Best Website Builders for Writers

Overview

The best website builders for writers help you publish, grow an audience, sell subscriptions or books, and maintain a clean, readable site without needing deep technical skills. This article compares WordPress (self-hosted), Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, Ghost, Carrd, and Substack. I evaluate publishing tools, design control, SEO, membership/subscription support, ease of use, cost, and long-term portability.

Key decision criteria:

• Writing and publishing experience: editor quality, content organization, RSS support
• Audience growth and SEO: speed, metadata, sitemaps, canonical URLs
• Monetization and subscriptions: native memberships, paywalls, payment integrations
• Design and customization: templates, custom CSS, layout freedom
• Technical control and portability: backups, export, ownership

Quick summary - who each is best for:

• WordPress (self-hosted): writers who want full control, extensibility, and long-term portability.
• Squarespace: writers who want polished templates and an all-in-one hosted solution.
• Wix: writers who want drag-and-drop ease and lots of integrations.
• Webflow: designers or technically comfortable writers who want pixel-perfect control and built-in CMS.
• Ghost: writers focused on newsletters, memberships, subscriptions, and fast publishing.
• Carrd: writers who need a simple, ultra-low-cost landing page or single-page portfolio.
• Substack: writers prioritizing newsletter-first publishing and built-in paid subscriptions.

Best Website Builders for Writers

Wordpress (Self-Hosted)

Overview and Positioning

org is the dominant open-source CMS powering a large share of the web. For writers, it offers the most flexible ecosystem: thousands of themes, plugins for SEO, memberships, e-commerce, and complete control over content portability.

Key Features and Strengths

• Full control and ownership of content and data.
• Extremely flexible: powerful editors (Gutenberg), page builders (Elementor, Beaver Builder), and thousands of plugins.
• Mature SEO plugins (Yoast, Rank Math) and advanced schema support.
• Membership plugins (MemberPress, Restrict Content Pro), newsletter integrations (Mailchimp, ConvertKit).
• Large community and many tutorials.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Steeper setup than hosted builders: you must manage hosting, security, backups, and updates.
• Plugins can conflict and require maintenance.
• Costs can grow with premium themes, plugins, and managed hosting.

Pricing and Value

• Hosting: $3-30+ per month for shared hosting; managed WordPress hosting typically $20-35+/mo.
• Domain: $10-20/year.
• Premium theme: $0-100 one-time or annual.
• Typical starting total: $5-15/mo for DIY hosting; $20-40/mo for managed hosting. Add plugin costs as needed.
• Value: Best if you want control, scalability, and plugin-driven features without platform lock-in.

Best For

• Professional writers, authors, and content entrepreneurs who want ownership, custom workflows, and the ability to scale into memberships, courses, or online stores.

Squarespace

Overview and Positioning

Squarespace is an all-in-one hosted website builder known for elegant templates and an integrated publishing experience. It combines design-forward themes with built-in hosting, analytics, and commerce.

Key Features and Strengths

• Professionally designed templates optimized for readability and visual storytelling.
• Built-in blogging, basic SEO settings, and automatic sitemaps.
• Integrated commerce for selling books, downloads, or merchandise.
• Simple membership or donation options via third-party integrations.
• Hosting, SSL, and updates included.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Less extensible than WordPress; fewer plugin-style integrations.
• Template customization is more constrained; advanced design freedom is limited.
• Membership and subscription features are not as mature as Ghost or WordPress with plugins.

Pricing and Value

• Personal: about $16/month (billed monthly) or $12/month (billed annually) — limited commerce features.
• Business: about $23/month (monthly) or $18/month (annual) — includes more marketing tools.
• Basic Commerce: about $27/month (monthly) or $26/month (annual).
• Advanced Commerce: about $49/month.
• Value: Good mid-range choice for writers who want a turnkey site with attractive templates and minimal maintenance.

Best For

• Writers who prioritize design, simplicity, and an all-in-one hosted solution, such as poets, essayists, and authors creating polished portfolios and small stores.

Wix

Overview and Positioning

Wix is a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop website builder offering many templates, an app market, and an ADI (artificial design intelligence) option for quick setup. It aims for flexibility with minimal technical requirements.

Key Features and Strengths

• Intuitive drag-and-drop editor with lots of elements and templates.
• App Market for adding forms, memberships, newsletters, and commerce.
• Built-in SEO Wiz guides and automatic site optimization features.
• Wix Blog app provides blogging functionality.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Design freedom can produce inconsistent structure and slower pages if not optimized.
• Moving off Wix is more difficult than WordPress or Webflow; content export is limited.
• App-based add-ons vary in quality and sometimes have additional costs.

