Building a website from scratch doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. And thanks to these deals from some of the best website builders, it doesn’t have to be expensive, either.
There are some great deals to kick off fall if you’re looking to quickly build a professional website. Wix continues to offer 50% off premium plans when you upgrade from a free plan. If you’ve been thinking of expanding or increasing your visibility, this is a great opportunity.
Squarespace is also offering 50% off for students. It boasts one of the best website builders we’ve seen, with tons of features, including great ecommerce tools. GoDaddy has another stand-out deal this month, with 30% off when you bundle a website builder with hosting, domains, and more.
The best cheap website builder deals for October 2021
Wix: 50% off premium plans when upgrading from free
Each week, from Tuesday until Thursday, Wix allows existing users to upgrade sites to a yearly premium plan, for 50% off. This includes the VIP and Unlimited personal packages, and the Business VIP and Business Unlimited plans, and is emailed to all users weekly.
This time-limited deal offers a great opportunity to Wix customers, who can even get existing premium plans refunded if the same one is on sale that week. A 14-day money back guarantee is also offered on all premium plans.
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1&1 IONOS MyWebsite: Get one year for just $12
IONOS is another builder targeted at beginners. In our 1&1 IONOS review, we discuss how pro users might find it too simple—but the interface is very user-friendly, and the pricing is super competitive. That’s even more true with IONOS’s current deal. You can get one year off the Start Builder plans for just $12, or the Plus Builder plan for just $5 a month, plus a free domain for one year.
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Shopify: Save 25% on all annual plans
Shopify is one of the biggest names in the website building community. As discussed in our Shopify review, the website builder is powerful yet user-friendly and, of course, has some awesome ecommerce features. You can save 25% on your plan by signing up for annual payments. Shopify is also offering a free 14-day trial, no credit card required.
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Website builder October 2021 deals round up
What is a website builder?
A website builder is an online application that allows you to build websites without any knowledge of code. Using a website builder, you can create a website simply by dragging and dropping various components like text, images, and video onto a blank web page.
Since most website builders are meant for beginners, they also bundle together web hosting and domain registration to create a one-stop shop for everything you need to launch your website. This helps you save time and effort as you launch, although the finished website isn’t always as feature-rich as a custom-made one created by a professional developer.
Make sure you read our website builder buying guides for different needs, including: our guide to the best website builders; the best website builder with ecommerce: for those selling online; the best website builder for small business; and the best website builder for photographers and the best website builder for musicians.
When should you use a website builder?
Website builders have been getting more and more popular over the years. However, they aren’t suited to all occasions. For example, if your business website has very specific requirements or needs advanced customization to work, a website builder may not be the right choice for you.
However, if what you are looking for is a way to launch a fully functional website within hours, not days, a website builder may be your best option. It’s also worth noting that website builders cost significantly less than the expense of designing and maintaining your own self-hosted website, which is another reason why they are so popular among small and medium-sized businesses.
What to look for in a website builder?
When looking for a website builder that’s both affordable and functional, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Your website builder should come with excellent customer support and offer decent server performance. Depending on your requirements, you also need to choose a subscription plan that offers sufficient storage space and bandwidth.
However, if you want to make the most of your website builder, you will also want it to be easy to use and have a great user interface. Using any website builder involves some sort of learning curve, and you need to choose one that’s suitable for your technical expertise. For example, Wix is a website builder that offers a very intuitive interface for you to work with. It even uses artificial intelligence to make the website-building process easier for beginners.
Scalability is another important thing to consider. You want to create your website using a tool that leaves space for future growth. A website builder that offers flexibility in terms of design and resources as well third-party integrations is always a good choice.
Finally, you may need your website builder to have specific features depending on your industry and profession. E-commerce websites, for example, can benefit from features like a built-in tax calculator or a shopping cart. A news blog, on the other hand, will need a good content management system in order to make publishing new articles easy.
Free vs cheap website builders — Which is better?
Major website builders often offer a free plan that allows you to “test-drive” their services before you make an annual commitment. While these plans are indeed free forever, they are highly limited both in terms of features and resources. Some even display compulsory ads on your website as a means of compensating for the free offering.
If you are building your website as a hobby or for other personal reasons, a free plan might just suffice. However, professionals and business owners should always consider buying into a paid plan if they want to create a successful website.
Further reading on website builders
If you’re not sure how to get started with choosing a website builder, be sure to check out our article outlining how to choose the right way to build a website for you. It’s also worth taking a look at our guide to the best small business website builders, and our comparison of free website builder vs paid.