10 Best Drag and Drop Website Builders in 2024

You don’t have to be a professional designer to create your ideal website. With drag-and-drop builders, you get an immense amount of control over the look and functionality of your website through an intuitive user interface. However, there are an overwhelming number of drag-and-drop builders, and you don’t want to be stuck with one that can’t meet your needs.

You’re looking for a solution that, besides being user-friendly, contains the tools you need to run the kind of site you want, whether that be an online store, a blog, an online portfolio, or anything in between.

To help you find the ideal fit for your online store, blog, or anything in between, I performed extensive testing and research among the most popular builders on the market. Though results will vary, my favorite overall builder is Wix. It offers complete design freedom, tons of integrations, and a wide range of plans for different budgets.

However, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. So, keep reading to discover the best drag-and-drop builder for you, or sign up for a Wix plan right now.

What We Look For in the Best Drag-and-Drop Website Builders

With so many site builders out there, here’s a short list of the criteria I used to narrow down my options:

• General ease of use – Every site builder on this list is, if not immediately easy to use, at least easy to learn. The whole point is not to make web design your next career move.
• Good-looking templates and themes – Do I need to explain this? No I don’t, because you’re smart, good looking, and have a fantastic personality.
• Customization – No matter how good a template looks, if it doesn’t reflect your branding, that’s going to cause problems down the road. Every site builder here lets you (at the very least) swap out the colors, imagery, and typography of your site so you can maintain a consistent visual presence online.
• Add-ons and apps, e-commerce and blogging – A site builder that lets you just put some pages up is good enough…for a middle-school project. A site builder that lets you run a whole business online by extending your site’s basic functionality is better.
• Various pricing options – Every site builder I picked offers a range of pricing plans to suit different budgets. Also, they make it easy to upgrade as your business scales.

1. Wix: The Builder for Full Creative Freedom1

Wix is first on the list, and frankly has been first on pretty much all of our site builder lists for a long time. That’s because Wix is very hard to compete with in terms of features, functionality, and sheer bang for your buck (or other currency of choice.)

Thanks to its selection of 800+ templates1, full app market, and near-limitless drag-and-drop editing, Wix gives you nearly any tool you can think of to design your site exactly how you want. Besides, Wix is constantly introducing new technologies to keep its offering updated, like the recent introduction of generative AI tools.

Since it comes with such a high number of features, there really isn’t any kind of website that Wix isn’t suited for. Do you want e-commerce, blogging, video hosting, and restaurant menus? All of it’s available with Wix.

However, complete freedom isn’t always a good thing. Since there are no limits to how you can edit your site, that also means there are no restrictions in place to keep it from being a mess. While it’s still suitable for most users, I think you’ll get the most out of Wix if you’re already comfortable with your design skills. Fortunately, the undo button is there to help you out.

Features

• Over 800 templates. That’s right, over 800 templates designed for every conceivable purpose and industry. And if you really want to, you can even choose a blank template to design your site from scratch.
• Exceptional app store. With over 300 apps to choose from, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to add the exact features you want, whether that’s pricing tables, maps, fancy image galleries, or even online bookings.
• Robust e-commerce. Wix Stores is technically… well… an app. But that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful, and fully featured with inventory management, tax and shipping calculation, and pretty much everything else you’d need for a small- to medium-sized online store.
• Wix SEO Setup Checklist. One of Wix’s side services is an SEO tool that literally uses machine learning to do most of your SEO work for you. It’s free, too. Hard to argue with that.

Want more info? Check out our expert review on Wix.

2. Squarespace: The Professional Site Builder for Beginners (And Semi-pros)1

Now here’s where I offer my personal opinion: I like Squarespace a lot. If I weren’t obsessed with managing servers and building my own sites from scratch, Squarespace is where I’d go.

This site builder is easy to use, has gorgeous, minimalist web design, and several handy business-related tools to get you up and running1. It’s for professionals that want a sleek website, but don’t feel like paying tens of thousands of dollars for it.

Though Squarespace is famous for its elegant, professionally designed templates, you aren’t restricted to them if none catch your eye. Thanks to the Squarespace Blueprint feature, you can choose colors, fonts, and sections one at a time and create your own template with minimal effort.

Keep in mind that Squarespace is a fair bit pricier than most other builders on this list. It’s not outrageously expensive but if you’re on a tight budget, that’s something to keep in mind.

