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Creating a homepage is possible even for beginners thanks to numerous website builders: simply select the layout, add pages, write texts and create further content. But despite the well-known building-block principle of such tools, users are left with a lot of work. Especially when imagination or creativity are lacking, the support provided by classic website builders is sometimes not enough.
The next generation of website builders, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), can provide a remedy. Providers of so-called AI website builders claim that anyone can have a personalised website generated within a few seconds or minutes, so we at Forbes Advisor have decided to put this statement to the test.
In our guide, we tell you whether AI website builders really work and introduce you to some of the available tools (in unsorted order). We have tried out all the tools ourselves in order to give our objective assessment, and in our review we focus on the website builders that are particularly suitable for beginners.
Wix ADI
Wix is a cloud-based platform that allows users to create their own websites and online shops, among other things, and it’s hugely popular Down Under. According to Builtwith, Wix is the leading website builder for Australians.
What many people don’t know is that in addition to the well-known Wix Editor, Wix also offers a variant of a website builder that uses artificial intelligence, powered by a chatbot. The chatbot will ask a few questions to the user to generate complete websites, including texts and images, with the AI-supported website builder dubbed Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence).
As soon as you create a new homepage on Wix ADI, an initial query starts: you are asked, for example, what kind of website you want to create or what functions it should have. Then you have the choice: prefabricated design template or Wix ADI will create an individual website for you.
For the starting layout, you choose between six design templates. Wix ADI then presents you with three layouts in the selected design, one of which you can choose. After you have added additional pages, such as an ‘about us’, ‘FAQs’ or a ‘terms and conditions’ page, you can then further customise the AI-generated website according to your wishes.
In our test, the generated layouts weren’t outstanding. Unlike conventional templates, however, Wix ADI already creates all the necessary subpages of your website and fills them with content. In the end, this saves you a lot of time–time which you can use to spruce up the somewhat boring layout in the editor later.
Source: Forbes Advisor Germany Wix. June 2023.
AI logo designer from Wix
Wix’s logo designer is also supported by artificial intelligence. You answer a few questions about your website, the desired logo style and select the logo you like better from five logo pairs. Wix then presents you with a large number of suitable logos for your business.
The logos seemed a bit generic once again, but they can be a good alternative if you don’t have your own logo yet and choose to subscribe to one of the Wix packages.
Prices from Wix
You can use your generated site for free, but you have to accept a limited number of pages and advertising for Wix. If you don’t want to do that, you can book one of the fee-based tariffs.
Normal websites start at $15 per month in Australia (annual payment), business sites start at $32 per month (annual payment).
Related: Wix Pricing Plans For Australians
Conclusion on the Wix ADI KI website builder
The AI website builder from Wix creates an extensive website structure, however, the designs aren’t especially eye-catching, and the text was too generic in our website test.
Featured Partners
1
Wix
Starting price
From $15 per month
Drag-and-Drop Editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free plan available, 900+ designer-made templates
2
Squarespace
Starting price
$16 AUD
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
3
IONOS
Starting price
$US1 or $1.50 AUD per month for the first six months, then $US18 per month or $27 AUD
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
E-commerce in entry-level plan
Yes, as an add-on
4
GoDaddy
Starting Price
$US7.95 ($12 AUD) per month
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Email included, multiple payment options
Jimdo Dolphin
Jimdo is a German provider of building kits for websites and online shops, but despite its continental roots, it holds global appeal: according to Builtwith, Jimdo is one of the top 20 website builders used in Australia.
With Jimdo you have the choice between two different website builders: Jimdo Creator is a builder for users who know about web development. Jimdo Dolphin, on the other hand, is the AI-supported builder for beginners. The problem: once you’ve started with one of the two tools, you can’t switch to the other—they’re different tariffs.
As soon as you start with a new homepage, you will be asked how you would like to create your website. Select “Modern web design without a programmer”, this is the KI website builder.
After that, a query will start in which Jimdo will ask you a few questions. For example, you will be asked what you want to use the website for, what your company is called, or what style and colours you prefer. If you want to create an online shop, Jimdo will ask you a few more specific questions.
The AI then generates two layouts from your information, from which you can choose one and customise it in the next step.
Our test shows that the generated layouts are plain, and the inserted texts don’t really fit the company: an online shop for pet snacks. So while you still have to put some time into the texts of your website, you don’t have to worry about which subpages your website needs. Jimdo’s AI will generate them for you.
Source: Forbes Advisor Germany, Jimdo. June 2023.
Prices from Jimdo
You can use your generated website for free, but you have to accept a limited number of pages and advertising for Jimdo. If you don’t want that, you can book one of the paid plans. Standard websites start at 9 euros, or $14.65 AUD per month (annual payment), while online shops start at 15 euros or $24.40 AUD per month (annual payment).
