Updated on March 11, 2023 1:06 PM

Best Designers' Website Builders for 2023

Bruno Mirchevski
Bruno Mirchevski,
Hosting Expert
HostAdvice

Top 10 Designers Providers

Building a website as a designer is not the same as building a website for a small business or a general website. Designers need more creative freedom and more opportunities to make their websites unique. Also, most designers will want to be able to express themselves and their style through their websites. But how can they do this? With website builders that offer special tools and features for designers, of course.

Even though there are hundreds if not thousands of website builders out there, we took it upon ourselves to find which are the top 10 best ones so that you can find what you are looking for easier. Via our comparison chart below, you can find out which are our top 10 picks for the best website builders for designers, and read on to find out what each builder has to offer and how the builders compare against each other.

Check our Top 10 Best Designers’ Website Builders:

  1. Squarespacebest website builder specifically designed for creatives
  2. Wixbest for complete creative freedom
  3. Zyrobest AI-powered tools
  4. WordPress.orgbest for customization
  5. SITE123best for getting online quick
  6. Pixpabest for showcasing your photos
  7. Webflowbest for more experienced users
  8. Adobe Portfoliobest for its beginner-friendliness 
  9. IM Creatorbest for students and creatives
  10. Jimdobest for its ADI functionality

How Do We Test and Rank?

The ranking of which website builders are the best from a large pool of options involves a significant amount of research and testing. If you don’t want to do it all yourself, you can take advantage of our ranking system, which our experts created to rank each website builder in the best way possible. 

Our ranking system involves putting each and every builder through a series of tests and buying a plan from each of them to test out their features and services first-hand. Also, each builder is ranked based on five factors that are most important for building a designer-centric website, and each factor has its own specific percentage of importance assigned to it. The five factors include:

  • Ease-of-use (15%): how easy it is to use the builder’s editor and dashboard, is the dashboard easy to navigate, is the control panel easy to navigate, does using the builder require coding skills, is the builder suitable for beginners, does the builder have a steep learning curve; 
  • Pricing (10%): does the builder offer a free trial, does the builder offer a free plan, is there a money-back guarantee, are the builder’s plans worth the money;
  • Design Flexibility (30%): does the builder allow users to edit, change, and add whatever they want to their websites, are the templates customizable, how customizable are the templates, are the designs mobile-responsive, are there any designs available specifically for designers; 
  • Customization Features (25%): does the builder offer enough customization features, are the features high quality, how useful are the builder’s features;
  • SEO Tools (20%): does the builder offer any SEO tools, what kind of SEO tools does the builder offer, are the SEO tools enough to help you rank up your website;

How to Choose the Best Website Builder for Designers?     

When deciding which website builder will suit your needs best and allow you to create and maintain your design-centric website, there are a few factors you need to look out for and ensure that the builder offers them. Namely, it would be best if you look for a builder that offers the following features:

  • Options for customization – one of the most critical features a designer can get from a website builder are different customization options. So, you should ensure that the builder you choose allows you to add a personal touch and customize your website the way you want. That way, you will be able to express your style via your website.
  • Storage space – as a designer, you might want to upload high-resolution photos portraying your latest designs, and you can’t do that on a plan that offers only 1GB of storage, for example. Thus, it would be best if you look for a builder that includes plenty of storage space in its plans so that you can upload as many photos and other visual content as you want.
  • A drag-and-drop builder – with a drag-and-drop builder, you will be able to easily move elements around and add whatever content you wish with a few simple clicks;
  • Visual effects – look for a builder that allows you to add fun animations and visual effects so that you can make your website even more unique in the eyes of your visitors;
  • High-quality templates – even if you plan to completely customize and edit your website before launching it, having a high-quality template as your base will allow you to work much faster and have a better-looking website;
  • Third-party integrations – integration with third-party apps like Google Analytics for SEO or Lightroom for content is essential for any designer;
  • Mobile-responsiveness – most people use their phones nowadays for everything, including browsing the internet. So, finding a builder that offers mobile-responsive design will allow you to have a great-looking and responsive website both on mobile and desktop;
  • SEO tools – creating an SEO-optimized website is essential for everyone, including designers. Effective SEO tools can help your website rank higher on Google and other search engines and be seen by more people. So, make sure that your website builder of choice has a set of solid SEO tools before committing to a plan.

The Top 10 Best Designers’ Website Builders

1. Squarespace – Best Website Builder Specifically Designed for Creatives

Squarespace logo

  • Overall Score: 5.0
  • Ease-of-use: 4.9
  • Pricing: 4.9
  • Design Flexibility: 5.0
  • Customization Features: 5.0
  • SEO Tools: 5.0

Squarespace is an extremely popular website builder explicitly made for creatives. That means that Squarespace is ideal for designers and those who want their designs to stand out and be the main attraction on their website. Also, Squarespace is beginner-friendly and requires no coding from users at all.

