Candle company names are one of the core ways people recognize a candle brand. That’s why you have to find the best candle business names for your candle business.

There are two main naming conventions you need to think about when you start your own candle company:

1. Candle business name ideas
2. Names for candles or scents

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] We’ll discuss both of these types of candle company names to help you find an idea that works for you. You can jump to any of the sections by clicking the links below.

• 50 Candle Business Name Ideas
• 50 Candle Company Name Ideas
• 48 Luxury Candle Business Names
• 50 Catchy Names for Candle Business
• 46 Unique Candle Business Names
• 78 Names for Candle Businesses
• 52 Unique Candle Names
• 46 Funny Candle Company Names
• 50 Scent Name Ideas
• 50 Scented Candle Names
• What to Do After Choosing a Candle Company Name [/su_note]

Are you considering selling a business, but need help figuring out the process? This definitive guide to selling a business will demystify the process. Keep reading to get the most value for your business. Every business owner will eventually decide it is time to develop an exit strategy. Whether you are selling a business to start a new one, retiring, or just passing it on to your kids, our guide will give you the steps to prepare for a sale including:

1. Define the exit strategy
2. Prepare financial statements
3. Get an independent business valuation
4. Increase the business value of your small business
5. Market to potential buyers
6. Negotiate terms and sell your business
7. Transition period

Our video on getting seed funding provides a lot of tips that also apply to selling a business. [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-0qmNTaU90"] There will be a ton of information in this guide, so make sure to download our Selling a Business Checklist to help you in the process. Keep reading for information on how to sell your business.

Step 1: Define the Exit Strategy

The first step in selling your business is defining your exit strategy. There are a variety of exit strategies that a business owner can use to sell a small business. Which strategy is right for you will depend on a variety of factors. The most important considerations are:

• Type of business
• Business structure
• Working with a broker vs. without a broker
• Who will take control of the business after I sell my business?

After reading this section, you should know what is the best way to sell your small business.

Type of Business

Selling your small business is going to vary based on the industry the business is in. For instance, many locations have specific requirements for certain industries that may limit the prospective buyers available. I'm sure you already know the regulations for your area, but if you need to refresh yourself on any limiting restrictions for your location and industry, the Small Business Administration is a good place to start. This information will help when you start to market to prospective buyers. Franchises may have special requirements that owners must go through to sell their franchise. Talk to your franchisor for more information on making a deal to sell a franchise.

Business Structure

When wondering "How do I legally sell my business," thinking about the structure is important because it will impact the process of selling a business. Owners typically start a company with one of four structures:

• Sole Proprietorship
• LLC
• Partnership
• Corporation
• Comparison of business structures (need to remake chart)

Depending on how the business is structured, selling it will follow a different process. An LLC and Corporation are the easiest to transfer ownership as they are intended to be separate entities from the business owners, while a sole proprietorship is the hardest to transfer ownership as it is meant to have a single owner and the income and liabilities are tied to the person. When you think about how to sell a small business that is a sole proprietorship remember you will be selling the assets, but the new business owner will have to reorganize the business under their name. Alternatively, you can change it to an LLC before the sale to make the transfer easier. To set up an LLC check out this Small Business Trends article. Other than those variances, the only real differences are the tax and legal documents, which you can find information on at the IRS website.

Broker Sales or Private Sales

There are two main ways to sell your business, brokers or private sales. Let's explore each to establish whether your small business will benefit from a broker selling it or whether you should learn how to sell a business privately.

Selling Your Small Business with a Broker

Selling your business with a broker will normally be easier because they do most of the harder work. They have been through the process multiple times and are able to help guide you in getting the proper financial statements and due diligence, determining an asking price, finding potential buyers,  finding the right buyer to sell your business to, and closing the deal. If you want to sell your business with a broker, you'll need to reach out to one. You can search for "business brokers near me" in Google to find a business broker in your location. Brokers will normally charge a percentage with a minimum commission that varies based on the revenue of the company being sold. MidStreet Mergers & Acquisitions has an easy-to-understand blog of how brokers normally charge if you want to understand "how much does it cost to sell a business?" Given the minimum commission is typically $10-12k, if your business makes less than $100k revenue per year, you will probably want to understand how to sell a business without a broker.

How Do I Sell My Business Without a Broker?

A small business for sale by an owner may result in keeping more of the business valuation once the business is sold, but unless you already have someone in mind it may not be the best way when trying to figure out how to sell a business quickly. You'll be responsible for gathering all the company financial statements, determining the asking price, finding potential buyers, answering all their questions, getting the best deal, and finding someone to review the closing documents before selling. Make sure to consider the time and financial costs that will be incurred when deciding how to sell your business. If you are trying to improve cash flow, profit, or revenue while looking for prospective new owners, you may find that it is hard work if trying to sell quickly. If you have time to do it right and make sure to do your due diligence, you can potentially get a higher sales price and keep more of the profit.

Who Will Take Control After Selling Your Business?

Many of the steps I would consider when thinking about how to sell my business would be impacted by whether I have a specific buyer in mind. There are some specific instances where getting the best value may not require all these steps. Some scenarios that may simplify the process include:

• Employee Buyouts.
• Plan to sell to a related person upon retirement.
• A competitor approaches you about merging the businesses.

