14 Tools for Building a Website: Features, Pros & Cons, and Review

November 20, 2024
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18 Minutes
Modified on:
November 20, 2024
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Written by:
Swati Bucha
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14 Tools for Building a Website: Features, Pros & Cons, and Review

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Looking to build an awesome website? When it comes to website-building tools, designers, and developers rely on multiple solutions to navigate through different stages of web creation. However, with so many websites out there, standing out takes more than just building a site.

That's where having the right tools for building a website comes in handy! From creating sleek designs to managing technical code, the best tools for building a website make your job faster and easier. And guess what? Many of them are free and packed with advanced features to help you succeed.

Let’s look at the best 14 tools for building a website. Whether you’re just starting out or already a website developer, these tools will help you design, code, and create better websites with less hassle. Let’s explore what makes these website-building solutions a must-have for small business owners and professionals.

List of Top 14 Best Tools for Building a Website

Websites are a must-have for any business that wants to establish a digital presence. It’s one of the fastest and most effective ways to attract potential visitors and convince them to make your products or services purchase. That’s why here we have curated a list of the top 14 tools for building a website:

Website Builder Tools

1. Neo

Neo allows you to create a professional one-page website, perfect for linking to your social media, portfolio, or products using AI website builder. If you do not want to use an AI website builder, then you can choose customizable themes from the library that match your brand and easily add links, contact forms, or testimonials. No coding skills are required, and the AI-driven website builder ensures a fast, user-friendly experience. Neo is mobile-responsive and free as part of its email plan, making it ideal for growing your online presence.

Neo is perfect for professionals and small business owners seeking a quick, simple solution for creating a website. Its streamlined approach makes it accessible to beginners and also offers email marketing tools at no extra costs.

Key Features
  • One-page site builder with social media integration
  • Real-time customizable templates
  • Contact form integration with business email features
  • Free with a business email subscription
  • Simple, user-friendly interface
  • Quick setup for link-in-bio style pages
Pros Vs Cons
Pros Cons
Quickly design professional pages tailored to your needs. Basic customization options
Choose themes and adjust colors, fonts, and layout. Relatively new platform, but documentation and support is available
Add forms for inquiries or newsletter sign-ups

2. Wix

Wix offers over 900 customizable templates and an intuitive drag-and-drop editor to create stunning websites without coding. Use its AI website builder for quick setups or start from scratch to add custom features. With its unique features and tools, Wix caters to businesses of all sizes. It’s perfect for personal brands or large enterprises looking for flexibility.

Wix stands out as a robust website builder suitable for growing business needs. While it offers more capabilities and customization options, it might be expensive for users who just need a basic online presence. Its comprehensive toolset makes it ideal for growing businesses and eCommerce ventures.

Key Features
  • AI-powered website builder with 900+ templates
  • Full eCommerce capabilities and business tools
  • Built-in SEO tools and marketplace for integrations
  • Advanced design features with drag-and-drop interface
Pros Vs Cons
Pros Cons
Comprehensive business solutions Steeper learning curve
Extensive template library Higher cost for premium features
Advanced marketing and SEO tools It can be overwhelming for simple projects

3. Squarespace

Squarespace is another renowned website builder focused on stunning visual design and eCommerce capabilities. It is ideal for creative professionals, small businesses, and online stores seeking a polished, professional presence.

Squarespace excels in creating visually striking websites with minimal technical expertise required. Its all-in-one platform combines beautiful design with robust business tools, though it may be pricer than alternatives.

Key Features
  • 175+ customizable templates with responsive design
  • Integrated eCommerce and appointment scheduling
  • Built-in marketing and SEO tools
  • AI-powered design assistance
Pros Vs Cons
Pros Cons
Professional, polished templates Higher pricing
Strong eCommerce capabilities Limited customization flexibility
24/7 customer support It can be complicated for beginners

Tools for Planning and Conceptualization

1. MockFlow (Plan sitemaps and wireframes effectively)

MockFlow is a specialized wireframing and UI planning tool that helps teams visualize website and app layouts before development. It is perfect for designers and project managers in the website planning phase.

MockFlow streamlines the website planning process with intuitive wireframing tools and AI capabilities. It bridges the gap between concept and development, making it a valuable tool for teams seeking rapid development.

