Website builders have grown in accessibility and popularity in recent years, with the rise of monetized blogging. But when you reporting on the news, there are going to be features and set-ups that you will, so which builder is the right one for you? This article provides with nine great options for you to determine your choice from!
Top Nine Website Builders for News
- Weebly- Best easy-to-use website builder
- Squarespace- Best creative website builder
- HostGator- Best low-price website builder
- Wix- Best overall website builder
- WordPress- Best website builder for news bloggers
- Renderforest- Best free website builder
- GoDaddy- Best all-in-one website builder
- Duda- Best website builder for professional templates
- 1&1 IONOS- Best website builder for features
1. Weebly – Best easy-to-use website builder
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $6 per month, billed annually, or $9 paid per month
Weebly is known for its user-friendly functionality, and is accessible to all users by offering a free plan. Whether you are looking to start your news website for free, or want to jump into a paid plan, Weebly is a great option for easy website building.
Key Features:
- SSL Security
- 3rd party code integration
- Add a custom domain
- eCommerce options
- SEO marketing
- Chat and email support
Reasons to Buy:
- Free plan includes all basic necessities and capabilities
- Higher paid plans offer free domains
- Intuitive for new builders
- Great price point
- Includes plenty of free themes to choose from
- Unlimited storage for paid plans
- eCommerce features available for all plans
Reasons to Avoid:
- Only higher paid plans offer extensive features, including password protection
- Support options are limited
- Customization is limited
- Advertisements still visible with the lower paid plans
» MORE: Best Website Builders For Affiliate Marketing
2. Squarespace – Best creative website builder
Pricing: Starts at $12 per month
If you are looking to present news in a creative and interesting way, Squarespace’s website builder might be the best option for you. They offer professional templates that work well on both desktop and mobile devices, which is important for “on-the-go” readers.
Key Features:
- Drag and drop editor
- Modern templates
- AMP formatting
- eCommerce option
Reasons to Buy:
- All types of templates available
- All templates are professionally designed
- Accelerated mobile pages increases visibility with mobile devices
- Great option for more creatively-inclined users
Reasons to Avoid:
- Not as intuitive as other builders
- Customer support is limited
- Not overly customizable
» MORE: Can Shopify Connect To Squarespace?
3. HostGator – Best low-price website builder
Pricing: Starts at $3.84 per month
Out of the paid builders in this list, HostGator offers the features you need for the lowest price point. All plans have nearly all the same features and capabilities, which makes this option more accessible and fairer for those on a budget.
Key Features:
- 24/7 customer support
- eCommerce capabilities
- Email marketing
- Appointment feature
- Free hosting
- SSL certificate
Reasons to Buy:
- Little difference in features between all three plans
- Exceptional pricing
- 24/7 support for all plans
- Intuitive editor
- Free domain for all plans for up to 12 months
Reasons to Avoid:
- Start plan does not have priority support
- No booking feature for Start plan
- Doubled renewal rates
» MORE: Best WordPress Website Builders (Easy To Use)
4. Wix – Best overall website builder
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $16 per month
Wix is the go-to website builder and has been for a while in recent years. Wix is the best option for its range in templates and customization. You can also create a professional logo for your news website with Wix.
Key Features:
- Over 200 apps available
- Over 900 templates
- SEO tools
- Analytics
- Drag and drop editor
- Intuitive design
- Logo maker
- Drop shipping feature
Reasons to Use:
- Well-known, popular reputation as a website builder
- Fully-loaded for all website building needs
- Free plan offers many basic functions
- 24/7 customer support
Reasons to Avoid:
- Storage is limited
- Low-tier plans do not have SEO or analytic tool access
- eCommerce plans are more expensive
» MORE: Wix Vs. WordPress: Which Is Better For You?
