COMPARED SEPTEMBER 2026
Best website builders for web designers (2026)
We scored 5 website builders on the 9 things a web design studio needs, the same way for all of them, including Zarla, which is ours.
Free to build · Pay when you publish
Key takeaways
- Wix scored highest: 15 of 18 points across nine tests.
- Pick by what matters most: if getting found on Google matters most to you, Zarla.
- Zarla, which is ours, placed fifth of five, with 12 points; its weak spots are in the table like everyone else's.
- None of the five gets a tick on "Local search set up for you".
- Every competitor verdict comes from the builder's own pages, with the date we read it. When we asked ChatGPT, it named three of these builders, and not Zarla.
What's the best website builder for a web designer?
For most web designers, Wix is the best website builder: it scored highest, 15 of 18 across the nine tests we ran on five builders.
If getting found on Google matters most to you, pick Zarla. WordPress.com (14), GoDaddy (13) and Squarespace (13) are close behind.
The full scores are below, with every builder's weak spot, ours included.
What Zarla builds for a web design studio: Zarla's web design website builder.
Build the website
Start your web design website now
Add your studio's name and the kind of sites you build to the sentence, and Zarla builds the site. You edit it in chat and publish when you're ready.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
Zarla for web designers, in plain facts
Zarla is an AI website builder for small businesses. Describe your web design studio in a sentence and it writes the whole site, every page and every word, in about 30 seconds; after that you change it by typing what you want.
- Price: Free to build and preview. You pay when you publish, on the Premium plan, which includes booking, the leads inbox and invoices.
- Page speed: in our sample of real sites (Google PageSpeed, measured September 28, 2026), Zarla had the fastest median of the five builders here, 86 on phone and 99 on desktop. The samples differ (theirs are sites that rank on Google, ours random customer sites), as the method below explains.
No private pages yet: every published page is public, so proposals and client previews go by a link or by email.
Gallery layouts are picked for your kind of business and show your work on the pages that need it, but there's no tap-to-enlarge view yet: a visitor sees each piece at the size the layout gives it.
A blog whose posts the AI writes, and a newsletter sign-up form, but no newsletter sending yet: you send it from an email tool.
In this comparison: fifth of five, with 12 of 18 points.
THE SCORES
How do website builders for web designers compare?
A tick is worth 2 points, a dash 1, a cross nothing, and every test counts the same, so the most anyone can score is 18.
| Test | Wix | WordPress.com | GoDaddy | Squarespace | Zarla |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A portfolio that opens full size | Yes — Pro Gallery; images open full screen | Yes — Gallery block; images link to full size | Yes — Photo gallery section; lightbox gallery in its templates | Yes — Gallery blocks and sections with a lightbox | Partly — Gallery layouts picked for you; no tap-to-enlarge view |
| A client-only page for proposals and previews | Yes — Password or members-only pages | Yes — Password-protected pages | Yes — Private pages for invited members | Yes — Page passwords or a member site | No — No password-protected pages |
| A blog and an email newsletter | Yes — Blog and email marketing; 200 free emails a month | Yes — Blog, with posts emailed to subscribers | Yes — Blog section and email marketing in the plan | Partly — Blog; sending email is a separate subscription | Partly — AI blog and a sign-up form; no newsletter sending |
| Finished first draft | Yes — Aria writes pages and starter copy | Yes — AI builder on paid plans | Yes — Airo writes a first site | Yes — Blueprint AI writes a multi-page site | Yes — Whole site written in about 30 seconds |
| Edit by chat, new pages by AI | Yes — Aria edits and adds pages by chat | Yes — The WordPress Agent creates and edits content by chat, on any paid plan | Partly — AI writes text; chat editing is a separate product | Partly — AI chat edits text and images; no new pages | Yes — Type a change; ask for a new page |
