The Most Profitable Businesses to Start in 2024 - UpFlip (2024)

Considering a vending machine franchise? You need to know the most lucrative program for your target market plus inside info on franchise fees and more.

We talked to Adam Hill, who started his own company, Hill Vending, which makes nearly $1M in revenue per year. He shared information on how to buy a vending business for sale. We also researched the vending machine franchise cost for some of the most popular vending machines and share all the info here.

We teach you how to pick the perfect vending franchise (and avoid scams!) so you can start making passive income ASAP.

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We’ll help you understand each of the following topics. Read it all or click a link to jump to the info that interests you most.

• What is a vending machine franchise?
• Vending Machine Industry Outlook (2023)
• Benefits of buying a vending machine business
• What are the best vending machine franchises for small business owners?
• Healthy Vending Industry
• Snack Vending Franchises
• Water and Ice Vending Machine Franchise Opportunities
• Coffee Vending Machine Franchise
• Unique Vending Franchises
• How to choose the best vending machine franchise opportunities
• Vending Machine Franchise FAQ
• Did you find a vending machine franchise for sale?[/su_note]

What is a vending machine franchise?

A vending machine franchise requires minimal investment and staff, but owning and operating a vending machine business can be perfect for entrepreneurs who want their own business that generates passive income.

A vending machine franchise comes complete with

• Standardized operating procedures that inform how you should dispense items like food, drinks, and other consumer goods
• Machines
• And potentially even locations

Watch our interview with Adam to learn about starting a vending business.

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s_Y-O1nosw"]

Pro Tip: Check out the vending machine business course to learn how Adam launched a nearly $1 million vending business.

Vending Machine Industry Outlook (2023)

Adam told us:

[su_quote]I aim for $2,000+ per month from each location.[/su_quote]

As a vending machine industry business, expect 30% of your revenue to go toward wages and profits. The other 70% will go to product costs and taxes.

The more machines you own and how close they are will impact your profit margins (closer machines mean routes that are more efficient).

Next, we’ll discuss why vending machine franchise opportunities are a great strategy to use to increase your business success.

Benefits of buying a vending machine business

Buying a vending machine franchise opportunity is a great option for a small business owner looking for new business opportunities. The benefits of opening a vending machine franchise include:

• Proven Business Model: Vending machine franchises come with a well-established and tested business model, reducing the risk associated with starting a business from scratch.
• Brand Recognition: Joining a reputable franchise offers the benefit of leveraging an established brand name and logo, which can attract customers and build trust.
• Training and Support: Franchise owners often receive comprehensive training and ongoing support from the franchisor, helping them navigate challenges and operate the business successfully.
• Access to Products: Franchises often have negotiated deals with suppliers, granting franchisees access to a wide range of products at competitive prices.
• Economies of Scale: Being part of a franchise network allows franchisees to benefit from economies of scale, which can lead to reduced costs for equipment, supplies, and advertising.
• Marketing Assistance: Franchisors usually provide marketing and advertising support at both the national and local levels, aiding in attracting customers and increasing sales.
• Streamlined Operations: Franchises typically provide standardized operating procedures, simplifying business management and ensuring consistency across locations.
• Minimal Experience Required: Vending machine franchises are suitable for individuals with varying levels of business experience, making entrepreneurship accessible to a wider range of people.
• Flexibility: Running a vending machine business can offer flexibility in terms of working hours and location, allowing franchisees to adapt their schedule to their personal preferences.
• Potential for Passive Income: Once set up, vending machines can generate income with limited direct involvement, making it an option for those seeking supplementary or passive income streams.
• Diverse Locations: Vending machines can be placed in various locations, including offices, schools, hospitals, and public spaces, diversifying potential customer bases.
• Low Workforce Requirements: Operating vending machines typically requires minimal staffing, reducing labor-related costs and complexities.
• Scalability: As the business grows, franchisees can expand their vending machine network to increase revenue and market reach.

It's important to conduct thorough research and due diligence before investing in any franchise opportunity to ensure it aligns with your goals, skills, and financial capacity. This guide will help you get started.

🚨 Warning About Vending Systems 🚨

While doing research about vending machine franchises, I came across numerous franchise opportunities whose validity I couldn’t confirm. Unfortunately, the vending industry is ripe with scams.

Make sure to do thorough research on any vending business before contacting them. Some red flags include:

• Not including the company name on franchise listing sites
• Lack of a legitimate website
• Email address using any free email account

What are the best vending machine franchises for small business owners?

A vending machine business is a low-cost franchise with flexible hours. Find some of the best vending machine franchise opportunities.

Healthy Vending Industry

If you want to enter the healthy vending concept, consider a healthy vending machine franchise from the list below:

1. Healthier4U Vending
2. HealthyYOU Vending
3. Naturals2Go
4. Power Locker

Get ready to start a successful healthy vending business and help health-conscious consumers snack better.

#1. Healthier4U Vending

• Founded in: 2011
• Franchising since: 2011
• Franchise units: 3,000
• Initial investment: $30K-$160K
• Franchise Fee: None
• Royalty Fees: None

Healthier4U Vending was started to provide healthy food in vending machines. You can get into vending machine routes with approximately $50K. Learn more about how to buy a vending machine route from Healthier4U.

#2. HealthyYOU Vending

• Founded in: 1999
• Franchising since: 1999
• Franchise units: 1,800
• Initial investment: $50K-$225K
• Franchise Fee: None
• Royalty Fees: None

HealthyYOU Vending has helped more than 1,000 franchises vend healthy food and medicines in offices, gyms, and hotels. You can add a wellness (medicine) vending machine to the unit to expand your offerings in a HealthyYOU Vending machine.

Franchisees will get onboarding training, coaching, and a support center to help them make a great profit on the difference between wholesale and retail prices.

#3. Naturals2Go

• Founded in: 1986
• Franchising since: 1987
• Franchises: 10,000
• Initial investment: $50K-$250K
• Franchise Fee: $26K
• Royalty Fees: None

Naturals2Go has been a successful vending machine company since 1987. The company helps you find places for high-tech vending machines serving healthy snacks and drinks.

#4. Power Locker

• Founded in: 2020
• Franchising since: 2020
• Franchise units: Undisclosed
• Initial investment: $30K to $150K
• Franchise Fee: None
• Royalty Fees: None

Power Locker focuses on serving convenient healthy foods through their healthy vending machines. They partner with unique drink and snack brands to deliver healthy food to busy people on the go.

Snack Vending Franchises

These vending opportunities focus on providing snacks consumers are familiar with and will get excited about.

#5. Reis & Irvy’s

• Founded in: 1988
• Franchising since: 1988
• Franchise units: 5,000
• Initial investment: $160,950 to $593,900
• Franchise Fee: $15,000 to $60,000
• Royalty Fees: 12%

Reis & Irvy’s offers a robotic frozen yogurt vending machine opportunity. For a franchise fee of $15,000 to $60,000 and a royalty fee of 12%, you can become a part of this rapidly growing industry.

The total investment for a Reis & Irvy’s franchise is $160,950 to $593,900. Some of the key requirements for this franchise opportunity include a net worth of at least $250,000 and liquid assets of $120,000.

#6. UTurn

• Founded in: 1987
• Franchising since: 1987
• Franchise units: Undisclosed
• Initial investment: $20,000
• Franchise Fee: $20,000
• Royalty Fees: N/A

UTurn helps people start and grow their own snack vending businesses. They walk you through the entire process, starting with in-­person training, providing a business plan, and helping you find the best locations.