Pros:

  • Excellent eCommerce features
  • Easy to use
  • Advanced customization options
  • Award-winning, high-quality templates

Cons:

  • No free plan

Squarespace is best for creating design-centric websites, and it is best known for its award-winning, high-quality templates and excellent built-in features

Plan Personal  Business Commerce (Basic)  Commerce (Advanced)
Price US $19/month US $33/month  US $36/month  US $65/month
Number of Products None Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Free Trials  Yes Yes Yes Yes
Additional Feature
  • Mobile-Optimized Websites
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • 30 minutes video storage
  • Fully integrated eCommerce
  • Mobile-Optimized Websites
  • Gift cards
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • 30 minutes video storage
  • Fully integrated eCommerce,
  • Mobile-Optimized Websites, 
  • Gift cards,
  • Point of sale,
  • Customer accounts,
  • Products on Instagram.   
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • 30 minutes video storage
  • Fully integrated eCommerce,
  • Mobile-Optimized Websites,
  • Gift cards,
  • Point of sale,
  • Customer accounts,
  • Products on Instagram,
  • Abandoned cart recovery,
  • Sell subscriptions.  
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • 30 minutes video storage

Unique Features:

Built-in SEO Tools

Squarespace includes a suite of integrated features and helpful SEO guides with all of its websites and online stores. Also, it offers some advanced SEO tools that will help you optimize your website and rank even better on search engines. The tools include:

  • SEO checklist – Squarespace offers a best practices checklist to all of its users, which contains tips on how to optimize your website for SEO and improve your rankings;
  • Integration with Google Search Console – Google Search Console is an excellent SEO tool to have, and it shows you which keywords your visitors and customers use to find your website;
  • SEO page titles and descriptions – With Squarespace, your SEO page titles and descriptions are set by default. However, you can modify them whenever you like without changing the content on your web pages;
  • The ability to hide a page – With Squarespace, you can hide a page from search engines if you want to;
  • Sitemaps – Your website will come with a site map using the .xml format. Thus, you won’t need to create one manually;
  • Automatic markup – Squarespace will automatically markup your site’s content to help improve search engine indexing;
  • SSL security;
  • Clean URLs – All of your pages and collection items on your website will have static URLs that are easily indexed and read by Google and other search engines;
  • Mobile optimization – All of Squarespace’s websites are mobile-friendly;
  • Integration with Goole My Business;

Templates

All of Squarespace’s templates are fully customizable and mobile-responsive. Also, Squarespace offers a large number of high-quality website templates of all kinds, including templates for:

  • Art & Design;
  • Photography;
  • Health & Beauty;
  • Personal & CV;
  • Fashion;
  • Professional Services;
  • Local Businesses;
  • Community & Nonprofits;
  • Food;
  • Entertainment;
  • Travel;
  • Restaurants;
  • Media & Podcasts;
  • Events; 
  • Weddings;
  • Real Estate & Properties;
  • Home & Décor;
  • Nature & Animals.

All in all, Squarespace is an excellent website builder for designers that offers both stunning, designer-centric templates and practical SEO tools for your website. If you want to learn more about Squarespace, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

Squarespace logoSquarespace is our number one website builder for designers. To learn more about its features, prices, and services, click on the link below.

Go to Squarespace

2. Wix – Best for Complete Creative Freedom

Wix logo

  • Overall Score: 4.9
  • Ease-of-use: 5.0
  • Pricing: 4.9
  • Design Flexibility: 4.9
  • Customization Features: 5.0
  • SEO Tools: 4.9

Wix was founded in 2006, and since then, it has helped create and maintain the websites of more than 200 million users! It is one of the most popular website builders out there, and with good reason. Not only is it beginner-friendly, but it also offers more than 800 designer-made templates you can choose from for your website. Also, it offers excellent SEO features that will help you rank your website and be seen. 

Pros:

  • Powerful built-in features
  • Wix SEO Wiz
  • Wix ADI
  • 800+ designer-made templates

Cons:

  • Users can’t switch or change their templates after they launch their websites

Wix is best known for its vast collection of designer-made templates and its powerful built-in features and tools. It also allows users to edit and add all kinds of elements, making it ideal for those seeking a higher level of creative freedom.

Plan Connect Domain  Combo Unlimited VIP

Price

US $4.50/month US $8.50/month US $12.50/month US $24.50/month

Number Of Products

Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown

Free Trial

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Additional Feature

  • 1GB bandwidth; 
  • 500MB storage space;
  • Custom domain;
  • 24/7 customer care
  • 2 GB bandwidth;
  • 3GB storage space;
  • Custom domain;
  • 24/7 customer care 
  • Unlimited bandwidth;
  • 10GB storage space;
  • Custom domain;
  • 24/7 customer care
  • Unlimited bandwidth;
  • 35GB storage space;
  • Custom domain;
  • Priority customer care

Unique Features:

Wix SEO Wiz

With Wix’s SEO Wiz, you will be able to get a personalized SEO plan by answering a few questions about your website, location, and keywords. Also, you can learn a lot about SEO and how to optimize your site for its with the Wix SEO Wiz. Namely, you can learn about:

  • SEO Basics – including what SEO is, why does it matter, and how to interpret search results;
  • Setting up your site – where Wix teaches you how to determine what your website is for, how to achieve your business goals with your website, and who to analyze your competition;
  • Building your site – including what site structure is, why site structure is important, what you need to consider when creating a web page, creating core content, and more;
  • Publishing your site – including how to track your goals, what local SEO is, and more.

