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Building a website is no longer a particularly hard task—but it can be an annoying one. If you look at most sites, there’s a fair amount of text, images, and general organization to it all. Even with the best tools, it takes a few hours to put together something good. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just create a website from scratch in just a few minutes? That’s what AI website builders claim to do.
The idea is that by using artificial intelligence, AI website builders can streamline everything from designing a site and organizing your content into the appropriate pages to actually getting it online. It’s a bold claim, but there are a few apps that pull it off (with varying degrees of intelligence and success).
Table of Contents
The Best AI Website Builders
- Wix: Ideal for most users
- Jimdo: Best free AI website builder with affordable upgrades
- CodeWP: Best for complex WordPress sites
- Framer: A glimpse into the future of AI website builders
What Makes the Best AI Website Builder?
Evaluation and Testing Criteria
For the past couple of years, AI has been the hottest marketing buzzword around. It should be no surprise then that there are now dozens and dozens of tools that claim to use AI to build websites.
The problem is that building something that works kind of like an AI website builder is now fairly straightforward. Connect OpenAI’s GPT API to a white label or open-source website builder, and you’re basically there. All you need is a front-end that takes a prompt, and you can have GPT fill in a standard, editable site template with AI-generated text. It won’t be very good, but it will allow anyone to create a website in just a few minutes—which looks great in demo videos and sounds awesome in marketing copy.
Criteria for Evaluation
- Enable you to make a great-looking site: Theme-based website builders have set the bar really high here, so there’s no need for a website to look like it was built using Dreamweaver in 2005.
- Make it easy to get the results you want: Picking a WordPress theme is pretty simple. No matter how AI-powered an app is, if you have to spend ages crafting prompts to get it to produce good, relevant results, or need to spend a lot of time tweaking things afterward in a mediocre site builder, it didn’t make this list.
- Truly build custom sites: The cynical way to make an AI website builder is to have it take a prompt and then slot that information into a single generic theme. Changing the prompt just changes the headers and maybe the images, not the actual layout of the site. For an app to get featured here, it had to allow you to build genuinely custom sites. It should be an AI-generated website, but it shouldn’t feel like an AI-generated website.
- Offer a good overall experience: The whole point of AI tools is that they make things easy; if any app makes you battle with a bad interface, awkward AI, or anything else, there’s no point using it. There should also be solid documentation in case you do get tripped up.
The Best AI Website Builders
1. Wix (Web)
Wix Pros:
- Effective, easy-to-use AI site designer
- Backed up by Wix’s mature site builder ecosystem
Wix Cons:
- Not the most futuristic-feeling AI around
Wix is one of the best website-building tools across the board. It’s one of the best free website builders, the best blog sites, and the best eCommerce platforms. So, it’s no wonder that it also tops list of the best AI website builders.
Wix’s AI site builder manages to balance usability and functionality. You start by chatting with a chatbot, answering questions about what kind of site you want to build. It’s effective, and despite one or two missed requests, it genuinely seems to affect how your site looks when you move on to the AI site builder. You still have to change the AI-generated stock text and images to your own content, but I was able to spin up a functioning photography portfolio in less than 10 minutes.
Crucially, Wix makes it easy for you to change any of the decisions it’s made, both when you’re configuring things with AI or when you’re editing the site it’s built using the great drag-and-drop builder. If the AI totally misses the mark, you aren’t stuck.
Now, Wix isn’t the most AI-powered tool on this list, but it’s still the right option for most people. Wix gives you the choice to use its AI site builder or select from a list of themes, and the AI site builder is the faster option. The fact that you then have a top-notch website builder to tweak the content is a good thing, not a downside. You get the speed of an AI site builder plus Wix’s mature feature set.
And, really, if you’re trying to build a real website, that’s what matters more than anything. You can use Wix to start a blog, sell digital and physical products, take bookings, and anything else you could want.
There aren’t many other AI-powered site builders that can match Wix on practicality.
Wix Pricing: Free with Wix branding and domain; from $17/month for the Light plan, including a custom domain for one year.
2. Jimdo (Web)
Jimdo Pros:
- A real site builder with all the features you could need
- Great free plan and affordable paid plans
Jimdo Cons:
- AI is limited to initial site creation
Jimdo, like Wix, is a long-running site builder—and it was also one of the first AI website builders. It launched its AI editor, called Jimdo Dolphin, in 2017, though it seems to have moved away from that branding.
When you build a site, you can select from a theme or have Jimdo build one for you—that’s the AI-powered option. After you describe the purpose of your site (and, if you want, link it to your Google Business listing to get contact information or your Facebook and Instagram accounts to pull images), Jimdo will suggest a style, color palette, and what pages you need. Once you’ve given everything the ok, it’ll take a few moments to create two starting points. Select the one you want, and you’ll have a draft site ready to go.
Like with Wix, you then use the site editor to upload content, configure things like booking modules, and generally tweak your site. It feels less AI than Wix, to be honest, but it does work really well. And it’s also more affordable, with paid plans starting at $11/month.
All in all, Jimdo is another great AI website creator if you’re building a personal or business site. It has an AI-powered site builder with enough power to get you started quickly, plus all the features you need to run a real website. Yes, most of the customizing will happen through the regular site editor, but that’s the tradeoff if you want to quickly build a modern website.