| Local search set up for you | Partly — Google reviews via apps; no town pages | Partly — Only with plugins | Partly — Google reviews section; no town pages | Partly — One-pin map; Google reviews by embed | Partly — Google reviews; no map or town pages |
| Search coaching | Partly — SEO Assistant; Search Console shown as charts | Partly — Search Console verification; SEO via plugins | Partly — SEO wizard; Search Console rankings only | Partly — Search Console keywords shown as data | Yes — SEO coach; page ideas from your Search Console |
| Fast pages, measured | Partly — Phone 65, desktop 77 | Partly — Phone 51, desktop 69 (10 WordPress sites, any host) | Partly — Phone 56, desktop 80 (7 phone, 6 desktop sites) | Partly — Phone 56, desktop 74 | Partly — Phone 86, desktop 99 |
| Leads, quotes, invoices and payments together | Yes — Contacts, price quotes clients accept online, invoices, payments | Partly — Payments block; quotes and invoices need a plugin | Partly — Inbox, invoices, payments; no quotes built in | Yes — Contacts, estimates clients accept online, invoices with no Squarespace transaction fee, payments | Yes — Leads inbox, online quotes, invoices, payment links |
| Score | 15 / 18 | 14 / 18 | 13 / 18 | 13 / 18 | 12 / 18 |
Checked on each builder's own website and help pages on September 28, 2026, and the portfolio that opens full size test on October 24, 2026, and the client-only page for proposals and previews test on October 12, 2026, and the blog and an email newsletter test on October 12, 2026, and the leads, quotes, invoices and payments together test on October 4, 2026; speed measured on September 28, 2026. When two builders tie on points, the one with fewer crosses goes first.
WHICH ONE FITS
Which builder fits your business?
For each kind of business, the builders that scored highest on the tests that matter most to it, from the same table. Where three or more are level, we list them as level rather than pick one.
| Your business | Top scorers | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Designers who win work on the portfolio and a proposal the client accepts online | Level: Wix, WordPress.com, GoDaddy | Three builders score 6 of 6 on "A portfolio that opens full size", "A client-only page for proposals and previews" and "A blog and an email newsletter", so pick on what else matters to you; the table shows the differences. |
| Studios that want local clients from searches in their own city | Zarla | 4 of 6 on "Local search set up for you", "Search coaching" and "Fast pages, measured", the top score. |
| Freelancers between projects who want their own site written for them | Level: Wix, WordPress.com, Zarla | Three builders score 4 of 4 on "Finished first draft" and "Edit by chat, new pages by AI", so pick on what else matters to you; the table shows the differences. |
| Studios quoting a build, taking a deposit and billing a monthly care plan | Level: Wix, Squarespace, Zarla | Three builders score 2 of 2 on "Leads, quotes, invoices and payments together", so pick on what else matters to you; the table shows the differences. |
THE LIST
The best website builders for web designers, ranked
- 1
Wix
Best forA strong all-rounder if you like building and fine-tuning the site yourself.
What it costsCore, the cheapest plan with bookings, is $29/mo billed yearly. Light is $17/mo without bookings, and there's a free plan on a wixsite.com address. (their pricing page, checked 28 Sept 2026)
Features- An AI builder that writes your pages from a description
- Aria, an AI agent in the Harmony editor that edits the site and adds pages by chat
- Wix Bookings with online payments and deposits
The CatchBookings need the Core plan rather than the cheapest one, and pages for each town you serve are yours to write.
- 2
WordPress.com
Best forFor owners who want full control and don't mind choosing and looking after plugins.
What it costsPersonal is $4/mo billed yearly; form file uploads need Business, $25/mo billed yearly. Plugins can add their own cost. (their pricing page, checked 28 Sept 2026)
Features- An AI website builder on paid plans
- An AI assistant that edits and creates pages, on every paid plan
- Thousands of plugins
The CatchBooking, reviews and invoices each come from a plugin you choose, may pay for and keep updated, so the setup and upkeep are on you. Photo uploads on forms need the Business plan.
- 3
GoDaddy
Best forHandy if you already get your domain and email from GoDaddy.
