Best website builders in 2025

Not just for charities on a small budget, website builders offer low-cost solutions with nearly as much creativity as going custom. We look at the best website builders out there and what works best for different needs.

 

 

Website builders for beginners

 

For charities starting out or charities who have limited experience web-building, going with a platform that offers templates, no coding, and a user-friendly interface is best.

 

Here are some of our favourites for beginners.

 

Wix

 

Arguably the best platform is Wix. Great for charities and small businesses, Wix offers flashy templates for specific industries. Charity media producers exploring the templates will find designs that feature impact figures, emotive photos, and dedicated sites for campaigns and events. 

 

Best feature: The drag-and-drop feature of this platform makes building the site easy.

 

Cost: Charities can test out the builder for free. Plans start at around £9 per month.

 

 

GoDaddy

 

Another top platform in this category, GoDaddy is a great starting point. Organisations can register domain names and use GoDaddy as the website host. Building the website is simple. Templates range by sector, including hospitality, art and design, travel, community, and non-profit. There’s also a storefront template for charities with retail shops.

 

Best feature: No coding is necessary to create beautiful and useful sites.

 

Cost: Start for free and then plans move up from £8 per month.

 

 

Website builders for charity shop websites

 

Creating a professional charity shop website means producing an attractive site, easy-to-use shopping cart, and a simple check-out system. Bonus features might also include inventory and merchandising control.

 

Shopify

 

Of no surprise is the Canadian shopping site builder Shopify. A leader in the space, Shopify’s platform comes with industry standard layouts for e-commerce outfits. The website builder is a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to pull media into the site.

 

Best features: The check-out function is optimised for conversion. The platform is also able to recognise Shop Pay customers. Shipping and billing information are automatically populated, reducing the risk of abandoned carts.

 

Cost: The first three months are £1 per month, with pricing plans moving up from there.

 

 

Website builders for single-occasion sites

 

There may be circumstances where charities need to set a site for a single purpose. Time-limited occasions like a fundraiser, a political campaign, or a community event, are situations where temporary sites need to be up. The website should be easy to establish and equally as easy to take down.

 

 

Google Sites

 

Google Sites is underrated. First, signing on is super easy – any user with a Google account can automatically access the platform without signing up. Basic templates automatically pop-up, including those for small businesses, events, parties, or educational purposes. Once the template is selected, the drag-and-drop feature allows creators to upload content and place it on the template.

 

Best feature: The simplicity is great for sites that need to go up with little notice.

 

Cost: Free for Google Account holders.

 

 

Website builders for digital native charities

 

Not all charities want to go for a simple website. Additional functionalities might be desirable, especially for those organisations looking for a flagship website. Features that could be important includes site tracking, SEO optimisation, payments, security and performance. Two of the top website builders include:

 

 

WordPress

 

For more sophisticated charities, WordPress web building features align well with those executing a digital strategy. First, the quality of the sites built here have the look and feel of professional ones. For coding whizzes, WordPress enables charities to have total control through CSS. The backend makes easier work out of collecting online data. The plug-ins enable content managers to upload posts, blogs, and social media updates automatically across accounts. There are also built in SEO tools.

 

Best feature: Plug-ins offer a world of possibilities. Charities can find integrated online schedulers for appointments, ticketing, and ‘look-throughs’ to social media accounts.

 

Cost: Business plans are less than £10 depending on the features.

 

 

Square Space

 

A sleek website builder, Square Space’s AI tool takes website building to another level. The AI tool asks questions around the site name, landing page, contents, and then designs based on colour and font selections. Once the initial template is created, charities can start customising based on what they are looking for. Both standard and mobile donation pages are enabled, making it easy to collect funds.  

 

Best feature: Hands down, the AI feature can create a glossy look and feel. Language can also be tailored by voice tone. There’s also customer service available 24/7.

 

Cost: Start with a free trial.