6 Best WordPress Alternatives to Painlessly Build Your Business Website

WordPress is the leading CMS known for its vast versatility, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best platform for every small business website. With so many options available, we narrowed it down to the six best WordPress alternatives based on what small businesses need most, from affordability and ease of use to helpful features such as built-in payment processors and SEO tools to the ability to integrate with third-party applications.

WordPress Alternatives Compared

Squarespace

Best for: Award-winning web design made easy
Cost: $12 per month
Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Squarespace Site Editor

Squarespace Site Editor

Squarespace Site Editor

Squarespace is a top-rated site builder with professional plans that come with everything you need to easily build and maintain a business website starting at $12 per month. It’s best known for its award-winning templates that are professionally designed. Squarespace doesn’t offer as many customization options as WordPress and Wix, but since the templates are well-designed, they require fewer customizations, making it easier to more quickly launch a site.

Squarespace Pros & Cons

➡️ Torn between Wix and Squarespace? Get the full comparison of Wix vs Squarespace.

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Joomla

Best for: Businesses that want a CMS that most closely rivals WordPress
Cost: Free (but requires web hosting to use your own domain)
Rating: 3.6 out of 5 stars

Joomla Site Editor

Joomla Site Editor

Joomla Site Editor

Joomla is a free, open-source site builder and content management system (CMS). Similar to WordPress, Joomla offers extensive customization options. However, this is at the expense of ease of use, as it’s not as user-friendly as drag-and-drop site builders. It’s also free to use, but does require you to purchase your own domain name (approximately $12 per year) and web hosting (approximately $5 per month). It’s a good WordPress alternative for those who need vast customizations at a low price.

Joomla Pros & Cons

➡️ Want to learn more about the differences between Joomla and WordPress? Get the full breakdown of WordPress vs Joomla.

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Wix

Best for: Easily building a fully customizable website
Cost: Free; Business plans start at $13 month
Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Wix Site Editor

Wix Site Editor

Wix Site Editor

Wix is a popular, all-in-one site builder known for its vast customization capabilities through its true drag-and-drop site editor. It can be used to build nearly any type of business website, from online stores to real estate and hotel sites. While it costs more than WordPress at $13 per month, it’s a lot easier to use. It’s a good WordPress alternative for those who want to maintain a good deal of design control, but without the steep learning curve.

Wix Pros & Cons

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Weebly

Best for: Easily building an online store
Cost: Free; Professional-use plans start at $12 per month
Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Weebly Site Editor

Weebly Site Editor

Weebly Site Editor

Weebly is an ultra-easy-to-use site builder geared toward building online stores. Its free plan gives users a way to try the platform before investing, though a professional-quality site will cost you at $12 per month. It’s a good WordPress alternative for those who are looking for an easy way of building a membership site or an online store as another sales channel.

Weebly Pros & Cons

➡️ Interested in Weebly? Get the step-by-step instructions on how to build a small business website using Weebly.

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GoDaddy Websites

Best for: Service-based businesses looking to accept online bookings and appointments
Cost: Plans start at $10 per month
Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

GoDaddy Site Editor

GoDaddy Site Editor

GoDaddy Site Editor

GoDaddy may be better known for its domain name registration and web hosting services, though it also offers a comprehensive site builder. What makes it stand out is its sophisticated online booking system that makes it easy for service-based businesses to accept and schedule bookings and appointments. It’s a good WordPress alternative for businesses that want a fast and easy way to turn their website into a sales channel.

GoDaddy Websites Pros & Cons

➡️ Think GoDaddy might be a good fit for you? See how easy is it to build a GoDaddy website.

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Shopify

Best for: Easily building ecommerce sites with advanced selling features
Cost: Professional-use plans start at $29 per month
Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Shopify Site Editor

Shopify Site Editor

Shopify Site Editor

Shopify is a leading ecommerce site builder designed for creating code-free online stores. It’s similar to Weebly, but it does come with more advanced ecommerce features, such as abandoned cart recovery, multichannel selling, inventory management, and dozens of ecommerce-specific add-ons designed to help maximize sales. It’s a good WordPress alternative for those who want advanced selling features without advanced web design skills.

Shopify Pros & Cons

➡️ Think Shopify might be a good fit for your ecommerce site? Learn how to set up a Shopify store.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is it difficult to build a WordPress website?

In more recent years, WordPress has become a user-friendly content management system that can be used to build a professional website with zero code. It’s still not the easiest option available, but it’s a good option for those who have some time to invest in learning the platform and who want an affordable and highly customizable website. Learn more about how to make a WordPress website.

Which is easier to use: WordPress or Drupal?

There’s no question, WordPress is by far an easier content management system (CMS) than Drupal. With WordPress, nearly anyone can build a site without any web design experience or coding knowing thanks to the help of the many page builder plugins, such as WP Bakery or Elementor. Get all the information you need on the best WordPress website builders.

Bottom Line

If you’re still not sure which CMS or site builder to use instead of WordPress, we recommend trying Squarespace. It’s our best overall WordPress alternative that not only makes it easy for anyone to build a professional-quality website, but it’s also affordable with plans that start just $12 per month, which include everything you need.