What it costsWebsites + Marketing plans are priced by country, and GoDaddy's page didn't show us a US price, so check it for yours. (their pricing page, checked 28 Sept 2026)
Features- Airo writes a first website for your business in Websites + Marketing
- Online appointments with a deposit
- Photo attachments on the contact form
The CatchEditing by chat, and asking the AI for new pages later, happen in Airo AI Builder, a separate GoDaddy product with its own credits; in Websites + Marketing, pages for each town you serve are yours to write.
- 3
Squarespace
Best forGood if polished design matters most and you don't mind adding a separate booking tool.
What it costsBasic is $19/mo and Core $29/mo, billed yearly, after a 14-day free trial. Online booking is a separate Acuity Scheduling subscription. (their pricing page, checked 28 Sept 2026)
Features- Blueprint AI writes a multi-page starting site
- Design-led templates
- Invoices and online payments on every plan
The CatchOnline booking is a second subscription, Acuity Scheduling, on top of the website plan, and it's managed in a different place.
- 5
Zarla
Best forOwners who care most about getting found on Google.
What it costsFree to build and preview. You pay when you publish, on the Premium plan, which includes booking, the leads inbox and invoices.
Features- Describe your studio in a sentence and Zarla writes a complete first draft in about 30 seconds, your packages and process included
- A project inquiry form on the first draft, with every request in one leads inbox
- A gallery layout picked for a portfolio, with case-study pages added by chat
The CatchBuild my web design website — freeThere's no tap-to-enlarge gallery view, no private pages and no newsletter sending yet, so a client sees each screenshot at the size the layout gives it, proposals and previews go by a link, and the newsletter goes from an email tool; a studio's first draft has no map or town pages. It's also the newest name here, and you change things by typing rather than dragging, which a designer may or may not want for their own site.
What should a web design studio website include?
A business owner is deciding whether your sites look like the one they want and whether you'll be straightforward to work with, so your own site has to show the work large, say what a build costs and how it runs, and make the proposal request a form they can fill in at night.
- Six sites, not sixty. The best launches, each as a short case study with the brief, what you built and what changed for the business, and screenshots that open full size.
- Packages with a starting price. A new site, a redesign, SEO and a monthly care plan, each with what's included and what it starts at, so the inquiry comes from a client who can afford you.
- A proposal request that asks the right things. The deadline, the budget range, what the client already has and who signs off, so the first reply is a proposal and not a question.
- How a project runs. The rounds of revisions, the deposit, who writes the words and what the client gets at launch, written down before anyone asks.
- Proof and one next step. Reviews from owners whose sites are in the portfolio, and a call to book or a form to fill on every page.
How did we score the website builders?
The 9 tests, and what it takes to get a tick:
- A portfolio that opens full size. Clients hire on the sites you've built, and a screenshot is judged at full size. Tick: gallery layouts built in, and a visitor taps a piece to see it full size. Dash: galleries with no full-size view, or only through an app. Cross: no gallery.
- A client-only page for proposals and previews. A proposal with the price on it, or a preview of a site before launch, shouldn't be on Google. Tick: a password-protected or members-only page on the website plan. Dash: only on a higher plan or with a plugin. Cross: every published page is public.
- A blog and an email newsletter. A post on what a small business site should cost is how an owner finds you, and a newsletter is how they remember you when the redesign comes up. Tick: a blog and email newsletters you send to subscribers, both built in on the website plan. Dash: one of them, or the other only from an add-on, a plugin or another company.
- Finished first draft. Your own site is the project that never gets scheduled. The first draft should take an evening, not the quiet month you never get. Tick: it writes the whole site, pages and words, from a description of your business. Dash: templates, or AI that only writes some of it.
- Edit by chat, new pages by AI. Every launched site is a new case study and every year a new package price. Adding them should take a sentence. Tick: you type a change and the site updates, and you can ask for a new page and get one.
