6 Best Website Builders in South Africa (2025 Review)
You’ll need the best website builders if you’re running a business in South Africa and want to build your online presence. We’ve compiled the top options, and here are our best five:
Squarespace
Shopify
Bluehost Builder
Zyro
Weebly
If you need the best website builders in South Africa, you've probably decided to set up an online store or create an official website for your small business. Rather than spending a lot of money on a designer, you can create it yourself and still make it professional with the top website builders.
The best website builders have many features for setting up your own website, even without coding knowledge. All you need is a template, website content, SEO tools with adding relevant keywords, and a custom domain. Many of these tools are available to business owners and individuals in South Africa, and we've compiled the top choices.
Here is our review of the best website builders in South Africa.
List of Best Website Builders in South Africa
After comparing a wide range of website building tools, we settled on the top six builders for users in South Africa. They include:
1. Squarespace
Best Overall
- Professionally designed template for any platform.
- Reliable customer service.
- Great email and social media marketing.
- Comes with a mobile app for easy site management.
- Includes a free trial.
- Editing is limited to the preset rows.
- No autosave in the built-in editor.
Starting off our list is Squarespace, an all-around powerful website builder with fantastic template designs and some helpful e-commerce features. The website builder software is easy to use and works for all business sizes, making it the best website builder in South Africa on this list.
Squarespace is the best website builder for South African users, offering a fantastic user interface, gorgeous and professional templates, and versatility. Whether you want to set up a blog, online store, landing page, portfolio, or professional business website, Squarespace has something for you. Simply browse its extensive selection of templates and start with one.
You can leverage some of their award-winning web designs at Squarespace and customize them to meet your needs. There is a suite of built-in SEO tools for maximizing the site's position on search engines and extensive analytics to stay up to date with your site performance. Plus, the pricing plans are affordable and come with a free trial.
Key Features
Versatile Website Builder
Regardless of the website type you want to make, Squarespace has something for everyone. Its leading-edge website templates are ideal for personal and professional use. You can create portfolios with password-protection pages and customizable galleries. There are powerful blogging tools for scheduling and sharing posts.
Mobile App and Video Studio
Aside from being fully responsive on mobile and providing a wide range of integrated apps, Squarespace has its app. The app allows you to manage your site while on the go. A Video Studio app also allows you to create and share engaging videos.
Ecommerce and Marketing Features
You can set up an online store to sell online with Squarespace. There are also marketing features, like adding offers to your site and prompting visitors to sign up for mailing lists.
Quality Templates and Site Elements
There are hundreds of templates available on Squarespace that will make your website building process much more manageable. With so many modern templates, you can select the one that best fits your business. Squarespace provides access to the image library of Unsplash and has over a thousand fonts to pick from.
Pricing
- Mobile-Friendly Websites
- 100+ Templates
- Free Custom Domain
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- 2 Contributors
- Ecommerce Functionality
- Unlimited Products
- 3% Transaction Fees
- Custom Code (CSS & JS)
- Unlimited Contributors
- 0% Transaction Fees
- Point of Sale
- On-site Checkout
- Product Reviews
- Facebook and Instagram Selling
- Abandoned Cart Recovery
- Advanced Shipping
- Advanced Discounts
- Subscription Selling
- Commerce APIs
Read more Squarespace pricing or Squarespace ecommerce examples
Squarespace offers pricing plans from $23 per month for personal use. If you opt for annual billing, you can save up to 30%. There is also a free trial that you can enjoy before using the paid plans. Larger South African businesses can use Squarespace Enterprise for a more customized solution.
2. Shopify
Best for Online Store
- Impressive editor and inventory system for all store sizes.
- Versatile builder with great website template designs.
- Supports multi-platform selling on different channels.
- Over 100 payment options to drive transactions.
- Features 3000+ third-party apps as extensions.
- You need paid apps to boost functionality.
- High transaction fees on third-party payment methods.
Next on our list is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world, and Shopify allows you to set up your online store without any tech skills. Whether starting your store from scratch or looking to scale up your store, Shopify is the ideal choice.
Shopify is the best website builder in South Africa for creating your online store. The website building tool comes with a wide range of themes that you can customize to represent your store's identity. If you're a beginner, you can leverage the no-code tools on Shopify to build and launch your store without technical skills.
There are tools for developers who want to build an online store fully. There is full access to HTML, CSS, and Shopify's templating language, Liquid. Since it is a hosted website-building solution, you don't have to install any other software to use Shopify. The tool is easy to use right out of the box.