Conclusion on the Jimdo AI website builder
Jimdo’s AI website builder creates well-structured websites, but the designs are quite generic. The text also did not fit well with the theme of the website specified in our test.
Hostinger
Hostinger is a web hosting provider with its own AI website builder based on technology from a certain AI that you may have heard of, called ChatGPT.
Hostinger’s AI website builder only needs three pieces of information to generate a website for you: the name of your company, the type of website you want and a short description of what your company does. Based on this information, the AI creates a website including suitable texts, images and other relevant content, such as online shop products.
With Hostinger AI, you can choose between three different layouts and try out different colour palettes and fonts. However, if you want to customise the website further, you have to opt for a subscription account.
The layouts generated in our test were quite bland, which has been a constant theme throughout the AI-generated websites. However, the content created–for example the online shop products and texts–suited the company described well in our test. This could be because the website builder is based on the ChatGPT model, and is therefore better suited at creating content from written prompts.
Source: Forbes Advisor Germany, Hostinger. June 2023.
More AI tools from Hostinger
Hostinger offers other AI tools in addition to the AI website builder, such as a heatmap and logo maker.
The AI Heatmap shows you which areas of your website attract the most attention. With this knowledge, you can optimise the placement of images or headlines on the website.
With the KI Logo Maker you can create logos that are either automatically based on the name and type of your company. Or, similar to generative image tools like Midjourney or Dall-E, it can create a logo from the description you provide.
Additionally, you can use the KI Writer to generate texts for your website–but be sure to check the content and facts of the generated texts yourself.
Prices from Hostinger
Unfortunately, you cannot use Hostinger for free, whether that’s via its original website builder or AI-generated website builder. You will need to sign up to use the product and, if you pay annually, you pay around $US7 ($10.50 AUD) per month–regardless of whether you want to create a standard website or an online shop.
Conclusion on the Hostinger AI website builder
The KI-Website-Builder from Hostinger creates good texts that fit the test company well. The design, on the other hand, is a bit simple and offers little variety.
Featured Partners
1
Hostinger Web Hosting Review
Plan Costs
As low as $2.99 per month
Uptime Guarantee
99.9%
Storage and Bandwidth
Starting From 50 GB Storage & 100 GB Bandwidth
Mixo
Mixo is an AI website builder that specialises in startups. Generating your website is very simple: you only have to describe your business idea in one sentence and Mixo generates a landing page with matching text.
You can then customise the generated website by adding new pages. For each page, Mixo asks you for further information. Based on your information, Mixo creates the new page including texts, photos and the additional copy you supply.
In our test, the generated layouts were simple and modern. We were impressed by the AI generation of new pages including suitable texts–despite the unusual topic we used for the test.
Regardless of its impressiveness, it’s important to always check the content and facts of the generated texts yourself.
Source: Forbes Advisor Germany, Mixo. June 2023.
Source: Forbes Advisor Germany, Mixo. June 2023.
Prices from Mixo
You can use your generated landing page for free. However, you have to accept Mixo advertising and cannot add any more pages.
The Basic offering, which removes advertising, costs $US7 ($10.45 AUD) per month when paid annually. You can still only use one page, but you can integrate your own domain. In the Growth plan–$US15 ($22.44 AUD) per month, annual payment–you can create up to five pages, while in the Premium plan ($US29 or $43.38 AUD per month, annual payment) you can create up to 50.
Conclusion on the Mixo AI website builder
Mixo’s AI Website Builder creates a simple and modern landing page. The generated texts fit well with the theme of the website; even on unusual topics, the content still reads well. However, Mixo is comparatively expensive to its competitors.
Hocoos
Hocoos is an AI website builder that is particularly suitable for e-commerce and online offers.
You answer eight questions about your company, what you offer and your visions for the website. Based on the answers, Hocoos suggests three layouts from which you can choose.
The AI then generates your complete website, including subpages and texts. If you don’t like the layout, you can either have it regenerated or change individual areas. You can also adjust the colours and fonts.
If you have specified that your company is an online shop, Hocoos will also create this directly–including pages for the shopping basket, the checkout and the order confirmation. You can customise each of these pages individually according to your needs. You can integrate Stripe and Paypal as payment service providers.
The layouts generated in our test seemed a bit mismatched and excessive to us, so you may have to spend a little more time on them to create the look you want.
Source: Forbes Advisor Germany, Hocoos. June 2023.
Prices from Hocoos
You can use the generated website for free, including the online shop. However, the upload of images is limited to 15, you cannot use your own domain and you cannot accept online payments.
The paid plan, on the other hand, includes unlimited images, your own domain and online payments–it costs $US12.50 ($18.70 AUD) per month when paid annually.
Conclusion on the Hocoos AI website builder
The free version of the Hocoos AI website builder is well suited for small online shops with few articles. However, the designs look a bit chaotic.