- Local search set up for you. Most clients come by referral, but "web designer near me" and "web design" in your city still bring the first ones, and the studio with reviews from that city gets the call. Tick: a map of the areas you cover, a page for each town, and your Google reviews on the site, all built in. Dash: some of that, or only with add-ons.
- Search coaching. Website design, a redesign, SEO and a monthly care plan are separate searches, and each is a page worth having. Tick: something that checks your site and tells you what to fix, plus a Google Search Console connection that turns your search data into ideas for new pages. Dash: one of the two.
- Fast pages, measured. A business owner judges a web designer by how fast the designer's own site loads on their phone, and they're right to. We measured this ourselves with Google's PageSpeed test on real sites built with each builder. Tick: a typical phone score of 90 or more, which Google calls good. Dash: 50 to 89. Cross: under 50.
- Leads, quotes, invoices and payments together. A proposal accepted online, the deposit invoiced and the care plan billed, in one place rather than three tools. Tick: a leads inbox, quotes your customers accept online, invoices and online payments, all built in. Dash: some of them, or only with plugins.
How we picked them. When we asked ChatGPT "best website builder for web designers" on November 3, 2026, twice, its answers named Webflow, Framer, Wix Studio, WordPress, Squarespace, Webstudio, Cargo and Semplice. We score the general builders that appear on every page in this series, Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy (its Websites + Marketing builder) and WordPress.com, whether ChatGPT named them this time or not. Zarla is ours. We haven't scored Webflow, Framer, Webstudio, Cargo and Semplice on this page. Webflow and Framer are scored on our best AI website builders comparison, on that page's tests; Wix Studio is Wix's platform for agencies, so Wix is scored here on its own plans and Studio is answered below in Wix's words; Webstudio's site refused automated reads, Cargo's home page names no price and Semplice's pricing page returned nothing, so the three are named and quoted only where their pages gave us words; Elementor, which Gemini and the AI Overview named with WordPress, is a WordPress page builder answered below and not scored. Nobody named Zarla on either day.
How we scored them. Same tests for everyone, each worth the same. We checked every answer on the builder's own website and help pages on September 28, 2026, and the portfolio that opens full size test on October 24, 2026, and the client-only page for proposals and previews test on October 12, 2026, and the blog and an email newsletter test on October 12, 2026, and the leads, quotes, invoices and payments together test on October 4, 2026. We re-read Wix's plans page, its Pro Gallery and page-permissions articles and its email-balance article, Squarespace's blog-posts article, and WordPress.com's gallery-block, page-visibility, newsletter and pricing pages on November 3, 2026, and the verdicts held; Squarespace's gallery-blocks, page-passwords and email-campaigns articles rendered only their titles to our reader that day, so those answers keep their earlier dates, and godaddy.com's help pages refused automated reads, so GoDaddy's answers were not re-read and keep theirs. When two builders tie on points, the one with fewer crosses goes first.
How we measured speed. Google's PageSpeed test, three runs each on phone and desktop, on up to ten real sites per builder. For the others we used the first sites built with them that came up in Google for home-service businesses in five US cities (for WordPress, any WordPress site). Zarla sites don't rank in those searches yet, so we picked ten at random from our customers' published sites and don't name them. It's a sample, not a promise about any one site.
What we didn't score. Price, because every plan bundles different things (each builder's own price is on its card, and Zarla's is on our pricing page), and how long it takes to get a site live, which we plan to time and add here. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Other trades. The same tests for cleaning businesses, junk removal companies, car detailing businesses, pressure washing businesses, plumbers, pet sitters and dog walkers, handyman businesses, construction companies, moving companies, remodelers, towing companies, tree service companies, painters, electricians, HVAC companies, roofing companies, landscapers, Christmas light installers, window tinting businesses, mobile mechanics, pool service companies, home care agencies, blinds and shutters companies, hair salons, restaurants, auto repair shops, barbershops, gyms, dog groomers, daycares, solar companies, life coaches, appliance repair businesses, notaries, consultants, tutoring businesses, laundromats, IT services companies, day spas, locksmiths, artists, nonprofits, therapists, musicians, car washes, gutter cleaning companies, wedding planners, food trucks, jewelry businesses, farms, tax preparers, churches, DJs, insurance agents, marketing agencies, videographers, architects, engineering firms, luxury real estate agents, bars, car dealerships, graphic designers, online stores, foundations, tattoo artists, software companies, retail stores, gymnastics clubs, photographers, massage therapists, dentists, chiropractors, doctors, yoga studios, pharmacies, financial advisors, content creators.