Key Features
Fantastic Interface and Templates
Shopify does not have a lot of free online store themes, and you can get some of the best ones when you get the paid versions. The website builder comes with a clean and straightforward interface that makes management more effortless.
Seamless Shopify Payments
Online stores can benefit from using the built-in system, Shopify Payments, for facilitating online transactions. Other add-ons allow you to add multiple currencies, and there are over 100 third-party payment methods you can use for your store.
Importing and Exporting Data
You can import product data from files in CSV format into Shopify, which comes in handy when you want to upload many new products to the store. Also, if you're moving from another website builder software, you can send all the information at once. Data can be exported, too, in the same file format.
Comprehensive App Store
One of the benefits of using Shopify is the collection of apps that you can add to your store, which provides better functionality. You can integrate these apps with other tools to enhance your online business. They include advanced reporting, data capture, abandoned cart saver, accounting, and multi-currency selling apps.
Pricing
- 100+ Templates
- Unlimited Products
- International Commerce
- 24/7 Support
- Shopify POS
- Ecommerce Automations
- up to 88% Shipping Discounts
- Standard Analytics Reports
- 5 Staff Accounts
- 1% Fees for 3rd Party Payments
- 0.5% Fees for 3rd Party Payments
- Lower Credit Card Fees
- 15 Staff Accounts
- Advanced Analytics Reports
- Duties and Import Taxes
Read more Shopify pricing or successful Shopify stores
Shopify comes with extensive pricing options regardless of your business size. The Starter is going for $5 per month, but the plans start from $29 per month. You can opt for a yearly discount of up to 50%. Larger organizations can purchase Shopify Plus, starting at $2,000 per month.
3. Bluehost Builder
Best for Beginners
- A fantastic alternative for website building beginners.
- Provides WordPress CMS features.
- Includes WooCommerce storefronts and e-commerce features.
- Extensive collection of stock photos and templates.
- Excellent uptime with free SSL certificate.
- Cannot switch templates after launch.
- No free option.
Anyone new to setting up a website in South Africa can consider using the Bluehost Builder. An excellent web hosting solution accompanies this WordPress-focused website builder. With WordPress as the backbone of this website builder, you can expect great functionality and attractive features.
Although Bluehost is famous for its hosting services, its Website Builder is another fantastic feature that allows you to build attractive and unlimited pages. The Bluehost Builder has the tools for making a blog or online store on WordPress. The tool comes with many professionally designed templates and analytical tools for driving traffic.
Since the Bluehost Builder is based on WordPress, you can expect a lot of flexibility and top-notch security. Plus, you have the hosting service that you need at the same time. Leverage a massive library of tools and use WordPress CMS to communicate with your customers.
Key Features
Business-Friendly Tools
Bluehost Builder features improve traffic to your site and check performance. These include contact forms, malware protection, website analytics, email marketing tools, and more.
Library of Templates and Images
With this website builder, you can access a massive library of stock images that are free to use. Also, different templates offer a dynamic advantage. Bluehost Builder allows unlimited image and site content uploads for running your site.
E-Commerce Features
Bluehost Builder makes this easier for you if you want to run a small business website. You can add a store to your dashboard if you already have a website. Another feature is appointment booking, which helps customers directly schedule appointments or reservations from your store.
WordPress Friendly
Bluehost Builder gives you access to a wide range of tools from WordPress. The web host is recommended by WordPress, too, so you can expect quality hosting and security for your website.
Pricing
- Bluehost-Certified Themes for WP
- WordPress-Optimized Hosting
- Drag-and-Drop Page Builder
- Free Domain Name
- Unlimited Websites
- Free Daily Backups for 1st Year
- 40GB SSD Storage
- Yoast SEO Free
- Unlimited Products
- Store Analytics
- 100GB SSD Storage
- Multiple Payment Options
Read more Bluehost pricing or Bluehost review
The pricing for the Bluehost Builder starts at $10.99, but with the discounts in place, you can spend as low as $2.95 for the first plan. Keep in mind that it will auto-renew at the regular rate. Each plan is for a different purpose, including content creation (blogs), business, online store, and online store + marketplace.
4. Zyro
Best Budget Option
- Very simple to use with great value for your money.
- Improves site performance with templates and page-building grids.
- Quick updates and business email.
- Comes with AI-powered tools that save time and make things easier.
- Multiple payment processing options for online stores.
- Getting a custom domain is more complicated.
- Limited customization is allowed.
If you're looking to save a lot of money on your website building, Zyro is the ideal choice, with the pricing plans going as low as $2.99 per month with the discount applied. The brainchild of Hostinger, Zyro is the perfect choice for building a simple digital presence or online store without fuss.