Water and Ice Vending Machine Franchise Opportunities

The growing ice vending niche has the potential to make real money, but the costs to start are higher than many of the other companies on this list. That said, if you want to vend water or ice, check out:

1. Twice the Ice
2. Ice House America (IceBorn)
3. Pure Water Technology
4. Watermill Express
5. Water Station Technology

#7. Twice the Ice

• Founded in: 2003
• Franchising since: 2003
• Franchises: 3,300
• Initial investment: $60K to $145K
• Franchise Fee: $26K
• Royalty Fees: None

The Twice the Ice opportunity is a great investment for those interested in starting their own ice and water vending enterprise. Your total investment will range from $60,000 to $135,000+, depending on the type of machine you purchase.

#8. Ice House America (IceBorn)

• Founded in: 2003
• Franchising since: 2012
• Franchise units: 4,000
• Initial investment: $111,550-$242,845
• Franchise Fee: $7,000
• Royalty Fees: 6%

Provide water and ice vending through Ice House America. Their machines run 24/7 without employees. Get unlimited earning potential when you buy a vending machine business through Ice House.

#9. Pure Water Technology

• Founded in: 1996
• Franchising since: 2014
• Franchise units: 500
• Initial investment: $50K-$100K
• Franchise Fee: $2,500
• Royalty Fees: None

Pure Water Technology was founded in 1996 because of a concern about deteriorating drinking water quality. Today it has more than 500 franchise units.

#10. Watermill Express

• Founded in: 1984
• Franchising since: 1994
• Franchise units: 1,301
• Initial investment: $460K
• Franchise Fee: $25K
• Royalty Fees: Up to 7%

Lani and Don Dolifka started Watermill Express because they lived near a Superfund that had unsafe drinking water. They created a purification system and encouraged reusable containers to help stay environmentally friendly.

Now, there are over 1,300 locations. All you need is a plot of land to get started.

#11. Water Station Technology

• Founded in: 2010
• Franchising since: 2010
• Franchise units: 500
• Initial investment: $25K-$400K
• Franchise Fee: $25K
• Royalty Fees: Up to 7%

Water Station Technology focuses on providing tech to make water vending more efficient. Join the most innovative company in water vending.

Coffee Vending Machine Franchise

#12. Xpresso Delight

• Founded in: 2003
• Franchising since: 2004
• Franchise units: 180
• Initial investment: $$67,900-$115,000
• Franchise Fee: $37,500
• Royalty Fees: $0.11-$0.15 per cup

Xpresso Delight was started in 2004 to provide coffee vending in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. These vending solutions target office break rooms and charge businesses based on per-cup pricing. Learn more about the Xpresso Delight franchising.

Unique Vending Franchises

These vending machine franchises span industries from healthcare to clothes bins and CBD.

#13. Pharmabox

• Founded in: 2014
• Franchising since: 2018
• Franchise units: 47
• Initial investment: $195,700-$216,800
• Franchise Fee: $36K
• Royalty Fees: 6%

The automated pharmacy, Pharmabox carries 140 of the top-selling over-the-counter (OTC) medications. They help with securing a vending machine location and even provide the products to you at wholesale pricing.

You’ll get access to:

• Allergy and cold medicines
• Batteries
• Cleansers
• Contraceptives
• Digestive and stomach medications
• Facial products
• Hair care
• Male and female health products
• Moisturizers
• Pediatric medication
• Soap
• Suntan lotion
• Vitamins

The vending machine routes for sale are on the pricier side of vending machine franchises, but any retail store or pharmacy that doesn’t have one outside needs a Pharmabox franchise.

#14. Clothes Bin

• Founded in: 2014
• Franchising since: 2015
• Franchise units: 38
• Initial investment: $129K-$186K
• Franchise Fee: $40,000
• Royalty Fees: $6 per bin, per week

Clothes Bin franchises place clothing bins on site that encourage people to recycle their clothing. When the bin is full, you pick it up and ship it to their sorters, who sell the clothes or repurpose them. Learn more about Clothes Bin.

#15. ATM Together

• Founded in: 2021
• Franchising since: 2021
• Franchise units: 2,600
• Initial investment: $6.5K-$10K
• Franchise Fee: N/A
• Royalty Fees: Not Disclosed

ATM Together is an ATM automation service that helps people find profitable locations, provides cash and Bitcoin ATMs, and connects you with the vendors you need for ATMs. Check out our blog and interview with the owner below.

Other ATM franchises to consider include:

• ATM Trailer
• ACFN, the ATM Franchise Business

#16. CBD Vending

• Founded in: 2014
• Franchising since: 2014
• Franchise units: Undisclosed
• Initial investment: $55K
• Franchise Fee: $55K
• Royalty Fees: Undisclosed

CBD is a chemical extracted from cannabis that helps with anxiety, pain relief, sleep, stress, and other ailments. CBD Vending claims franchises make up to $50K profit annually in residual income.

How to choose the best vending machine franchise opportunities

Before you go into business with any vending machine franchise opportunity, you’ll want to verify:

1. Franchisor reputation
2. Business model
3. Startup costs
4. Business locations

Franchisor reputation

Check reviews, talk to other franchisees, and make sure the vending machine franchise has a good reputation. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on vending machine locations for sale just to find out there’s no traffic at the location.

Business model

Franchising is a great business model, but the processes set forth by the franchisor impact franchisee success. Ask for average earning documentation and franchisee satisfaction statistics. Any reputable franchise should have these in their franchise disclosure documents. Learn how to buy a franchise.

Startup costs

A successful vending machine business will normally make enough that every machine can buy another machine each year. If the franchise model is expensive enough that you can’t buy at least another franchise vending machine annually, you’ll have a hard time maximizing profits.

Good location

The vending machine’s location will impact your success. Look for a location with high visibility and good foot traffic. Learn how to place a vending machine.

Vending Machine Franchise FAQ

How much does it cost to open a vending machine franchise?

Opening a franchise will cost different amounts based on the franchisor you choose and your location. Some franchises require an investment of only $7K, while others may cost more than $250K. Ask the franchisor about royalty fees and advertising expenses to accurately estimate your startup costs and potential profits.

Is a vending machine franchise profitable?

When you buy a vending machine franchise, you should be looking for ones that return your investment capital in a year. Adam Hill told us that you should make at least 50 cents profit on each item sold and that he aims to make at least $2,000 monthly from each vending machine.

How to start a vending machine business

You should follow the steps below to start a vending company:

1. Understand the vending industry
2. Research vending machine prices
3. Write a vending machine business plan
4. Form your vending machine business
5. Buy a vending machine
6. Get products for your vending machine
7. Find a location for your vending machine
8. Store additional products for the vending machines business
9. Maintain your vending machine
10. Collect money and refill vending machines

Check out our vending machine business course for more information.

How much does a vending machine cost?

You can buy vending machines for between $50 and $20,000 depending on the type of vending machine, technology integration, and condition of the machine.

When you want to find a vending machine route for sale, you’ll normally pay more because the vending machine business for sale already has revenue, which makes it more valuable.

How much does it cost to start a vending machine business?

To start a vending machine business, you should expect to pay at least $3,000, which includes:

• The cost of the machines
• Business formation
• Business licenses
• Products
• Transportation costs
• Accounting software

The more machines you buy, the more you should expect to spend. Depending on your business goals and the business opportunity, you may spend up to $250K when buying vending machine routes.

Did you find a vending machine franchise for sale?

We’ve covered where to buy vending machine franchise options. You should consider whether a vending machine franchise for sale seems legit. Scams are increasing along with people’s growing awareness of passive income and ability to control their own schedules.

