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Best website builders for UK small businesses

The 'best' builder depends entirely on what you're building. We've split this comparison by use case so you don't end up running an e-commerce shop on a portfolio tool.

Last updated May 2026 · Independent · We don't take affiliate fees

A florist with 6 SKUs and a freelance copywriter have nothing in common. Pick by what you're selling, not by what's most popular. Each pick below is the right one for a specific kind of business.

Quick comparison answer

Our current top pick is Squarespace. It is ranked first because it is strongest for consultants, agencies, restaurants, photographers and has the clearest overall trade-off against the criteria below.

How we picked

Our criteria

Time to launch

How long it takes a non-designer to go from 'logged in' to 'live website with real content'.

Real running cost

After paying for the domain, an email plan, and the tier that lifts the silly limits.

SEO friendliness

Page speed, clean URLs, control over meta tags, no platform bloat hurting Google rankings.

When you outgrow it

How painful it is to export your content and move elsewhere when you're bigger.

#1Most users

Squarespace

The best default for a service business with 5–15 pages.

Best for: Consultants, agencies, restaurants, photographers

Price: £12–£40/mo

Visit site

What's great

  • Templates are genuinely good without customisation
  • Built-in scheduling, email marketing and member areas
  • Clean, fast pages — good for SEO out of the box

Watch-outs

  • Pricier than Wix once you add commerce
  • Less template freedom than Webflow — designers find it limiting
  • Slightly weaker blogging than WordPress
#2

Shopify

If you're selling physical products, just use Shopify.

Best for: Online shops with 5+ SKUs

Price: From £19/mo (Basic) + 2% transaction fee unless using Shopify Payments

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What's great

  • Best-in-class checkout — converts better than every competitor
  • Huge app ecosystem covers every edge case
  • Built-in POS works seamlessly with in-person sales

Watch-outs

  • Transaction fees on payment processors other than Shopify Payments
  • App costs add up — many shops spend £100+/mo on add-ons
  • Themes are paid (£100–£300 one-off)
#3

Wix

Cheapest serious option, with a learning curve.

Best for: Tight budget, multi-page sites

Price: From £8/mo

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What's great

  • Cheapest credible builder once you skip the free tier
  • Wix Studio (the newer pro editor) is genuinely powerful
  • Strong AI site generator for first drafts

Watch-outs

  • You cannot change template after launch — pick carefully
  • Older 'Wix Editor' produces bloated, slower pages
  • Exporting your site elsewhere isn't possible
#4

Webflow

What designers use when they want to design.

Best for: Brand-led businesses, agencies, anyone with a designer

Price: From £14/mo (Basic) — free to build, paid to publish

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What's great

  • Total design control — no two Webflow sites look alike
  • Outstanding CMS for blogs, case studies and team pages
  • Clean, fast code — great for Core Web Vitals

Watch-outs

  • Steep learning curve — needs ~10 hours to feel comfortable
  • Pricing tiers can be confusing (Site + Workspace + Ecommerce)
  • Form submissions limited at lower tiers
#5

Carrd

The fastest way to a credible one-page site for under £20/yr.

Best for: Side hustles, portfolios, link-in-bio, MVPs

Price: $19/yr Pro

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What's great

  • Genuinely £15-ish per year for a paid site — unbeatable price
  • Up to 10 sites per Pro plan — perfect for testing ideas
  • Loads instantly, looks current, no bloat

Watch-outs

  • Single page only — no separate /about, /pricing routes
  • Limited e-commerce (Gumroad embeds only)
  • Less template variety than Squarespace

Side-by-side

Compare at a glance

BuilderFromE-commerceBlogCustom domainExport your site
Squarespace£12/moBuilt-inSolidIncluded from year 1Limited (XML)
Shopify£19/moBest-in-classBasicBuy/transferLimited
Wix£8/moTier-gatedDecentFree for year 1No
Webflow£14/moAdd-onExcellent CMSBuy/transferYes (HTML/CSS)
Carrd$19/yrEmbeds onlyNoYesNo

The verdict

Service business? Squarespace. Stop researching.

Online shop with real inventory? Shopify, and budget for £50–£100/mo of apps.

Tight budget? Wix Studio.

Brand-led with a designer? Webflow.

Just need a one-pager today? Carrd, and you're live in under an hour.