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Best Portfolio Website Builder Of 2024

Small Business Writer,  Editor
Managing Editor, SMB

Reviewed

Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 10:45am

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

Websites are an excellent way to show off your work. Whether you are a fashion blogger, photographer, designer, small business owner or anything in between, creating a website to showcase your portfolio can help you reach a broader audience. Today there are many portfolio website builders that make it easy to launch your site in no time.

In this guide, Forbes Advisor compares the best portfolio website builders available in 2024. We’ll review platform’s features, pricing, reputation and more so that you can decide which is best for your needs.

Read more

Top 5 Portfolio Website Builders 2024


Why You Can Trust Forbes Advisor Small Business

The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, strategic methodologies, first-person testing and expert insights to inform all of our content to guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey.

To select the best website builders, we analyzed more than 25 options based on cost, ease of use, features, storage and bandwidth allowances, user reviews and more. We then tested and selected the best options to help you make the best choice for your unique needs and budget.

Learn more: How We Test Website Builders


Best Overall Portfolio Website Builder

GoDaddy

GoDaddy
4.4
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

$0 to $20.99

per month

Free Trial Available

Yes

Mobile App

Yes

GoDaddy
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On GoDaddy's Secure Website

$0 to $20.99

per month

Yes

Yes

Editor's Take

With 82 million domain names, GoDaddy is best known as the company to use when securing a domain name. It is the world’s largest web host services platform for entrepreneurs with more than 20 million customers. Of the companies on our list, it also features the cheapest paid plan options.

When designing a website, most website builders will have you first choose a website template, then spend time customizing the features. GoDaddy uses Artificial Design Intelligence to help you build a website. After answering questions about your site, GoDaddy’s AI automatically creates a mockup for you based on your answers. You can then tweak the website from there if you need to make further adjustments. GoDaddy’s computer-assisted website design is lightning fast, making it the fastest website designer of the bunch.

GoDaddy has four pricing plans. All plans are reasonably priced. Users can build and use their website for free with the company’s one-month free trial. For e-commerce businesses, GoDaddy has integrated marketing tools to grow your business. The Commerce plan comes with advanced payment options, various shipping methods, highlighted product sections and promotional coupons.

Who should use it: GoDaddy is a solid website builder for those looking to get online super fast and who do not need a website with a ton of customizable features.

Read more:

Read our full GoDaddy review.

Pros & Cons
  • 30-day free trial available
  • Fastest setup time
  • Great for business sites
  • Limited customizable features
  • Limited e-commerce options
  • Inconsistent quality of customer support

Best for Pre-made Templates

Weebly

Weebly
4.4
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

$0 to $26

per month

Free Trial Available

No

Mobile App

Yes

Weebly
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Read Forbes' Review

$0 to $26

per month

No

Yes

Editor's Take

Weebly is a website and e-commerce service that powers millions of businesses on more than 50 million sites worldwide. You can use this builder to build a professional, mobile-optimized site, grow your business with marketing tools such as advanced analytics and easily manage the administrative duties of running an online business by simplifying shipping, taxes and inventory management.

Weebly stands out as the most affordable option. They offer a free plan for those who can tolerate a Weebly subdomain, ads on the site and limited storage. Its Professional plan at $12 a month (billed annually) offers unlimited storage, a free domain, advanced site stats and phone support, while the Performance plan at $26 a month (billed annually) offers robust e-commerce features such as shipping labels, item reviews and abandoned cart emails.

While Weebly does not have the extensive catalog of templates that its competitors do, it does offer fully customizable themes. The drag-and-drop interface allows you to showcase your content however you’d like, with elements such as slideshows, captions, and lead capture forms. Customize fonts, add video backgrounds and use HTML/CSS and JavaScript to create a site that is uniquely yours.

Templates are easy to use and designed to optimize for both mobile and desktop browsers, automatically reformatting to the proper display dimensions.

Who should use it: Weebly is an excellent choice for someone who wants a quick, easy-to-set-up website for little to no money.