Also, with Wix’s SEO Wiz, you will get the following SEO features:

  • Page titles are available for all of your website pages;
  • Meta descriptions for all of your website pages;
  • The ability to customize the URLs on all of your website pages;
  • The ability to add headings (from H1 to H6);
  • Editable image alt tags;
  • 301 redirects;
  • SSL encryption in all of its plans;
  • Search engine instructions that are available for web pages;
  • Integration with Google Search Console;
  • Personalized SEO Setup checklist;
  • Integration with Google Analytics;
  • An automatic Google indexing feature.

Templates

With Wix, you will be able to choose from more than 800 designer-made templates, including templates for:

  • All kinds of businesses and services;
  • Online stores for clothing, jewelry, electronics, home & décor, sports apparel, and many more;
  • Design templates – including templates for architecture, art & illustration, branding, fashion design, graphic design, and web design;
  • Photography templates;
  • Music templates;
  • Creative arts like performing arts, literary arts, and visual arts;
  • Education templates;
  • Templates for all kinds of events;
  • Templates for blogs, including personal blogs, blogs about food & travel, news & business blogs, and more.

Overall, Wix is a powerful website builder suitable for small businesses and designers who want to have a lot of creative freedom over their websites. If you want to learn more about Wix, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

Wix logoWix is an excellent website builder for designers who want to have complete creative freedom over their site and content. To learn more about Wix, click on the link below.

Go to Wix

3. Zyro – Best AI-Powered Tools

Zyro logo

  • Overall Score: 4.8
  • Ease-of-use: 4.8
  • Pricing: 4.9
  • Design Flexibility: 4.8
  • Customization Features: 4.9
  • SEO Tools: 4.8

Zyro is a new website builder on the market that comes with an intuitive drag-and-drop website builder and free web hosting in all of its plans. It also offers beautiful and modern templates and powerful AI-based features and tools available for free to all Zyro users. What’s best, Zyro is one of the most affordable website builders on the market and offers very low and competitive prices coupled with a 30-day money-back guarantee

Pros:

  • Unique AI tools
  • Affordable prices
  • Easy-to-use template editor
  • Lightweight designs which are great for SEO

Cons:

  • Limited third-party integrations compared to its competitors

Zyro is best for designers who want to use AI-powered tools and features to add elements to their websites. It is also ideal for those who are on a tighter budget since it offers very affordable plans.

Plan Website Business Online Store  Advanced Store
Price US $2.90/month US $4.90/month  US $8.90/month  US $15.90/month 
Number of Products None Up to 100 Up to 100 Up to 2,500
Free Trials  Yes Yes Yes Yes
Additional Feature
  • Free domain for one year
  • Free email for three months
  • 24/7 customer support
  • Marketing integrations
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Unlimited storage
  • AI
  • Blogging tools.
  • Free domain for one year
  • Free email for three months
  • 24/7 customer support
  • Marketing integrations
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Unlimited storage, 
  • AI 
  • Blogging tools
  • Accepts online payments
  • Free domain for one year
  • Free email for three months
  • 24/7 customer support
  • Marketing integrations
  • More than 70 payment methods
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Unlimited storage 
  • AI 
  • Blogging tools
  • Accept online payments
  • All eCommerce functions
  • Free domain for one year
  • Free email for three months
  • 24/7 customer support
  • Marketing integrations
  • More than 70 payment methods
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Selling in multiple languages
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Unlimited storage
  • AI 
  • Blogging tools
  • Accepts online payments
  • All eCommerce functions
  • Product filters
  • Selling on Amazon and eBay

Unique Features:

SEO and AI-powered Tools

When it comes to SEO, you will get more than enough features with Zyro, including:

  • Lightweight design
  • Fast loading speeds
  • An uptime of 99.9%
  • Mobile-optimized websites
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Integration with Google Analytics
  • Integration with Hotjar
  • Automatic meta tags
  • The ability to edit your meta titles and meta descriptions 
  • Ability to add and edit the image alt text
  • An AI writer that can write SEO-friendly content for you in minutes
  • Integration with Google Tag Manager

Zyro’s SEO tools and features will help you to rank your website on search engines and be seen by more users, even though it does not offer as many SEO features as other website builders like Squarespace and Wix. 

When it comes to Zyro’s AI tools, all of them are free to use and can help you easily complete many tasks. Zyro’s AI tools include:

  • AI Slogan generator 
  • An AI Writer 
  • AI Heatmap
  • AI background remover
  • An AI Image upscaler
  • AI Business name generator
  • AI Blog title generator
  • AI Logo Maker

Templates

Zyro also offers quite a few options when it comes to templates. Namely, you can choose from templates for:

  • Fashion;
  • Photography;
  • Portfolios;
  • Resumes;
  • Tech-related websites;
  • Entertainment websites;
  • Marketing;
  • Events;
  • eCommerce;
  • Travel;
  • Health & Beauty;
  • Home & Décor websites;
  • Community;
  • And more.

