6 Best Personal Website Builders (4 Are Free) – 2023 Update

Many website builders are so focused on impressing business customers that they forget about the needs of personal users. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not pay a premium for a whole lot of fancy features that I’ll never use.

I know from past experience that figuring out the best and most relevant option can be overwhelming. In fact, I gave up and got somebody else to design my site for me. But then I ended up with a website that didn’t reflect my personality and what I’m all about. Now that I’m back to square one, I’m doing the research for my benefit – as well as yours.

Whether you’re starting a fashion blog to build your following, a personal diary to share with friends, or an online resume to impress prospective employers, here’s my selection of the best personal website builders around.

What I Looked For in the Best Personal Website Builders

Since this is a personal project and not a business venture, you’ll probably want to keep costs down. However, you also don’t want to put in a ton of effort on your own time just to end up with a website that doesn’t meet your needs. I narrowed down the countless website builders out there by focusing on both value and the following features:

• Attractive templates: Your personal web page represents who you are, so it needs to look good. I picked out website builders with a diverse range of template designs specifically for personal websites.
• Personalization options: Templates are convenient, but the best personal websites are always highly customized. These builders allow you to customize your template’s design so your identity shines through.
• User-friendly interfaces: Most of us aren’t coders or designers, so we need platforms that make customization easy. All six builders on this list make it simple to set up a site and make it your own.
• Content features: Many personal web pages are about sharing content, so I’ve highlighted the builders that let you enhance your site with blogs, portfolios, and even podcasts.

1. Wix: Perfect for Building Your First Personal Site

Wix has a huge selection of templates for everything from resume websites and personal portfolio sites, right through to vlogs, biographies, and style blogs. From there, its intuitive drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to add your own content and move it around until the layout suits you.

It’s incredibly easy to add a blog to your site, too. Wix guides you through each step, including search engine optimization (SEO) – which will help your blog rank higher in search engine results. You can easily post, edit, and update content as needed using the intuitive blog manager. You have full control over your online presence.

Wix is also affordable, with a range of pricing plans to suit everyone. In fact, if you’re on a super tight budget, it’s possible to build a free personal website. However, you won’t be able to get a custom domain name, and Wix branding will appear on your site.

Features

• Podcast templates: If you want to speak your mind, Wix makes it easy to share your audio recordings and even offers advice on how to create a podcast. If you’ve already started one on another platform, you can integrate its RSS feed into your site so new podcasts appear automatically.
• Easily upload videos: Wix also has a great video player which allows you to upload content quickly and easily. If you’re using YouTube or Vimeo, you can also embed content from there so you don’t have to worry about Wix’s storage limits.
• Wix App Market: Wix offers hundreds of free apps that can be used to add features like search bars, pop-up boxes, and forms to your website. With just a couple of clicks, you can enhance your personal site with a wide variety of features.
• Free photos: Wix offers a range of free stock images and videos, so if you don’t have your own photos, you don’t need to stress about photoshoots or copyright infringement.

If you want to learn more, read our Wix review.

2. Squarespace: Ideal for Portfolio Sites

Squarespace’s slick and professional templates are ideal for the likes of designers and photographers who need their website to look sharp. Its easy-to-use editor and customization options will allow you to make these great pre-built designs your own.

Squarespace has specific templates for everything from blogs to portfolios. The designs tend to be polished and contemporary. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll have no problem building the website of your dreams.

The second you sign up, Squarespace walks you through the process of editing a template. Whether you want to add a logo, delete a page, or change a font, the instructions are accessible right there in the editor.

The platform doesn’t offer a free option, but there is a 14-day free trial, and the personal plan offers pretty good value. If you have ambitious intentions for your website and want to build a large following, the personal plan will grow with you.

You’ll need to upgrade if you want to enable sales on your site, but just about every other feature is available to personal users. This includes a free custom domain, SSL certification, mobile optimization, 24/7 support, and access to Squarespace extensions. This means you won’t have to worry about a costly upgrade any time soon.

Features

• Unlimited bandwidth and storage: Whichever plan you choose, you’ll never need to worry about limits on how much content you can upload or how many people visit your site.
• Plenty of social features: Personal templates feature built-in social media icons, which are great for encouraging people to connect with you. You can also automatically post newly published content to social media or embed a feed. You can get conversations started by allowing readers to comment on your blog posts, too.
• Extensions and integrations: If you ever want to expand your site’s reach, Squarespace has lots of handy marketing extensions that can help.
• Sophisticated blogging. Squarespace gives you tools to create a blog that will start building your audience. You can organize posts with tags and categories, add featured images and excerpts, and optimize for SEO with customized URLs and title tags.