Despite the hustlers trying to pull one over on people, vending machines can be a profitable source of passive income.

What vending machine business interests you?

Business ideas

Cash is not king. Creativity is. Have you ever wanted to start your own Etsy shop? Vlad Kuksenko started TagPup and in 18 months became the top pet product seller. You can do it, too!

We sat down with Vlad and learned how he loved art but earning a living as an artist wasn’t an option until graphic design became a major field. Today, he creates personalized dog collars, leashes, and bandanas that fill the number one pet products shop on Etsy.

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We’ll share the tips and strategies he used to become number one in his category. (Click the links below to jump to the sections that interest you most.)

• • What is Etsy?
    
  • What to do before opening an Etsy shop
  • How to start an Etsy shop
  • Selling on Etsy FAQ
  • Learn more about Etsy businesses
  • Start your own Etsy shop
    [/su_note]

Get ready to become your own Etsy shop manager.

What is Etsy?

Etsy is an online marketplace where shop owners can sell products to Etsy’s 82 million buyers looking for handmade and vintage products. Etsy listings fall into eight major categories:

1. Jewelry & Accessories
2. Clothing & Shoes
3. Home & Living
4. Wedding & Party
5. Toys & Entertainment
6. Art & Collectibles
7. Craft Supplies
8. Seasonal Offerings (think Valentine’s Day, Veterans, Memorial, and Labor Days, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas)

Keep reading for things to sell on Etsy.

What to do before opening an Etsy shop

Before you sell items on Etsy, there are a few things you should do, including answering:

• What to sell on Etsy?
• What is the industry outlook?
• Who are the major players on Etsy?
• What will my Etsy business plan be?

What to sell on Etsy?

If you’re wondering what sells best on Etsy, check out the Etsy best sellers list. The best-performing segments according to Etsy’s 3rd Quarter 2021 Earnings Presentation are:

1. Homewares & Home Furnishings: $4.2 billion
2. Jewelry and Personal Accessories: $2.1 billion
3. Craft Supplies: $1.4 billion
4. Apparel: $1.4 billion
5. Paper & Party Supplies: $600 million
6. Beauty & Personal Care: $300 million

Many of these are vintage items, handmade goods, or personalized items that do particularly well with Etsy shoppers. Vintage items are classified as over 20 years old, while handmade means that each is unique.

Vlad spent a lot of time talking about the decision-making process of what to sell in an Etsy shop. He explained:

[su_quote]Etsy is a want-based business. If you can personalize it, you can sell it.[/su_quote]

He went on to explain:

[su_quote]You need a keyword to be able to sell it. If there is no keyword people are searching, you can’t sell it.[/su_quote]

He suggests using eRank to help with your search engine optimization (SEO). eRank has various tools to help small business owners come up with product ideas, optimize their listings, and track their shop page against the best Etsy shops.

Vlad described his product development process as:

1. Research what has a high search volume using eRank.
2. Input the term you are targeting into the Etsy search bar.
3. Look for products with at least one review per day because that means they are selling at least 5 to 10 per day.
4. Review the listing to establish:
   • What is frequently favorited?
   • What do the favorited items have in common?
5. Design your offerings based on this search.

Vlad gave two additional pieces of advice that small business owners should follow when wondering how to start an Etsy shop:

• “You need multiple products that work well together. Carrying a single product doesn’t do as well.”
• Be aware of seasonality. For instance, items like planners, weight loss tools, and wall hangings tend to do better at the beginning of the year.

Now that you understand how to decide what to sell on Etsy, you’ll want to know the differences between Etsy and other major players in the industry. Let’s take a look.

What is the industry outlook?

According to eMarketer, U.S. eCommerce sales are expected to grow by 10 to 15% per year and total over $1.6 trillion by 2025. Most of the earnings will be from top players like Amazon and Walmart.

Etsy had an industry-leading 107% increase in Gross Merchandise Sales, which means if you meet the requirements to start an Etsy shop, it is the place to be.

Now that you know where the industry is going, keep reading to learn how to start an Etsy shop.

Who are the major Etsy sellers?

Etsy doesn’t share each company’s revenue, but they share the number of transactions for each Etsy shop and the number of followers. Some of the most prominent players are:

• Planner Kate: An organization shop with 1.8 million transactions and 60K followers
• Bead Boat: Craft supply shop with 1.4 million transactions and 57K followers
• ModParty: A bridal shop with over 1.22 million transactions and 113K followers
• Peggy Sue Leather: Leather supply shop with almost 790K transactions and 25K followers

Pro Tip: See more top sellers on Practical eCommerce’s blog 20 Top Selling Shops on Etsy.

Etsy offers plenty of opportunities for shop owners to make a great living. Here are a few business owners that we’ve interviewed who run businesses similar to Etsy sellers:

• Urbanity: $102K per month in revenue selling clothes
• Portland Gear: $120K per month in revenue selling Portland-themed clothes
  • Check out our interview with Marcus.
• Blk Sunflower: $180K per year selling homemade candles.
• TagPup: The Etsy seller we’re featuring in this article. Check out our first of two videos with him below.

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b_58Bppsb4"]

Write an Etsy business plan

You don’t need a business plan for an Etsy shop, but it will be much easier to start an Etsy shop if you start by writing a business plan. A business plan is something we recommend for every new business.

Your Etsy business plan should include:

1. Your business name, idea, and goals
2. Industry and competitor research
   • Market research
   • Size of market
   • Gaps in market
   • Whether Etsy is the best place to reach your market
3. Financial estimates and budgeting
   • Are there gaps between the money you have and the money you need? How will you solve them?
4. Marketing goals and processes.
5. The path to achieving your set goals

Check out our interview with Mike Andes on how to write a business plan.

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8MyjkibCxk"]

We’ve gathered some templates and resources for you to make creating a business plan for an Etsy shop easier. Check them out below.

Etsy Business Plan Templates

We’ve gathered templates to help you develop your business plan. Here are some of the best:

• UpFlip business plan template
• One-page business plan
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Business Guide
• Get help writing a business plan.

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT: Stop wasting countless hours and dollars trying to figure out how to succeed on Etsy. Unlock the proven strategies of Vlad, who built a $3.2M Etsy business from scratch. Learn his secrets and start transforming your Etsy shop today with UpFlip Academy.

How to start an Etsy shop

Starting an Etsy shop can be a great way to sell handmade, vintage, or unique items. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to get started:

1. Sign up or log in to Etsy
2. Open your shop
3. Choose your shop preferences
4. Name your shop
5. Stock your shop
6. Add clear photos
7. Set your prices
8. Choose your payment methods
9. Establish shop policies
10. Calculate shipping costs
11. Promote your shop
12. Fulfill orders promptly
13. Provide excellent customer service
14. Monitor your shop
15. Consider Etsy advertising
16. Stay compliant with Etsy policies
17. Reinvest in your business

Let’s start by opening getting an Etsy account.

Sign up or log in to Etsy

If you don’t already have an Etsy account, you’ll need to create one. If you do, log in.

Open your shop

Click on “Sell on Etsy” in the top right corner of the Etsy homepage.

To create an Etsy shop, you’ll need to go to the Etsy official site and create an account. You can use Etsy sign-in through Google or Facebook to make it easy. After you have created an Etsy account, you’ll want to go to etsy.com/sell. Review everything and click “Open your Etsy Shop.”

Choose your shop preferences

It will take you to a “shop preferences” page that asks for your shop language, shop country, and shop currency. You can change these with the drop-down menu.