Zyro is an excellent website builder that offers powerful AI tools and modern designs. If you want to learn more about Zyro, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

Zyro logoZyro offers unique and powerful AI tools which are excellent for designers who want to get online. To learn more about Zyro, click on the link below.

Go to Zyro

4. WordPress.org – Best for Customization

 

WordPress logo

  • Overall Score: 4.7
  • Ease-of-use: 4.5
  • Pricing: 4.6
  • Design Flexibility: 4.8
  • Customization Features: 4.8
  • SEO Tools: 4.7

WordPress.org is a website builder where you can download and install WordPress for free and get hosting for your website all in the same place. Unlike its counterpart, WordPress.org, WordPress.org offers both web hosting and domain registration, along with a website builder. Also, WordPress.org offers thousands of plugins with which you can customize your website and add extra functionality.

Pros:

  • Offers web hosting and domain registration
  • Low prices
  • Powerful plugins and built-in tools

Cons:

  • It has a steeper learning curve compared to its competitors

WordPress.org offers thousands of powerful plugins and excellent built-in features which you can use to add extra functionality to your website. Thus, it is best for those who want to customize their websites and make them truly unique.

Plan WordPress Free WordPress Pro

Price

US $0/month US $15/month

Number of Products

None Unknown

Free Trials 

Yes No

Additional Feature

  • 1GB storage
  • One website administrator
  • Free custom domain name for one year
  • Premium themes
  • Unlimited WordPress plugins
  • Premium support
  • Unlimited website administrators
  • Sell products with WooCommerce
  • 50GB Storage
  • Advanced SEO tools
  • Automated website backups

Unique Features:

WordPress.org Plugins 

With WordPress.org , you can add all kinds of efficient and powerful plugins to truly make your website your own. You can download plugins for stats to monitor your website and your visitor’ activity. You can also get all the essential SEO tools and optimize your website to ensure that it ranks higher on Google and other search engines. 

Also, you can use WordPress.org’s spam protection plugins to scan for spam and security threats and stop them before they happen. You can add various plugins for advanced galleries if you plan on uploading photos to your website. Other plugins you can use include plugins for backups, contact forms, related posts, email subscriptions, media embeds, and more. 

WordPress.org Themes

WordPress.org offers both free and premium themes to its users, and you can choose your theme based on the features that you need, like:

  • Accessibility ready;
  • Author Bio;
  • Auto Loading Homepage;
  • Block Editor Styles;
  • Blog Homepage;
  • Breadcrumb Navigation;
  • Classic Menu;
  • Classic Theme;
  • Custom Background;
  • Custom Colors;
  • Do It For Me themes;
  • Custom Menu;
  • Featured Content with Pages;
  • Fixed Menu;
  • Full Site Editing;
  • Full-Width Template;
  • Hybrid Themes;
  • Multiple Menus;
  • One Column; 
  • One Page;
  • Site Logo;
  • Store;
  • And more.

Also, you can find themes for all kinds of websites on WordPress.org, including themes for weddings, reunions, product launches, art, blog, business websites, craft, education, fashion, food, journal, magazines, music, photography, portfolios, single page websites, travel websites, and many more.

WordPress.org is made for those who prioritize customization and personalization of their website over everything else. If you want to learn more about WordPress.org, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

WordPress.org is the ideal builder for those who want to get their hands dirty and play around with different tools and plugins. To learn more about WordPress.org, click on the link below.

Go to WordPress.org

5. SITE123 – Best for Getting Online Quick

  • Overall Score: 4.6
  • Ease-of-use: 4.7
  • Pricing: 4.7
  • Design Flexibility: 4.5
  • Customization Features: 4.5
  • SEO Tools: 4.6

SITE123 is one of the most beginner-friendly website builders on the market. As the name suggests, building a website with SITE123 involves three simple steps. Also, the builder comes with an intuitive website editor and all the necessary features one might need to create a simple website quickly.

Pros:

  • 160+ templates
  • Mobile-friendly designs
  • Beginner-friendly

Cons:

  • Limited flexibility and customization options

SITE123 is best for designers who want to create and launch their websites quickly, with no coding and no extra fuss involved.

Plan Free Premium

Price

US $0/month US $5.80/month

Number of Products

Unknown Unknown

Free Trials 

Yes Yes

Additional Feature

  • 250MB Storage;
  • 250MB Bandwidth;
  • Subdomain;
  • Site123 branding;
  • Free Domain for one year;
  • 10GB storage;
  • 5GB bandwidth;
  • Remove SITE123 Floating Tag;
  • Connect Your Domain;
  • Online store;

Unique Features:

SEO Features and Tools

With SITE123, you will get a built-in SEO tool called “SEO Adviser.” The tool will analyze your website and give you tips on how you can improve it and help it rank higher on search engines. Also, SITE123 has a tool that will check the keywords of your meta tags, focus keywords, and meta titles. Other useful SEO tools include access to sitemaps, Google Webmaster Tools, and 301 redirects. 

SITE123 Templates

SITE123’s templates are mobile-responsive and can serve to create all kinds of websites, including:

  • Business websites;
  • Online Stores;
  • Blogs;
  • Photography websites;
  • Websites for transportation services;
  • Music;
  • Websites for creative arts which could prove helpful to designers;
  • Websites for Health&Wellness;
  • CV & Portfolio websites;
  • Community websites;
  • Hospitality & Tourism;
  • And more.