These scenarios could limit many of the questions that need to be considered in steps 3, 4, and 6. In the case of merging two businesses, there are some additional considerations that are discussed in our blog Increasing Business Value through Mergers which will go into far greater detail about how to sell your business to a competitor.

Step 2: Prepare Company Financial Statements

Potential buyers are going to want to see the long-term value of the company as demonstrated through revenue, cash flow, and profit. This information needs to be readily available because it will impact all the other steps going forward. You should make sure to include the following documents

• Tax returns for last 7 years (or the start of business)
• Supplier agreements
• Business licenses and insurance documents
• Proof of intellectual property rights/ownership
• Documentation of all debts and liabilities
• Documentation of all assets
• Anything else you think the buyer might want to know

The long-term sales growth, net working capital, and other financial information will help brokers and agents answer buyer financial questions while selling the business for the most money.

Step 3: Get an Independent Business Valuation

Because many owners have been heavily invested in their business for years, I would recommend getting an independent company to review your financial records to make sure you have an unbiased view of how much your company is worth before determining the price you want for selling your business to potential buyers. Regardless of whether you get a suggested sale price from someone who evaluates businesses, there are several ways of establishing worth you should be familiar with.

Valuations Formulas to Know Before You Sell Your Business

There are multiple ways to value a business for sale which I discuss in the blog How to Buy a Business. The following is a recap of it adjusted for sellers. When determining how to value a business to sell the following methods can be beneficial to evaluating the value:

1. Asset Valuation
2. Price to Sales Ratio
3. P/E Ratio
4. Discounted Cash Flow

Asset Valuation Model

An asset Valuation Model is used in businesses that are heavily based on assets. When selling a shopping center, this is a great model. It basically adds up all equipment, inventory, and property then subtracts liabilities and debts. In the example above, the company would be valued at $1,516,020. This process doesn't take into consideration revenue or market direction so it might not be the most fair way to value the true worth.

Price to Sales Ratio

Another way of valuing a business is by the price to sales (P/S) ratio. This takes the revenue of a company and decides how much to value it based on industry standards. Check out NYU Stern's site for an idea of what multiple to use. Using this method the P/S ratio ranges from .21 for grocery stores to 14.85 for software companies, with a total market average of 2.64-2.66. If you compare this process to the asset valuation model, you'll find that the revenue would only have to be around $570, 000 to justify the same sale price.

Price to Earnings Ratio

To use the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, you use the net income and industry norms. NYU Stern has a similar table for P/E Ratios. Let's assume that your company is a retailer, based on the NYU Stern charts, the net income would only have to be between $58,000-67,000 to be worth the same as the previous models.

Discounted Cashflow Method

The discounted cash flow method is a more extensive process, but it is a more accurate option to make sure you use due diligence. This one allows you to include a variety of factors that other methods might not. Investopedia wrote an article that will help you get a deeper understanding of this step. You can read it here. Factors taken into consideration in this method include:

1. Sales and growth
2. Cost of capital (inflation assumption of 3% plus the interest rate on a loan)
3. Income taxes
4. Changes in inventory, accounts payable and accounts receivable
5. Investment income
6. Depreciation

Zions Bank offers a useful calculator for the discounted cash flow method. It will help you test a variety of different market conditions and is a really good option to help you find how to value a small business. Make sure to do your due diligence by documenting each scenario you test. This will help you negotiate when selling your business to potential buyers. Check out our blog about How to Value a Business for more information on valuation methods.

Step 4: Increase Business Value Before Sale

Businesses are valued differently by different people based on what they consider important. There are several things you can do to increase the potential sale price  before approaching potential buyers, including:

• Tidying up
• Documenting plan going forward like you aren't selling
• Improve financial positions and profit margin.
• Pay attention to the market

We have a video series with Paul Akers if you’d like to learn more about making a business run more efficiently. [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oarLDeAFSj4"] Let's dig deeper into why each of these is important.

Tidying Up

In the normal process of the workday, it's common for everyone to have more work than time. If you make the time to get the space where every person who walks in can tell what and where everything is it will take them less time to make a more favorable impression of the business. It will get you prepared to give buyers the best idea of how to keep the store organized. It will be worth it because you'll know where everything is and be more prepared to answer questions about any of the topics related to the operations.

Documenting Plan Going Forward Like You Aren't Selling

This step shows that you have thought about the long-term success of the business and shows that even though you are considering selling, you want to help the buyers succeed. Given you have the best knowledge about how well the business is doing, what opportunities you haven't capitalized on, and what you just haven't gotten around to, it will give both you and the potential buyer a map of what step should be focused on next. A documented plan may increase the valuation from buyers if they believe it is a good plan. It will also help you with finding ways to improve the valuation to get the best offers from buyers.

Improve Financial Positions and Profit Margins

If you find that the financial position of the company can be viewed in vastly different ways, you may want to investigate how to make the different market valuations more in line with each other. For instance, if the Price-Sales ratio shows the value is $1.5 million, but the Price-Earnings Ratio shows a valuation of $800,000, buyers are going to consider the best sale price $800,ooo leaving a lot of money on the table. If you find a way to bring the PE ratio more in-line with the $1.5 million valuation, the sale could be worth an extra $700K. This would require looking at aspects like unnecessary expenses, reducing (or increasing size of) orders based on what will save more money, paying down debt, having a sale on poor-selling inventory, or any other number of methodologies. Check out our video on how to improve business efficiency to get ideas.