It also asks, “Which of these best describes you?” and gives the following options:

• Selling is my full-time job.
• I sell part-time but hope to sell full-time.
• I sell part-time, and that’s how I like it.
• Other

All the answers on the shop preferences page have default answers already added. If you wish to change the answers, do so, then click “Save and Continue.”

Name your shop

In this step, you’ll choose a unique shop name for your new Etsy shop. The shop name needs to meet the following guidelines:

• Shop Name Length: Include a maximum of 20 characters, only Roman letters and numbers, no spaces or punctuation.
• Shop Name Availability: Push “Check availability” to verify whether the name is available.
• Descriptive: Does it describe what you sell?
• Memorable: Is it easy to remember?
• Available in other places: Is the name available as a domain, social media, and trademark?
  • Use our business name generator to verify the name is available as a domain.
  • Search “[your location] business license search” to check availability in your location.
  • Use uspto.gov to check trademark availability.

Once you’ve settled on a great name, enter it then click “Save and continue” to proceed to the next page, where you will create listings.

Want to hear more about Vlad’s TagPup success? Listen to his podcast episode below.

Stock your shop

On this page, you’ll want to add all your listings. You’ll click the blue box that says “+ Add Listing,” which will take you to the “Add a new listing” page. This page is relatively long, so we’ve broken it into sections to make it easier to follow.

1. Photos
2. Videos
3. Listing Details
4. Inventory and Pricing
5. Variations
6. Personalizations
7. Shipping

What should I include in my Etsy listing details?

You’ll want to include the following information in the listing details:

• Title: What you call the product, no more than 140 characters
  • Example from one of my hoodies: “Unisex Shaded Hands Heart Hoodie- Artwork by Daisy Gray”
• About this Listing: Three questions
  • Who made it? Me, member of my shop, or another company or person
  • What is it? Finished product or supplies and tools
  • When was it made? Made to order (use this for print-on-demand), Recent (choose dates between 2003 and today), Vintage (Pre-2003)
• Category: Search for and select your product type
• Sizes and Colors: Select the option that describes it best, or select “multiple” to create variations.
• Optional classifications for Etsy search: Holiday, occasion, style, and graphic
  • There are a lot of attributes, and they change based on the category. Review them and select whatever fits best as they can help with search results.
• Optional for clothing: Sleeve length, closure, and clothing style
• Renewal: Auto or manual
• Type of Product: Physical or digital
• Description: Describe your product, 1,100-character maximum
  • Read Etsy’s tips on product descriptions.
  • Preview the description on Google straight from the listing page.

Vlad told us:

[su_quote]Read your competitors’ descriptions. Use graphics as opposed to descriptions when possible. For instance, take the dog collars and a ruler to show the different sizes.[/su_quote]

• Production Partners: Asks for information about any outside partners, including the following:
  • Partner name
  • Location
  • Additional information
  • Why you work with them, your role, and their role
• Tags: Keywords you want your product to show up for, maximum of 13 tags
• Materials: Type of raw materials. For instance, cotton and polyester.

The tags are the key to getting your shop name in front of your target audience. Don’t forget to use eRank to help with the tag selection.

We asked Vlad, “What Etsy tags should I use?”

Vlad told us:

[su_quote]When creating tags, think about ‘Where should I show this product?’

If you’re creating t-shirts, you don’t need the word ‘t-shirt’ in each one. Just include it in the first three, and use other tags that will put it in front of other people.[/su_quote]

To do this section right, expect to spend an hour per product or more.

Example of tags

Given Vlad’s suggestion, you may want to use the following tags if you have a Taylor Swift shirt (which is one of the trending topics for t-shirts this year):

1. Taylor Swift tour shirt
2. Taylor Swift Eras shirt
3. Eras tour shirt
4. Taylor Swift tour
5. Taylor Swift Eras
6. Eras tour
7. Taylor Swift outfit
8. Taylor Swift merch
9. Red Taylor Swift
10. 1989 shirt
11. Lover shirt
12. 1989 Taylor Swift
13. 1989

How to set up an Etsy shop video

Etsy recommends creating a product video. They give you instructions on how to take listing videos in the Etsy Seller Handbook. If you add product videos, they should meet the following qualifications:

1. 1080p or higher resolution
2. 5-15 seconds long
3. Less than 100 MB file size
4. 30 frames per second
5. Don’t edit the video before loading it into Etsy. (If you edit the video from standard video sizing to a 1:1 height-to-width ratio, you may have issues uploading from an iPhone.)

You can make a video with a 1:1 ratio after adding the video to Etsy by using the editing tools on their site.

Now that you know how to add a video to your Etsy listing page, let’s look at the other information covered in Etsy listing details.

Add clear photos

High-quality images are crucial to start selling. Take well-lit, clear photos that accurately represent your items.

Etsy allows you to add up to ten photos on the website. Want some tips on how to create great product images? Check out the list below.

• Use natural light and no flash. Late afternoon is the best time to photograph.
• Include a common object for scale, or use a ruler if needed.
• Show the item being held, worn, or used.
• Shoot against a clean, simple background. Most platforms require white backgrounds for the primary photo, so it’s best to have at least one that shows the image on a pure white background because you’ll probably sell on other platforms too.
• Add photos of your variations so buyers can see all their options.
• Set the pixels per inch to 72 and 2000 x 2000 pixels.
• Verify that the combined photo image sizing is no larger than 1 MB total. Otherwise, it slows pages on mobile devices not connected to WiFi.

After you add photos, remember to edit the meta description to help with search engines by hovering over the image and clicking on the pencil. You can also crop or delete the image in the hover menu. If you click and hold onto an image, you can change its placement.

Set your prices

Consider the cost of materials, time, and any fees when setting your prices. Be competitive but also make sure you’ll make a profit. The pricing should be high enough to cover the following:

• The cost of the goods
• Your time
• Etsy’s $.20 listing fee
• Etsy transaction fees of 5% of the product price plus shipping price
• The Etsy payment processing fee of 3% + $.25 in the U.S. (varies by country)
• Etsy’s 15% off-site marketing fee, which is charged every time Etsy randomly places your product in an off-site ad that results in a purchase
• Cost of shipping labels ($6.99 at the time of writing; learn more about shipping labels in Etsy’s Seller Handbook)
• Any other costs associated with your Etsy shop

How to start an Etsy shop with no money

You can open an Etsy shop without money, but the Etsy platform requires a $.20 per item listing fee that you’ll have to pay when the product sells. If your items are not made-to-order, Etsy shop owners can get started for free. This is especially true if you can start selling vintage goods you already own as you won’t have to buy new materials.

Now that you know how to start an Etsy shop, let’s look at Etsy payments.

Choose your payment methods

Set up your preferred payment method. Etsy Payments is a commonly used option that allows buyers to pay for a physical or digital product assuming your payment account settings allow each of the options as Etsy payments:

• Credit cards
• Debit/bank cards
• Etsy Gift Cards and Etsy Credits
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• PayPal
• Klarna Financing (U.S. only)
• Klarna installment payments (Australia, Canada, Spain, UK, U.S.)

Establish shop policies

Define your shop policies regarding shipping, returns, and exchanges. This helps set clear expectations for your customers. You’ll have to follow Etsy’s policies, but as a shop owner, you can also define your own about subjects like returns, exchanges, and cancellations. Printify goes into more detail about Etsy store policies.