Also, if you want to change the template that you initially chose for your websites, you can do so at any time with SITE123.

You also get free web hosting, integration with Google Analytics, integration with more than 20 social media platforms, and 24/7 support with the builder. 

If you want to get online fast and build a reliable website while you’re at it, then SITE123 is the right choice for you. It is beginner-friendly and can get you online in just a couple of hours, maybe shorter! If you want to learn more about SITE123, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

SITE123 takes the fifth spot on our “Best website builders for designers” list. To learn more about SITE123 and everything it offers, click on the link below.

Go to SITE123

5. Pixpa – Best for Showcasing Your Photos

 

  • Overall Score: 4.5
  • Ease-of-use: 4.5
  • Pricing: 4.4
  • Design Flexibility: 4.6
  • Customization Features: 4.6
  • SEO Tools: 4.5

Pixpa is a website builder designed specifically for photographers, graphic designers, and other creatives. Also, Pixpa has a no-code philosophy making it ideal for those who have no prior web design or coding experience. With Pixpa, you can emphasize your work through photos and galleries and make sure that your photos are the main attraction on your website. 

Pros:

  • Excellent eCommerce features
  • Drag-and-drop builder
  • Client galleries

Cons:

  • It does not offer a lot of creative control

Pixpa is best for photographers and designers who want to showcase their designs and style through photos and galleries. It is designed specifically for showcasing photos online and also offers excellent eCommerce features.

Plan

Light 

Personal

Expert

Business

Price

US $5/month US $10/month  US $15/month  US $24/month

Number of Products

None 5 50 1,000

Free Trials 

15-day free trial 15-day free trial 15-day free trial 15-day free trial

Additional Feature

  • Mobile optimized websites;
  • Five published pages and galleries;
  • Advanced SEO Features.
  • Mobile optimized websites;
  • 15 published pages and galleries;
  • Advanced SEO Features;
  • Sell Images as Prints or Downloads;
  • Unlimited Client Gallery Albums;
  • Auto-fulfilment with Print Labs
  • Share Images with Clients.
  • Mobile optimized websites;
  • Unlimited published pages and galleries;
  • Advanced SEO Features;
  • Payment Forms;
  • Sell Images as Prints or Downloads;
  • Unlimited Client Gallery Albums;
  • Auto-fulfilment with Print Labs;
  • Share Images with Clients.
  • Mobile optimized websites;
  • Unlimited published pages and galleries;
  • Advanced SEO Features;
  • Payment Forms;
  • Sell Images as Prints or Downloads;
  • Unlimited Client Gallery Albums;
  • Auto-fulfilment with Print Labs;
  • Share Images with Clients.

Unique Features:

Client Galleries

With Pixpa, you can create mobile-friendly galleries dedicated to your clients. That means that if you want, you can create a private gallery for each client individually where you can share designs and photos made specifically for them. Each album you create will have its own unique link and a beautiful landing page. You can also manage access rights for each gallery and keep track of who accesses your client galleries.

Also, you can use Pixpa’s digital workflow to enable your clients to easily view, approve, buy, and download photos and designs on all kinds of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Other elements you can add to your client galleries include your logo, brand colors, PIN protection, and more. You can also sell your designs and photos as prints and downloads, create your own pricing sheets, sell without additional commissions, and collect payment via PayPal, Stripe, or accept offline payments

Other Pixpa Features

When building a website with Pixpa, you will get the following features:

  • An all-in-one platform where you can build a website and add an online store, blog, and client galleries;
  • The ability to add your logo, title text, and a bio to your website;
  • You can connect your own custom domain;
  • You can personalize your website with a custom favicon;
  • Themes that support every major content type, including galleries, pages, forums, blogs, calendars, and more;
  • Mobile-friendly websites;
  • Visual Style Editor;
  • Separate Design Layer;
  • The ability to change your themes even after you publish your website;
  • Real-time publishing;
  • The ability to add site margins;
  • Integration with Google Fonts;
  • Basic Footer;
  • Integration with Google Analytics;
  • And more.

All in all, Pixpa is an ideal solution for photographers and designers who want to show off their designs via photos or private client galleries. If you want to learn more about Pixpa, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

Pixpa is a powerful website builder explicitly made for photographers, graphic designers, and other creatives. To learn more about Pixpa, click on the link below.

Go to Pixpa

7. Webflow – Best for More Experienced Users

 

  • Overall Score: 4.4
  • Ease-of-use: 4.3
  • Pricing: 4.4
  • Design Flexibility: 4.5
  • Customization Features: 4.5
  • SEO Tools: 4.3

Webflow is a more advanced website builder ideal for all kinds of designers. It allows users to create modern and unique websites with all kinds of blocks and web elements. Webflow offers many advanced tools, like an advanced editor, advanced animation tools, and advanced eCommerce solutions. So, if you have some experience with web design, especially with tools like Adobe Dreamweaver, Webflow can be the ideal solution for you. 