Despite being a new website publishing tool, Zyro has quickly become one of the most popular due to its easy use and affordable cost. No coding is required for this website development platform, as it works like any other graphical user-friendly interface. The website builder is made by Hostinger, one of the best web hosting services.
Zyro comes with many helpful built-in tools, like an extensive collection of images, an AI content production script, and an AI heatmap. The website builder contributes to your site performance with automatic Cloudflare and a free SSL certificate. Also, you can use it to build a responsive website for mobile and desktop, using hundreds of templates.
Key Features
Clever AI Tools
One of the impressive AI tools is the AI writer, which you can use to generate text for your professional website automatically. You need to give them a team, and the AI writer will create a beautiful website. Also, the AI heatmap helps optimize web page design.
Logo and Slogan Makers
New website owners might not have a slogan or logo while setting up their website. The logo maker is a bit simple and can give you something unique to make up the face of your website.
Diverse App Integrations
Get access to even more advanced features on Zyro with the app integrations. These include Google Analytics, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Tags Manager, Hotjar, and Facebook Pixel.
Easy Payment Processing for Stores
Zyro offers a fantastic payment system for its e-commerce clients. There is no native payment system, but your site can leverage multiple payment methods to provide customers with choices.
Pricing
You can choose between two pricing plans on Zyro, one for personal sites and the other for e-commerce platforms. The plans come with discounts as high as 75%, giving you a starting price of $2.99 per month. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
5. Weebly
Best Free Option
- Responsive design themes for mobile use.
- Site statistics are provided with different metrics.
- Unlimited data transfer on all plans with a free domain.
- Full support for e-commerce sites, including those selling digital goods.
- Switch themes without starting from scratch.
- Limited customization settings for themes.
- Photo storage is not reusable.
Our list of the best website builders in South Africa includes Weebly, a free option for those who don't want to spend money on this. The tool comes with paid plans, but the free version is generous and allows you to start a website in just a few clicks.
The top free website builder in South Africa is Weebly, known for its generous free plan and search engine optimization for pushing your site to the top of search engines. Weebly powers over 50 million websites worldwide, offering a beginner-friendly interface and affordable prices.
Weebly is better suited for small businesses and small-scale websites like a blog, landing pages, portfolios, or personal sites. The primary website builder gives you two hours to set up your website and launch it. Weebly has a fantastic app store for getting all the tools that add functionality to your website.
Key Features
Topnotch Web Design Tools
Building your website with Weebly is pretty easy, with some degree of theme customization and a well-organized user interface on the website’s navigation bar. Page management is for checking and online editing, although you cannot undo some site changes.
Mobile Site Design
Weebly takes your site template and will create a responsive mobile version. You can switch to the mobile platform to edit and customize it. The Weebly app allows you to monitor your site traffic and other stats.
Apps and Widgets
There are over 350 widgets available on Weebly, so regardless of the functionality you're looking for, you'll most likely find it. You will find social, e-commerce, or marketing categories on the free website builder.
Clear Site Statistics
Whether you're using the free or the paid plans, site statistics are available to you at Weebly. On the free plan, you can see page views and unique visitors, but upgrade to the paid plans, and other metrics include referring sites, search terms that led to the site, and the multiple site pages that are visited the most.
Pricing
- 60+ Mobile-Friendly Templates
- Sell Unlimited Products
- SEO Tools
- Chat & Email Support
- No Weebly Ads
- Free Domain
- Unlimited Storage
- Phone Support
- PayPal Payments
- Request Reviews via Email
- Abandoned Cart Recovery Emails
- Priority Support
Read more about Weebly pricing
Weebly has a free forever plan but will display Weebly branded ads. Once you use the paid plans, it starts at $5 per month, which is paid annually. The Pro and Business plans will give you a free custom domain too.
6. GoDaddy Website Builder
Best for Marketing Functionality
Rounding up our list of the top website builders in South Africa is GoDaddy Website Builder, especially if you're looking for marketing functionality. The tool is the ideal choice for anyone that wants to build their website quickly, even with a limited technical skill level. GoDaddy Website Builder is easy to use, with affordable pricing plans.
The all-in-one website builder comes with ecommerce tools and a robust collection of marketing tools. GoDaddy uses Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) to build a high-quality website quickly. With the information you have entered, the site builder will provide you with a customized site, allowing you to publish it within minutes.
Key Features
ADI for Design Flexibility
GoDaddy uses Artificial Design Intelligence in designing your own website. The ADI is used for creating your website after you answer a few questions. But this means you don't get as much creative control as you want.