Jimdo Pricing: Free with Jimdo branding and domain; from $11/month for the Start plan that includes a custom domain.
3. CodeWP (Web)
CodeWP Pros:
- Enables technical-minded people to create complex WordPress code
- Allows you to build by far the most custom sites of any tool on this list
CodeWP Cons:
- It’s still an advanced tool; unless you understand how WordPress works, you won’t be able to get much use out of it
CodeWP is one of the most interesting and powerful tools on this list. Instead of directly building a site for you, it enables someone with a moderate amount of technical experience to dive deep into WordPress’s inner workings on their own site. (All that also comes with a healthy dose of caveats.)
CodeWP is a GPT-powered code generator trained on hundreds of thousands of lines of WordPress-specific code, including WooCommerce, Elementor, and Metabox. This means you can ask it to do things like write a custom query to display only products from a particular category, create a shortcode, register a custom post type, or write a PHP function to prevent plugin conflicts. And it’ll actually be able to do it—most of the time, at least.
The thing is, CodeWP only writes the code: it doesn’t run it for you. Instead, it’s your job to paste it into the right place on your website. If you use a tool like WPCode to manage your site’s custom code snippets, this isn’t that difficult. But if you’re unfamiliar with how WordPress works or don’t know how to write code, it can be pretty overwhelming.
Now, for experienced WordPress developers or people who are willing to dive in and learn, CodeWP enables a whole other level of customization than any other tool on this list. You can build a site that does exactly what you want, however you want it to look, all without knowing how to write a single line of code yourself. The AI is smart enough to handle it for you. But it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.
CodeWP Pricing: Free for one custom code generation per month; from $12/month for the Starter plan with up to 20 code generations.
4. Framer (Web)
Framer Pros:
- Closest thing to the future of AI site builders we’ve seen
- Exciting new features coming soon
Framer Cons:
- Still feels more like a tech demo than a real product
Framer is by far the most exciting tool on this list. It’s already one of the best no-code website builders, and now it’s diving into AI site building. It’s not the most usable tool yet, but it gives a really great sense of what AI site builders will be able to do in the future.
Framer’s AI website generator is currently in beta, but it’s already pretty impressive. You type a prompt describing what you want to build (like “a website for a coffee shop with an online store”), and Framer will generate a complete site. You can then tweak the design using Framer’s excellent site builder.
The best part of Framer’s AI is that it doesn’t just generate the content for your site—it also generates the design. That means you can start with a completely unique site, rather than a cookie-cutter template. And because Framer’s site builder is so good, you can easily make any changes you want to the design and content.
Framer’s AI website builder is still in its early days, so there are some limitations. For example, it can’t yet generate eCommerce sites, and it sometimes struggles with more complex prompts. But it’s already clear that Framer is on the right track. If you want to see the future of AI site builders, Framer is the tool to watch.
Framer Pricing: Free with Framer branding and domain; from $15/month for the Pro plan with a custom domain and advanced features.
The Bottom Line
AI website builders are still in their early days, but there are already some great tools available. Wix and Jimdo are the best options for most people, offering a good balance of AI-powered site creation and traditional site-building features. CodeWP is a great choice for more advanced users who want to build highly custom WordPress sites, and Framer is an exciting glimpse into the future of AI site builders.
No matter which tool you choose, an AI website builder can help you get a site online quickly and easily. And as AI technology continues to improve, these tools will only get better. So, if you’re looking to build a website in 2024, give one of these AI site builders a try. You might be surprised at what they can do.
If you’re looking to create a more innovative and responsive website, then contact us—we’re here to help!
FAQs
Wix uses an AI site designer that guides users through a chatbot, asking questions about the desired website. The AI then creates a draft site which can be customized further using Wix’s drag-and-drop builder.
Yes, Jimdo offers a free plan with Jimdo branding and domain. For more features and a custom domain, you can upgrade to a paid plan starting at $11 per month.
CodeWP is designed for those with technical knowledge. It uses AI to generate WordPress-specific code, allowing for highly customized site creation and functionality enhancements.
Framer’s AI can generate a rough draft of a website based on a detailed prompt. While it’s not perfect and requires some customization, it offers a glimpse into the future of AI-powered web design.
Consider factors like the ease of use, the quality of AI-generated designs, customization options, pricing, and whether the AI tool is backed by a robust traditional website builder.
Most AI website builders like Wix and Jimdo do not require coding knowledge and are designed for ease of use. However, tools like CodeWP are more advanced and may require some understanding of WordPress and coding.
AI website builders can speed up the initial creation process and provide a good starting point. However, traditional website builders still offer more control and customization, which may be necessary for more complex sites.
The best AI website builders can create custom designs based on user inputs and preferences. However, some tools may produce more generic results, so it’s important to choose a builder that allows for extensive customization.
Yes, some AI website builders like Wix offer robust eCommerce features, including the ability to sell products, manage inventory, and integrate with payment gateways.
Limitations include potential generic designs, the need for customization to achieve a polished look, and varying degrees of AI sophistication. Some tools might not handle complex site requirements as well as traditional builders.
Many AI website builders, like Wix, allow integration with third-party apps and services, enhancing functionality and customization options.
Security depends on the platform. Reputable AI website builders like Wix and Jimdo have robust security measures in place to protect your site and data. Always review the security features of any platform you choose.