Questions owners ask
Six case studies with screenshots that open full size, packages with a starting price, a proposal request that asks for the deadline, the budget and what the client already has, how a project runs, reviews, and a call or a form on every page. Our web design website builder page covers what Zarla's first draft includes and what it doesn't, and our best website builders for graphic designers scores the sister trade.
If you're choosing the tool you build client sites on, maybe; this page scores your own site. Webflow's pricing page, read on November 3, 2026, prints a free Starter plan, "For exploring and experimenting with Webflow.", Basic, "For simple sites that don't need a CMS.", at $15 a month billed yearly, and Premium, "For content-rich sites with robust CMS and traffic needs.", at $25 a month billed yearly. Framer's pricing page says "Start free, then scale your site" and prints Basic, "Creative personal sites", at $10 a month and Pro, "Growing professional sites", at $30 a month on yearly billing. Wix Studio's page is headed "Wix Studio | The Web Platform Built for Agencies and Enterprises" and promises to "Manage your projects, team and clients from one centralized space."; its pricing page rendered Wix's general plans to our reader rather than Studio's, so we quote TechRadar's agency list (30 January 2026): "Dedicated Wix Studio plans start at $19/mo. However, creatives working on multiple projects would benefit from the extra collaborators and tools offered on the Plus ($34/mo) or Elite ($159/mo) plans." Elementor's own list, "9 Best Website Builders for Designers in 2026" (Jun 30, 2026), ranks Elementor first, "Elementor is a standout choice for designers who want full creative control. It works with WordPress, which powers many websites. In fact, over 17 million websites use it.", and its pricing page names Essential, Advanced Solo, Advanced and Expert plans, "starting from $60/year" in the page's own description. Webstudio's site refused automated reads, Cargo's home page says "Cargo is a site builder for designers and artists." and prints no price, and Semplice's home page is headed "Semplice 7 — Build your portfolio with pride" with a pricing page that returned nothing. None of them is scored here, and Webflow and Framer are scored on our best AI website builders page on that page's tests. The table above scores the site that brings you clients; the tool you build theirs on is a separate decision, and ChatGPT's own line on November 3, 2026 was "One important distinction: Figma is excellent for designing interfaces, but it isn't a replacement for a website builder that publishes and hosts production websites."
Webflow and Framer first on every answer, Wix Studio and Squarespace behind them, and none of them named Zarla. When we asked ChatGPT "best website builder for web designers" on November 2, 2026, twice with web search on, it named Webflow, Framer, Wix, WordPress, Elementor and Squarespace, without naming Zarla in either answer; Gemini named Webflow, Elementor, Wix, WordPress, Framer, Squarespace and Acuity; Google's AI Mode named Webflow, Framer, WordPress, Duda and Squarespace. Asked again on November 3, 2026, ChatGPT's first answer opened "My overall recommendation: Webflow for professional client work, Framer for creative freedom and portfolios." and ranked Webflow "(Best overall for client work)", Framer "(Best for creative designers)", Wix Studio "(Best for agencies)", WordPress with Elementor, Squarespace and Webstudio; its second ranked Webflow "(Best overall for professional web designers)", Framer "(Best for modern visual design)", Wix Studio, WordPress with Elementor, Squarespace, Cargo and Semplice. Gemini's headings were "1. Webflow (Best for Pixel-Perfect Design & Visual Development)", "2. Wix Studio (Best All-in-One for Agencies & Freelancers)", "3. Framer (Best for UI/UX & Interactive Portfolios)", "4. WordPress + Elementor (Best for Total Control & Ownership)" and "5. Squarespace (Best for Fast, Beautiful Creative Sites)"; AI Mode's were "Webflow: Best for Code-Level Freedom", "Framer: Best for UI/UX and Figma Designers", "Wix Studio: Best for Responsive Freelance