Marketing-Focused Features
The site builder comes with many marketing-focused features. GoDaddy optimizes your site for SEO to rank higher on search engines and uses Google Analytics to track progress.
Ecommerce Features
There are different features to look out for when using this ecommerce website builder, including SSL security, promotions and discounts, site performance tracking, abandoned cart recovery, and marketplace and social selling.
Social Media Integration
One of the excellent features of the GoDaddy Website Builder is social media integration. This allows you to add links to social media pages to your site and even connect your Facebook store. Since this functionality is all that is offered, it is pretty limited.
Pros
- Quick solution for website building and launching.
- The tools are easy to use.
- You can switch themes at any time without starting from scratch.
- Affordable pricing plans.
- Marketing and e-commerce features.
Cons
- Limited creative freedom with ADI.
- Templates are not as appealing as other site builders.
- Block elements are limited.
Pricing
- Drag-and-Drop Editor
- 100+ Mobile-Friendly Templates
- Integrated Website Chat
- 24/7 Support
- Send 25000 Emails per Month
- Social Media Toolkit
- Paid Advertising Toolkit
- Get Google Ads Credits
- Sell 5000 Products
- Discounts on USPS Shipping
- Gift Cards, Coupons, Sales Badges
- External Channels Selling - 50 orders/mo
- Unlimited Products
- Send 100000 Emails per Month
- Auto Sales Tax Calculation
- External Channels Selling - 1000 orders/mo
Read more about GoDaddy pricing
The GoDaddy Website Builder plans start at $9.99 per month when you pay annually. The renewal prices are higher, starting at $11.99 per month. You will get a free trial, too, with no credit card required.
Other Website Builder Tools in South Africa
Here is a list of some other website builder tools in South Africa. We do not recommend these tools since they are essential and offer limited features that won't give you an edge on the internet. They include:
How to Choose the Best Website Builder in South Africa
With so many website builders available to users in South Africa, it might be hard to choose one that works best for you. There are different factors to keep in mind when selecting the right one for your South African business, and here are the main ones below.
Ease of Use
The main point of using a site builder for your South African website is that it is easy to use, so you should consider this first when selecting one. An easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder is more efficient, and some allow you to launch your website within two hours.
Templates and Customization
Templates form the basis of your website, so you should check those that the website builder offers before signing up. Look out for those with a wide range of editing tools and creative control. Also, the website templates should be responsive to mobile devices and easily customized anytime.
Affordability
Since website builders are used on a subscription basis, you need to consider long-term costs when signing up for one. Look out for one that you can afford but still offers good value for your money. There might also be add-on services that you need to purchase. Think about how many websites, ecommerce tools, and more you get for that price.
Customer Service
Look out for website builders with reliable customer support because you might have a problem using them. Check the site's reputation to know whether they are helpful.
Marketing Features and Statistics
It's always important to see the statistics of your website after launch, as this lets you know the number of unique visitors you are getting and helps you track leads. Look out for search engine optimization, marketing, and e-commerce tools depending on your needs.
Website Builder South Africa FAQ
Yes, Wix works in South Africa. The global website builder can be used worldwide, including in South Africa. But, it's always better to use Squarespace in South Africa rather than Wix.
Shopify works in South Africa and is one of the best website builders in the country. The website building tool is the ideal choice for setting up online stores, as it comes with convenient processing and local payment gateways, a wide range of templates, easy import and export, and more.
This depends on the website builder that you are using for your platform. You can find them as cheap as $3 and $70 per month. This also depends on the pricing plan that you are using. You can use a free plan if you're making a personal website.
Final Verdict: Top Website Builders in South Africa
If you're looking for the best website builder in South Africa for your business, you should consider one of the options on our list. With the wide range of options available, it's best to consider your specific needs.
You can set up a new online store, personal website, landing page, blog, portfolio, or any other professional site with a website builder. Having the right website builder makes it easy for you to provide your users in South Africa with a seamless user experience. After considering a wide range of features, we compiled the best website builders in South Africa.
Here are our top five options:
Squarespace
Shopify
Bluehost Builder
Zyro
Weebly
Before getting the best website builder, it's best to carry out some research. Here are some resources to help you:
- Best Website Builders of 2022
- Best Free Website Builders of 2022
- How to Create a Website in 10 Steps
- Ecommerce Website Builder
- Best White Label Website Builders
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Anastasia Belyh
Anastasia has been a professional blogger and researcher since 2014. She loves to perform in-depth software reviews to help software buyers make informed decisions when choosing project management software, CRM tools, website builders, and everything around growing a startup business.
Anastasia worked in management consulting and tech startups, so she has lots of experience in helping professionals choosing the right business software.