Read more:

Read our full Weebly review.

Pros & Cons
  • Mobile app
  • Beginner-friendly setup
  • Free plan available
  • Numerous SEO tools
  • Free plan extremely restricted
  • Limited number of themes
  • Designs not as impressive as other providers

Best for Creative Workers

Squarespace

Squarespace
4.2
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

$16 to $49

per month

Free Trial Available

Yes

Mobile App

Yes

Squarespace
Learn More Arrow

On Squarespace's Secure Website

$16 to $49

per month

Yes

Yes

Editor's Take

Squarespace is known for its sleek, modern, well-designed templates. Over the years, Squarespace has positioned itself as the go-to portfolio option for those who showcase creative work in a visually stunning way. With zero coding knowledge, you can create an aesthetically pleasing website in a short amount of time.

Like most competitors, Squarespace lets users customize their templates to create websites suited exactly to their needs. With a simple click of a button, you can change colors, add an e-commerce page, switch fonts or create blog posts. Creatives such as photographers, filmmakers, fashion designers and visual artists gravitate toward the simple, clean template that puts their artwork front and center.

Basic plans start at $16 per month when paid annually. With a single basic subscription, you can create a website, host your content, register your own custom domain name and have access to customer service 24/7. As you move up in the plans, you can sell unlimited products, track your site’s analytics and sell subscriptions.

Who should use it: Squarespace is the go-to website builder for bloggers, creatives and e-commerce stores.

Read more:

Read our full Squarespace review.

Pros & Cons
  • Mobile app available
  • 14-day free trial
  • All plans include free custom domain, SSL security and 24/7 customer support
  • Basic plan is limited for e-commerce
  • Slow time for loading pages
  • No support for third-party apps or plugins

Best Intuitive Option

Wix

Wix
4.0
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

$0 to $159

per month

Free Trial Available

Yes

Mobile App

Yes

Wix
Learn More Arrow

On Wix's Website

$0 to $159

per month

Yes

Yes

Editor's Take

It’s no surprise why Wix is a favorite platform for website builders year after year. The platform offers more than 500 designer-made templates that you can fully customize using an easy drag-and-drop editing system. The platform is one of the easiest to use and offers an Artificial Design Intelligence that allows you to get your website up and running quickly.

Notable features of this platform include an online scheduling software to let clients book services quickly, a logo maker to help you brand your company, SEO tools to help customers find you online and a robust free plan with no pressure to upgrade. The platform also offers the Wix Video Maker to help you make short promotional videos to attract and convert customers.

While Wix does offer a free plan, be aware that its paid plans are on the more expensive side. The basic paid website plan starts at $16 while business plans go up to $159 per month.

Who should use it: Wix is one of the easiest website builders out there and offers a robust free plan, making it a great option for users new to website building.

Read more:

Read our full Wix review.

Pros & Cons
  • Robust free plan
  • 500+ templates
  • Very intuitive to use
  • Plans can be very expensive when compared to the competition
  • No plans offer unlimited storage

Best for Blogs

WordPress.com

WordPress.com
3.8
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

$0 to $45

per month

Free Trial Available

No

Mobile App

Yes

WordPress.com
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$0 to $45

per month

No

Yes

Editor's Take

WordPress.com software runs on over 40% of all the websites on the internet, it is no exaggeration to say that it is the world’s most popular website building platform.

One of its greatest strengths is its versatility. Because the website builder gives you complete control over every aspect of your website, it can be used for nearly any type of website—from simple portfolios that just display photos, to powerful e-commerce enterprises. WordPress.com offers more than 50,000 plugins, meaning you can customize your site down to the smallest detail.

All that customization can come at a cost for those not advanced in website design. WordPress.com is not as intuitive to use as many of its competitors, and editing your website is not as easy as the drag-and-drop methods of Wix and Weebly. Building your website on WordPress.com will likely take longer than its competitors too, as it lacks the speed of platforms like GoDaddy.