Pros:

  • Dynamic content
  • Excellent customization tools
  • 200+ high-quality and responsive themes

Cons:

  • Not as suitable for beginners as its competitors

Webflow is best for more experienced users who have some prior web design and coding knowledge. With it, you can build websites at all complexity levels, including simple one-page websites or content-rich dynamic websites.

Plan Starter Basic CMS Business Enterprise

Price

US $0/month US $15/month  US $20/month  US $45/month  Custom
Number of Products Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown
Free Trials  Yes No No No No
Additional Feature
  • 50 CMS items;
  • 1GB bandwidth;
  • Webflow.io domain;
  • 1,000 monthly visits;
  • Two-factor authentication;
  • Two static pages;
  • Unlimited backups;
  • Custom domain;
  • 0 CMS items;
  • 50GB bandwidth;
  • Remove Webflow badge;
  • 25,000 monthly visits; 
  • 100 static pages;
  • Unlimited backups;
  • Two-factor authentication;
  • Basic DoS protection;
  • Custom domain;
  • 2,000 CMS items;
  • 200GB bandwidth;
  • Three guest editors;
  • 100,000 monthly visits;
  • 100 static pages;
  • Unlimited backups;
  • Two-factor authentication;
  • Basic DoS protection;
  • Custom domain;
  • 10,000 CMS items;
  • 400GB bandwidth;
  • 10 guest editors;
  • 250,000 monthly visits;
  • 100 static pages;
  • Unlimited backups;
  • Two-factor authentication;
  • Basic DoS protection;
  • Custom domain;
  • 10,000 CMS items;
  • Custom Bandwidth;
  • Other custom Features;

Unique Features:

SEO Tools

With Webflow, you can optimize your website for SEO with fine-tuned controls, high-performance hosting, and excellent content management tools. Also, you will have control over your SEO markup, indexing rules, redirects, and more. 

You can add and edit schema markup and automatically define meta titles and descriptions using fields in your CMS Collections. Other SEO features that Webflow offers include:

  • Indexing and sitemap controls;
  • 301 redirects management;
  • The ability to edit image alt tags;
  • Built-in SSL security;
  • Clean, semantic code;
  • And more.

Templates

Webflow’s templates are fully customizable and mobile-responsive and include the following categories:

  • Design
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Blog
  • Marketing
  • Photography & Video
  • Entertainment
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Medical
  • Education
  • Nonprofits
  • Beauty & Wellness

Overall, Webflow is an excellent website builder for designers. It offers all kinds of customization and design tools and great SEO features for its users. If you want to learn more about Webflow, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

  • Check out our dedicated expert review on Webflow.

Webflow is an ideal builder for more experienced users. To learn more about Webflow, click on the link below.

Go to Webflow

8. Adobe Portfolio – Best for Its Beginner-Friendliness

Adobe Portfolio logo

  • Overall Score: 4.3
  • Ease-of-use: 4.4
  • Pricing: 4.3
  • Design Flexibility: 4.3
  • Customization Features: 4.4
  • SEO Tools: 4.2

Adobe Portfolio is Adobe’s online website builder with which you can display your photos in stunning galleries online. Adobe Portfolio was designed for photographers, but it is also suitable for designers and other creatives

Adobe Portfolio’s designs are all optimized for all kinds of devices. What’s best, you do not need to know how to code or have any prior web design experience to use Adobe Portfolio.

Pros:

  • Integration with Lightroom
  • Free with an Adobe Creative Cloud membership
  • Beginner-friendly

Cons:

  • You cannot add an online store to your website

Adobe Portfolio is best for designers who have no web design experience and want to create websites with dynamic galleries

Plan Creative Cloud – Photography Creative Cloud – All Apps
Price UK £9.98/month UK £49.94/month
Number of Products N/A N/A
Free Trials  No No
Additional Feature
  • Adobe Fonts;
  • Integration with Lightroom;
  • Integration with Adobe Photoshop;
  • All of Adobe’s creative apps;
  • Integration with Lightroom;
  • Integration with Adobe Photoshop;

Unique Features:

Designer-Specific Features

In addition to offering photography-centered features and themes, Adobe Portfolio also offers features tailored-made for designers with which you can showcase your designs and work. You can create beautiful and responsive image grids, use a fullscreen lightbox, and create websites optimized for all kinds of devices, including PCs, smartphones, tablets, and more.

You can also transfer your domain name or register a new one with Adobe Portfolio. Also, you can add password protection to your whole website or to selected web pages on your website.

When it comes to themes, you can choose from a wide range of fully-responsive themes, including themes specifically designed for art, illustration, photography, graphic design, fashion, architecture, motion graphics, and web design.

Also, no matter which plans you get, you will have hosting included and the ability to create unlimited pages. 

Adobe Portfolio is a great choice for designers who want to create a website where they can showcase their designs and work. If you want to learn more about Adobe Portfolio, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

  • Check out our dedicated expert review on Adobe Portfolio.

Adobe Portfolio is an excellent choice for beginners. To learn more about Adobe Portfolio, click on the link below.