Calculate shipping costs

Etsy offers a free shipping option, and I highly recommend using it. While Vlad didn’t specifically mention offering free shipping, he offers it on many of his products, and considering how much we love free shipping, we assume that’s part of TagPup’s success! He made some comments that suggest including the shipping in the price of the goods:

[su_quote]Be very clear in what they are buying to get better reviews.[/su_quote]

and

[su_quote] Don’t trick people.[/su_quote]

Additional shipping charges can be tricky at times, so I (the author) suggest using the free shipping feature. It is straightforward; they’ll ask you a couple of questions, including:

• Origin zip code: Where it’s mailed from
• Processing time: How long it takes from when the customer orders until when it ships
• Where I’ll ship: Continents or specific countries
• Shipping services: Your offerings for shipping
• Free shipping: Domestic or international (I would discourage offering free international shipping unless you are well-versed in shipping and pricing costs)

Then you’ll have an option to add shipping to the price of the product. Review Etsy pricing strategies to include free shipping and learn how to include the pricing in the product cost.

In addition to specifying shipping options, remember to establish and post a very clear return policy that details:

• When you accept returns (standardized product, within 90 days, not-made-to-order, manufacturer error)
• When you will not accept returns (damaged after shipping, custom made, after 90 days)
• Time frame to return the product
• Who pays for return shipping

Promote your shop

Marketing is the trick to growing any business. You have to get your business and products in front of people to sell them. Fortunately, Etsy makes it pretty easy for a small business to sell on its marketplace.

If you don’t have much experience with marketing, it starts with market research. Mike Andes goes into great detail about market research, including identifying potential customers, target markets, and demographics. Check out our interview with him below:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dqHBHA4AmU"]

Vlad had a lot of input on how to sell on Etsy. He emphasized the importance of product design:

[su_quote]Art ought to communicate to [potential customers]. If it doesn’t communicate, it’s not art and won’t sell.[/su_quote]

He also told us you should “price your products based on the middle of the pack” because Etsy customers aren’t looking for items they need but that they want. They will go for the one that meets their desires the best.

He also shared this advice:

[su_quote] Don’t race to the bottom and satisfy the keyword.[/su_quote]

His strategies for becoming one of the best Etsy shops for pet products are also used by retail giants, and you can leverage them, too. As you start marketing your Etsy shop:

• Create a loss leader: This is a pricing strategy that intentionally takes a loss on a product to gain market share. Vlad uses this with new products to gain traction on the Etsy website.
  • Vlad told us: Underbid, rank, then raise the price.
  • Use Etsy promotional pricing.
• Utilize Etsy free shipping: Everyone loves something free. With the success of Amazon Prime, online shoppers expect every online marketplace to offer free shipping.
• Gather data and improve: While underbidding, he’s able to gather data.

He told us:

[su_quote] I’ll take a loss to gather data and improve my knowledge about whether it performs, then introduce new keywords.[/su_quote]

Vlad also suggested:

[su_quote]Use the sales and coupons. I’ll set the product to the original price, then discount it heavily. I also match products together to create packages people love. Always create sales for holidays.[/su_quote]

He also said that he throws in a small gift for repeat customers occasionally, but he doesn’t do it all the time.

For more on TagPup’s winning formula, watch our second video with Vlad here.

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dqHBHA4AmU"]

Helpful marketing tools

There are some useful marketing tools that small business owners use to market their companies:

• Canva: Simplify graphic design with Canva. Get access to thousands of templates for websites and social media for as low as $4.99 per month.
• SurferSEO: Write blog content faster and rank higher on search engines with SurferSEO.
• MailChimp: Email and SMS marketing automation is one of the keys to success that many small business owners mention. Get started with Mailchimp.

Fulfill orders promptly

Ship orders as soon as possible after they’re placed. This will help you provide excellent customer service. You can use Etsy shipping labels to save up to 30% on your shipping cost. Learn more about shipping label fees on Etsy.

You can also provide tracking information by using Etsy tracking labels or providing the tracking codes to the customer by other means. You’ll need to check Etsy and your preferred shipping provider to figure out the best way to handle shipping.

Provide excellent customer service

Respond to customer inquiries and concerns in a timely and friendly manner. The service you provide both before and after a purchase will impact customer satisfaction, whether they return to your shop, and whether they review and suggest your shop to other people.

According to inc.com, it takes 40 positive reviews to fix the damage done by a single negative review. When someone is upset, take the time to solve their problem politely. Vlad told us:

[su_quote]I work with customers on returns as long as they are less than 90 days. After that, we don’t. I just try to make them happy.[/su_quote]

The process I (the author) have found works wonders for dealing with unsatisfied customers is:

1. Apologize for the inconvenience they are experiencing.
2. Ask what you can do to fix it.
3. Listen to their answer.
4. Gather information about whether it was your error or theirs.
5. Do exactly what they asked unless it is unachievable.

This can be a challenge because it may result in a single order resulting in a loss, but it’s far less costly than a bad review.

Monitor your shop

Vlad discusses his workflow at the 35-minute mark of UpFlip podcast episode 10. If you haven’t already listened to it, check it out now.

He told us:

[su_quote]Review your store and each item for week-over-week growth. If that section of the pie doesn’t grow, stop. If the reviews for it aren’t good, consider discontinuing the product.[/su_quote]

Consider Etsy ads

Etsy has a built-in ad feature where you can specify your daily ad spend limit, and they promote your products accordingly. The Etsy Seller Handbook answers how Etsy Ads work in more detail, but you basically create a budget of between $1 and $1,000 a day.

Vlad told us:

[su_quote]I typically spend between $300 and $1,000 per day on ads. Etsy really creates a level playing field, so going higher doesn’t mean it all gets spent.[/su_quote]

He went on to tell us the best way to use ads is to utilize keyword research.

[su_quote]Find the most creative way to make the ad as quick as possible to make it where the ad budget goes as far as possible.[/su_quote]

Stay compliant with Etsy policies

Familiarize yourself with Etsy’s policies to ensure you’re abiding by their rules and regulations.

Reinvest in your business

You’ll want to reinvest in your business to help it grow and get more customers. Vlad told us:

[su_quote]Margins are 50-60% if you don’t reinvest in the business, but we tend to reinvest in machinery.[/su_quote]

In addition to adding machinery, you can create new products or increase marketing to expand your business. Once you earn more income consider opening a retail location or hiring more employees to help.

Selling on Etsy FAQ

Where to buy materials and equipment for an Etsy store

You can purchase materials from a variety of places. Some of the places to buy when you first start are:

• A brick-and-mortar store: JOANN Fabric and Michaels are two that offer lots of selections for craft businesses.
• Etsy Craft Supplies: Find craft supplies you know are selling well on Etsy.
• Amazon: Craft supplies and tools can come directly to your home from the number one online retailer.
• Alibaba: Get bulk orders from overseas (allow weeks to months for shipping).

If you’re looking for equipment, Amazon and Alibaba might have it, but you can also check places like:

• Grainger
• Global Industry
• Northern Tool

Vlad told us:

[su_quote]You can spend 200 bucks at JOANN and customize mugs with vinyl. The materials and equipment costs depend on what you’re making and what machines you need.[/su_quote]

He also told us:

[su_quote]Inventory is such a big issue. Sometimes I spend $5,000 on shipping to get $10,000 of product. One of the ways to fix that is to pay half up front and half on delivery.[/su_quote]

Do I need a business license to sell on Etsy?

Etsy does not require a business license to start listing physical or digital product, but the government might if you make more than $600 from your Etsy shop. In addition, a business bank account, reseller’s license, and business credit card will all require a business license.