Get more info in our expert Squarespace review.

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3. Hostinger: AI Tools to Help You Design a Personal Website

Hostinger Website Builder offers a selection of 100+ smart-looking templates for different types of personal websites – including resumes, portfolios, blogs, and wedding announcements. While you might not have as much creative freedom as you get with Wix, the drag-and-drop editor lets you change fonts and colors, add or remove features, and rearrange your template’s elements and layouts.

If at any time you’re stuck and looking for inspiration, Hostinger Website Builder’s smart tools can help. Whether it’s having the AI writer compose SEO optimized copy for your website or turning to the Blog Title Generator to get ideas for a new post, these tools are great timesavers.

The entry level plan is also great value, costing just a few dollars a month. It offers a free 1-year custom domain, unlimited storage and bandwidth, and essential SEO and analytics integrations (Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and Google AdSense).

Features

• AI Heatmap: This smart tool predicts how visitors will navigate your website and what content they’ll focus on. It can help you optimize placement of calls to action or key messaging to improve the user experience and ultimately engage more visitors.
• Help with branding: Bloggers, freelancers, and other professionals can use Hostinger Website Builder’s free tools to create a logo, favicon, business name, or tagline to make their personal website more memorable.
• Image optimization: Upgrade image quality to make blog posts more appealing or remove distracting background elements to enhance your CV’s headshot.
• Live Chat: Let recruiters and potential clients connect with you in real time by integrating Facebook Messenger with your Hostinger Website Builder website.

Our full Hostinger review has more details.

4. IONOS: For Personal Sites with International Reach

IONOS offers two user-friendly builders for personal websites – the basic MyWebsite Now and the more full-featured MyWebsite Creator. In my opinion, when you take template design, selection, and customization into account, MyWebsite Creator is the way to go.

Plenty of MyWebsite Creator’s 400+ templates are devoted to personal websites, including designs for freelance professionals, CVs, blogs, and portfolios. IONOS provides helpful tips to help you get your site noticed, boost traffic, and rank higher on search results. Simply download the free guide to improving your Google ranking.

IONOS doesn’t offer a free plan, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee, which should give you ample time to decide if it’s right for you. Plus, MyWebsite Creator’s entry-level plan is one of the most affordable options out there.

Features

• Multi-language features. When you activate automatic translation, your personal website can be viewed in up to 60 different languages.
• Personal support consultant. IONOS offers 24/7 customer support with a perk: a designated consultant, available during business hours, who can offer tips and strategies to help you succeed. And it’s free!
• Social media integration. IONOS lets you link all your social media platforms. For example, you can integrate your feed from Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest and add YouTube videos to your site.
• Photo editing tools. The photo editor lets you adjust brightness and saturation, crop images, and add Instagram-like filters, text, and backgrounds to make your portfolio or blog shine.

Read our in-depth IONOS review to learn more.

5. SITE123: For Getting Online in a Hurry

SITE123 is a quick and easy option for resume sites and portfolios. If you’re rushing to get a site together as part of a job application, SITE123 could be your best option.

You’ll find a variety of blog and CV templates – although all the designs are quite similar and fairly generic. This isn’t ideal if you want a site that looks unique, as customization is rather limited as well.

Unlike Wix or Squarespace, which both offer a flexible drag-and-drop editor, SITE123 templates can’t be rearranged easily. You’ll have to open the layout settings separately if you want to change the page structure (and even then, your options are limited). On the plus side, you only need to click on each title, image, or text box to change what’s inside.

Fortunately, SITE123’s ease of use makes up for its narrow design choices. Its editor is logical and clear, and it’s easy to preview how your site will look on different devices.

If this is your first time building a site and you find the prospect daunting – or if you’re in a pinch and just need to get your site or resume online quickly and easily – SITE123 won’t let you down.

Features

• Mobile-responsive sites: All SITE123’s templates are mobile-responsive, so if you’re looking for a job, you can rest assured that your resume website will always look good wherever it’s viewed.
• Free SEO tools: These will help you attract traffic to your website, and can help you grow a following or get discovered by a potential new employer.
• App Market: SITE123 offers a variety of apps, including third-party apps that let you add everything from marketing tools to analytics. For your personal site, you might consider using apps to enhance your pages with polls or social share buttons.
• Google Analytics: Find out more about your visitors by connecting your website to Google Analytics. This will show you exactly where your visitors are from, how long they stay on your site, and other useful information that will empower you to improve your site’s content.