Pay Attention to the Market

Market conditions can dramatically impact whether buyers are willing to offer you the best deal. During recessions, buyers will want to take advantage of the opportunity, while during expansionary times, businesses will often see premium valuations to increase the chance of making a deal.

Step 5: Market to Potential Buyers

There are plenty of ways to find potential buyers. When trying to figure out how to sell a small business, these are some of the most popular options:

• Business brokers
• Online business marketplaces, like UpFlip’s marketplace
• Sell to a top employee
• Sell to a competitor
• Newspaper / online ads
• Ask your social network
• Commercial realtors
• Trade associations
• You're franchisor if you are a franchise.
• Add "Small business for sale near me" in the metadata of posts and images online to trigger results during searches.

The goal here is to make people aware that you are selling your business. The suggestions above basically fall into three categories:

1. Sell to someone you know.
2. Have a third party help you.
3. Use digital platforms to sell the business

Sell to Someone you Know

This is typically the least complicated way as you already have a relationship and can discuss the terms without really having to do any marketing. The major pitfall with this solution is you might agree to a lower price or even agree to let them pay you off over time. If this is not handled strictly professionally, it could create issues in the relationship.

Have a Third-Party Help You

Third parties will typically have more experience with selling businesses and may be able to create better results faster despite the additional costs that come with hiring a third party. Business Brokers are ready to help and normally charge a percentage of revenue.  They have more resources to find business owners like existing relationships that may be interested. Franchisors might also have a list of people looking to purchase franchises that will make finding the new owner easier. If you own a franchise make sure to reach out to them.

Use Digital Platforms

Digital platforms like Craigslist, Facebook, LinkedIn, and ads can help reach prospective owners, but there is a lot of knowledge required to figure out how to reach your target audience. If you are already proficient in using digital platforms for ads, you may find that they can be highly beneficial. If you haven’t used ads before, then they can be a steep costly learning curve, but most of them have amazing tutorials that will help you figure them out.

Step 6: Negotiate Terms and Sale of Business

To prepare for this stage, I would recommend checking out our blog about 41 questions to ask when buying a business. It will help you be prepared for questions buyers have. During negotiations with the buyer make sure to discuss the following topics:

• Price
• Assets
• Liabilities
• Financing
• Employees
• Period of Time You'll Stay During transition

We’ve already discussed most of these in previous sections, but the employees and transition period should be discussed more.

Employees

The employees of the company can be both an asset and a liability. Depending on your plans for the current employees, you may need to negotiate an agreement on how to handle them. If you plan on eliminating positions, you may want to have an agreement on how to handle layoffs or severance packages. The balance blog offers a good read on severance packages.

Period of Time to Stay on after Transition

Many business ownership transfers require a period of time where the current owner is still active in the business. This transitional period helps secure the success of the business once the new owner takes over. Whether it is required by a lender or the purchaser certain aspects should be included:

1. Period of time you’ll stay on
2. Roles during transition
3. Pay during transition

The Period of time you’ll stay on could be as little as a few weeks or multiple years depending on the complexity of the business. It should be specified in writing how long the transitional period will be. During the transition, there should be a plan for the roles to gradually be performed by the new owner. When my dad was hired as the CEO of a company, he explained to me that for the first 3 months he was just observing and learning how they do things. Then he gradually started implementing new processes. I think that is a pretty good philosophy to take during a transition. The American Institute of Architects gives some good advice on mistakes to avoid during transition planning. I’d take a read through it real quick to help minimize transition issues. Pay during the transition should also be discussed and documented. This should be based on the time and amount of work done. It will typically be comparable to management or employee pay. Make sure to negotiate the pay at a level where the new owner can still make a profit otherwise it could jeopardize the health of the business. If the buyer is using financing to buy the business, they may want to include this in the purchase price so they can secure financing for it. Once you and the buyer are in agreement on the terms, it's time to contact a lawyer to draft the agreement before the sale is completed. Once the contract is drafted and signed, the buyer is now the new owner and you have more money to pursue other passions. There may be one more step that is required. Which we'll discuss next.

Step 7: Transition Period

Depending on the agreement with the buyer, you may need to stay on for a period of one or two years to help with the transition. Some loans require this to help protect the investment. If it's part of the terms required, make the best of the time. It might even be fun. As discussed above, you’ll probably be working like normal for a period of around three months, then gradually reduce your responsibilities and time working. Typically this transition will be less than a year.

Conclusion

Now you know how to sell your company. We covered the following steps:

• Define the exit strategy
• Prepare financial statements
• Get an independent business valuation
• Increase the business value of your small business
• Market to potential buyers
• Negotiate terms and sell your business
• Transition period

I personally find Shark Tank and The Profit really beneficial to better understand how investors evaluate businesses. If you don’t already watch them, I’d recommend them to gain more business awareness. I hope this article helps you sell your business for the most value. If you need some help, reach out to UpFlip and we'll help you sell it.

Every business should have a website, but professional websites are expensive. You'll have an advantage if you can build your business’s website for free. That's why we looked into the best website builders for small businesses.

After reviewing several blogs, one thing was clear: Everyone has a different opinion.