Each city, state, and country have different licenses, permits, and tax forms required. Refer to the SBA License and Permits page to identify what your Etsy shop needs.

Learn more about Etsy businesses

Vlad suggested reading the book E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. You can get it through our Amazon shop.

• Check out Vlad’s YouTube, TalkShop.
• Save 30% on Vlad’s course.
• Etsy has 2 YouTube channels:
  • Etsy
  • Etsy Success
• Nancy Badillo, a highly successful Etsy seller, has almost as many followers as Etsy’s channels combined.

Start your own Etsy shop

We’ve explained the market outlook for eCommerce, how to start an Etsy shop, licensing requirements in case you want to make your shop a formal business, and marketing strategies to improve your business results.

If you’d like to consider other business ideas, check out our blog about the 30 best businesses to start for under $10,000.

Etsy can be an extremely satisfying way to earn a living. What kind of products are you thinking about listing on Etsy?

Business ideas

Every business should have a website, but professional websites are expensive. You'll have an advantage if you can build your business’s website for free. That's why we looked into the best website builders for small businesses.

After reviewing several blogs, one thing was clear: Everyone has a different opinion.

We decided to go with Google’s rankings because it uses the number of referring domains (i.e., the number of websites that link to them) as a primary way to rank its results. We ignored ads and scrolled down to the authentic list of website builders.

After we gathered a list of website builders, we reviewed each one to see what makes it unique. We compared their pricing and features to help you decide on the best website creator.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]
Keep reading to learn about the best website builders for small businesses—or click a link below to jump right to that section.

• The Best Free Website Builders for Small Businesses
• Best Website Builders for Small Businesses (No Free Plans)
• How to Build a Website for Free
• What is the best overall website builder for small businesses?
• What is the best free website builder for small businesses?
• What is the best eCommerce website builder? [/su_note]

Which of the best website builders have you tried?

The Best Free Website Builders for Small Businesses

At the end of 2023, we compared top-ranked companies that came up in response to the search term “free website builder.” The following were the top results:

1. Wix
2. Weebly
3. Canva
4. GoDaddy Website Builder
5. Webflow
6. Yola
7. Website.com
8. WordPress.com (and the Elementor tool)
9. Strikingly
10. Appy Pie
11. Renderforest
12. Zoho Sites

Some website builders that appeared in the search results didn’t actually have free plans. These were:

1. Squarespace
2. MailChimp
3. Mobirise
4. GetResponse
5. HostGator
6. Shopify
7. BigCommerce

We’ll look at each website builder to help you understand why it might be best for you.

#1. Wix: Best Free Website Builder for Small Businesses

When you go to Wix, you’ll get choices to start an online store, portfolio website, blog, consultancy website, service business site, restaurant site, event site, or “other.”

The simple drag-and-drop editor and wide range of website templates makes Wix the best website builder for small business owners. You also don’t need a credit card to sign up for Wix.

Difference Between a Subdomain and a Custom Domain

We’ll be using the terms “subdomain” and “custom domain more throughout this list. Here’s what those terms mean:

1. Subdomain: Your custom website ears branding from your web host, e.g., “yourbusiness.wixsite.com.” It only requires a couple of clicks to turn your design into a webpage, but it can also turn wary customers away.
2. Custom domain: Only includes your chosen website name, e.g., “yourbusiness.com.” Attaining a custom domain is pricier and more involved, but it lends your business extra credibility. And if you own the custom domain, you can change web hosts.

Wix Pricing

Wix pricing ranges from free to $159 monthly. As the price goes up, you’ll benefit from additional:

• Collaborators
• Storage space
• Marketing features
• Site analytics
• Payment processing
• eCommerce features
• Developer platform features

All paid plans include first-year domains for free. You can also get an enterprise plan for even more features, but you’ll need a quote from Wix.

#2. Weebly: Best Free eCommerce Website Builder

Weebly is the best free option for small business owners in eCommerce. It helps you start online stores with basic capabilities and includes a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor.

It’s simple compared to many other free builders, but you might not be able to expand your website as much as other services allow.

Weebly Pricing

Weebly offers four tiers of plans, with prices from free to $29 per month. All the plans work for eCommerce, but you’ll get additional features when you choose a paid option, including:

• Custom domains
• Unlimited storage
• Better site statistics
• No square ads
• Ability to sell digital goods
• Shipping functions
• Reviews
• Abandoned cart emails
• Better support

#3. Canva: Best Business Website Builder for Designers

Most people use Canva for design work, but they have an excellent website builder.

As a non-designer, I love Canva. I have used their designs to create a business website, and it’s phenomenal if you don’t mind a Canva subdomain.

On the other hand, I did not find using a custom domain on Canva as simple as with some of the other website-building software.

Canva Pricing

The pricing of Canva ranges from free to $14.99 for one person to $29.99 for a team of five. Additional users cost extra.

The main perks of going with the $14.99 Canva Pro plan are additional AI functionality, brand kits, and millions of stock images. Canva for Teams mainly adds collaborative functionality and reports.

#4. GoDaddy Website Builder

GoDaddy doesn’t just sell domains. You can also build your website with the GoDaddy Website Builder. It offers both free and paid website builder options.

GoDaddy provides complete control, web hosting, and other features small business websites need. Various eCommerce tools, including Google Shopping integrations, make GoDaddy appealing to small businesses selling products.

GoDaddy Website Builder Pricing

The free version of GoDaddy Website Builder includes:

• Social media and email marketing
• Single session appointments, but not recurring appointments
• GoDaddy Payments that accept credit and debit cards
• SSL certificates, which prove your website is secure
• 24/7 customer support
• GoDaddy Studio content creation

Meanwhile, GoDaddy offers premium plans ranging from $9.99 to $29.99 that include:

• Custom domains
• Flexible shipping
• Search engine optimization (SEO) tools
• Recurring appointments
• Email and text reminders
• Amazon, eBay, and Etsy integration
• Online payment for services
• Google Shopping listings
• Order and inventory synching

#5. Webflow

Webflow is a no-code web builder that goes beyond the basic website to create the entire customer experience. It uses web development best practices; for instance, staging, which gives you a separate environment from your live website to tinker with without breaking anything.

If you aspire to be a web designer, developer, or SaaS company, this is one of the best website creators on the market.

Webflow Pricing

Webflow pricing is one of the most complex on this list of website builders. You’ll start by choosing either Site plans or Workspace plans, but most individual users will need Site plans.

Then, you’ll have the choice between general plans or eCommerce plans. Only the general plan has a free option, which includes:

• Webflow.io domain
• Two-page website
• 50 file types (e.g., photo files, PDFs, etc.)
• 50 form submissions (lifetime)
• 1 GB bandwidth
• 1K unique visitors monthly

The upgraded plans add:

• Custom domains
• Additional web pages
• Additional CMS items
• Additional form submissions
• Additional bandwidth
• Additional unique visitors monthly
• Different marketing and SEO features

#6. Yola: Best for Local SEO Tools

You may not have heard of Yola before (neither had I), but it has some built-in features that can make it easier to start a business. Including Google Maps as part of the web builder and automatic GDPR compliance are excellent features.

Note: GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation, a European data protection law.

This might be the right website builder for local businesses or ones that do a lot of business in Europe. Unfortunately, the builder software's free plan is limited to two pages.

Yola Pricing

The most complicated part about Yola is the pricing. The free plan is limited to two pages and 1 GB of storage space, while the other plans allow much more storage space and up to 1,000 pages. Paid plans range from $9.45 to $35.45 per month.

