9 [Easy] WordPress Alternatives: Start Building for Free

Building a website was never easy. But thanks to WordPress, building a website even when the users are not technical has been extremely easy and effortless.

Whether you need a website for ecommerce or a blog, WordPress websites are your best bet. WordPress powers more than 35% of the world’s websites.

WordPress is an open-source CMS that can be used and modified by the users for free.Users without technical knowledge can also use the CMS to personalize as per individual business requirements.

Portfolios, social networks, ecommerce stores, business websites, forums, membership sites, blogs, and pretty much any other kind of website are all made possible with WordPress.

From Microsoft to Rolling stone’s WordPress is a favorite among users of every domain.

WordPress Themes

WordPress is free; it is an open-source, easy to use and install, offers themes and plugins, and tons of support available to help new users like forums, tutorials, Facebook groups, and blogs.

WordPress sites need themes installed and activated. However, users may or may not choose a theme design. Themes help users define how users would like to portray themselves and filter their information.

Users can access the WordPress editor and use it in the appearance area.

The default theme can be displayed on the screen and create a graphical interface for the website design. The themes help to modify the look of the website without actually making any changes to the software.

WordPress Templates 

While the theme controls the website’s design, the template helps create the pages’ layout on the website.

Users need to login to their admin page and go to appearance, and select themes. The theme can be previewed before installation.

WordPress Plugin collections

PHP scripts used to enhance the functionality of WordPress can be called plugins. The features can be enhanced for better utilization with these plugins.

WordPress version 2.7 and above enable users to install plugins through the admin page. Once the existing program supports a plugin, it allows customization.

WordPress offers plugins for free.

WordPress alternatives provide both free and premium versions. Yoast SEO, Jetpack, WordFence Security, WP Smush, Monster Insights, WP Smush, Woo Commerce, Elementor, Pretty links, Creative mail, and a few others are the best wordpress plugin collections.

Global WordPress community

WordPress has become quite famous across the world. The WordPress community helps users to grow their knowledge about WordPress.

The WordPress community includes users from Buenos Aires to Vancouver, making it the most liked and used website builder worldwide.

These groups manage camps once a year, and the users update and expand on new ideas continuously.

WordPress – Norway, Singapore, Argentina, Egypt, Poland, Serbia, Francophone, Brussels, Cairo, and a few others are a part of the Global WordPress community.

WordPress has a common myth that since it is open-source, it may not fit a large business.

That is not true. Angry Birds, Obama Foundation, 99U, creative ad awards, and the next web are a few popular websites that use WordPress.

Angry Birds

We all know the popular game Angry Birds.

The visual graphics appearing in the backdrop of the pages are fun, and the website has utilized some simple designs that are per the spirit of the games.

Obama Foundation

The website for President Obama’s non-profit organization is unique and syncs well with the vision and mission of the foundation.

The large fonts for the paragraphs and headings, the collapsed navigation menu, multimedia, typography, and templates are easy to use and they offer a great user experience.

99U

A blog for creatives in popular culture and design.99U sports a magazine-style template, masonry grid layout, and a sticky navigation menu.

Creative Ad Awards

Some of the best ads can be found from across the globe on the creative ad awards website.

The fullscreen background image with filterable categories, a grid of recent posts, and a search box makes it most comfortable to use page layout.

The Next Web

The online magazine covers science, the internet, technology, and a few other topics.

The magazine layout on the home page covers posts by category, latest articles, and featured stories. Website speed and performance for this online magazine are managed using CDN technologies, lazy loading, and a few others.

WordPress Features 

Word press offers features like flexibility, user management, easy to publish, SEO, built-in comments, multilingual, publishing tools, compliance, community, plugin system, themes, application framework, and customized content types.

WordPress features help users/ businesses to stay flexible and adapt to changing needs. The WordPress features are easy to use even for beginners with no prior knowledge.

The themes offer multiple options, and the plugins help to extend functionality. WordPress sites usually rank high and are mobile responsive.

WordPress community is a great help if you are a first time user and enables users to optimize it.

The in-built Blog allows users to manage a blog to add updates, announcements, and bloggers to offer their users useful information.

Integrations

Zapier, Zendesk, Bitium, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, Zohosales, and a few other integrations with third-party systems are available with WordPress.

Disadvantages of using WordPress:

Lack of drag and drop feature, too many plugins to perform the same function makes navigation quite challenging and time-consuming.

The increasing cost of hosting plans are making it unfavorable for small businesses.

