Whether you use one of these 5 website builders or take a more hands-on approach, building a website is just one of the steps you’ll need to take to attract an audience, build a customer base, and generate sales. The next and most important step will help you reach these goals and with the right website builder, you’ll have the built-in tools you’ll need.
The fact is, 90+ percent of all websites get no traffic at all, according to Ahref’s 2020 Traffic Research Report. It’s SEO – Search Engine Optimization, that helps ensure your site is found. Without that, your site is nothing more than a needle in a wide and deep haystack. What’s worse is, no one is looking for it so it will never be found.
So, what is SEO and how can you ensure you are building your website on the right foundation. How can you ensure it will be found? We are going to give you our choices for the best 5 website builders for SEO.
What is SEO for websites?
First, let’s talk a bit about what SEO is so you’ll know what you need to be looking for.
SEO is defined by a set of techniques that help your website appear at the top of a search results list, based on a set of keywords that are present in both the search the person entered, and the content on your website, but it isn’t quite that simple.
There is a ton of competition for the top spot in search engine results, and for some keywords, that competition is akin to you getting into a dunking competition with Michael Jordan. You just can’t win, or can you…
Find the right keywords to unlock the doors. Use those keywords effectively as you build your website. Keep your content fresh and unique. Do all of this on a foundation that is designed to help you build traffic.
This means that before you even think about which website builder to use, you need to know who your audience is and how they are most likely to search for your products. You can do that using one of many free and paid keyword finders. Again, Ahrefs can help you find one that fits your needs. Have a look at their report on 10 Free Keyword Research Tools.
Do Website Builder Support SEO?
The interesting part about SEO, and the part many website builders miss, are the bits that work behind the scenes, with odd names like meta tags and search engine indexing. These are easily missed, especially when someone with minimal or no technical skills is building the website. Is that you? Do you know where to look for the meta tags and do you understand what they should include and why?
The right website builders will point you in the right direction and help ensure all of the most important bits and pieces are set in place. They will make it simple to get your website indexed. They can even track the traffic your site gets, how that traffic came to your site, and more so you can refine your SEO approach.
It’s these that make our best 5 website builders.
One last thing before we get into the list. You may have heard that anything other than a traditional approach to website building will never achieve a page one listing in any search. While this is true with many website builders, it is not universally true, and we have first-hand experience that proves this. Not only can you get to page one, but you can also get to #1 with the right tools, and the right content and keyword strategy.
Best 5 Website Builders for SEO
#5 WordPress
By far the most popular platform for building websites, WordPress, comes in 2 flavors. The most popular of these is the one where you use the platform to build and then host your site more traditionally, using a wide range of tools that may not be suitable for those that do not know how to do at least some coding.
The second flavor is their website builder that builds on the first flavor by adding a significant layer of automation to the building process. This is the one that has made our list and this is why.
WordPress Pluses:
- This website builder requires no coding skills to achieve a great website
- It offers a variety of themes that are unmatched by any other website builder
- Functionality is greatly expanded with a vast library of plugins
- This platform does an excellent job building websites for both individuals and businesses
- The user community is vast and very helpful when you run into questions
- While not the cheapest platform, it does offer excellent value
WordPress Negatives:
- With so many options, this website builder does have a significant learning curve
- SEO isn’t automatically added. Plugins are required to get full SEO functionality
- There is no dedicated support team to help when you have questions
If you choose the right subscription level SEO will become a native part of your installation but you will still have to take care to use the provided tools effectively. This means you will need to understand how SEO works, you will need to explore the ways your competition is using SEO, and you will need to spend time testing and tracking your SEO strategy.
Prices for the WordPress site builder have a completely free plan but that will be far too basic for SEO success. Paid plans start at $4 per month and climb to as much as $45 per month. The $25 per month business plan is the first level that delivers full SEO support. This puts this tool at the high end of our list of top website builders for SEO.
#4 Boxmode
Boxmode delivers a powerful website builder that keeps the entire process super simple. It also expands into both SEO and Marketing by including a wide range of tools that are fully integrated into the website builder.
You’ll start with a wide selection of website templates, and with a simple drag-and-drop editor, you’ll be able to customize it so it is uniquely yours. Customization is expanded with integrated access to Unsplash, a library of free images you are free to use anywhere on your site.
Boxmode Pluses:
- No coding skills are required to create outstanding website designs
- There is a wide variety of themes, all of which follow the best practices for websites
- Theme designs are all fully responsive so what you build will always look great
- It does provide several plugins that expand the functionality
- You can comfortably build websites for both personal and business use
- Prices, even at the highest subscription level, are highly competitive
Boxmode Negatives:
- Compared to some others, functionality is limited
- SEO is fully supported but still requires a significant understanding of how it works
- Compared to other platforms, there are fewer tutorials to help you master this platform
Like WordPress, you won’t get the SEO and marketing tools unless you subscribe at a higher level but you can also start at free and upgrade to a higher subscription level when you’re ready.
Pricing is very simple with Boxmode. It starts free and then grows to $4.50 and $7.50 per month. To enjoy all of the SEO and marketing tools, you will need the Growth plan that is priced at $7.50 per month.
#3 Duda Website Builder
Duda is one of those website builders that hasn’t caught the eye of the average person needing to build a website but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve significant attention. Among the many that use used their website builder, there is a consistency to the feedback and that is – it’s simple and intuitive and there are a lot of great website templates to build on.