Then, you can add a store to premium plans for free—up to three products and one category. Upgrade to 100 products for $15 per month, $2,500 for $35, or unlimited for $99.

You can also buy an add-on custom domain and email.

#7. Website.com: Cheapest Website Builder for Side Gigs

I would categorize Website.com as the best website builder for small business owners running a side gig because they have a free plan and many low-cost plans. These plans provide limited functionality but will reduce costs until the business can sustain your lifestyle.

Some of the web builders do not include payment processing in the free tiers, but Website.com does. Unfortunately, they require the highest tier plan for necessary pages, like terms of service and refund pages.

Website.com Pricing

Website.com offers websites for free, but they earn revenue from ads. You’re limited to five pages with the free plan but get unlimited pages with any upgraded plans.

Upgraded plans range from $11 to $38 monthly with a $15 setup fee. You’ll want at least the Business Basic plan if you focus on selling online. Still, many of the features you need to be genuinely successful are only available with the $38 monthly Business Advanced plan.

#8. WordPress.com (and the Elementor tool)

WordPress.com is based on, but distinct from, the free content management system (CMS) called WordPress or WordPress.org. Unlike the CMS—which allows you to build a website and manage its content—WordPress.com also hosts your website and provides a free subdomain.

Using the free CMS allows you to save money by finding less expensive hosting and domain solutions. But if you’re not interested or experienced in handling web hosting and domain registration, we recommend WordPress.com.

One of the best WordPress.com tools is Elementor, a template company. Their free template, Hello Elementor, is usually ranked as the fastest WordPress.com template, but you need the Business plan to use it.

WordPress.com Pricing

WordPress.com offers six plans that range from free to the Enterprise-grade package at $25K+ per year. All the plans provide website functions, but when you increase your plan, you get additional features like:

• Lower transaction fees (starts at 10% and goes to 0%)
• Increased server management
• Increased monetization features

The $25 monthly Business plan is best for developers, while the $45 monthly commerce package is best for eCommerce stores.

#9. Strikingly: Best for Single-Product Online Store

The best website builder for single-product companies is Strikingly. A small business owner with multiple passive income businesses would benefit from this builder software. You don’t need coding knowledge; you can build a simple website to sell online.

Strikingly Pricing

Strikingly offers its free plan, which they promote as “free forever,” as well as paid plans. Paid plans open benefits like increased bandwidth, site memberships, and unlimited products.

#10. Appy Pie: Best Small Business App Builder

Most website builders are focused on building websites, but Appy Pie is a small business website builder, app builder, and NFT generator. That means you can do a lot more than website building with Appy Pie.

This small business website builder is best for people who want no-code mobile apps or want to enter the world of crypto.

Appy Pie Pricing

Appy Pie has a free AI website builder that you can use to get started, but you’ll likely want to upgrade to a paid plan.

Both the $18 plan and $36 plan let you convert your small business website into an Android mobile app, but you’ll need a $60-monthly app builder if you want to have an iOS app.

#11. Renderforest: Best for Video Websites

This business website creator is meant for graphic designers and video creators. However, it could also be one of the best website builders for serial entrepreneurs who use lots of video and images.

The main focus of the website builder is providing better quality using SVG images and up to UHD 4K video.

Renderforest Pricing

The free plan lets you create low-quality PNGs, three-minute HD 720p videos, and free websites with up to 30 events.

Meanwhile, the $9.99 plan allows custom web domains, SSL encryption, and SEO and marketing functions. It also includes unlimited-length HD 720p videos and high-resolution PNGs and SVGs. The website gets 150 events.

When you go with the $19.99 plan, you get 1080p videos, 300 events, and brand guidelines. Meanwhile, the $29.99 plan allows reselling, 4K UHD video, and unlimited website events.

#12. Zoho Sites

Zoho has a full suite of apps for businesses. One of them is a website builder with a drag-and-drop interface.

You’ll want to use the Bigin version to get the best value on a free plan, but there are so many apps built to work together that you should check out Zoho’s full suite of options.

Pricing

You can get Zoho Sites, Zoho Bigin, or Zoho One to get the drag-and-drop editor. The differences are pricing structures and features.

Sites has an $8 or $23 monthly plan for just the drag-and-drop editor.

Zoho One is a full suite of business apps, including the drag-and-drop editor. Pricing is $45 per employee per month (with all employees) or $105 per employee per month with the flexible plan.

Bigin is a modified version of Zoho One intended for solo entrepreneurs. It has a free, $9, and $15 monthly plan and acts as a stepping stone until you can justify Zoho One pricing.

Best Website Builders for Small Businesses (No Free Plans)

When you’re looking for the best website builder for small business owners, you might be better off using a paid website builder without a free plan.

Even so, Wix, Weebly, and WordPress.com stand up to anything on this list.

#13. Squarespace: Best for Online Payments

Squarespace is Square’s website builder, which means it will work well with businesses using Square payment processing.

Some of the higher-tier plans include a year of Google Workspace, which is helpful for business owners, but if you’re going with lower-tier plans you are better off with some of the other best website builders in this blog.

Squarespace Pricing

Squarespace offers free trials but doesn’t have a free plan. The Personal plan for $23 per month has limited functionality and doesn’t have payment processing.

Meanwhile, the Business plan costs $33 monthly and adds a payment processor but charges 3% above standard processing fees.

The Commerce Basic plan is only an additional $3 monthly and removes the 3% fees. That means anyone selling more than $100 monthly from your website will benefit. Point-of-sale, Facebook and Instagram selling, and other eCommerce functionalities are available.

The best features are in the $65-per-month Commerce Advanced plan. You can sell subscriptions, have advanced shipping and discount options, and cart recovery.

#14. MailChimp: Best for Email Marketing

MailChimp is an email marketing platform. It also offers a website builder and other marketing tools and functions for a small business to start managing customer interactions.

MailChimp Pricing

The MailChimp website builder is free with all the plans.

The way MailChimp charges is based on the number of emails in your database and the functions you receive. You can get essential marketing functions for 500 emails for free, but you’ll pay more if you want advanced automation, analytics, or a more extensive mailing list.

#15. Mobirise

Most of the best website builders are cloud-hosted by the web builder. Mobirise is a desktop app with a free website builder included. They will be releasing an AI website builder in the future.

Like WordPress.org, you’ll be responsible for choosing a web host (Mobirise being an option) and obtaining a custom domain name.

Mobirise Pricing

The pricing for Mobirise is free, but your small business website will likely need paid add-ons like templates or blocks that make the free website builder easier to use.

There are over 9,300 blocks, and the Website Builder Kit would be valued up to $9,662 if you bought each add-on separately, but they sell it for $149.

#16. GetResponse: Best Built-In Marketing Tools

GetResponse is similar to MailChimp where it is focused on improving your business’s lead response rate. A free website builder and landing page builder are included with all plans.

This website builder is another add-on to marketing automations—just with a better rating than MailChimp. But GetResponse is less known than MailChimp, which means fewer people will be able to advise you on how to use the software.

GetResponse Pricing

There are three pricing tiers: email marketing ($19 per month), marketing automation ($59 per month), and eCommerce marketing ($119 per month) for 1,000 emails. You can increase the number of emails for an additional cost.

GetResponse offers an 18% discount for annual plans and a 30% discount for two years paid up front.

#17. HostGator

HostGator is a website hosting platform that offers a website builder as well. HostGator offers some features, like the link-in-bio tool, that other top website builders don’t.

There are numerous complaints about the features that are unique to this web-building platform, so I’d be hesitant about using it.