We decided to go with Google’s rankings because it uses the number of referring domains (i.e., the number of websites that link to them) as a primary way to rank its results. We ignored ads and scrolled down to the authentic list of website builders.

After we gathered a list of website builders, we reviewed each one to see what makes it unique. We compared their pricing and features to help you decide on the best website creator.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]
Keep reading to learn about the best website builders for small businesses—or click a link below to jump right to that section.

• The Best Free Website Builders for Small Businesses
• Best Website Builders for Small Businesses (No Free Plans)
• How to Build a Website for Free
• What is the best overall website builder for small businesses?
• What is the best free website builder for small businesses?
• What is the best eCommerce website builder? [/su_note]

Which of the best website builders have you tried?

The Best Free Website Builders for Small Businesses

At the end of 2023, we compared top-ranked companies that came up in response to the search term “free website builder.” The following were the top results:

1. Wix
2. Weebly
3. Canva
4. GoDaddy Website Builder
5. Webflow
6. Yola
7. Website.com
8. WordPress.com (and the Elementor tool)
9. Strikingly
10. Appy Pie
11. Renderforest
12. Zoho Sites

Some website builders that appeared in the search results didn’t actually have free plans. These were:

1. Squarespace
2. MailChimp
3. Mobirise
4. GetResponse
5. HostGator
6. Shopify
7. BigCommerce

We’ll look at each website builder to help you understand why it might be best for you.

#1. Wix: Best Free Website Builder for Small Businesses

When you go to Wix, you’ll get choices to start an online store, portfolio website, blog, consultancy website, service business site, restaurant site, event site, or “other.”

The simple drag-and-drop editor and wide range of website templates makes Wix the best website builder for small business owners. You also don’t need a credit card to sign up for Wix.

Pros
• User-friendly drag-and-drop builder
• Wide range of templates and customization options
• The app market allows you to buy custom features that some but not all types of businesses need.

Cons
• The free plan only provides a Wix-branded subdomain—you’ll get a free custom domain on any paid plan

Difference Between a Subdomain and a Custom Domain

We’ll be using the terms “subdomain” and “custom domain more throughout this list. Here’s what those terms mean:

1. Subdomain: Your custom website ears branding from your web host, e.g., “yourbusiness.wixsite.com.” It only requires a couple of clicks to turn your design into a webpage, but it can also turn wary customers away.
2. Custom domain: Only includes your chosen website name, e.g., “yourbusiness.com.” Attaining a custom domain is pricier and more involved, but it lends your business extra credibility. And if you own the custom domain, you can change web hosts.

Wix Pricing

Wix pricing ranges from free to $159 monthly. As the price goes up, you’ll benefit from additional:

• Collaborators
• Storage space
• Marketing features
• Site analytics
• Payment processing
• eCommerce features
• Developer platform features

All paid plans include first-year domains for free. You can also get an enterprise plan for even more features, but you’ll need a quote from Wix.

#2. Weebly: Best Free eCommerce Website Builder

Weebly is the best free option for small business owners in eCommerce. It helps you start online stores with basic capabilities and includes a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor.

It’s simple compared to many other free builders, but you might not be able to expand your website as much as other services allow.

Pros
• Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
• Good selection of templates
• Basic eCommerce capabilities

Cons
• Free plan has fewer features than the paid plans (but you’ll find that with every free website builder on this list)

Weebly Pricing

Weebly offers four tiers of plans, with prices from free to $29 per month. All the plans work for eCommerce, but you’ll get additional features when you choose a paid option, including:

• Custom domains
• Unlimited storage
• Better site statistics
• No square ads
• Ability to sell digital goods
• Shipping functions
• Reviews
• Abandoned cart emails
• Better support

#3. Canva: Best Business Website Builder for Designers

Most people use Canva for design work, but they have an excellent website builder.

As a non-designer, I love Canva. I have used their designs to create a business website, and it’s phenomenal if you don’t mind a Canva subdomain.

On the other hand, I did not find using a custom domain on Canva as simple as with some of the other website-building software.

Pros
• Excellent design tool for non-designers
• Easy to use as a Canva subdomain (e.g., “yourbusiness.canva.com”)
• Lots of templates
• Website building and design tools in one software

Cons
• Difficult when using a custom domain
• Unique style of website builder, which may feel unintuitive to people who have built sites before

Canva Pricing

The pricing of Canva ranges from free to $14.99 for one person to $29.99 for a team of five. Additional users cost extra.

The main perks of going with the $14.99 Canva Pro plan are additional AI functionality, brand kits, and millions of stock images. Canva for Teams mainly adds collaborative functionality and reports.

#4. GoDaddy Website Builder

GoDaddy doesn’t just sell domains. You can also build your website with the GoDaddy Website Builder. It offers both free and paid website builder options.

GoDaddy provides complete control, web hosting, and other features small business websites need. Various eCommerce tools, including Google Shopping integrations, make GoDaddy appealing to small businesses selling products.

Pros
• Accept payments with a free plan
• Improve your website with paid plans
• Google Shopping integration
• In-person selling tools (additional cost)

Cons
• Online marketplace on Commerce plan and higher only
• Most marketing features are not available on lower plans.