Like any other provider, WordPress also has its challenges, leading to its users choosing a WordPress alternative. Shopify, Samcart, Payhip, Ghost, and a few others are some of the best WordPress alternatives.

Ghost : Valuable Alternative to WordPress

Ghost is a website builder, a publishing platform, and also an open-source. It means users can use the code and create their version of a site too.

Unlimited integrations, access to the API, customized connections with apps, and much more can all be made with Ghost.

Authoring an article, formatting tools, organized content through the content manager, and easy to use tools for content creation and publishing are all made effortless with Ghost making it one of the best WordPress alternatives.

Features

Advantages

• Publishing tools
• Professional themes
• Support through message platform
• Content optimization

Page builder

• Use the Ghost themes and templates
• Render the content
• Page route adjustment

Email notifications

• Use the integrations with MailChimp(Example) or any other mailing system
• Import subscribers
• Notify the mailing list as and when you have a new post.

Forms

• Form Spree
• Form Submit
• Form Backend
• Form Bucket

Integrations

Pricing

A fourteen-day free trial is available for all plans.

The Personal plan costs $29per month or $19 per month when billed annually. One Blog, unlimited storage and transfer, and up to fifty thousand views per month are a part of the personal plan.

The Advanced plan costs $59 per month or $39 per month when paid annually. Three sites, up to two hundred thousand views per month, and unlimited transfer and storage are a part of the advanced plan.

The Team plan costs $105 per month or $79per month when billed annually.

The plan includes ten sites, five hundred thousand views per month, unlimited transfer and storage, phone support, a dedicated environment, and subdirectory installs.

The Business plan costs $269 per month or $199 per month when billed annually.

Unlimited Sites, account manager, 9% uptime SLA, and other team plan features are included in this plan.

All the plans include SEO Tools, Ghost API Access, Threat management, Custom Domains, Standard Support, Global CDN, SSL, and Automatic updates & Backups.

Weebly : Brilliant Alternative to WordPress

Weebly is another WordPress alternative that enables users to create websites and online stores with drag and drop features.

Users can purchase their domains or launch their website with the subdomain offered by Weebly. More than twenty integrations with third-party applications are also available for Weebly users.

The SEO feature enables users to generate organic traffic, and the professional themes help users customize the website in sync with their brand.

Features

Advantages

• Third-party integrations
• Integrated forms
• Customizable themes
• Easy to navigate

Page builder

1. Use the drag and drop editor
2. Add elements
3. Add video backgrounds and headers
4. Image and color backgrounds

Email notifications

1. Log in 
2. Go to the store tab
3. Go to emails and make the changes

Forms

Integrations

Pricing

The Basic subscription is for free and covers a subdomain, up to five hundred MB space, and contains ads.

The Starter subscription costs $8 per month, and covers Do ads, advanced statistics, custom domain, and unlimited storage.

The Pro subscription costs $12 per month.

It covers all the Starter subscription features and site search, password protection, a hundred members, video backgrounds, HD Video, and audio.

The Business subscription costs $25 per month and covers all the business subscription features.

Unlimited members, SEO, Email marketing, coupons, SSL certificate, digital goods, and shipping & Tax calculation are also a part of the business subscription.

Webflow : No-fail Alternative to WordPress

Webflow enables users to design their websites without actually coding. Ready to use codes for hosting a site or hosting a site is both possible with webflow.

Design elements, animations, and typography that triggers interactions are all made possible with Webflow.

Webflow enables designers to design and build the website, making it a cost and time-effective option.

Features

Advantages

• Easy to use designing tools
• Real-time collaboration
• Scalable hosting
• External app integration
• SEO and onsite editing

Page builder

1. Build your CMS
2. Create a responsive design without writing any code
3. Write and edit with SEO

Email notifications

• Form submission
• Use Integration to send EmailEmail

Forms

• Contact
• Survey
• Booking
• Feedback

Integrations

• Google Analytics
• MailChimp
• Zapier
• Google Domains

Pricing

Plan for Freelancers

A free trial is available.

The Free staging plan is an excellent fit for freelancers and includes up to fifty CMS items, up to ten form submissions per month, five hundred monthly visits, two static pages, and a free webflow.io subdomain.

The Basic Hosting costs $12 per month for annual billing and $15 per month when paid every month. Domain creation, CDN, a hundred static pages, up to twenty-five thousand monthly visits, and five hundred form submissions per month.