Go to Adobe Portfolio

9. IM Creator – Best for Students and Creatives

IM Creator logo

  • Overall Score: 4.2
  • Ease-of-use: 4.1
  • Pricing: 4.3
  • Design Flexibility: 4.3
  • Customization Features: 4.2
  • SEO Tools: 4.3

IM Creator was made with artists and creatives in mind, making it suitable for designer-specific websites. Also, IM Creator offers free-forever licenses to students, artists, nonprofits, and other creatives. It offers aesthetically-pleasing designs and allows users to edit their websites on both desktop and mobile

Pros:

  • Wide range of templates
  • No coding knowledge is necessary
  • Free-forever license for students and creatives

Cons:

  • Not as beginner-friendly as other builders

IM Creator is best for students, artists, nonprofits, and other creatives who want to create a website and get online.

Plan Students, Artists, & Nonprofits Premium Account Unlimited Licenses & White-label

Price

Free US $8/month  US $350/year 

Number of Products

N/A N/A N/A

Free Trials 

No No No

Additional Feature

  • Unlimited hosting
  • Connect your own domain
  • Access to all themes
  • eCommerce functionality
  • No ads
  • Unlimited hosting
  • Connect your own domain
  • Access to all themes
  • eCommerce functionality
  • No ads
  • Unlimited licenses
  • White-label
  • Reseller control panel 
  • eCommerce functionality
  • No ads

Unique Features:

IM Creator Templates

With IM Creator, you can create your website by using one of their templates or make a website from scratch. You choose from numerous templates, including:

  • Photography Templates;
  • Musician/Band Templates;
  • Portfolio & Art Templates;
  • Bio/Resume Templates;
  • Fashion & Beauty Templates;
  • Templates for Law Websites;
  • Hotel Website Templates;
  • Templates for Architects;
  • Wedding Templates;
  • Business Templates;
  • Restaurant Templates;
  • Author Templates;
  • Templates for Landing Pages;
  • Blog Templates;
  • Marketing & Advertising Website Templates;
  • Templates for eCommerce & Retail;
  • Templates for Tech Websites;
  • And more.

Other IM Creator Features

Other features that you can get with IM Creator include:

  • Comprehensive SEO tools;
  • Scalable websites;
  • eCommerce functionality;
  • Clean layouts;
  • Animation effects;
  • Responsive visuals;
  • Image effects;
  • Galleries;
  • Slideshows;
  • And more.

IM Creator is a great website builder that offers free licenses for students, creatives, and nonprofits. If you want to learn more about IM Creator, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

  • Check out our dedicated expert review on IM Creator.

IM Creator is another great website builder made with artists and creatives in mind. To learn more about IM Creator, click on the link below.

Go to IM Creator

10. Jimdo – Best for Its ADI FunctionalityJimdo logo

  • Overall Score: 4.1
  • Ease-of-use: 4.1
  • Pricing: 4.2
  • Design Flexibility: 4.0
  • Customization Features: 4.0
  • SEO Tools: 4.0

Jimdo is a website builder ideal for building simple websites quickly. Jimdo uses superior ADI technology to make the whole website-building and maintaining process as simple as possible. Namely, thanks to Jimdo’s ADI technology, users can receive a genuinely hands-off website-building experience. Also, Jimdo was built to cater specifically to small businesses and self-employed individuals, making it a great fit for freelance designers as well.

Pros:

  • Hands-off ADI builder
  • Affordable prices
  • eCommerce functionality

Cons:

  • Limited SEO features

Jimdo is best known for its excellent ADI builder called the Jimdo Dolphin. Also, it offers a more traditional drag-and-drop builder that is also easy to use, called Jimdo Creator. 

Plan Play Start Grow Unlimited

Price

US $0 US $9/month US $15/month US $39/month

Number of Products

Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited

Free Trials 

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Additional Feature

  • .jimdosite.com subdomain;
  • HTTPS security;
  • 500MB storage;
  • 2GB bandwidth;
  • Contact forms;
  • Mobile-optimized;
  • Image library;
  • five website pages;
  • HTTPS security;
  • Free domain;
  • 5GB storage;
  • 10GB bandwidth;
  • Customer support responses within 1-2 workdays;
  • One forwarding email address;
  • Contact forms;
  • Mobile – optimized;
  • Image library;
  • Ten website pages;
  • Advanced SEO;
  • Ad-free;
  • Statistics;
  • Fast indexing on Google
  • HTTPS security;
  • Free domain;
  • 15GB storage;
  • 20GB bandwidth;
  • Customer support responses within four hours;
  • Five forwarding email addresses;
  • Contact forms;
  • Mobile-optimized;
  • Image library;
  • 50 website pages;
  • Advanced SEO;
  • Fast indexing on Google;
  • Ad-free;
  • Statistics.
  • HTTPS security;
  • Free domain;
  • Unlimited storage;
  • Unlimited bandwidth;
  • Customer support responses within one hour;
  • 20 forwarding email addresses;
  • Contact forms;
  • Mobile-optimized;
  • Image library;
  • Unlimited website pages;
  • Advanced SEO;
  • Fast indexing on Google;
  • Ad-free;
  • Statistics;
  • Professional design analysis.