Key Features

  • Extensive UI component library
  • AI-powred wireframe generation
  • Real-time collaboration tools
  • Integration with popular work platforms

Pros Vs Cons

Pros Cons
Quick learning curve Limited to the planning phase
AI-assisted design tools Basic free plan
Intuitive wireframing interface Some features require a premium subscription

2. Creative Tim (Pre-built UI components for developers)

Creative Tim provides premium UI kits, templates, and dashboards built on various frameworks, including Bootstrap, React, and Vue.js. Their platform offers both free and premium solutions for web development, focusing on beautiful design and functionality.

It is ideal for developers seeking premium-quality UI components or startups needing quick-to-implement dashboard solutions. With over 2.6 million users worldwide, creative Tim’s tools demonstrate high quality and reliability. Their products show excellent attention to detail and modern design principles.

Key Features

  • Pre-built UI components and templates
  • Admin dashboard templates
  • Multiple framework support
  • Responsive design components
  • Regular updates and support

Pros Vs Cons

Pros Cons
High-quality, professional designs Premium products can be expensive
Extensive framework compatibility Limited customization in free versions
Active community nad suport Learning curve for complex components

4. InVision Studio

InVision Studio is a comprehensive design and prototyping platform that combines vector-based screen design with powerful animation capabilities. As part of the InVision ecosystem, it offers an infinity canvas and flexibility layers for creating high-fidelity prototypes. The platform integrates seamlessly with InVision Cloud for complete product design workflow management and includes a robust design system manager (DSM).

InVision Studio is a powerful design platform that excels in creating interactive prototypes and animations. The integration with InVision’s ecosystem makes it particularly valuable for teams needing comprehensive design workflow management.

Key Features

  • Vector-based screen design with infinite canvas
  • Real-time collaborative prototyping and feedback
  • Advanced animation and interaction tools
  • Design system management with shared component libraries
  • Cross-platform compatibility (Mac and Windows)

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
Comprehensive prototyping capabilities The steeper learning curve for beginners
Excellent animation tools Performance can be a resource-intensive
Strong team collaboration features Requires investment in the InVision ecosystem for full benefits
Seamless integration with the InVision ecosystem

5. Proto.io

Proto.io is a web-based prototyping platform that emphasizes ease of use through its drag-and-drop interface. It offers a comprehensive library of UI components, templates, and assets for creating realistic prototypes without coding knowledge. The platform caters to various professionals, from UX designers to entrepreneurs, providing tools for creating interactive and animated prototypes.

A user-friendly yet powerful prototyping tool that combines extensive pre-built resources with advanced animation capabilities. It is best for creating realistic interactive prototypes without coding and is ideal for UX designers, product managers, and entrepreneurs.

Key Features

  • Drag-and-drop interface with 250+ UI components
  • 1000+ customizable templates for web and mobile
  • Advanced animation and transition effects
  • Built-in user testing integration
  • Comprehensive asset library with 6000+ elements

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
No coding required Higher pricing compared to competitors
Extensive component and template library Can be slow with complex prototypes
Strong animation capabilities Limited advanced design features
Excellent user testing features

6. Figma

Figma is a cloud-based design and prototyping platform that emphasizes real-time collaboration. It combines powerful design tools with modern features like AI-assisted design and developer handoff capabilities. The platform operates entirely in the browser, making it accessible across different devices and operating systems while enabling seamless team collaboration.

Figma is a versatile and powerful design tool that excels in collaborative workflows and modern design practices. Its browser-based nature and comprehensive feature set make it a strong choice for teams of all sizes.

Key Features

  • Real-time collaborative design and prototyping
  • AI-powered design assistance
  • Built-in design system tools
  • Developer handoff features
  • Auto-layout and responsive design capabilities

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
Excellent collaboration features Requires stable internet connection
Accessible from any browser It can be overwhelming for beginners
Regular feature updates Limited offline capabilities
Strong community and plugin ecosystem

7. Adobe XD

Adobe XD is a vector-based UI/UX design and prototyping tool that’s part of the Adobe Creative Suite. It combines traditional design capabilities with modern features like voice prototyping and content-aware layouts. The platform offers seamless integration with other Adobe products while providing specific tools for UI/UX design workflows.

Adobe XD is a robust design and prototyping tool that leverages Adobe’s ecosystem while offering unique features like voice prototyping and repeat grid functionality. It is ideal for teams already using Adobe products seeking integrated UI/UX design and prototyping capabilities.