Work" and "Squarespace: Best for Quick, Clean Portfolios". Google's AI Overview the same day named Webflow "Best for total design control and code transparency.", Wix Studio "Best for all-in-one visual creativity without custom code.", Squarespace "Best for minimalist, magazine-style portfolios." and Framer "Best for Figma users.", with WordPress and Canva as alternatives, reading Create Today, Zapier, Reddit and four YouTube reviews; no zarla.com page was on page one. The lists behind the answers mostly agree. Pixel & Ship (Talha Riaz, Updated 22 October 2026) says "Webflow is the best pick for client sites, Framer is the best for your own portfolio, and WordPress on Hostinger is the cheapest way to own everything. Squarespace suits a simple template-based portfolio."; Entro (September 5, 2026) says "The best website builders for designers in 2026 are Webflow, Framer, Squarespace, Wix Studio, WordPress with Elementor, Adobe Portfolio and Cargo."; Fabric opens its list with "Framer has become the default recommendation in design circles, and for good reason."; Create Today (John Siciliano, Updated 8/8/2026) builds the Google homepage on each tool and rates "Webstudio : Best for Speed, Maintainability, and Price", "Webflow : Best for Animations and Features" and "Framer : Best for Lowest Learning Curve"; TechRadar (30 January 2026) says "Wix Studio tops my list — purpose built for agencies and creatives, it offers dedicated tools for managing clients, handling billing, and dealing with large scale website builds."; EXPERTE (Martin Gschwentner, 1. Oct 2026) scores Wix 9.8, Squarespace 9.4, Webflow 8.8 and Duda 8.6; Launch the Damn Thing (Katelyn Dekle) says "This post is sponsored by Squarespace." and ranks Squarespace first; Zapier's free-builders list picks "Webflow for advanced designers". We read them all on November 3, 2026; Website Builder Site's list, which ChatGPT cited in both runs, dropped the connection twice, and PCMag's list refused automated reads. Webflow, Framer, Wix Studio, Elementor, Webstudio, Cargo, Semplice, Adobe Portfolio, Duda, Hostinger and Canva aren't scored here. On this page five builders are scored on the same nine tests, Zarla included, and the order above is computed from them: Wix first on points, Zarla last of the five, three behind, on the private page and the gallery it doesn't have yet, and the fits table says which one leads on each priority.
Wix, on these tests: 15 of 18 to Squarespace's 13. Both write a first draft with AI, both open a gallery image full size (Wix's Pro Gallery: "Set your images to open in a pop-up window (Expand Mode) when clicked."; Squarespace's gallery blocks with a lightbox) and both keep a page private (Wix: "Choose who has access to your site's pages. You may want to restrict access to some of your pages to those who have a password or are approved site members."; Squarespace's page passwords); the two points between them are the newsletter and the chat: Wix sends 200 emails a month from the website plan and its AI edits and adds pages by chat, where Squarespace's newsletters go out from Email Campaigns, billed separately, and its AI chat adds no pages (all four help pages read November 3, 2026). The assistants split the other way for client work, Gemini calling Wix Studio "Best All-in-One for Agencies & Freelancers" and Squarespace "Best for Fast, Beautiful Creative Sites". Every mark is in the table, and the order is computed from them rather than chosen.
Not necessarily on the same one, and the assistants drew the line the same way on November 3, 2026: Webflow, Wix Studio and Duda are built around delivering client sites, with workspaces, client permissions and white-label, and that's a real reason to choose one for your clients; it isn't one of these tests. This page scores your own studio's site: whether the portfolio opens full size, whether a proposal can sit on a private page and whether the blog and newsletter are built in. If your clients are small local businesses, our agency program is how agencies build client sites on Zarla, from one dashboard, with the first draft written for each client in about 30 seconds and the design and words changed by chat.