Features

• A great-looking online store – Squarespace’s commitment to beautiful design extends to its full suite of online store features. As long as you have even a few decent photos of your product, whatever you sell is going to look high-end. Plus you get inventory management, tax and shipping fee calculation, selling via social media, and PayPal/Stripe/Square integrations. The practical stuff is all there.
• Solid blogging features – The blog system has all the features you’d expect – categories, tags, multiple authors, post scheduling, and more. What I really like is that you edit your blog posts the same way you edit the rest of your site: in the site builder. As you write, you’re actually seeing exactly how your post will look when you publish it.
• Third-party integrations – Squarespace doesn’t have an “app store” as such, but it is integrated with a whole bunch of third party platforms by default. You can easily add Google Maps, an OpenTable restaurant booking form, Google AMP, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Dropbox image sync, and even Flickr. (Remember Flickr?)
• Marketing, SEO, and scheduling tools – Squarespace has a built-in email marketing platform, SEO features, social sharing buttons, and even an analytics tool of its own. Everything’s right there in the same dashboard as the site builder, so you can market your content with minimal effort.

Check out our expert Squarespace review for more.

3. SITE123: Probably the Simplest Site Builder1

SITE123’s philosophy is built right into its name. The entire goal is to get you up and running with a reasonably complete site in minutes. If you have your text and images ready to go, that goal is entirely possible. If not, you can always use SITE123’s free images, videos, and icons to build a website with professional flair.

If you don’t want to fuss with the design too much and just need to build a quick and easy site for your business, portfolio, wedding announcement, blog, or CV, this is the builder for you. And if you want to add a store, SITE123 can get that done1.

The catch? Well, SITE123’S free plan is a little light on features, though it’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the builder. That’s not to say it doesn’t include some great features, like a schedule booking tool and social media and audio/video streaming links. While some of the really good stuff is reserved for paid plans, they’re still a good deal.

Features

• Extremely simple site building. This site builder, like many others, allows you to add pre-made blocks of content to your page, and focuses on quick and easy edits. It’s not very flexible and you don’t get total control over your design, but it’s fast.
• E-commerce and marketing features. You can build a simple store and process your payments through Stripe, PayPal, Square, Amazon Pay, and other services. You can also send up to 10,000 marketing emails per month. You’ll need the Professional or Gold plan to do this, but it’s worth it if you plan to do a lot of business online.
• Useful apps. The app market contains third-party tools for things like building forms, inserting pricing tables, enabling bookings, etc. But a lot of the most popular apps are for services like Google Analytics, Hotjar, Zendesk and Facebook Chat, and other third-party business tools.
• Multilingual sites. This is a feature you don’t see in every site builder. If you’re operating in multiple countries, or even just shipping products internationally, a multi-language site is a must.

For more info on SITE123, check out our expert review.

4. Webador: A Quick and Easy Builder for Simple Websites1

When you sign up for a Webador account, you’ll be asked if you want to build a website, webshop, or blog. You can always skip this step and go straight to Webador’s templates, which are all modern and mobile-ready. Once you pick your template, you’ll find the intuitive editor makes designing your site easy – even if you’re a total novice.

Click on “Design” to adjust the colors, text layout, and background of your template. Then go to the “Editor” to drag and drop images, videos, slideshows, text, forms, social media buttons, and more to your site. You’ll see all your changes in real- time. Webador doesn’t automatically save your changes so be sure to click on the green “Save” button if you like what you see.

While Webador doesn’t have an app market, it offers a good selection of integrations for popular add-ons, like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and popular payment gateways. Other notable features you can use to enhance your site include a built-in HD video player and the option to upload MP3 audio, available on its paid plans.

Webador was designed to be a super-easy builder, so you don’t get full creative design freedom or some advanced features, but it’s a good option for smaller businesses, blogs, and personal sites.

Learn more about Webador’s features in our expert review

Features

• Unlimited storage and bandwidth. Webador doesn’t limit the number of pages, storage (images and text) or visitors your website attracts – great for portfolios and blog sites.
• Statistics to improve search ranking. Your website’s Statistics page gives you an overview of your site’s performance. It updates each day.
• All-in-one online store. Weber’s online store is built into every template. All you have to do is upgrade your plan to start adding products, accepting payments, and fulfilling orders. The features and tools you need are there.
• Switch templates. If you’re not happy with the template you picked, you can select a new one at any time without losing your work. Webador will automatically upload your images, text, and other content to the new template.