Pricing and Value

• Combo/Personal plans around $14-16/month for ad-free sites and domain connection.
• Unlimited and Business plans typically $18-27/month for more features and e-commerce.
• Value: Good for writers who want simple, visual site building without technical setup, but long-term portability and performance are tradeoffs.

Best For

• Nontechnical writers who want a visually flexible site built quickly, personal blogs, or writers who plan light e-commerce and rely on drag-and-drop design.

Webflow

Overview and Positioning

Webflow targets designers and technically inclined users who want fine-grained visual control plus a CMS. It converts visual layouts into production-ready HTML/CSS and offers hosting, CMS collections, and interactions.

Key Features and Strengths

• Pixel-perfect design control with a visual CSS/HTML interface.
• Built-in CMS for structured content (articles, authors, categories).
• Fast hosting via Amazon CloudFront and global CDN.
• Exportable code for static sites and flexible template logic.
• Good for building custom templates for book pages, series, and unique editorial experiences.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Steep learning curve compared with Squarespace or Wix.
• CMS features are powerful but not as plugin-rich as WordPress.
• More expensive for sites with dynamic CMS needs and collaborators.

Pricing and Value

• Site plans: Basic around $14/month, CMS $23/month, Business $39/month (billed annually).
• Account plans for designers start higher if you want team features.
• Value: High for designers and technically savvy writers who want control without server maintenance.

Best For

• Writers who work with a designer, want bespoke layouts, or need structured content with performance and design control.

Ghost

Overview and Positioning

Ghost is an open-source platform built specifically for modern publishing and memberships. It focuses on speed, clean writing experience, newsletters, and native subscription support.

Key Features and Strengths

• Editor optimized for writing, publishing, and newsletters with built-in email sending.
• First-class support for memberships, paid subscriptions, and metered paywalls.
• Fast and lightweight, built-in SEO, AMP support, and RSS.
• Either self-host (Node.js) or use Ghost(Pro) hosted service for convenience.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Less flexible for arbitrary website features compared to WordPress.
• Smaller ecosystem of themes and third-party plugins.
• Self-hosting requires Node.js knowledge; Ghost(Pro) has ongoing fees.

Pricing and Value

• Ghost(Pro) hosted plans start around $9/month for basic individual sites and scale by members or content; higher tiers for teams and business features.
• Self-hosting: hosting $5-20+/mo plus domain costs.
• Platform fee tradeoff: Ghost(Pro) handles email and membership infrastructure, which can justify costs for subscription-based authors.

Best For

• Newsletter-first writers, independent publishers, and authors monetizing via paid subscriptions or memberships who want a minimal, fast publishing stack.

Carrd

Overview and Positioning

Carrd is a focused, ultra-simple builder for one-page sites, landing pages, and portfolios. It’s extremely low-cost and fast to build.

Key Features and Strengths

• Very low cost and quick setup; templates for portfolios, author pages, and contact funnels.
• Simple editor with sections, forms, and basic integrations.
• Good for landing pages to capture email signups, linktrees, and author contact pages.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Not suitable for full blogs or large multi-page sites.
• Limited SEO features and no built-in CMS for multi-post publishing.
• Membership and commerce features are minimal.

Pricing and Value

• Free tier with branding.
• Pro tiers typically paid annually and start at low single-digit to low double-digit dollars per year (check current pricing).
• Value: Excellent for writers who want a low-cost, single-page presence or a funnel to a newsletter or external blog.

Best For

• Writers who need an inexpensive, polished landing page, author bio, or sales/lead capture page.

Substack

Overview and Positioning

Substack is a newsletter-first platform that also acts as a simple website. It focuses on email distribution and built-in paid subscriptions, making it a popular choice for independent writers.

Key Features and Strengths

• Built-in email newsletter creation and distribution.
• Native paid subscriptions and billing (Stripe processed).
• Simple site structure: posts are served on Substack and discoverable by subscribers.
• Minimal setup: fast path to publishing and monetization.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Limited design and layout customization.
• Platform fees: Substack takes a 10% platform fee plus Stripe transaction fees, and content is hosted on Substack.
• Less control and portability compared to self-hosted solutions.