Unique Features:

Jimdo’s ADI Builder

Jimdo Dolphin is Jimdo’s ADI builder that offers excellent ADI functionality. What does that mean? Well, using an ADI builder means that you will not have to do anything or complete any steps to build a website. All you need to do is answer a few questions about your website and its content, and the builder will create the website for you in a matter of minutes. 

Once Jimdo’s builder creates your website, you can either publish it as is or edit it and add or remove certain elements. 

Also, with Jimdo, you will get the following features:

  • The ability to add your own text and photos;
  • A free image library;
  • Flexible layouts;
  • A mobile-optimized website;
  • A Logo Maker;
  • The ability to connect to Instagram, Facebook, and Google;
  • Automatic SEO optimization – which will automatically handle search engine optimization tasks and give you tips on how to improve your Google ranking;
  • Tools for tracking the statistics of your website;
  • Business Listings;
  • The ability to add a “Breaking News” banner to your website – with it, you can update your visitors on new products, new ideas, new business hours, and more.

All in all, Jimdo is a great option for those who want to have a more hands-off website-building experience and get online quickly. If you want to learn more about Jimdo, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

Jimdo is a website builder that offers excellent ADI functionality to its users. To learn more about Jimdo, click on the link below.

Go to Jimdo

Steps for Creating the Perfect Website for Designers

Of course, creating a website does not only involve choosing the right website builder. Sure, choosing a website builder is one of the most important steps in your website-building journey, but there are a few other steps you need to complete to create the perfect website. So, once you’ve chosen the right website builder for you, the following things you need to do are:

  • Determine the purpose of your website – if you have a clear idea of what you want your website to do, the whole website-creation process will be significantly easier for you. So, you should ask yourself what you want to do with your website – do you want to showcase your skills, promote events, sell products or services, connect with customers, etc.
  • Design your site – once you know what kind of website you want to build, you can focus on its design. For example, if you want to sell something, then you should design a website that focuses on selling products. On the other hand, if you want to showcase your talent and style, you should design a website that puts your photos first.
  • Add content – the next step in your website-creation process is adding content. Here you can add photos, videos, articles, animations, and whatever else you want.
  • Launch your website – once you have designed your website and added the content that you want, your website is ready to launch!

What Should a Designers’ Website Include?

A website should be designed in a way that each page grabs the attention of visitors in an instant. So, one thing that each designers’ website should include is eye-catching slogans coupled with fun animations. However, it would be best if you were careful not to overdo it with the animations, as they can start annoying visitors quickly. 

Another thing you can include on your website is a sleek navigation menu. Your website should be easy to navigate through, and the menu should be accessible on every page. Also, the menu should contain all the pages you have on your website. A few other things you can add to your website to boost its interactiveness and ensure that it will catch and keep visitors’ attention are scrolling texts and flash intros. 

Now let’s see which pages a designers’ website should include. Of course, everyone can add whatever they want to their websites and include all kinds of pages, but there are a few elementary ones that every website should have. Those pages include:

  • A “Home” Page – the home page is the first page your visitors will see when they open your website, so make sure you add your branding and a fun slogan or sentence which describes what you do and what visitors can find on your website;
  • An “About” Page – in the about page, you should add a short description of yourself, your business, and maybe your employees. Make sure to keep it short, as no one is going to read a full biography about you or your business;
  • A “Contact” Page – on this page, you should include a phone number, email address, and the locations of your offices;
  • A “Designs” Page – since you are a designer, you should have a separate page where people can see your designs and your style.

Summary

Designers have some great options available to them for building a website without knowing how to code. All of the website builders we mentioned in this article are some of the best on the market for designers, so it all comes down to what you need from your website builder when you choose one out of the ten. 

So, you can use our recommendation system to decide which one out of the ten website builders you like best and choose the right one for you in a matter of minutes. Thus, you won’t have to do hours of research and look for users who have used each website builder to see what their experiences were and how they liked the builder. 

Let’s summarize. 

Top 10 Best Designers’ Website Builders: Summary

  1. Squarespacebest website builder specifically designed for creatives
  2. Wixbest for complete creative freedom
  3. Zyrobest AI-powered tools
  4. WordPress.orgbest for customization
  5. SITE123best for getting online quick
  6. Pixpabest for showcasing your photos
  7. Webflowbest for more experienced users
  8. Adobe Portfoliobest for its beginner-friendliness 
  9. IM Creatorbest for students and creatives
  10. Jimdobest for its ADI functionality

FAQ

Which is the best website builder for designers?

During our research, we discovered that Squarespace is the best overall website builder for designers, thanks to its designer-centric templates, excellent features, and extensive third-party integration opportunities.

Can I sell digital designs on my website?

Some builders offer their users the ability to sell digital content directly from their websites. Also, some builders allow users to sell on-demand prints, which means that you will not have to have prints on hand and only print designs as people buy them.

Are free plans good enough to create a website for designers?

Even though a free plan sounds quite attractive, most free plans don’t offer enough features for you to create a competitive website. However, some free plans are suitable for building one-page websites and portfolios. So, if you want to build a simple, one-page website and don’t plan on growing your website further, then a free plan is a suitable option for you. 

Web Hosting in Compare:

Select at least 1 more company to compare
Cancel Compare