A major part of the reason why they stay under the radar is simple. They focus on website building pros as their main customer base and this customer base doesn’t want to share too much about their trick and tips. After all, if you knew how they did what they did you’d do it yourself and with Duda, you can.
Duda’s Pluses:
- With Duda you can build a website that is responsive to where the customer is coming from and how often they’ve visited your site, giving you an outstanding marketing advantage
- While they market themselves as a pro tool, their intuitive drag-and-drop interface works well at all levels of experience
- While not the deepest pool of templates to choose from, they have more than enough to meet the requirements of almost any website concept
- SEO tools are integrated so even without knowing much about SEO, you can accomplish a lot
- A factor that is often overlooked is the speed of your site and with Duda, you’ll have speed conquered
Duda’s Minuses:
- In terms of price, there are more affordable choices, especially when all you want is a single website
- There is no free subscription with Duda though you can take advantage of a 14-day free trial
- While many website builders have a vast library of widgets that help add website functionality, Duda’s widget library is pretty shallow
You can build a great website that includes some nice tricks like geographic customization, and the site you build will be among the fastest of any website builder. However, given their focus on serving the developer community you, as a single website builder, might get lost in the crowd.
Duda has 4 subscription levels, starting with a basic level costing $14 per month. This comes with a limited toolset and will carry the Duda branding on your site. From there, prices climb to $22 for a single site and $44 for 4 sites. Both of these allow you to remove the Duda branding. Not surprisingly, they also have a fourth pricing tier that is designed for agencies that will be building many sites. The price at this level is dependent on the agency’s specific requirements.
#2 Squarespace
Not to be confused with SquareUp, Squarespace is one of the best-known website builders on the market, with a long history of supporting the creating of all types of websites. Their installed base now stands at more than 2.5 million sites which puts it at #3 after WordPress and Wix and much of that is the result of their reputation for ease of use and customer support.
Like any great website builder, they offer a deep pool of website templates to build upon, and even at the lowest of their subscription plans, there is lots of functionality and flexibility on offer. Unfortunately, SEO support is absent in the lowest-priced plan. For that, you need to take at least one step up.
Squarespace Pluses:
- This is a tool for anyone looking to build almost any type of website, including eCommerce
- The drag-and-drop approach they employ is intuitive so getting things done is easy
- The websites that are built with this tool are fully responsive so they look great on any device
- Support is solid, with well-respected customer service and community support
Squarespace Minuses:
- For SEO support you will need to spend at least $18 per month making this a bit expensive
- There is no Free subscription level or free trial so once you sign up you are committed
- Websites build on this platform are not transportable. To move means rebuilding your site
- For true eCommerce, only the highest subscription level will deliver what’s needed
With a solid reputation and an installed base that is growing significantly, Squarespace certainly does a lot of things very well. It would be nice if one of those things included SEO at their most affordable subscription level, but even stepping up in cost, it’s still a competitive option.
Plans start at $12 per month and have a total of 4 pricing tiers that are fairly easy to understand. The top tier is set at $40 but for most, this won’t be necessary at the start. Their Commerce options, priced at $26 per month, will offer plenty, and as your business grows you can step up to a higher level.
#1 GoDaddy
This one is a bit of a hybrid. They were originally a website hosting service and even today, they aren’t considered among the most reliable. However, they also offer a powerful website builder that has captured a significant percentage of the market. They are now the 4th most popular website builder after WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace.
One of the main reasons for their strong showing is their built-in SEO support, much of which is automated. This has attracted many in the online marketing profession since they can deliver websites that help them deliver results much more effectively, without spending extra for website developers.
GoDaddy Pluses:
- This website builder is designed for professionals that are serious about SEO
- They automate much of the SEO requirement that starts with some simple questions
- They also offer personalized help and direct consultation for those that require a helping hand
- Support for the most advanced functionality is solid and pricing at every level is competitive
GoDaddy Minuses:
- SEO support at the lowest subscription levels is weak so you will need to level up
- You can’t use the website builder anywhere else once built, you’re locked in
- GoDaddy’s hosting reputation suggests that there are some issues you’ll want to consider
Despite its shaky reputation as a website host, GoDaddy has managed to build an impressive customer base. This is most likely attributed to their integrated and assisted SEO support and for many unskilled website builders, this is a critical factor. Well done SEO is the only way to build website traffic and GoDaddy does that exceptionally well.
Prices start at $10 per month, and this is followed by Standard, Premium, and eCommerce levels, each adding $5 to the base price. This means that even at the highest price point, this is a highly competitive option. Considering this is the only website builder that offers direct SEO consultation (at the $25 level), anyone that is focused on building organic search engine traffic has to give GoDaddy serious consideration.
In Summary
While there are many website builders, the number of these that have any real focus on SEO is limited. That suggests that many of these tools are creating websites that are rarely seen by anyone other than the person that built them.
The website builder we’ve featured here understand that and have done an excellent job of building SEO support into their tools.
If you want a great tool at the most affordable price, I suggest giving Boxmode a good look. At $7 for the most advanced features, it is an unbeatable choice. For those that want a consultative approach to SEO, GoDaddy is worth considering as well, though you will spend 3 times as much as Boxmode.
Finally, buy what you need today with an eye toward the future. Most website builders lock you into their platform so getting married to a service that can’t grow with you will result in some fairly serious headaches in the future.
We’ve created a series of reviews that look at different aspects of website builders individually and compared them with others in this category. Check out these website builders reviews to learn more. We’ve also done a pretty detailed article on how to build your personal website that’s certainly worth a read. We hope they give you what you need as you start down the path to building a fantastic website.