Pricing and Value

• Free to start; Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue plus Stripe fees (~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction).
• Value: Very high for writers who want to launch paid newsletters quickly and focus on content and subscriber growth.

Best For

• Independent journalists, newsletter writers, and authors who prioritize audience monetization via subscriptions and want minimal setup.

How to Choose

Decision checklist - 4 to 5 points:

1. Prioritize ownership or convenience?

• If you want full ownership and extensibility, choose self-hosted WordPress or Ghost self-hosted. If you prefer convenience, pick Squarespace, Wix, or Ghost(Pro).

2. Do you need paid subscriptions built-in?

• Choose Ghost or Substack for native membership tools; WordPress can do subscriptions via plugins but requires setup.

3. How much design control do you need?

• Webflow for pixel-level control, WordPress for plugin-driven design, Squarespace/Wix for templated ease.

4. Budget and scale considerations?

• Carrd for ultra-low cost landing pages; WordPress or Ghost for scalable solutions; Squarespace/Wix/Webflow for predictable hosted pricing.

5. Long-term portability and SEO?

• WordPress and Ghost offer the best portability. Hosted builders are fine for most but can make migration harder.

Use the checklist in practice: if you want to start fast and validate an audience, Substack or Ghost(Pro) can launch a paid newsletter in days. If you plan to grow into courses, shops, multiple authors, or unique design, pick WordPress or Webflow.

Quick Comparison

Feature | WordPress (self-hosted) | Squarespace | Wix | Webflow | Ghost | Carrd | Substack — | —: | —: | —: | —: | —: | —: | —: Pricing (typical start) | $5-30+/mo | $12-23/mo | $14-27/mo | $14-39/mo | $9+/mo or $5-20 self-host | $0-5+/yr | Free to start, 10% fee on paid subs Best for | Full control and scalability | Design-first portfolios | Drag-and-drop sites | Pixel-perfect CMS sites | Newsletter/membership-first writers | Landing pages | Newsletter-driven monetization Native subscriptions | Via plugins | Limited | Via apps | Via integrations | Yes | No | Yes

Pricing breakdown examples (typical monthly costs):

• WordPress: Hosting $5-30 + domain $1 = $6-31; add premium plugins/themes $5-20.
• Squarespace: $12-23 (billed annually/monthly).
• Wix: $14-27 for personal/business plans.
• Webflow: $14-39 for site plans; designer account extra.
• Ghost: Ghost(Pro) from ~$9+/mo; self-host $5-20+.
• Carrd: Free to $2-10/year tiers for pro features.
• Substack: Free upfront; 10% of paid revenues + Stripe fees.

FAQ

How Much Technical Skill Do I Need to Run These Platforms?

Most hosted builders (Squarespace, Wix, Substack, Carrd) require minimal technical skill beyond basic editing. js and server knowledge, though Ghost(Pro) removes that burden.

Which Platform is Best for Selling Books and Handling Payments?

Squarespace and Wix have built-in commerce features suitable for selling books and digital downloads. WordPress with WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads offers the most flexibility. Ghost and Substack are best if you sell subscriptions or memberships rather than one-off products.

Can I Move My Site Later If I Change My Mind?

WordPress and Ghost (self-hosted) give you the most portability because you control hosting and data exports. Exporting content from Squarespace, Wix, or Substack is possible but may require reformatting. Plan for portability by keeping backups and using standard formats like RSS and XML.

What is the Cheapest Option to Start With?

Carrd and Substack are the cheapest to start: Carrd can be nearly free for simple pages, and Substack is free until you earn revenue (when fees apply). Shared WordPress hosting can also be very low cost initially.

Is SEO Easier on One Platform Versus Another?

SEO fundamentals (good content, speed, links) matter most. WordPress has the most advanced SEO plugins and flexibility. Webflow and Ghost provide fast performance and good SEO tools out of the box.

Hosted builders like Squarespace and Wix have solid basic SEO features but are more limited for advanced customization.

Should I Use a Newsletter Platform or Build a Website-First?

If audience-building via email is your top priority and you want fast monetization, start newsletter-first on Substack or Ghost(Pro). If you need a portfolio, bookstore, or comprehensive site for multiple content types, start website-first (WordPress, Squarespace, or Webflow) and add email tools.

Further Reading

• Best Website Builders for Authors
• Wordpress vs Website Builders Practical Comparison
• Best Membership Website Builders for Creators
• Website Builders Squarespace Practical Guide