GoDaddy Website Builder Pricing

The free version of GoDaddy Website Builder includes:

• Social media and email marketing
• Single session appointments, but not recurring appointments
• GoDaddy Payments that accept credit and debit cards
• SSL certificates, which prove your website is secure
• 24/7 customer support
• GoDaddy Studio content creation

Meanwhile, GoDaddy offers premium plans ranging from $9.99 to $29.99 that include:

• Custom domains
• Flexible shipping
• Search engine optimization (SEO) tools
• Recurring appointments
• Email and text reminders
• Amazon, eBay, and Etsy integration
• Online payment for services
• Google Shopping listings
• Order and inventory synching

#5. Webflow

Webflow is a no-code web builder that goes beyond the basic website to create the entire customer experience. It uses web development best practices; for instance, staging, which gives you a separate environment from your live website to tinker with without breaking anything.

If you aspire to be a web designer, developer, or SaaS company, this is one of the best website creators on the market.

Pros
• Great for people who like to learn
• Great for designers and devs

Cons
• There is a learning curve
• Overwhelming number of options
• Traffic limits

Webflow Pricing

Webflow pricing is one of the most complex on this list of website builders. You’ll start by choosing either Site plans or Workspace plans, but most individual users will need Site plans.

Then, you’ll have the choice between general plans or eCommerce plans. Only the general plan has a free option, which includes:

• Webflow.io domain
• Two-page website
• 50 file types (e.g., photo files, PDFs, etc.)
• 50 form submissions (lifetime)
• 1 GB bandwidth
• 1K unique visitors monthly

The upgraded plans add:

• Custom domains
• Additional web pages
• Additional CMS items
• Additional form submissions
• Additional bandwidth
• Additional unique visitors monthly
• Different marketing and SEO features

#6. Yola: Best for Local SEO Tools

You may not have heard of Yola before (neither had I), but it has some built-in features that can make it easier to start a business. Including Google Maps as part of the web builder and automatic GDPR compliance are excellent features.

Note: GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation, a European data protection law.

This might be the right website builder for local businesses or ones that do a lot of business in Europe. Unfortunately, the builder software's free plan is limited to two pages.

Pros
• Contact forms
• Google Maps built-in
• YouTube embeds built-in
• Multilingual sites
• No traffic limits

Cons
• The free plan only includes two pages
• Complicated pricing
• Tiered eCommerce plans can limit growth

Yola Pricing

The most complicated part about Yola is the pricing. The free plan is limited to two pages and 1 GB of storage space, while the other plans allow much more storage space and up to 1,000 pages. Paid plans range from $9.45 to $35.45 per month.

Then, you can add a store to premium plans for free—up to three products and one category. Upgrade to 100 products for $15 per month, $2,500 for $35, or unlimited for $99.

You can also buy an add-on custom domain and email.

#7. Website.com: Cheapest Website Builder for Side Gigs

I would categorize Website.com as the best website builder for small business owners running a side gig because they have a free plan and many low-cost plans. These plans provide limited functionality but will reduce costs until the business can sustain your lifestyle.

Some of the web builders do not include payment processing in the free tiers, but Website.com does. Unfortunately, they require the highest tier plan for necessary pages, like terms of service and refund pages.

Pros
• Top tier plan has excellent features, like schema, built-in
• Credit cards are accepted on all tiers.

Cons
• Terms and refund page are only available to the highest plan
• Business Basic is the minimum anyone serious about running a business would want.

Website.com Pricing

Website.com offers websites for free, but they earn revenue from ads. You’re limited to five pages with the free plan but get unlimited pages with any upgraded plans.

Upgraded plans range from $11 to $38 monthly with a $15 setup fee. You’ll want at least the Business Basic plan if you focus on selling online. Still, many of the features you need to be genuinely successful are only available with the $38 monthly Business Advanced plan.

#8. WordPress.com (and the Elementor tool)

WordPress.com is based on, but distinct from, the free content management system (CMS) called WordPress or WordPress.org. Unlike the CMS—which allows you to build a website and manage its content—WordPress.com also hosts your website and provides a free subdomain.

Using the free CMS allows you to save money by finding less expensive hosting and domain solutions. But if you’re not interested or experienced in handling web hosting and domain registration, we recommend WordPress.com.

One of the best WordPress.com tools is Elementor, a template company. Their free template, Hello Elementor, is usually ranked as the fastest WordPress.com template, but you need the Business plan to use it.

Pros
• Established and widely used platform
• Free subdomain (e.g., yourbusiness.wordpress.com)
• Blogging capabilities are integrated.

Cons:
• Limited design customization on the free plan
• Ads on the free plan
• Complex management
• Many eCommerce features require WooCommerce.

WordPress.com Pricing

WordPress.com offers six plans that range from free to the Enterprise-grade package at $25K+ per year. All the plans provide website functions, but when you increase your plan, you get additional features like:

• Lower transaction fees (starts at 10% and goes to 0%)
• Increased server management
• Increased monetization features

The $25 monthly Business plan is best for developers, while the $45 monthly commerce package is best for eCommerce stores.

#9. Strikingly: Best for Single-Product Online Store

The best website builder for single-product companies is Strikingly. A small business owner with multiple passive income businesses would benefit from this builder software. You don’t need coding knowledge; you can build a simple website to sell online.

Pros
• Up to 5 pages with the free website builder
• Free plan allows you to sell a single product
• You can create as many websites as you like.