Durable
Durable is an all-in-one tool specifically for small business owners. The core of the offer is the AI website builder. For this you only need two pieces of information: the type and name of your business.
Durable generates your website from this information, including photos and some text that fit your company. Now you can customise your homepage how you would like; you can change colours, fonts and structure.
If you add further pages to your website, Durable also generates suitable content, be it questions for the FAQ or a complete blog article.
In our test, the layouts generated were rather simple. What we found surprising, however, was the AI generation of new pages including matching content.
Source: Forbes Advisor Germany, Durable. June 2023.
More AI tools from Durable
When you create a website through Durable, other AI tools are automatically included. For example, the CRM system answers customer queries in an AI-driven and automated way. The AI assistant can do tasks for you, for example write a marketing strategy or view the analysis values of your website, and the AI blog builder can generate blog posts for you.
Prices from Durable
You can test Durable for 90 days free of charge, which is a much longer free period than most website builders would offer. However, as soon as you want to put the website online, you have to choose one of the two paid plans: The Starter plan costs US$12 ($17.95) per month (annual payment), and the Business plan costs US$20 ($29.92) per month (annual payment). The difference between the two plans is the support (email vs priority), the number of contacts in the CRM and the number of AI-generated ads.
Conclusion on the Durable AI website builder
Durable’s AI website builder creates websites the fastest and the generated text fits well with the theme of the website. However, the designs could be more interesting.
Overview of the presented AI website builders
Advantages of AI Website Builders for Australians
The new generation of website builders bring users, especially those with no previous experience, some advantages when creating their website:
- Individualisation: Instead of spending a long time searching for a suitable layout, the AI can generate a website that is tailored to your business.
- Time saving: You don’t have to think about which pages and content you need. The AI simply creates them.
- Adaptability: You can let the AI generate layouts until you like one, and you can then use this as a basis for further optimisation.
Disadvantages of AI Website Builders
- Standardisation: The layouts of the AI website builders often look similar and still seem rather immature.
- Less control: Depending on the AI website builder, you have little influence on what the AI generates. If only a few questions are asked about your company, the result can seem rather generic.
- Little flexibility: You can still customise the website afterwards, but the design options are often limited.
- Time-consuming: If the website does not turn out the way you want it to, you will have to do a lot of rework. Depending on the scope, this can be time-consuming.
Conclusion
Featured Partners
1
Wix
Starting price
From $15 per month
Drag-and-Drop Editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free plan available, 900+ designer-made templates
2
Squarespace
Starting price
$16 AUD
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
3
IONOS
Starting price
$US1 or $1.50 AUD per month for the first six months, then $US18 per month or $27 AUD
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
E-commerce in entry-level plan
Yes, as an add-on
4
GoDaddy
Starting Price
$US7.95 ($12 AUD) per month
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Email included, multiple payment options
AI website builders offer beginners in particular the opportunity to quickly create an individual website. Admittedly, the layouts are not always the most beautiful, but at the same time the AI generates the right website structure for your company, which you would otherwise need to do yourself.
Generated texts are helpful. However, you should be careful never to publish AI-generated content without checking for facts and plagiarism. Since AI models are trained with existing texts and can even search the internet, there is always the risk of violating copyright or publishing information that is untrue or potentially defamatory.
Those who want more control and flexibility over the layout of their website should instead rely on classic website builders. Often these already have small AI functions that you can use to optimise your website, rather than building it entirely from scratch.
Related: Best Free Website Builders For Aussie Businesses (July 2023)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you build a website using AI?
Yes, you can absolutely build a website using artificial intelligence. Many pre-existing website builders are now offering an AI tool to build websites, as the world learns and grows with this new technology.
Should I use AI to build my website?
How you build your website is completely up to you. If you have coding skills, you may want to build your website from the ground up. Those with a knack for design but not the knowledge of code may like to use a website builder with pre-designed templates that they can customise to the nth degree. Others may simply revel in the idea of answering a few questions and having artificial intelligence create their website for them.
The above list explains the uses of different AI website builders, and explores their strengths and weaknesses. While some may thrive by using AI to build a website from scratch, others may be more reluctant and prefer to rely on classic website builders for more autonomy.
Which AI is best for making a website?
As AI is still a new technology, there are many developments happening rapidly in the industry. New players are entering the market and existing website developers are shifting their own capabilities to include AI functionality. Because of this, there is currently no clear standout for the ‘best’ AI website builder.
From our tests, many of the AI website builders are lacking in design capabilities, meaning a lot of the website layouts come across as dull and boring. There is also still a disconnect between the prompts provided and the text/content that the AI chooses to place within the website, which could simply be teething pains. Or, it could mean that AI isn’t the best option for website building due to the niche and personalised nature of a website, but it is too early to pass judgement.
Can OpenAI design a website?
Yes, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, allows users to build websites via its platform.