Is SITE123 right for you? See our expert review for more.

6. WordPress.com: For Extensive Customization and Brilliant Blogs

WordPress.com is first and foremost a blogging platform. That’s what it was originally set up to do, and this continues to be the central focus of its website themes. So if your blog is your biggest priority, WordPress.com could be a good option for you.

The WordPress.com editor isn’t quite as easy to use as some other builders on this list. But once you get the hang of it, the customization options are endless. It offers over 250 themes and loads of built-in features. If you plan to continue developing your website in the long term, this is a smart choice.

I also love that you can search themes by feature, layout, style, or subject. If you have a design in mind, you’ll be able to find something that won’t require too much editing. And if you’re ever stuck and can’t figure out how to do something in WordPress.com, there’s almost definitely a support article that can help you out.

WordPress.com’s basic plan is free, but it’s quite limited in terms of functionality. However, its personal plans come in at just a few bucks a month and include a free custom domain name for the first year. You can even connect one right in the WordPress.com interface.

Features

• In-depth statistics: WordPress.com offers charts, graphs, and lists that highlight useful information about your visitors, including where they’re coming from and what they click on. It’s also got detailed instructions explaining what it all means!
• Advanced design options: If you have the skills and want to take customization a step further, consider WordPress.com’s Premium plan or higher, which offer CSS editing and advanced design tools.
• Plugins: WordPress.com offers all kinds of advanced plugins to help take your blog to the next level – just keep in mind that you can only access plugins on the Business plan or higher. To name just a few of the best, there’s Yoast for SEO, WP-Rocket for speed, and Sassy Social Share for adding share buttons.
• Features to drive growth: WordPress.com offers subscriber-only content features and monetization options without the need to sign up for a business plan – great for those who could potentially turn their personal passion into a business.

See our expert WordPress.com review for more.

How to Build Your Personal Website

Whether you’re setting up a blog, an online resumé, or even a gallery of the cool places you’ve been, setting up a personal website only takes a few hours. Just follow my simple step-by-step guide:

1. Choose a website builder. You can expect to pay a few dollars each month for your personal website. Or, if you’ve got no extra cash, you can create a website for free with Wix.

2. Customize a template. As great as templates are, you’ll want to spend some time customizing your favorite template to make sure your website design reflects who you are. Fortunately, it’s easy to customize your template with any of the builders I’ve featured above.

3. Add your content. From the descriptive text on your website’s pages to blogs, podcasts, and galleries, content distinguishes you from the crowd. While most builders include some built-in content features, you may need to explore the app store for more advanced content tools.

The Best Personal Website Builder Depends on Your Personal Preferences

All the builders on this list will enable you to build an impressive personal website. But you can save time and effort by choosing the one best suited to your individual needs.

I recommend Wix for its templates, customization, and features. It’s a good choice for both total beginners and those with more experience – basically anybody looking to set up a personal website for a CV, blog, or podcast.

If your priority is showing off your work, Squarespace is great for visually striking portfolios. It’s also a good option for ambitious bloggers because most Squarespace features are available on its personal plan.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for help with website design and content, Hostinger Website Builder’s suite of AI tools will give you a useful starting point.

FAQ

How do you create a personal website?

Simply sign up to one of the above sites and a user-friendly interface will guide you through the process.

Start by choosing a template that looks great and suits your needs – that’s easiest with Wix. Then you can focus on customizing it to reflect your personality. Use the editor to tweak the layout and choose your favorite fonts and colors. Then add your own text, images, and videos.

What should you put on a personal website?

Whether you’re setting up a blog or creating a professional portfolio, your character should always shine through. Always include a biography introducing yourself. Discuss your mission and background and provide links to your social media accounts.

A website builder like Squarespace makes it easy to add as many pages as you need, and it has excellent social media integrations as well.

How can you create a personal website for free?

Many website builders offer a free plans for building a personal website, but my favorite is Wix, because you get access to almost all the features on the free plan. To get started, all you have to do is go to the Wix homepage and sign up. 

Do you need to know code to create a personal website?

No, just head over to whichever website builder suits you best and get started with its user-friendly editor. These editors don’t require any coding experience or knowledge. Here’s what I look for in website builders (that don’t require coding knowledge) for personal websites.