Cons
• Limited number of pages
• Can only sell one product in your online store

Strikingly Pricing

Strikingly offers its free plan, which they promote as “free forever,” as well as paid plans. Paid plans open benefits like increased bandwidth, site memberships, and unlimited products.

#10. Appy Pie: Best Small Business App Builder

Most website builders are focused on building websites, but Appy Pie is a small business website builder, app builder, and NFT generator. That means you can do a lot more than website building with Appy Pie.

This small business website builder is best for people who want no-code mobile apps or want to enter the world of crypto.

Pros
• No code website builder for small business
• No-code app builder
• No-code automation builder

Cons
• A relative newcomer to the website builder space
• Slightly higher entry point than other website builders for small businesses

Appy Pie Pricing

Appy Pie has a free AI website builder that you can use to get started, but you’ll likely want to upgrade to a paid plan.

Both the $18 plan and $36 plan let you convert your small business website into an Android mobile app, but you’ll need a $60-monthly app builder if you want to have an iOS app.

#11. Renderforest: Best for Video Websites

This business website creator is meant for graphic designers and video creators. However, it could also be one of the best website builders for serial entrepreneurs who use lots of video and images.

The main focus of the website builder is providing better quality using SVG images and up to UHD 4K video.

Pros
• Visually stunning content
• Great features for content creators and agencies
• Free website builder with all plans

Cons
• Website builder is secondary to video tools.
• No free domains

Renderforest Pricing

The free plan lets you create low-quality PNGs, three-minute HD 720p videos, and free websites with up to 30 events.

Meanwhile, the $9.99 plan allows custom web domains, SSL encryption, and SEO and marketing functions. It also includes unlimited-length HD 720p videos and high-resolution PNGs and SVGs. The website gets 150 events.

When you go with the $19.99 plan, you get 1080p videos, 300 events, and brand guidelines. Meanwhile, the $29.99 plan allows reselling, 4K UHD video, and unlimited website events.

#12. Zoho Sites

Zoho has a full suite of apps for businesses. One of them is a website builder with a drag-and-drop interface.

You’ll want to use the Bigin version to get the best value on a free plan, but there are so many apps built to work together that you should check out Zoho’s full suite of options.

Pros
• Simple drag-and-drop builder
• Integration with other Zoho apps

Cons
• Limited template selection
• It can get pricey, depending on what you need.

Pricing

You can get Zoho Sites, Zoho Bigin, or Zoho One to get the drag-and-drop editor. The differences are pricing structures and features.

Sites has an $8 or $23 monthly plan for just the drag-and-drop editor.

Zoho One is a full suite of business apps, including the drag-and-drop editor. Pricing is $45 per employee per month (with all employees) or $105 per employee per month with the flexible plan.

Bigin is a modified version of Zoho One intended for solo entrepreneurs. It has a free, $9, and $15 monthly plan and acts as a stepping stone until you can justify Zoho One pricing.

Best Website Builders for Small Businesses (No Free Plans)

When you’re looking for the best website builder for small business owners, you might be better off using a paid website builder without a free plan.

Even so, Wix, Weebly, and WordPress.com stand up to anything on this list.

#13. Squarespace: Best for Online Payments

Squarespace is Square’s website builder, which means it will work well with businesses using Square payment processing.

Some of the higher-tier plans include a year of Google Workspace, which is helpful for business owners, but if you’re going with lower-tier plans you are better off with some of the other best website builders in this blog.

Pros
• eCommerce plans work seamlessly with the Square payment processor.
• Business and eCommerce plans include a year of Google Workspace.

Cons
• No free plan
• Better opportunities for lower-tier plans

Squarespace Pricing

Squarespace offers free trials but doesn’t have a free plan. The Personal plan for $23 per month has limited functionality and doesn’t have payment processing.

Meanwhile, the Business plan costs $33 monthly and adds a payment processor but charges 3% above standard processing fees.

The Commerce Basic plan is only an additional $3 monthly and removes the 3% fees. That means anyone selling more than $100 monthly from your website will benefit. Point-of-sale, Facebook and Instagram selling, and other eCommerce functionalities are available.

The best features are in the $65-per-month Commerce Advanced plan. You can sell subscriptions, have advanced shipping and discount options, and cart recovery.

#14. MailChimp: Best for Email Marketing

MailChimp is an email marketing platform. It also offers a website builder and other marketing tools and functions for a small business to start managing customer interactions.

Pros
• Free website builder after subscribing to email plans
• Marketing customer relationship management (CRM)
• Organic and paid social posting
• Unlimited landing pages
• Site-level reporting

Cons
• The web builder is a secondary consideration.
• Cost jumps from $700 to $1,075 minimum when your mailing list exceeds 100K subscribers

MailChimp Pricing

The MailChimp website builder is free with all the plans.

The way MailChimp charges is based on the number of emails in your database and the functions you receive. You can get essential marketing functions for 500 emails for free, but you’ll pay more if you want advanced automation, analytics, or a more extensive mailing list.

#15. Mobirise

Most of the best website builders are cloud-hosted by the web builder. Mobirise is a desktop app with a free website builder included. They will be releasing an AI website builder in the future.

Like WordPress.org, you’ll be responsible for choosing a web host (Mobirise being an option) and obtaining a custom domain name.