The CMS Hosting costs $16 per month for annual billing and $20 for a monthly payment. Domain creation, up to one thousand form submissions per month, two thousand CMS items, Free SSL option, CDN, a hundred static pages, API access, and three content editors.

The Business Hosting costs $36 per month when billed annually and $45 when paid every month. Ten lakh monthly visits, up to ten content editors, 

Unlimited form submissions and the CMS hosting features are a part of the plan.

Plan for Designers

• The Starter plan is free and covers free site building, staging, client billing, and two concurrent projects.
• The Lite plan costs $16per month for annual billing and $24 when paid every month. Enhanced staging, client billing, up to ten concurrent projects, and code exportation are a part of this plan.
• The Pro plan costs $35 per month when paid annually and $42 for monthly payments. Project ownership transfer, white labeling, site password protection, and all the Lite plan features are a part of this plan.

Plan for creative teams

• The team plan costs $35 per month when paid annually and $42 when paid every month. Team dashboard, unlimited concurrent projects, client billing, white labeling, site password protection, enhanced stating, and code exportation are a part of this plan.
• The Large team can be availed by quote. Bulk team member pricing, team dashboard, client billing, code exportation, white labeling, enhanced staging, and unlimited concurrent projects are a part of this plan.

ButterCMS : Best-selling Alternative to WordPress

ButterCMS is another WordPress alternative that is a CMS that can be integrated into an existing application with any available framework, tools, and architecture.

ButterCMS enables its users to create web content without any technical expertise. ButterCMS supports audio hosting, in-browser editing, roles, permission controls, content marketing schedule, team collaboration, and media file tagging. 

Features

Advantages

• Reduced cost
• Reduced time to market
• Content creation from anywhere
• Deploy and redesign with ease

Page builder

• Use the blog editor to create content
• Metadata, SEO, tags, and categories are hardcoded
• Plugin to the existing site.

Email notifications

Not Available

Forms

• Sign up form
• Update profile form

Integrations

Pricing

The Blog plan costs $49 per month and includes unlimited users, fifty blog posts, and WordPress migration.

The Startup plan costs $124 per month and includes unlimited users, fifty pages, components, three hundred blog posts, and up to five hundred collection items.

The small business plan costs $249 per month and covers image editor, localization, up to a thousand collection items, a hundred pages, six hundred blog posts, and unlimited users.

The customize plan covers video support, API, multiple sites & environments, and enterprise-class SLA.

Payhip : Accredited Alternative to WordPress

Payhip is another WordPress alternative that enables its users to promote and sell memberships, digital products, eBooks, and much more effortlessly.

Payhip enables users to manage their work without worrying about all the day to day operational work.

Payhip works as a complete package for both its users and the customers with its safe and secure payment gateways, making it one of the best among the WordPress alternatives.

Features

• Digital product selling     
• Recurring revenue earning     
• Memberships     
• Customers

Advantages

• Sales can be conducted from anywhere
• Helps in improving the conversion rates
• Responsive Checkout

Page builder

Not Available

Email notifications

• Log in; click on “Customers.”
• Select the email updates tab

Forms

• Property management forms
• Standard forms
• Inventory forms

Integrations

• Zapier

Pricing

• The forever free plan covers all the features, unlimited products and charges 5% transaction fees.  
• The plus plan costs $29 per month, charges 2% transaction fees, and all the forever free plan features.
•  The Pro plan costs $99 per month. No transaction fees are charged and covers all the features in the plus plan.

Sellfy : Recognized Alternative to WordPress

If you are creating an online store to sell your digital products and subscriptions, Sellfy is an excellent choice. Users can also embed a social media page.

Sellfy is a WordPress alternative that helps customers browse products and effortless transactions, thereby enabling better sales and outreach.

Sellfy also offers analytics tools that help users make well-informed decisions to improve their ROI and overall earning potential.

Features

• Customizable Storefront
• PDF Stamping
• Online Payment Gateways Integrations
• Embeddable Buttons, Products, and Store
• Integrations

Advantages

• Safe and secure payment portals
• Features that enable a stunning storefront
• Analytics
• Marketing tools

Page builder

• Login
• Enter the store name
• Add products and customize
• Enable payments

Email notifications

• Go to dashboard and add integrations
• Create an account with integrations
• Pick the template

Forms

• WebForms
• Survey Forms
• Payment Forms
• Subscription Forms

Integrations

Pricing

The Pro plan costs $29 per month. It includes 2% transaction fees, unlimited products, store customization, instant payouts, analytics, integrations, discounts, subscription products, and upselling. 