Learn more: Read our full WordPress.com review.

Who should use it: Due to its many advanced features and plugins, WordPress.com is a great option for portfolios that need a highly customizable website.

Pros & Cons
  • Fully translated into dozens of languages and can be easily used to create multilingual websites
  • Has powerful SEO tools
  • Flexibility to create extremely customized website
  • Not beginner-friendly
  • Set up can be time-consuming
  • You have to keep up with WordPress.com and plugin updates

Forbes Advisor Ratings

Company Forbes Advisor Rating Price Range Free Trial Available Mobile App LEARN MORE
GoDaddy godaddy_2020_logo_a_resized-removebg-preview 4.4 4.5-removebg-preview $0 to $20.99 per month Yes Yes Learn More On GoDaddy's Secure Website
Weebly weebly 4.4 4.5-removebg-preview $0 to $26 per month No Yes Learn More Read Forbes' Review
Squarespace
Squarespace 4.2 4-removebg-preview $16 to $49 per Month Yes Yes Learn More On Squarespace's Secure Website
Wix wix 4.0 4-removebg-preview $0 to $159 per month Yes Yes Learn More On Wix's Website
WordPress.com
WordPress-logotype-standard 3.8 4-removebg-preview $0 to $45 per month No Yes Learn More Read Forbes' Review

Methodology

To choose the best portfolio website builder for this ranking, Forbes Advisor compared each company based on important factors that include ease of use, cost and fees, customer support and features and functionality. We ranked each company on these factors based on a five-star rating system.

Here’s what we looked at to compile the rankings in each category:

  • Ease of use: First, we looked for portfolio website builders that are easy to use and navigate. We also compared programs based on the amount of setup required, giving preference to platforms that require minimal setup and training.
  • Cost and fees: Portfolio website builders with free versions were given preference in our ranking, although free trials also influenced our views. Plans with high ongoing costs were included if the features and functions provided a good value in return.
  • Customer support: We looked at companies and compared them based on their customer support options, including whether clients have access to live customer support.
  • Features and functionality: Finally, we compared portfolio website builders based on their functions and features, giving preference to programs with the best features and tools for their ideal client base.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What makes a good portfolio website?

First, you want to make sure your website is clean and easy to navigate. Make sure to put your best work on the first page to grab your viewer’s attention. If you want to use your website as a way to land clients or potential work, do not forget to include a Contact Me tab.

What is the cheapest way to get a website?

Other than the free options that are available, the cheapest way to get a website is to download WordPress, get a free theme, and build the site yourself. You’ll still need to register a domain for about $15 per year and find the best cheap web hosting, which ranges from $1 to $10 per month.

Do I need a portfolio website?

Both individual creators and small businesses can benefit from a space to showcase your work online. It adds legitimacy to your work as well as provides a way for potential clients to get in touch with you.

Do I need to know how to code to build my own website?

If you are new to the website building world, you can use one of several website building platforms to help you build your website. Platforms such as Wix and Weebly have intuitive website design templates that make customizing websites easy for complete beginners, and some like GoDaddy can use AI to design one for you.

Are portfolio website builders secure?

Because most website builders, including those offering services for those who want to post their portfolios online, offer cutting-edge technology, they are usually ahead of the curve when it comes to keeping their sites secure. They do this by keeping their customers’ websites protected by using top-end technology. Because of this, most website building companies offer some of the best security options available on the internet.

How scalable are website builders?

Website builders are highly scalable, and your plan can be easily modified to meet the needs of your growing team. If you outgrow even the top-level package of your service, many vendors offer enterprise-level functionality with customized pricing. It may be worthwhile to get in touch with your system’s customer service team to learn more.

What’s the difference between a web builder and a CMS?

A website builder is typically an all-in-one solution that includes web hosting, a domain name and a site editor, but not always. A CMS is a content management system, which is used to help you manage blog posts, images, videos, and other content that you publish on a website. Site builders usually include a CMS and a CMS can include a site editor, such as WordPress.


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