Pros
• Create a small business website without the internet
• Choose your preferred web host

Cons
• More decisions to make
• Costs can add up if you don’t buy the Mobirise Website Builder Kit

Mobirise Pricing

The pricing for Mobirise is free, but your small business website will likely need paid add-ons like templates or blocks that make the free website builder easier to use.

There are over 9,300 blocks, and the Website Builder Kit would be valued up to $9,662 if you bought each add-on separately, but they sell it for $149.

#16. GetResponse: Best Built-In Marketing Tools

GetResponse is similar to MailChimp where it is focused on improving your business’s lead response rate. A free website builder and landing page builder are included with all plans.

This website builder is another add-on to marketing automations—just with a better rating than MailChimp. But GetResponse is less known than MailChimp, which means fewer people will be able to advise you on how to use the software.

Pros
• All plans include free web builder and landing page builder
• Premium plan is less expensive than MailChimp’s
• Marketing automation is crucial for business growth
• Better Trustpilot ratings than MailChimp

Cons
• No completely free plan
• People aren’t as familiar with this offering as many of the best website builder

GetResponse Pricing

There are three pricing tiers: email marketing ($19 per month), marketing automation ($59 per month), and eCommerce marketing ($119 per month) for 1,000 emails. You can increase the number of emails for an additional cost.

GetResponse offers an 18% discount for annual plans and a 30% discount for two years paid up front.

#17. HostGator

HostGator is a website hosting platform that offers a website builder as well. HostGator offers some features, like the link-in-bio tool, that other top website builders don’t.

There are numerous complaints about the features that are unique to this web-building platform, so I’d be hesitant about using it.

Pros
• Link-in-bio tool
• Social media scheduling application
• Low-cost plans

Cons
• No completely free web builder
• Lots of recent complaints about some of the features

HostGator Pricing

There are four plans for the HostGator Website Builder:

• Website: For $4.84 per month, you get a basic website builder and custom domain name, plus Google verification and analytics integration.
• Website+Marketing: You get everything in the website package, plus appointment setting and lots of marketing tools such as CRM, marketing calendars, QR code generators, and more. It only costs $7.95 per month.
• Online Store: Add a mobile-responsive store and QuickBooks integration in this $13.95 monthly package.
• Online Marketplaces: For $19.95 you get everything previously listed plus features like marketplace selling, fulfillment automation, barcode creation, and more.

#18. Shopify: Best eCommerce Website Builder

Shopify’s eCommerce features are some of the best in the business. You’ll get a free trial with Shopify, which is pretty standard among the best eCommerce website builders, but you can’t run your website completely free.

Shopify has its own codebase, so if you’ve worked with a developer for other website builders, they might not be familiar with Shopify code.

Pros
• Robust eCommerce features: Shopify is known for its extensive range of eCommerce functionalities, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes.
• Scalability: It's highly scalable, allowing for site growth as your business expands.
• Large app store: Shopify has a vast app store with a wide range of third-party integrations and add-ons.
• Mobile optimization: Shopify provides a mobile app for managing your store on the go.
• Abandoned cart recovery: This feature, which is crucial for recovering potentially lost sales, is available even on the basic plan.

Cons:
• Transaction fees: Shopify charges transaction fees if you don't use their in-house payment gateway, Shopify Payments.
• Costs can add up: While the basic plan is reasonable, additional apps and services can increase costs.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify is one of the best website builders for small businesses. It has three plans for an online store: Basic ($39), Shopify ($105), and Advanced ($399). The main differences in the plans are transaction fees and the number of users who manage your small business website.

Jazmin Richards discusses how she uses Shopify in the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzZ5aTbiLh0

#19. BigCommerce

BigCommerce uses the same pricing strategy as Shopify, but there’s a catch: There’s a limit to the amount of transactions you can use in each plan.

You can run multiple stores from a single BigCommerce plan, which makes it excellent for serial entrepreneurs.

It’s meant to have a lot of functionality, but anytime software adds additional functionality, that means more of a learning curve.

Pros
• Powerful eCommerce capabilities: BigCommerce offers robust eCommerce features and is suitable for both small and large businesses.
• No transaction fees: BigCommerce doesn't charge transaction fees, which can save money for high-volume businesses.
• Flexible design: It provides a more flexible design framework compared to Shopify.
• Multi-channel selling: Integrates with various sales channels, like Amazon, eBay, and social media platforms.

Cons
• Learning curve: While it offers more flexibility, it might have a steeper learning curve compared to Weebly or Shopify.
• Pricing: BigCommerce is a bit pricier than Weebly, especially for larger businesses.

BigCommerce Pricing

BigCommerce pricing ranges from $39 to $399. The $39 monthly plan offers three online stores, the $105 monthly plan offers five online stores, and the highest tier offers eight unique storefronts.

There’s also an enterprise plan with much more support than the other plans.

We’ve discussed the most popular website builders. After you choose the website builder software you prefer, you’ll want to understand the website-building process.

How to Build a Website for Free

Here's a step-by-step guide to help with your site building:

1. Define your purpose and goals.
2. Choose a website builder.
3. Sign up and orient yourself.
4. Select a template.
5. Customize your website.
6. Preview and test it.
7. Optimize it for mobile.
8. Consider setting up a custom domain.
9. Publish your website.
10. Promote your website.
11. Regularly update and maintain it.

