Do you need to build a website to showcase your creative assets? Start here to review the best products on the market. Many of today’s creatives are rejecting traditional corporate work and are now looking inward to chart their careers. This translates to more decisions to launch small businesses, either offering products or services online. For creatives, a professional and intuitive website is essential to establish and build customer interest and loyalty. This article outlines the top options for artists, photographers, graphic designers, writers, musicians, and more to build a streamlined website that is a seamless extension of their brand.
Top Eight Best Website Builders for Creatives
- Squarespace– Best Website Builder Overall
- Pixpa– Best Website Builder for Photographers
- Wix– Best Upscale Website Builder
- Weebly– Best Website Builder for Beginners
- Format – Best Website Builder for Options
- Shopify – Best Website Builder for Sellers
- Zyro– Best Website Builder for Basics
- GoDaddy – Best Quick and Dirty Website Builder
1. Squarespace– Best Website Builder Overall
PRICING: Squarespace offers four distinct plans ranging from $19-$65 per month, with a significant annual subscription discount.
Squarespace has become a hallmark product for the e-commerce world, and it is well-suited to serve the needs of creatives building their websites and brand. With almost 150 beautiful templates to choose from, Squarespace is a world-class leader in the website-builder space and a prime option for the small-scale creative who wants to leave plenty of room to grow.
KEY FEATURES:
- One-stop shop for website build, sales, marketing, email campaigns, etc.
- Can support up to 1,000 pages
- Free trial
REASONS TO BUY:
- Free custom domain name with first year of annual subscription
- Flexibility to scale with your business
- Integration capability with 51 extensions
REASONS TO AVOID:
- One of the more expensive options in the industry
- Charges a 3% transaction fee for sales in the first two subscription tiers
- Less multilingual flexibility for your website than other options
» MORE: Best Personal Website Builders
2. Pixpa– Best Website Builder for Photographers
PRICING: Four subscription options with Basics tier beginning at $5 per month, up to Advanced at $25 per user/month.
Since photography is one of the bedrocks of the digital creative universe, it is no surprise that there are website builders that specifically cater to this craft. Although other creatives can find great use from this platform for their needs, we’ve chosen Pixpa as the hands-down best choice for photographers looking to showcase and/or monetize their work.
KEY FEATURES:
- Offers sales directly through the platform or through seamless connection with Shopify
- Unlimited photos and galleries and 38 templates to choose from
- 15-day free trial with no credit card required
REASONS TO BUY:
- Does not take a cut of sales through the platform
- Frequent flash sales with up to 50% off all plan options
- 24/7 live customer support
REASONS TO AVOID:
- The trial period limits you from publishing anything
- Missing some of the features that Wix and other platforms offers like drag and drop editing
» MORE: Low-Cost Website Developer
3. Wix – Best Upscale Website Builder
PRICING: Four tiers priced from $16-$59 per month. Free plan also available.
Wix is kind of like the Rolls Royce in the website builder business – it has a long history of excellence in the field. Despite offering pricier options than most of its competitors, Wix commands respect for its plethora of eye-catching templates to consider and unlimited pages.
KEY FEATURES:
- Free domain voucher for one year with all paid plans
- Intuitive editing tools for beginners and pros alike
- Free trial
REASONS TO BUY:
- 24/7 customer support with “priority support” at the VIP level
- Drag and drop editing feature makes for an efficient user experience
- Unlimited pages and around 800 templates
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Pricing options are more complicated (and more expensive) than other products
- Free plan has distracting ads incorporated into the user experience
- Weaker SEO capabilities than other market players
» MORE: Best Website Builders For Yoga Teachers
4. Weebly – Best Website Builder for Beginners
PRICING: Three paid tiers priced from $9 -$29 per month. Free option is also available.
Weebly is one of the better options in the website building world for those who want to explore and hone their skills but don’t want to pay a pretty penny to learn as they go. With a free option that includes many basic features, Weebly is a great start for creatives who are novice website builders.
