an AI site generator feature that gives users the chance to build an entire website with simple written prompts.
For $5, Framer offers a mini version with a custom domain and more.
If you don’t want to spend any money on a website design service, look no further than Weebly’s free plan for basic use. This free service is somewhat limited, but you still get third-party embed code and free SSL security. Customers who know that they’ll be spending money at some point may benefit from the lengthy free trial on offer from GoDaddy.
Shopify is designed specifically for small businesses’ e-commerce to thrive, including features like abandoned cart emails to help boost sales, payment gateways and 24/7 customer support. Squarespace and Wix are also big hitters in the world of small businesses and e-commerce.
If you want somebody else to design your website to save you precious time, consider how complex your website will be and which website design software will be used in the process. The better you understand the software, the more you can gauge whether the person is quoting a fair price for the service. While hourly rates vary wildly, web designers also offer fixed-price packages for simple websites, e-commerce stores or redesigning an existing site, which starts at a few hundred dollars and can increase into the thousands.
Web designers, like amateurs, will have personal preferences depending on how they like to create. One of the most popular picks among pros is the Adobe Creative Cloud, thanks to its variety of different software rolled into one, including Dreamweaver, XD and Photoshop. WordPress and Wix both remain popular picks thanks to offering backend editing. WordPress, which is open source and free, also has a variety of plugins that can transform the content management system into whatever a web designer wants it to be.
If you’re looking for an intuitive website design software that simplifies WordPress, helps design incredible websites, and is used by industry professionals, look no further than Elementor. This affordable WordPress plugin has drag-and-drop capabilities, WYSIWYG editing, an AI image generator and much more. Elementor’s page builder is a way for everybody to create complex designs without any coding know-how, and it has Elementor AI built into the software that helps create content within widgets like headings, text editors and buttons.
Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. We may earn a commission from partner links on Newsweek, but commissions do not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations.
Lena Borelli
Contributor
Lena is a freelance contributor to Newsweek’s small business team. A business owner herself, today she advises on business owners of all kinds on proper management, software, and tools to maximize productivity and improve their exposure. She is based in sunny Tampa Bay, Florida, and has been featured in leading publications such as TIME, Forbes, Bankrate, Digital Trends and Techopedia.