HostGator Pricing

There are four plans for the HostGator Website Builder:

• Website: For $4.84 per month, you get a basic website builder and custom domain name, plus Google verification and analytics integration.
• Website+Marketing: You get everything in the website package, plus appointment setting and lots of marketing tools such as CRM, marketing calendars, QR code generators, and more. It only costs $7.95 per month.
• Online Store: Add a mobile-responsive store and QuickBooks integration in this $13.95 monthly package.
• Online Marketplaces: For $19.95 you get everything previously listed plus features like marketplace selling, fulfillment automation, barcode creation, and more.

#18. Shopify: Best eCommerce Website Builder

Shopify’s eCommerce features are some of the best in the business. You’ll get a free trial with Shopify, which is pretty standard among the best eCommerce website builders, but you can’t run your website completely free.

Shopify has its own codebase, so if you’ve worked with a developer for other website builders, they might not be familiar with Shopify code.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify is one of the best website builders for small businesses. It has three plans for an online store: Basic ($39), Shopify ($105), and Advanced ($399). The main differences in the plans are transaction fees and the number of users who manage your small business website.

Jazmin Richards discusses how she uses Shopify in the video below:

#19. BigCommerce

BigCommerce uses the same pricing strategy as Shopify, but there’s a catch: There’s a limit to the amount of transactions you can use in each plan.

You can run multiple stores from a single BigCommerce plan, which makes it excellent for serial entrepreneurs.

It’s meant to have a lot of functionality, but anytime software adds additional functionality, that means more of a learning curve.

BigCommerce Pricing

BigCommerce pricing ranges from $39 to $399. The $39 monthly plan offers three online stores, the $105 monthly plan offers five online stores, and the highest tier offers eight unique storefronts.

There’s also an enterprise plan with much more support than the other plans.

We’ve discussed the most popular website builders. After you choose the website builder software you prefer, you’ll want to understand the website-building process.

How to Build a Website for Free

Here's a step-by-step guide to help with your site building:

1. Define your purpose and goals.
2. Choose a website builder.
3. Sign up and orient yourself.
4. Select a template.
5. Customize your website.
6. Preview and test it.
7. Optimize it for mobile.
8. Consider setting up a custom domain.
9. Publish your website.
10. Promote your website.
11. Regularly update and maintain it.

Define Your Purpose and Goals

Before you start building your website, you should determine what you want it to achieve. Some of the things you might want to use a website builder for include:

• Showcasing a portfolio
• Writing a personal blog
• Running an online store
• Collecting customer contact information
• Scheduling appointments
• Collecting payments

Additionally, every business should aim to have a fast website on both desktop and mobile devices. LiquidBlox’s comparison of website builder loading speeds can give you a good idea of which builders perform well.

Choose a Website Builder

You’ll want to choose the best website builder for you. For help making your choice, consider your purpose and goals and read our reviews above.

Remember, the best website builder is the one that helps you build your ideal business website as easily and effectively as possible.

Sign Up and Orient Yourself

Next, you’ll want to create an account with the website builder you’ve chosen.

All the website platforms are a little different, so you’ll want to take their walkthroughs, read their “help” sections, and so on.

Select a Template

Most website builders have templates that make it easier to create your website. You should choose one that aligns with your vision for your site.

Small business owners should choose a template based on qualities like:

• Layout: The layout is how the page looks to the user. You want your site to be laid out intuitively.
• Predesigned pages: Website templates should have at least a home page, an About Us page, service pages (which explain what your business offers), and a Contact page. If you’re running an online store, you’ll also want category pages and product pages. Make sure there is a template for each page you want.

Customize Your Website

Modify the template to suit your needs. In addition to customizing things like font and color, you’ll want to add content, select necessary plugins or apps, and configure your settings.

Add Content

You have all of your page templates, so now you need to add your content to each of the pages. You’ll need to leverage text, images, and videos to help your company stand out from other small businesses.

Make sure to review high-performing competitors’ websites to see what your customers will expect.

Start with the text. Go to each page and make its purpose and message clear. Consider paying a writer and an editor, respectively, to craft the content and smooth out any rough edges.

Then, upload your media. Before you replace any images and videos from the templates, check to see the size of the files and the type of files that are used. This will help you understand the types of files you can upload without harming site speed. Any deviation will likely result in a less user-friendly experience.

Check out our step-by-step tutorial on cleaning business websites for examples of how service businesses can approach website building.

Add Necessary Plugins or Apps

Your small business website builder might support apps or plugins to help build website functionality. Any WordPress site will normally be using several of these.

Be careful with them. Plugins and apps add advanced features to your existing website functionality, but they also slow it down and can present security vulnerabilities.

Configure the Settings

You’ll also be able to adjust your domain name, SEO settings, and privacy settings.

Your SEO settings include your site’s domain name, URL, and meta description (which describes your site to search engine users). To help you optimize these settings, I highly recommend the HubSpot Academy SEO course for all small business owners.

Privacy settings will need to be adjusted and disclosed. Every location varies about what you have to disclose, but the simplest way to deal with privacy is to use GDPR settings to meet the strictest privacy laws.

Preview and Test

Preview your website to ensure everything looks and functions as expected.

Website building requires making the website look good on a variety of screen sizes. Check how the website functions on traditional computer screens as well as both landscape and portrait mode on phones and tablets.

Optimize It for Mobile

While you are previewing your website, you may notice that your site-building efforts didn’t work as you intended for mobile devices. Make sure to fix anything that is not mobile-friendly, as 55% of web traffic and 61% of online store sales come from mobile devices.

Consider Setting Up a Custom Domain

If you want to have your own domain name, some platforms offer the option to purchase or connect one. Small businesses look more professional with a custom domain rather than a subdomain.

Business website builders will normally offer a subdomain with their free tiers, but a premium plan will allow you to add a custom domain and it is highly suggested when you promote and sell online.

Follow the directions on your site builder to add your custom domain name.

Publish Your Website

Once you're satisfied with the look and content, it's time to click “Publish.”

Promote Your Website

You’ll want to share your website on social media and company directories. You’ll also want to ask friends and family to share it to help you get more awareness.

There are numerous marketing strategies to help increase your visitors and customers. Consider optimizing your website for search engines and collecting emails to use in email marketing campaigns.

Regularly Update and Maintain It

Keep your website fresh by adding new content and updating the web pages as technology improves and trends shift. For those of you posting blogs, it's also helpful to respond to comments.

What is the best overall website builder for small businesses?

Weebly is the best website builder for businesses when you consider its free plan, premium features, and other offerings. The fact you can get started with its eCommerce tools for free and then grow into bigger plans is a huge plus.

What is the best free website builder for small businesses?

You can't go wrong with Wix when you’re looking for a user-friendly interface, SEO and analytics tools, and web hosting in a single location.

The free version is a great place to start, but the features get even better as you invest in the paid plans.

What is the best eCommerce website builder?

It’s hard to find a consensus on the best eCommerce site builder. Positive reviews are fairly evenly divided between the following:

• Shopify
• Weebly
• Wix
• BigCommerce

I would suggest playing with each to see which you like best. Ultimately, you have to choose what works best for your business.

The good news is that Weebly and Wix allow a simple website to start. At the same time, the other website builders allow free trials. That means you can test each web builder before deciding which one to use for your eCommerce website.

Which of the best website builders have you tried?

Whether they want a robust online store or a free one-page destination, small business owners have plenty of options for building their websites.

Which website builders have you used? Did you like them? Are there any website builders you would like us to review? Let us know in the comments below.

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