Key Features

  • Content-aware layout system
  • Voice prototyping support
  • Repeat grid functionality
  • Integration with Adobe Creative Suite
  • Cross-platform preview capability

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
Strong Adobe ecosystem integration Limited collaboration features
Unique voice prototyping features Smaller plugin ecosystem
Efficient repeat grid system Requires Creative Cloud subscription
Good value within Creative Cloud

AI Tools for Website Content Creation

1. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI that processes billions of words to generate human-like text. Launched in November 2022, it quickly became the fastest-growing app globally, reaching 100 million users in just two months. The platform excels at catering to various types of content, from blogs and scripts to poems and code.

ChatGPT stands out for its versatility and ease of use. Its ability to understand content and generate humanlike responses makes it valuable for various applications, although it sometimes produces formal or incomplete content.

Key Features

  • Conversational engagement and natural language processing
  • Content generation across multiple formats
  • Language translation capabilities
  • Question-answering system
  • Creative writing assistance

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
Easy accessibility and quick response time Limited artistic expression
Improved productivity and accuracy Sometimes generates inaccurate information
Enhanced customer service capabilities Provide surface-level information rather than in-depth analysis
Scalable functionality

2. Writesonic

Writesonic is an AI writing tool that differentiates itself by using real-time Google research for content creation. It offers various templates for blogs, social media posts, and marketing materials, along with its own chatbot, Chatsonic.

Writesonic delivers impressive results with its Article Writer 6.0, offering real-time SEO research and plagiarism detection. The platform stands out for its ability to generate well-researched citation-backed content.

Key Features

  • AI Article Writer (versions 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0)
  • Chatsonic chatbot
  • Content rephrasing tools
  • SEO checker
  • Audio generation capabilities

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
Real-time Google research integration Limited credit on free and individual plans
Built-in plagiarism detection Complex feature ranges can be overwhelming
Includes citation and footnotes Higher pricing for advanced features
High-quality audio generation

Tools for Media and Visuals

1. Unsplash

Unsplash is a leading free stock photo platform that hosts over 6 million high-quality images contributed by a community of 375,000+ photographers. Founded in 2013 as a Tumblr blog, it has grown into an industry powerhouse with over 1 billion downloads globally. It is useful for creative professionals and businesses with artistic, unique photography.

Unsplash stands out for its artistic, non-traditional approach to stock photography. The platform offers emotionally engaging images with creative angles and unique perspectives. It is an ideal choice for those seeking authentic visuals (like web developers, graphic designers, e-book authors, etc) that don’t look like typical stock photos.

Key Features

  • Over 6 million free high-resolution photos
  • Searchable catalog with trending images
  • Curated collections and categories
  • Integration with popular tools (Trello, Squarespace, etc.)
  • Mobile and desktop wallpapers
  • Community platform via Slack

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
Completely free to use No vector files or illustrations
Highly quality, artistic imagery No premium/selling options
Simple, permissive license No video content
Strong integration capabilities Limited options for traditional business sectors

2. Remove.bg

Remove.bg is an AI-powered web-based service that automatically removes backgrounds from images. The platform integrates with popular design tools and offers both individual and batch-processing capabilities, making it a valuable tool for digital content creation.

Remove.bg excels in providing quick, accurate background removal with minimal user input. Its AI technology delivers professional results in seconds, though the platform is focused solely on background removal rather than offering comprehensive editing features. It is ideal for photographers, eCommerce businesses, digital marketers, graphic designers, and so on.

Key Features

  • Automatic AI-powered background removal
  • Bulk image processing
  • Integration with major design software
  • API access for workflow automation
  • Support for high-resolution images (up to 50 megapixels)

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
High-quality results and quick processing time (5 seconds) Limited editing tools
User-friendly interface No video support
Secure processing High-resolution exports require payment
Excellent software integration The free version has limitations

3. Pexels

Pexels is a leading free stock media platform founded in 2014, offering over 1 million high-quality photos and 150,000 videos. After being acquired by Canva in 2018, it has become an integral resource for creative professionals, providing curated content that maintains high artistic standards while remaining completely free.

Pexels stands out for its high-quality, authentic stock photography and videos that avoid the typical corporate feel of traditional stock platforms. The platform’s curation process ensures professional-grade content while maintaining artistic integrity.