5. IONOS: The Fastest Builder for Modern and Responsive Designs1

MyWebsite Now by IONOS works great for creating trendy, modern websites in minutes, or even seconds, if you use its AI website builder. All you need to do is enter information about your business and IONOS will generate an SEO-optimized website for you, complete with text and images.

Still, chances are your AI-created website will still need some tweaking before you hit publish, and IONOS’s editor is fast and intuitive.

There’s a catalog of pre-built sections, each customizable enough to fit a wide variety of content. You can add new sections to any part of the page. If you want to change the site’s design (colors, fonts, etc.) there’s a special menu that lets you apply global changes, or you can edit each section individually – if that’s more your style.

If you need extra editing features, you can upgrade to the MyWebsite Now Plus plan, which increases the creative freedom and features exponentially. You’ll be able to arrange elements in pre-built sections, add custom HTML, increase your stored content five-fold, and let visitors schedule appointments with a built-in online booking tool.

MyWebsite Now isn’t the most customizable platform on this list, but if you want a simple builder that can still give you stunning results, IONOS deserves a closer look.

Features

• Online stores available at any moment. Unlike other builders, IONOS doesn’t have a separate plan for online stores. Instead, you can add e-commerce functionalities at any moment for a little extra.
• Incredibly fast websites. Not only does the IONOS builder let you create websites fast, it also lets you create fast websites. Websites made with IONOS load almost immediately.
• Immediately mobile responsive. Any changes you make to the desktop version of your site are automatically reflected in the mobile version.
• Personal customer service consultant. IONOS offers a dedicated customer service agent to every customer free of charge. Your personal consultant will help you make the most of your online presence.

Read our IONOS expert review for more info.

6. Shopify: The Best Platform for Dedicated E-Commerce Sites1

If you want a website dedicated to e-commerce, Shopify is the ideal choice. Shopify offers powerful, intuitive tools that let you create advanced e-commerce websites without the need for coding skills. Thanks to its wide variety of powerful analytic and store management features, it ensures that you have the tools to run and scale your business however you want.

Shopify is the world’s leading e-commerce platform for a reason. Whatever your industry is, Shopify can help you create a site to support it. Besides simple online store tools, Shopify includes features for creating appointments, digital subscriptions, online menus, and more.

However, it does come at a premium. While its price might be a little high for users who just want to sell a couple of goodies on the side, Shopify’s advanced e-commerce tools make it an ideal investment for fully-fledged online businesses.

Features

• Thousand of third-party themes. Though Shopify offers a very respectable selection of themes, you can find thousands of affordable and good-looking alternatives throughout third-party markets.
• Advanced financial tracking. Shopify allows you to take complete control over the financial movements of your website thanks to its advanced analytics tools.
• Logo creation services. Branding is one of the most important parts of any business. That’s why Shopify offers the Shopify Logo Maker, to help you create a unique identity for your site.
• Integration with Shopify’s POS. If you also have a physical location, you can integrate Shopify’s point-of-sale (POS) systems into your website for a complete overview of your sales and expenses.

Read our expert Shopify review for more details.

7. Hostinger Website Builder: Flexible, AI-assisted Website Editing1

Hostinger Website Builder is an excellent choice if you’re looking to build a relatively simple, professional-looking site for cheap. Its powerful AI tools can generate a website for you in minutes – all you need to do is choose the type of website you want and enter your brand information. The result is an entirely finished site you can customize to your liking.

Hostinger’s user-friendly editor lets you easily add and edit premade sections or build a layout from scratch. The editor is grid-based, which means it suggests alignments for page elements to ensure visual clarity. That said, you’re not forced to accept the editor’s suggestions – you can drag and drop individual elements anywhere you want.

Hostinger isn’t the most advanced builder out there, and it probably isn’t the best option if you have a highly specific vision for your site. However, Hostinger gives you access to premium features such as e-commerce functionality, up to 100 hosted websites, and a full suite of AI tools without charging a premium.

You can use a 7-day free trial to try out Hostinger’s AI website builder or subscribe to any plan risk-free thanks to Hostinger’s 30-day money-back guarantee.

Features

• Versatile AI tools. Hostinger offers useful AI tools to help you generate effective (and SEO-friendly) site content, including AI Writer and AI Image Generator. Also, you get AI Heatmaps to help you increase conversions.
• Full Hostinger dashboard. By signing up for Hostinger Website Builder, you get access to the entire Hostinger ecosystem, so you can manage your domain names, email accounts, and hosting settings from one place.
• Update your site on the go. Hostinger’s mobile editor gives you access to essential customization options, AI tools, a blog editor, and analytics tools. Also, you can switch between devices without losing your edits.
• No transaction fees. Hostinger doesn’t charge additional transaction fees, making it an affordable option for small online stores.