KEY FEATURES:
- Free domain for one year (paid subscriptions only)
- Available in 11 languages
- Easy-to-use drag and drop editing tools
REASONS TO BUY:
- Simple to use
- Affordable for small business creatives
- Free version available for those who don’t want to commit yet
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Poor mobile app version
- No free trial
- Fewer themes/templates than other options
» MORE: Top Customization-Friendliest Website Builder
5. Format– Best Website Builder for Options
PRICING: Three options from $7- $35 per month
Format is a great choice for creatives because of the templates it offers specifically geared toward the industry. While there are only three tiers to choose from, you’ll definitely want to go beyond the most basic subscription to take full advantage of Format’s features, with over 70 templates for professionals ranging from models and illustrations, to makeup and fashion.
KEY FEATURES:
- Free trial with no credit card required
- Templates optimized for creatives like photographers and artists
- SEO and blogging functions
REASONS TO BUY:
- Flash sales offer price cuts sometimes up to 50% off all subscriptions
- Strong mobile app
- Easy to learn and use
REASONS TO AVOID:
- No free plan
- Not suitable for e-commerce (must integrate with another platform like Shopify)
» MORE: Top Website Developer for Consulting Companies
6. Shopify – Best Website Builder for Sellers
PRICING: Three tiers from $29-$299 per month
Shopify is undoubtedly the king of the e-commerce domain, as the platform of choice for thousands of creatives worldwide who are looking to quickly monetize their work. While the product isn’t necessarily designed for creatives, there is plenty of flexibility to customize your web experience, especially if you happen to be handy with coding.
KEY FEATURES:
- Online store including e-commerce website and blog for all plans
- Ability to offer your customers gift cards
- International market management
REASONS TO BUY:
- Shipping discounts with competitive rates for your products
- Full access to CSS, HTML, and Liquid, for creatives who prefer to develop
- Free trial available with no credit card required
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Extremely expensive compared to other options
- Hefty sales fees for credit and debit cards
» MORE: Builders of Membership Websites
7. Zyro– Best Website Builder for Basics
PRICING: Three tiers from $9-$26 per month
Zyro is a great website builder for creatives who want to present their work online and may want to sell it someday. The basic plan allows artists to inexpensively display their work and when they’re ready they can upgrade to a higher tier that offers basic e-commerce capabilities. While Zyro may not be the fanciest car on the block, it certainly gets the job done.
KEY FEATURES:
- Drag and drop tool for easy editing
- Logo generator
- Over 100 templates, including some geared toward creatives
REASONS TO BUY:
- All plans offer a free one-year custom domain name
- 24/7 customer support for all plans
- Flash sales available with slashed subscription pricing
- Unlimited storage and bandwidth in all plans
REASONS TO AVOID:
- No free version
- Less customization options for templates than other products
» MORE: Website Builders for SEO
8. GoDaddy – Best Quick and Dirty Website Builder
PRICING: Four tiers from $12-$45 and large annual subscription price discounts
If it seems like GoDaddy has been around forever, that’s because it has. Founded in 1997, it is truly one of the pioneers of the dot-com era. Since it launched many years ago, it has seen its fair share of facelifts and feature upgrades, including the ability to build your own website and market your creative materials.
KEY FEATURES:
- Free trial with no credit card required
- Shipping discounts
- Listings to Yelp, Google, and social media
REASONS TO BUY:
- Build process from start to finish is quick and easy
- 24/7 customer support
- Easy integration with Google Analytics
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Only top tiers have e-commerce capabilities, both with order limits
- Templates are less flexible for customization than other products
- Limited creative freedom than other choices on the market
» MORE: Best Website Builder For Teachers
References and Links
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/wix/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons
- https://www.stylefactoryproductions.com/blog/squarespace-review
- https://www.tooltester.com/en/website-builder-for-artists/
- https://www.weebly.com/pricing
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/weebly/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons
- https://firstsiteguide.com/format-review/
- https://www.shopify.com/pricing
- https://www.stylefactoryproductions.com/blog/shopify-review
- https://zyro.com/pricing
- https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders/godaddy-review/
- https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/zyro-website-builder