The Best Website Builders for Small Businesses in the UK

If you're considering building your own website, there are several popular DIY website builders to choose from. Here's an honest comparison — and an honest assessment of when you're better off hiring a professional.

The Main UK Website Builders in 2025

Wix

What it is: Drag-and-drop website builder with hundreds of templates.

Pros:

• Very easy to use for beginners
• Large template library
• App marketplace for extra functionality
• Free plan available (with Wix branding)

Cons:

• Limited SEO capabilities
• Wix branding on free plan
• Monthly costs add up: £8–£35/month
• Websites can be bloated and slow
• Difficult to migrate away from Wix if you want to change

Best for: Very small businesses with basic needs and tight budgets

Squarespace

What it is: Designer-focused website builder with beautiful templates.

Pros:

• Beautiful, design-forward templates
• All-in-one (hosting, domain, SSL included)
• Better SEO than Wix
• Good for portfolios and creative businesses

Cons:

• Less flexible than Wix
• More expensive: £12–£35/month
• Limited customisation without code knowledge
• Template lock-in

Best for: Creative businesses, portfolios, photographers

WordPress.com (vs WordPress.org)

Note: WordPress.com (the hosted service) is different from WordPress.org (the self-hosted software).

WordPress.com:

• Hosted, less technical, limited customisation on lower plans
• Free plan available but very restricted
• Paid plans: £4–£35/month

WordPress.org (self-hosted):

• Full customisation and control
• Requires hosting (from £5/month)
• Steeper learning curve
• Thousands of themes and plugins

Shopify

For e-commerce only. The market leader in online retail. Excellent for product selling, less suitable for service businesses.

Costs: £25–£235/month + transaction fees

DIY vs Professional Website: The Honest Truth

| | DIY Builder | Professional Agency | |--|------------|--------------------| | Cost | £10–£35/month ongoing | £60–£600+ one-off | | Time to build | 20–100 hours of your time | Hands off for you | | Quality | Limited by templates | Fully bespoke | | SEO | Basic | Technical and optimised | | Speed | Often slow | Optimised for speed | | Support | Generic help docs | Personal UK support | | You own it | Platform-dependent | Yes, fully |

When DIY Makes Sense

• Absolute minimum budget
• Very basic requirements
• You enjoy technical projects
• It's genuinely temporary

When to Hire a Professional

• Your website is critical to your business
• You want to rank on Google
• You value your time (professional delivery frees up 20–100 hours)
• You want something that looks genuinely distinctive
• You want ongoing support from people who know your site

Our Small Business Packages Start From £60

For the cost of a few months' Wix fees, you can have a professionally built, SEO-optimised website you own outright. Get a free quote.