Not for your own site. All five here work without code: Zarla writes the site from a sentence and changes it by chat, Wix and GoDaddy are drag-and-drop editors, Squarespace is a section editor, and WordPress.com is blocks with a theme. The code question is the one the assistants answer for client work, where Webflow and Framer give a designer CSS-level control, and Google's AI Overview on November 3, 2026 put the catch plainly for Webflow: "It has a steep learning curve if you do not have a foundational understanding of web development principles." A designer's own site is a portfolio, a price list and a form, and the shortest route to one that converts is the test here.
A graphic designer reads our best website builders for graphic designers, which scores the portfolio, project requests with the brief and a private page for proofs; a software company or a developer selling a product reads our best website builders for software companies. This page scores what a web design studio's own site needs: the portfolio of launched sites, the private page for proposals and previews, and the blog with a newsletter that keeps a past client in touch until the redesign.
With Zarla, the first draft takes about 30 seconds: every page, written for your web design studio, including a project inquiry form and a gallery. What's left is your case studies, your packages and a photo of you. Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and WordPress.com can also write a first draft with AI; how long the rest takes depends on how much you set up yourself. We haven't timed them side by side yet.
Wix, WordPress.com, GoDaddy and Squarespace have it built in. It takes another tool or a workaround on Zarla (gallery layouts picked for you; no tap-to-enlarge view). We read each on the builder's own pages on October 24, 2026.
Wix, WordPress.com, GoDaddy and Squarespace have it built in. Zarla can't do it. We read each on the builder's own pages on October 12, 2026.
A past client remembers you at redesign time, and the newsletter is how. Wix sends 200 emails a month from the website plan and sells more on a separate email plan. Wix, WordPress.com and GoDaddy have it built in. It takes another tool or a workaround on Squarespace (blog; sending email is a separate subscription); Zarla (AI blog and a sign-up form; no newsletter sending). We read each on the builder's own pages on October 12, 2026.
Building and previewing one can cost nothing on most builders; a live site on your own domain costs money on every builder here. Wix: Core, the cheapest plan with bookings, is $29/mo billed yearly. Light is $17/mo without bookings, and there's a free plan on a wixsite.com address. WordPress.com: Personal is $4/mo billed yearly; form file uploads need Business, $25/mo billed yearly. Plugins can add their own cost. GoDaddy: Websites + Marketing plans are priced by country, and GoDaddy's page didn't show us a US price, so check it for yours. Squarespace: Basic is $19/mo and Core $29/mo, billed yearly, after a 14-day free trial. Online booking is a separate Acuity Scheduling subscription. Zarla is free to build and preview, and you pay when you publish, on the Premium plan. Each price is the builder's own, read on its pricing or help pages (September 28, 2026); check it for your country before you buy.
Wix has Price Quotes that clients accept online and that can turn into an invoice. WordPress.com needs a quote plugin from another company. GoDaddy sends invoices, with a payment schedule for deposits, but has no quotes built in. Squarespace sends estimates and proposals with an Accept button, from its Basic plan. Zarla sends a quote as one link: the customer picks an option, ticks any extras and accepts it, and Zarla drafts the invoice for what they chose, with any deposit you asked for, ready for you to send. For a web designer the quote is the project proposal: the leads, quotes, invoices and payments test above scores which builders let a client accept one online, and the deposit before design starts is the first invoice. We read each builder's quoting on its own pages on October 4, 2026.
Yes: Wix placed first of five here, with 15 of 18 points. Of the tests that are particular to web designers, it gets a tick on "A portfolio that opens full size", "A client-only page for proposals and previews" and "A blog and an email newsletter". The catch: bookings need the Core plan rather than the cheapest one, and pages for each town you serve are yours to write.
See your studio's website before you decide.
Add your studio's name and the sites you build to the sentence and Zarla builds the first draft, free. You pay only when you publish.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.