The Pro Plus plan costs $99 per month. The plan includes premium support, 0% transaction fees, and all the Pro plan features.

Samcart : Bonus Alternative to WordPress

Templates, secure shopping cart, mobile commerce, customer support, payment plans, one-click upsell, and much more are all possible with Samcart making it the most popular WordPress alternative.

Features

Advantages

• Excellent checkout experience
• Advanced analytics
• Sales funnel capabilities
• Payment models
• Drag and drop editor

Page builder

• Drag and drop page builder
• In-built templates
• Task automation
• Integration
• Analytics

Email notifications

• Register
• Change settings
• Connect accounts
• Created product pages

Forms

• WebForms
• Responsive Forms
• Payment Forms

Integrations

Pricing

A fourteen-day free trial is available.

The launch plan costs $49 per month.

Unlimited – templates, pages, and products are a part of this plan.

Advanced subscriptions, drag and drop template builder, customized domains, template library, smart pixel tracking, Free SSL certificate, tax support, Sam cart branding, and customized thank you pages are all a part of the Launch plan.    

The Grow plan costs $99 per month. Custom check out fields, multiple payment options, subscription cancellations, and the Launch plan features are a part of this plan.

The Scale plan costs $199 per month.

Admin user roles, cart abandonment, and CRM integrations are a part of this plan and the Grow plan features.

Hubspot CMS Hub : Delightful Alternative to WordPress

All-in-one (websites, blogs, reporting, customer database, A/B, adaptive testing, personalization, etc.) Dynamic page content through HubDB.

An incredibly intuitive interface allows marketers to make drag-and-drop changes to layouts.

Features

Advantages

• Customized and Responsive design
• Smart Content
• Tracking through analytics
• SEO Benefits

Page builder

• Create and edit page
• Choose templates
• Apply styles
• Optimize
• Preview
• Publish

Email notifications

1. Log in and click on settings
2. Go to notifications
3. Specify how you want to get notified

Forms

• Contact Form
• Lead Generation Form
• Order Form
• Registration Form
• Survey Form

Integrations

Pricing

The Starter plan costs $45 per month and $540 per year when paid annually. Free tools, landing pages, Ad management, Live chat, Forms, and email marketing is all a part of the Starter plan.

The professional plan costs $800 per month and $9600 per year when paid annually. Marketing automation, Multi-language content, Smart content & reporting, blogs, social media, and integrations are a part of the professional plan.

The enterprise plan costs $3200 per month and $38400 per year when paid annually. Single sign-on, custom objects, programmable chatbots, predictive lead scoring, and reporting are a part of the enterprise plan.

Squarespace : Professional Alternative to WordPress

Square space is an excellent choice for you if you want to do a DIY for a website. Exciting features, extensive integrations, customizations, and in-built templates are available for users to build their website.

The easy-to-use tools and easy navigation makes website building effortless, making it the best WordPress alternative.

Features

Advantages

• Cool Templates
• Real-time editing
• SEO Friendly
• Mobile Friendly

Page builder

• Create a login and choose a template
• Edit pages
• Change design and branding
• Add Configuration
• Preview and add pricing
• Add integrations

Email notifications

• Go to the menu and click on commerce
• Click on customer notifications

Forms

• Custom
• Checkout
• Product

Integrations

Pricing

The Personal plan for website building costs $16 per month when paid annually and $12 when paid monthly.

SSL security, Mobile optimized website, robust website metrics, free custom domain, unlimited pages, blogs, and storage bandwidth are all a part of the personal plan.

 The Business plan for the website costs $18 per month when paid annually and $26 when paid every month.

3% transaction fee, promotional pop-ups, a $100 Google adwords credit, unlimited product selling, professional Email from Google, and a developer platform, along with all the basic features, are a part of the Business plan.

The Basic plan for online stores costs $30 per month when paid annually and $26 per month. All the business plan features, unlimited product selling, no transaction fees, SSL security, free custom domain, 24/7 support, label printing, orders, inventory, tax, and discounts are all a part of the basic plan.

The Advanced plan costs $46 per month when paid annually and $40 per month when paid every month. All the Basic plan features, abandoned cart auto-recovery, real-time carrier shipping, automatic discounts, and gift cards are a part of the advanced plan.

Shopify : Reliable Alternative to WordPress

Shopify is most suitable for setting up an online store. The right features enable users to both build an online store and sell products in person.

