Header Text - Best Cheap Website Builder for Small Businesses

A well-designed website, supported by reliable web hosting, serves as your online showcase, presenting your goods and services to customers worldwide. However, small businesses battle the woes that come with small budgets and little funding, making it difficult to purchase or develop a high-end website. The good news is that you can develop a professional website without breaking the bank, as many reasonably priced website builders offer feature-rich designs with affordable hosting costs. This in-depth guide takes you through all the important considerations when choosing the finest affordable Website Builder, ensuring your company can succeed online.

Why Your Small Business Needs A Website

Understanding why your small business needs a website in the first place is essential before diving into the finer points of website builders and website maintenance costs. A website performs several purposes: 

  • Credibility: A well-maintained website raises your company’s perceived legitimacy. Potential clients frequently check a company’s web presence before purchasing or using its services. A well-designed website gives them confidence in your authority. 
  • Visibility: When you have a website, it increases your visibility, making it easier for prospective clients to find you. By using efficient SEO techniques, your website may appear in search engine results, bringing free customers in for your business. 
  • Customer Engagement: You can interact with your customers via blogs, newsletters, and social media integration on your website. This helps build a loyal customer base. 
  • Sales & Marketing: Your website can be an effective sales and marketing tool. A well-optimized website can significantly boost your earnings, whether you generate leads for your services or sell products directly online. 

Considering these advantages, having a website is essential for business growth. However, balancing the need for a feature-rich platform with a reasonable website maintenance cost can be challenging when choosing the right website builder.

Strip Banner Text - Find a website builder that’s simple to use and intuitive so you can design & manage it easily.

What To Look For In The Best Cheap Website Builder

Prioritizing value for money is important when looking for the best cheap website builder. The following are the main elements to consider: 

1. Ease of Use & User Interface 

User-friendliness is important for small business owners, particularly those without technical experience. You want a website builder that is simple to use and intuitive so that you can design and manage your website without knowing a lot of code.

Editors that allow you to drag and drop pieces into place to customize your website are useful. Choose a website builder with clear instructions throughout the development process, one with an intuitive user interface. 

2. Customization Options 

While affordability is a priority, so is the ability to make your website unique. You need access to various customization options if you want your website to represent your brand identity accurately.

The top website builders provide templates you can customize with different layouts, colors, and fonts. Certain builders also offer advanced customization options like HTML and CSS editing, enabling you to adjust every element of your website design. 

3. Mobile Responsiveness 

Ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is essential when so much web traffic originates from mobile devices. A mobile-responsive website dynamically modifies its design and content to match various screen sizes, providing the best viewing experience possible on tablets and smartphones.

Additionally, it’s important to consider your hosting requirements when selecting a website builder. Ensure the builder you choose offers layouts optimized for mobile devices and that the hosting plan supports the performance and scalability required for mobile responsiveness with minimal modification on your part. 

4. SEO Capabilities 

Optimizing your website for search engines is essential for increasing website traffic. The best cheap website builders should be equipped with standard SEO (Search Engine Optimization) features like custom URLs, alt text for photos, and meta tags.

Some builders provide sophisticated SEO tools including the capacity to edit title tags and meta descriptions, integrate with Google Analytics, and create XML sitemaps. These resources are priceless for improving your website’s search engine ranking and expanding your reach to prospective clients. 

5. Integration With Other Tools and Platforms 

As a single component of your whole company plan, your website must integrate easily with the other platforms and tools you employ. Your website builder should make it simple to integrate with necessary resources, whether tuned for ecommerce systems, linked to email marketing services, or integrated with your social media accounts.

By doing this, you can be confident that every element of your online presence is consistent and supports your company’s objectives. 

6. Ecommerce Features 

Powerful ecommerce features are essential for selling goods or services online. Even if you look at the less expensive options, consider a website builder providing ecommerce capabilities. Product pages, shopping carts, safe payment gateways, and inventory management are crucial ecommerce components.

Some website builders also offer advanced ecommerce website hosting features like discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, and connectivity with multiple payment processors. These tools can improve the online store experience for you and your customers.

7. Customer Support 

Even with the most user-friendly website builder, there could still be problems or queries that need to be answered. For instance, if you’re new to website building, it’s important to have dependable customer support. Look for a builder that provides phone, email, and live chat assistance, among other support offerings.

Furthermore, a thorough knowledge base that includes tutorials and blogs can be quite helpful in assisting you to solve common problems on your own.

Strip Banner Text - Great website builders provide standard SEO features: custom URLs, alt text for photos & meta tags.