Read our full Hostinger review to learn more about the platform.

Other Notable Drag-and-Drop Builders

8. Elementor1

Elementor’s extensive library of widgets and templates makes it easy for you to design your site in real time. Its flexibility and depth of customization options are ideal for those who wish to create a unique, professional-looking website. while taking full advantage of the WordPress content management system (CMS).

That said, Elementor is only accessible to WordPress users, so if you’re not a fan of the platform, you’ll have to sit this one out.

9. Web.com1

Web.com is almost the middle point between drag-and-drop website builders and more professional-oriented programs. You can switch between the standard editor and the advanced “flex” editor to design with more detail. You also get a suite of branding tools for logo creation, business name generation, and product creation.

Despite its strengths, Web.com may not be the best fit for everyone due to its higher learning curve and pricing. It’s not as immediately intuitive as some competitors, requiring a basic understanding of web design principles.

10. Duda1

Duda is a drag-and-drop builder that’s tailored for professionals and agencies. It offers advanced design tools that give you the power to create sophisticated websites. With backend customization options, agencies can streamline their workflows and maintain control over complex projects. However, its advanced features mean it requires a certain level of design expertise, making it less suitable for novices.

How to Build a Website (No Coding Required!)

Long gone are the days when you needed to know how to code to build a website. Of course, you can still do that if you like – but why would you when affordable, fully-featured, and beginner-friendly website builders exist? Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. Choose a website builder. Not a single website builder in this article requires coding knowledge to get started. Our top recommended builder, Wix, has a super intuitive drag-and-drop editor1 that’s easy to use, even for absolute beginners.

2. Customize a template. Templates are a great way to design your website without having to put in hours of work. Simply pick one that matches your brand, customize the elements, add content, and you’re good to go.

3. Add apps. Apps add extra functionality to your website, turning it from a basic information hub to a multi-functional business tool. Simply use your chosen site builder’s built-in app store to find the best apps for your business.

4. Optimize your SEO. People may have a hard time finding your website without search engines, so it’s important to improve your site to raise its rank on results pages. You can do this by hand or by using SEO tools.

These Are the Best Drag-and-Drop Website Builders

Frankly, the site builder market has never been better. There are loads of options out there, and these days it’s easy (comparatively speaking) to start a blog, online business, web magazine, or just about anything else you can think of. It’s also never been cheaper.

If you feel comfortable with your design skills, and you have the time to go all-out with it, the option is clear; Wix offers the most customization freedom1 of any builder on this list.

If you’d rather get a little extra help, and you want an elegant and visually striking site, Squarespace is the way to go1.

Or, if you are new to this whole website-building business, SITE123 is the most user-friendly builder1 and it doesn’t compromise on quality.

I, being an intermittent web designer myself, regretfully admit the veracity of this statement: eliminating the intermediary significantly reduces the stress, time, and expenses associated with bringing your business, hobby, or spontaneous idea online. However, it’s worth considering that when you begin generating revenue from your website, the option to hand over the task to a professional always remains available.

FAQ

What is a drag-and-drop website builder?

In short, it’s a site builder that lets you design a web page or website by dragging and dropping pre-made elements, widgets, or blocks of content around.

Some site builders have a grid-based layout that snaps elements into place so your site will always look polished. On the other hand, a service like Wix lets you do almost anything with the layout. The point is that drag-and-drop site builders are designed to let you build a website in a way that makes sense without having to have years of experience under your belt.

What is the best drag-and-drop website builder?

As with so many things in life, that depends on what you need. If you want near-complete design freedom, Wix is the closest you’re going to get. If you want something simpler but highly professional-looking, Squarespace has you covered. Want to make the blog of the century? WordPress.com is probably your best bet.

What is the easiest drag-and-drop builder for beginners?

When it comes to easy website building, it’s hard to beat SITE123 for sheer simplicity, especially if you want a free plan. A big advantage to this builder is the option to upgrade to a paid plan to add advanced features as your needs change or your business grows.

How do I create a drag-and-drop website?

Well, it’s mostly in the name. You drag…and you drop. Once you’ve chosen a website builder and a site template you want to work with, just clear the placeholder content, drop in your own, and drag things around as you like. Push the limits of the site builder, and hit the undo button if things go wrong. Still uncertain how to begin? Our step-by-step guide to website building can help.