5. WordPress – Best website builder for news bloggers
Pricing: Free plan available, paid version starts at $15 per month, paid annually
If your primary focus is the written portion of news, rather than video and photos, then WordPress is a better option to consider. With their free plan, WordPress is great to start with, but requires a bit more knowledge to operate. The paid version offers many templates, too, and is highly customizable.
Key Features:
- Drag and drop editor
- Plug-ins
- Many themes to use
- Extensively customizable
Reasons to Use:
- Free custom domain for the first year of your paid plan
- Unlimited plugins, over 50,000 to use
- Paid version has access to premium themes
- Up to 50 GB of storage
- Over 8,000 themes
Reasons to Avoid:
- Free version lacks many features of the paid version
- No web hosting
- No security
- Learning curve
» MORE: Best Free WordPress Hosting
6. Renderforest – Best free website builder
Pricing: Free version available; paid plans start $9.99 per month
Renderforest isn’t as well-known as other platforms, but they offer more storage than other competitors with many templates and stock footage, which is helpful for news websites. You can also create videos in this builder, which allows you to create your own news broadcasts.
Key Features:
- Up to 50 GB of storage
- Create from 720 to 4K quality videos
- Thousands of templates and layouts
- Logo creator
- Stock footage, photos and music available
- Management functions
Reasons to Buy:
- Easy to edit with
- Extensive customer support and user guidance
- Cloud storages
- All-in-one branding tools and setup
Reasons to Avoid:
- Outdated templates and themes
» MORE: Easiest to Use) Podcast Website Builders
7. GoDaddy – Best all-in-one website builder
Pricing: Starts at $6.99 per month
GoDaddy is the best option for people who want everything in one place, including the website builder, the hosting and the domain. GoDaddy offers great marketing features, and requires no in-depth programming knowledge to use. While the customization is limited, news websites can benefit greatly from the SEO features.
Key Features:
- Drag and drop editor
- Ecommerce capability
- Marketing and SEO features
- AI design
- Website templates
Reasons to Buy:
- Publish a website for free
- Design a website quickly
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 24/7 customer support
- No programming knowledge required
- All-in-one platform with hosting and domain availability
Reasons to Avoid:
- Add-ons are expensive
- Customization is limited
- The app market doesn’t offer as much as other builders
» MORE: Website Builders for Weddings
8. Duda – Best website builder for professional templates
Pricing: Starts at $14 per month
Duda provides professional templates at a reasonable price point. In addition to unlimited storage and bandwidth, which is quite the advantage compared to other website builders, Duda makes it easy to import external content and is mobile responsive. However, lower costing plans are more limited in their features.
Key Features:
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited storage
- Ecommerce capability
- Over 100 templates
- Drag and drop function
Reasons to Buy:
- Mobile responsive designs
- Easy to import content
- Customizable
- Professional templates
Reasons to Avoid:
- The low-cost plan is limited
- Domains not included
» MORE: Duda vs Wix: Which Is Better For You?
9. 1&1 IONOS – Best website builder for features
Pricing: Starts at $5 per month, paid annually
IONOS is a great option for inclusive features, including a multi-lingual translation feature, which is key in reaching the widest audience possible in the news industry. The interface is easy to use and new users even get a discount for using their platform. However, the templates are outdated compared to other website builders.
Key Features:
- Drag and drop function
- Multi-language translation
- Photo galleries
- 24/7 customer service
- Analytic function
Reasons to Use:
- Interface is easy to understand and use
- New users get a discount
- Highly rated among users
- Low cost
Reasons to Avoid:
- Lowest paid plan still has advertisements
- Lowest paid plan has limited features
- Templates are outdated
» MORE: Best Personal Website Builders
References
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/best-website-builder-for-small-business/
- https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/best-website-builder/
- https://www.weebly.com/pricing
- https://www.hostgator.com/website-builder
- https://www.wix.com/upgrade/website
- https://wordpress.com/pricing/
- https://www.renderforest.com/subscription
- https://sudeshroul.com/renderforest-review-online-business-branding-tools/