Hidden Costs to Watch out for 

Although a website builder’s initial cost can appear reasonable, it’s crucial to be aware of any potential unforeseen expenses that may pile up over time: 

  • Domain Registration: Certain website builders provide free domain registration for the first year; however, an additional fee may apply for renewals. Before choosing a particular builder, be careful to check renewal rates. 
  • Hosting Fees: While some website builders charge extra for hosting services, others may include hosting in their plans. Ensure you know what your subscription includes and whether hosting services will cost extra. 
  • Premium Plugins and Templates: Although many builders provide free plugins and templates, some features and web hosting templates come at an additional fee, meaning your total website cost may increase if you require premium add-ons.
  • Ecommerce Transaction Fees: Look into any fees related to the builder’s payment gateway if you intend to sell products online. These costs can differ according to the platform and, if not properly handled, can influence your profit margins. 
  • Email Hosting: Some website builders charge extra for a professional email address, and their base plans do not include email hosting. So, if you would like a branded email address that corresponds with your domain name, consider this. 

Performance, Security And Scalability 

A website builder’s performance is vital for your website’s success. Slow loading times brought on by poor performance can badly affect the user experience and the search engine ranking of your website. Consider the following while assessing the best cheap website builder for your needs:

Uptime And Loading Speed

Users must be able to access your website constantly. Select a builder that guarantees a seamless user experience, a high uptime record, and quick page load times. Uptime guarantees are something that hosting services provide as part of their website builder plans, so you can feel secure knowing your website will be accessible and operational for visitors 24/7.

Security Features

It’s essential to protect your website against online threats. Choose a builder that protects your data and clients’ information using SSL certificates and other security measures. Several builders also provide extra security features like two-factor authentication and frequent backups to secure your site.

Scalability And Futureproofing 

Your website’s demands may change as your company expands. Select a website builder that provides scalable solutions so that, as your company grows, you can add new features or upgrade your plan. It’s also critical to future-proof your website by working with a builder that keeps up with emerging web technology.

Choose the best cheap website builder for your needs that adds new features, templates, and connectors to its platform regularly. This guarantees that your site can adjust to shifting market trends and maintain competitiveness. 

The Hosted.com Website Builder

The Hosted.com Website Builder provides an intuitive and easy way to create a fully functional site without needing any coding skills. You can access over 200 professionally designed, responsive templates that look great on any device.

Drag-and-drop widgets streamline adding features you need and copy/paste to add and arrange your text and media content. If you’re an online store, integrated ecommerce tools and payment gateways will have you up and running fast. 

Finally, anti-spam and anti-virus software and a free SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate will help keep your site safe from cyber threats, maintain user trust, and help with your site’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Note: The Hosted.com Website Builder is only available as an add-on to a cPanel Web Hosting Plan.

Strip Banner Text - Hosted.com’s Website Builder is not only affordable but is incredibly easy to use. [Try Demo]

It’s important to carefully evaluate your budget, long-term objectives, and business needs while selecting the best cheap website builder. Look for a builder that provides good value for money by concentrating on important aspects like customization possibilities, mobile responsiveness, SEO features, and ease of use. Your website will be able to expand with your company if you also know about potential hidden charges and assess the builder’s performance, customer service, and scalability. 

Remember: your website is an investment in your company’s future. With Hosted.com’s Website Builder, you can create a polished, professional site, backed by our cPanel Web Hosting that strengthens your brand, engages users, and advances your online business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

  • A well-designed website is essential for small businesses to establish credibility, visibility, customer engagement, and effective sales and marketing. 
  • Small businesses can create professional websites without high costs by choosing from various feature-rich, reasonably priced website builders. 
  • When selecting the best cheap website builder, prioritize ease of use, customization options, mobile responsiveness, SEO capabilities, integration with other tools, and essential ecommerce features. 
  • Be cautious of potential additional costs, including domain registration, hosting fees, premium templates, plugins, transaction fees, and email hosting. 
  • The best cheap website builder should offer good uptime, load speed, customer support, and security features to maintain a reliable and secure online presence. 
  • Choose a website builder that allows for scalability and futureproofing, enabling your website to grow and adapt as your business evolves. 

FAQs

Why does my small business need a website? 

A professional website adds to a small business’s credibility gives potential customers confidence in its authority and helps build a strong, loyal client base. It also increases your brand’s visibility, so it’s easier for clients to find you as well as giving you a way to communicate with them to expand your reach.

What is the best cheap website builder? 

The best cheap website builder depends on your specific needs. Various platforms like Hosted.com’s Website Builder, and WordPress offer affordable plans with varying features. 

Can I build an ecommerce website on a cheap website builder? 

Yes. The best cheap website builders offer a range of ecommerce features on their plans to help you build an online store.

Are there hidden costs with cheap website builders? 

Yes. Be aware of additional costs such as domain registration, premium templates, and transaction fees for ecommerce sales.

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