Define Your Purpose and Goals

Before you start building your website, you should determine what you want it to achieve. Some of the things you might want to use a website builder for include:

• Showcasing a portfolio
• Writing a personal blog
• Running an online store
• Collecting customer contact information
• Scheduling appointments
• Collecting payments

Additionally, every business should aim to have a fast website on both desktop and mobile devices. LiquidBlox’s comparison of website builder loading speeds can give you a good idea of which builders perform well.

Choose a Website Builder

You’ll want to choose the best website builder for you. For help making your choice, consider your purpose and goals and read our reviews above.

Remember, the best website builder is the one that helps you build your ideal business website as easily and effectively as possible.

Sign Up and Orient Yourself

Next, you’ll want to create an account with the website builder you’ve chosen.

All the website platforms are a little different, so you’ll want to take their walkthroughs, read their “help” sections, and so on.

Select a Template

Most website builders have templates that make it easier to create your website. You should choose one that aligns with your vision for your site.

Small business owners should choose a template based on qualities like:

• Layout: The layout is how the page looks to the user. You want your site to be laid out intuitively.
• Predesigned pages: Website templates should have at least a home page, an About Us page, service pages (which explain what your business offers), and a Contact page. If you’re running an online store, you’ll also want category pages and product pages. Make sure there is a template for each page you want.

Customize Your Website

Modify the template to suit your needs. In addition to customizing things like font and color, you’ll want to add content, select necessary plugins or apps, and configure your settings.

Add Content

You have all of your page templates, so now you need to add your content to each of the pages. You’ll need to leverage text, images, and videos to help your company stand out from other small businesses.

Make sure to review high-performing competitors’ websites to see what your customers will expect.

Start with the text. Go to each page and make its purpose and message clear. Consider paying a writer and an editor, respectively, to craft the content and smooth out any rough edges.

Then, upload your media. Before you replace any images and videos from the templates, check to see the size of the files and the type of files that are used. This will help you understand the types of files you can upload without harming site speed. Any deviation will likely result in a less user-friendly experience.

Check out our step-by-step tutorial on cleaning business websites for examples of how service businesses can approach website building.

Add Necessary Plugins or Apps

Your small business website builder might support apps or plugins to help build website functionality. Any WordPress site will normally be using several of these.

Be careful with them. Plugins and apps add advanced features to your existing website functionality, but they also slow it down and can present security vulnerabilities.

Configure the Settings

You’ll also be able to adjust your domain name, SEO settings, and privacy settings.

Your SEO settings include your site’s domain name, URL, and meta description (which describes your site to search engine users). To help you optimize these settings, I highly recommend the HubSpot Academy SEO course for all small business owners.

Privacy settings will need to be adjusted and disclosed. Every location varies about what you have to disclose, but the simplest way to deal with privacy is to use GDPR settings to meet the strictest privacy laws.

Preview and Test

Preview your website to ensure everything looks and functions as expected.

Website building requires making the website look good on a variety of screen sizes. Check how the website functions on traditional computer screens as well as both landscape and portrait mode on phones and tablets.

Optimize It for Mobile

While you are previewing your website, you may notice that your site-building efforts didn’t work as you intended for mobile devices. Make sure to fix anything that is not mobile-friendly, as 55% of web traffic and 61% of online store sales come from mobile devices.

Consider Setting Up a Custom Domain

If you want to have your own domain name, some platforms offer the option to purchase or connect one. Small businesses look more professional with a custom domain rather than a subdomain.

Business website builders will normally offer a subdomain with their free tiers, but a premium plan will allow you to add a custom domain and it is highly suggested when you promote and sell online.

Follow the directions on your site builder to add your custom domain name.

Publish Your Website

Once you're satisfied with the look and content, it's time to click “Publish.”

Promote Your Website

You’ll want to share your website on social media and company directories. You’ll also want to ask friends and family to share it to help you get more awareness.

There are numerous marketing strategies to help increase your visitors and customers. Consider optimizing your website for search engines and collecting emails to use in email marketing campaigns.

Regularly Update and Maintain It

Keep your website fresh by adding new content and updating the web pages as technology improves and trends shift. For those of you posting blogs, it's also helpful to respond to comments.

What is the best overall website builder for small businesses?

Weebly is the best website builder for businesses when you consider its free plan, premium features, and other offerings. The fact you can get started with its eCommerce tools for free and then grow into bigger plans is a huge plus.

What is the best free website builder for small businesses?

You can't go wrong with Wix when you’re looking for a user-friendly interface, SEO and analytics tools, and web hosting in a single location.

The free version is a great place to start, but the features get even better as you invest in the paid plans.

What is the best eCommerce website builder?

It’s hard to find a consensus on the best eCommerce site builder. Positive reviews are fairly evenly divided between the following:

• Shopify
• Weebly
• Wix
• BigCommerce

I would suggest playing with each to see which you like best. Ultimately, you have to choose what works best for your business.

The good news is that Weebly and Wix allow a simple website to start. At the same time, the other website builders allow free trials. That means you can test each web builder before deciding which one to use for your eCommerce website.

Which of the best website builders have you tried?

Whether they want a robust online store or a free one-page destination, small business owners have plenty of options for building their websites.

Which website builders have you used? Did you like them? Are there any website builders you would like us to review? Let us know in the comments below.