Shopify allows users to set up business in multiple languages, thereby improving the customer base.

The store’s customization and the multiple payment gateways enable to improve revenue and get the existing customers to come back for more shopping.

Features

Advantages

• Easy to set up
• 24/7 customer support
• Automatic recovering of abandoned carts
• Easy and quick catalog imports
• Easy reporting tools
• Marketing features

Page builder

• Select theme
• Customize
• Secure shopping cart

Email notifications

• Log in and go to settings
• Click on Notifications and make changes

Forms

• Booking
• Feedback
• Survey
• Contact

Integrations

Pricing

The Basic Shopify plan costs $13 per month and is an excellent fit for starting a business. Two staff accounts, sales channels, an online store, unlimited products, discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, and 2% transaction fees are all a part of the plan.

The Shopify plan costs $54 per month and is an excellent fit for a growing business. Professional reports, gift cards, five staff accounts, 1% transaction fees, and all the Basic Shopify plan features are a part of this plan.

The Advanced Shopify plan costs $107 per month and includes fifteen staff accounts, an advanced report builder, third party shipping rates, 0.5% transaction fees, and all the Shopify plan features are a part of the advanced Shopify plan.

The Shopify Plus plan can be availed by the quote and are most suitable for large enterprises with high volume businesses. 

Jimdo : Certified Alternative to WordPress

Jimdo is one of the best website builder and an excellent WordPress alternative.

Jimdo offers easy to use interface and is an excellent fit for freelancers and budding entrepreneurs. Jimdo enables users to create a website with a tablet, smartphone, or even a computer.

Intuitive interface, multiple languages, faster set up, mobile-responsive templates are all a part of Jimdo. Jimdo team also keeps adding new exciting features that make it better without complicating the usage.

Features

Advantages

• Multiple languages enable global business
• Free, Simple, and easy to use
• Technical editing is available (HTML/ CSS codes)
• Email support and live chat
• Optimization

Page builder

• Create an account
• Choose relevant designs
• Customize, Optimize, and Publish

Email notifications

• Login
• Go to store
• Click on settings
• Click on notify customers

Forms

• Contact Form

Integrations

Pricing

The free plan includes HTTPS encryption, up to five hundred MB storage, 2 GB bandwidth, subdomain, and all the free plan’s basic features.

The JimdoPro plan costs $7.50 per month when billed annually and covers five GB storage, free domain for the first one year, Ad-free, HTTPS encryption, mobile device optimization, and all the basic features.

The Jimdo business plan costs $20 per month when billed annually and covers an online store, premium support, SEO, unlimited – storage & bandwidth, and all the other basic features.

The Jimdo platinum plan costs $30 per month and covers expert website review along with all the Jimdo business plan features.

Conclusion

WordPress has made website building effortless and enabled users without technical knowledge to pursue their interests without worrying about the technical details.

WordPress offers tons of exciting features, templates, themes, and plugins that enable users to set up their online store, Blog, or sell their digital products with ease.

WordPress offers multiple payment gateways and an excellent checkout experience that makes it the most favorite among e-commerce business owners.

The open-source model of WordPress helps users with technical knowledge make tons of changes and add a personal touch to their online store.

The SEO, publishing tools, and various types of content customization make it a hot favorite among content creators.

WordPress offers some of the most exciting features like publishing tools, flexibility, simplicity, SEO, multilingual, community, and plugin system to set up their online system effortlessly.

WordPress also offers integrations with some of the best third-party apps like Active Campaign, Zapier, MailChimp, and a few others, making it easy for users to offer an excellent customer experience.

However, the lack of the drag and drop feature, too many plugins, increased cost for hosting plans, and a few other pointers led users to look for a much easier option and better plans.

The WordPress disadvantages led to the rise of wordpress alternatives like Ghost, Sellfy, Samcart, Shopify, Weebly, and others.

These WordPress alternatives enabled users to cater to the global audience with its payment systems, multiple languages, social media, email templates, customizable forms, background videos, abandoned cart, and much more.

The WordPress alternatives also offer some of the best pricing plans and changeable codes to suit individual business needs. Conducting business through online stores is the new normal.

However, it also calls for a wide variety of customizations that enable businesses to offer an excellent customer experience.

WordPress and WordPress alternatives enable businesses to set up shops with some of the best features and pricing plans.

While there are tons of WordPress alternatives available in the market, it would be a great idea to conduct extensive research about the features offered, pricing plans, and integrations offered by them.

Questions asked while looking for WordPress alternative :