Imagine you’re a sculptor, but instead of chiseling away at hard stone, your material is as malleable as clay and responds to your every command, shaping itself to your vision. This is what it feels like to use AI website builders to create a brand-new site.
AI website builders are valuable tools for those seeking a user-friendly and efficient way to create a website in just a few minutes. Here’s how AI-generated website builders work, along with some of the best on the market.
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How do AI website builders work?
An AI website generator starts by gathering information about your website’s purpose, target audience, and desired style. Providing this information might involve answering questions, selecting keywords, or providing examples of websites you like.
Once you provide enough input, the AI site generator evaluates your preferences and leverages algorithms to craft a website framework that encompasses content, design, and functionality. For example, AI might generate a layout and suggest design elements like color schemes, fonts, and image styles. Depending on your AI builder’s capabilities, it might also recommend features like contact forms, photo galleries, or ecommerce functionalities.
Artificial intelligence generates the initial framework, but you’re not stuck with its suggestions. Most AI website builders let you customize the design and layout, add features, and edit content. For instance, you might tweak the contact form your builder generated by adding an embedded Google Map of your store location.
Best AI website builders
Here are some of the best AI-enabled website builders, in alphabetical order, according to customer reviews:
Appy Pie
Appy Pie is a cloud-based platform with various tools for mobile-friendly app development, site creation, and business solution development. It offers a free AI website builder with basic features, limited storage space, and an Appy Pie subdomain.
Bookipi
Bookipi uses AI to simplify site creation for small businesses and individuals—especially freelancers and solopreneurs looking for a user-friendly platform to create a basic portfolio website. It starts by gathering information about your business through a questionnaire, asking for details about your industry, target audience, and desired website functionalities.
Bookipi then drafts a general website framework, generating essential text content for various sections of your website while proposing elements like color schemes, fonts, and stock image suggestions.
Bookipi offers a free plan with limited features and affordable pricing tiers with additional features, making it a budget-friendly option for new users.
Duda
Duda caters to agencies and web design professionals. Its AI assistant can generate draft content for various website sections, including page titles and brief descriptions, saving time and ensuring basic SEO optimization best practices. Duda can also translate website content into multiple languages, making it easier to reach a broader audience.
Duda offers a basic $19-per-month plan and various pricing plans based on features and number of websites you need to manage.
Jimdo
Jimdo Creator personalizes the building process based on your input, with tools for mobile and SEO optimization and an online store builder for basic ecommerce needs. Jimdo offers a free AI website builder plan with limited features, while paid plans start at $11 monthly for more storage, bandwidth, and a custom domain name.
Hostinger
Hostinger focuses on usability and offers AI tools like a heat map and a logo maker. The AI heat map tool analyzes visitor behavior on your website and helps you identify areas where visitors click or spend more time so you can optimize your website layout for better user engagement.
The AI-powered logo maker lets you generate different logo concepts based on your preferences (company name, industry keywords, etc.), which you can customize further.
Hostinger offers a free AI website builder plan with limited features and branding. Paid plans start at $2.90 per month for more storage, bandwidth, and the ability to connect your own domain name.
SITE123
SITE123 is known for its focus on small businesses thanks to its user-friendly interface, all the tools for basic SEO optimization, and integrations with popular business apps. Use the TextAI app within the SITE123 platform to generate content such as brief descriptions and add features or services to your website.
SITE123 offers a free AI website builder plan with limited features, and paid plans with more storage, bandwidth, and custom domain names starting at $12.80 per month.
Squarespace
Squarespace is known for its stylish templates and user-friendly interface. It offers all the tools for mobile and SEO optimization and ecommerce features for online selling. Squarespace offers AI-powered features like website style suggestions based on user preferences.
Squarespace also offers a free AI website builder trial, and paid plans start at $16 per month. These plans provide various levels of features, storage, and bandwidth.
Webflow
Webflow offers a unique blend of a visual design interface and code export capabilities, allowing for greater design flexibility and customization than other AI website builders. Webflow’s search functionality uses AI to help you find website elements, assets, or tutorials in just a few minutes. It includes built-in content management system (CMS) functionalities and ecommerce features.
Webflow offers a free generator plan with limited features and projects. Paid plans start at $14 per month and provide more features, website projects, and CMS collections.
Wix
Wix’s AI web builder creates a customized website based on your answers to a brief questionnaire and offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor for easy customization. It includes all the tools for SEO optimization, ecommerce functionalities, and built-in marketing apps.
Wix offers a free AI-assisted website plan with limited features (although your website will display Wix branding). Paid plans start at $17 monthly and offer more storage, bandwidth, and custom domain names.
WordPress
WordPress offers a user-friendly platform with some AI-powered features like theme suggestions in its free plan. It boasts a massive plug-in and theme library, allowing for extensive customization and functionality.
WordPress offers a free plan with limited features, storage, and customization options. Paid plans start at $4 per month and offer more storage and bandwidth, and the ability to use custom themes and plug-ins.
AI website builder FAQ
Can you use AI to build websites?
AI website builders leverage artificial intelligence to simplify the website creation process, making it user-friendly through intuitive text prompts. This allows even individuals without coding skills to engage in site creation. While AI website design generators lay out the foundational framework, customization options are available to ensure your website uniquely represents your brand identity.
Is there a free AI website builder?
Yes, there are several free AI website builders, such as Bookipi and WordPress. These are usually good starting points, although these AI site builders have limitations. Free website generators offer basic layout generation and content suggestions but often restrict access to features like custom domain names, storage space, or bandwidth. Investing in a paid plan with a reputable AI website builder or a custom website developer for professional websites with growth potential might be a better long-term solution.
Can ChatGPT design a website?
ChatGPT can assist with generating snippets of code, website ideas, blog posts, and brief descriptions of products, but it can’t help with the entire website-building process, as it cannot design a fully functional website on its own.