Key Features

  • Powerful search algorithm with color filtering
  • A curated collection of 500k+ stock images
  • Monthly addition of 50k+ new images
  • API integration capabilities
  • “Heroes” program for top contributors

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
Completely free to use Limited illustration options
No attribution required Basic filter capabilities
High-quality curated content No audio content
Direct integration with Canva Smaller library compared to some competitors

4. Google Charts

Google Charts is a powerful web-based data visualization tool that transforms raw data into interactive, customizable charts and graphs. It uses JavaScript to create browser-rendered visualization that works across platforms and devices, requiring no additional plugins or downloads.

Google Charts excels in creating professional-grade, interactive data visualizations with minimal coding required. Its extensive library of chart types and real-time updating capabilities make it ideal for both simple and complex data presentation needs.

Key Features

  • Wide variety of chart types
  • Real-time data visualization
  • Cross-platform compatibility
  • Customizable appearance and integration
  • Integration with Google products

Pros vs Cons

Pros Cons
Free to use Requires JavaScript knowledge
No plugin required Internet connection needed
Extensive documentation Limited offline functionality
Cross-browser support The steep learning curve for advanced features

Comparison Table

Let’s look at the comparison table among the top 14 tools for building a website, including their categories, key purpose, features, pros, and cons:

Tool Category Tool Name Key Purpose Main Features Prons Cons
Website Builder Neo Single-page site builder One-page builder, customizable themes Quick setup, user-friendly Basic customization
Wix Ful-featured website builder 900+ templates, AI builder eCommerce tools Comprehensive solutions, extensive templates Steep learning curve, costly
Squarespace Design-focused builder 175+ templates, eCommerce, marketing tools Professional templates, strong eCommerce Higher pricing, limited flexibility
Planning Tools MockFlow Wireframing/UI planning UI library, AI wireframes, collaboration The quick learning curve, AI assistance Limited to planning basic free plan
Creative Tim UI component library Premium UI kits, dashboard templates High-quality designs, framework support Expensive premium options
Design Tools InVision Prototyping platform Vector design, animation, collaboration Strong prototyping and animation tools Resource intensive
Proto.io Web prototyping Drag-and-drop interface, 250+ components No coding is needed. An extensive library Higher pricing, complexity
Figma Collaborative design Real-time collaboration, AI assistance Strong collaboration, browser-based Needs stable internet, complex for beginners
Adobe XD UI/UX design Voice prototyping, Adobe integration Adobe ecosystem, unique features Limited collaboration, subscription needed
AI Content ChatGPT Text generation Natural language processing, content creation Quick responses, versatile Limited depth, potential inaccuracies
Writesonic AI writing Article writer, SEO checker, audio gen Real-time research, plagiarism check Limited credits, complex pricing
Media Tools Unsplash Stock photos 6M+ free images, integrations Free high-quality images, simple license No vectors/videos, limited business images
Remove.bg Background removal AI processing, bulk editing Fast processing, good quality Limited editing
Pexels Stock media 1M+ photos, 150k videos Free usage, no attribution Basic filters, smaller library

Wrapping Up

Building a website requires the right tools to simplify design, coding, and testing. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, using effective tools for building a website can make the process more efficient and effective. From website builders like Neo and Wix to prototyping platforms like Figma and InVision Studio, these tools help you create professional and user-friendly sites. By choosing the right combination of these tools, you can streamline your workflow, save time, and achieve a high-quality outcome that stands out online. Neo is a business management tool that offers easy access to building a website there and elevates your web development game.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the best tools for testing website compatibility across devices?

BrowserStack is a top choice for cross-browser and cross-device testing. It offers real-world testing on various devices and browsers, ensuring your site works seamlessly everywhere.

Can AI tools help with web development?

Yes. AI tools like ChatGPT assist in content creation. At the same time, GitHub Copilot helps with coding by suggesting and completing code snippets, speeding up the development process.

Are there free tools for designing websites?

Yes, tools like Unsplash (stock photos), Figma (collaborative design), and Bootstrap (responsive web design framework) offer free versions or extensive features to help you design websites without costs.

Which tools are ideal for creating responsive websites?

Frameworks like Bootstrap and coding editors like Visual Studio Code provide excellent support for responsive web design, allowing you to build mobile-friendly sites easily. Platforms like Neo, wix, and Squarespace are beginner-friendly website builders. They offer intuitive drag-and-drop editors, customizable templates, and AI-powered design tools. These require no coding experience and provide features for personal or business websites.

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