Results of Testing FREE Website Builder Apps

What We Found in Most "Website Builder" Apps

You’d think building a website on your smartphone would be a no-brainer.

With so many apps promising that experience, we set out to see which ones truly delivered.

Out of the 10 apps we tested, a few made a genuine effort by offering intuitive editors and mobile-friendly features that made it possible to build a complete website directly from a phone.

However, some app were better suited for managing existing sites than building new ones. They handled visitor stats, messages, and minor edits, but not much more.

This overview of our test results highlights the apps we tested and which apps truly let you build a full website entirely from your phone, without touching a desktop computer.

Website Builder Apps Test Results: What We Found

What Makes a Complete Website Builder App?

A mobile website builder should let you:

Create a full website from start to finish on your phone
Edit and update your content anytime, anywhere
Organize your site with pages, menus, and structure tools
Add key features like contact forms, maps, and buttons
Publish your changes instantly, without needing a desktop

This is the standard we used when evaluating each app. Each app we tested went through our extensive testing criteria.

A quick guide to help you choose a website builder app... before you waste your time downloading the wrong app.

To help you choose, we’ve grouped the apps we tested into 3 simple categories based on if you could build a website from start to finish in a few hours from your phone.

Read our findings on each app that we tested below:

✅ YES - Build and Publish Your Website Entirely from Your Phone

These apps give you everything you need to create a complete, functional website without needing a computer.

SimDif Website Builder App Review

SimDif Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4.5/5)

SimDif allows you to create a website from start to finish on your phone. The generous 7 pages that you get access to as part of the free plan is a good start to getting your business website up and running.

One of the unique features of SimDif is that, unlike most of the other apps reviewed, it uses themes instead of templates. With themes, you can adjust colors, fonts, and overall appearance easily, giving your website a unique look that fits your style or brand. This flexibility helps you avoid having a website that looks exactly like thousands of others.

On computer screens, I would have liked the option to place the menu across the header, as this is the most common location on websites today. Keeping the menu on the left side on desktop screens feels outdated, and it would have been nice to have the flexibility to change this.

An outstanding feature is the Optimization Assistant, which guides you to creating a more discoverable website by giving you a list of things you can do to improve your site’s position in search engines.

FreeSite Website Builder App Review

FreeSite Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5)

FreeSite lets you build a website of up to 7 pages, and you get a tremendous amount of value in the app, for free, without advertisements or hidden fees. My favorite feature is the Graphic Customizer, which has everything you need to design your website.

FreeSite is a simplified version of SimDif, and doesn’t include advanced features like ecommerce, POP SEO, and an AI assistant called Kai, which are offered in SimDif. You can read more about the extra features you can expect in our review of SimDif.

Just as in SimDif, you can create a website from start to finish from within the app, and the editor is intuitive and easy to grasp.

Jimdo Website Builder App Review

Jimdo Creator Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (3.6/5)

I enjoyed my experience with Jimdo and feel that its makers have genuinely tried to create an app that allows people to build a website from their phone. Having said this, you can’t fully edit in the app what you build in the browser and vice versa, which limits flexibility for switching between devices.

The menu system is a strong point, allowing you to easily navigate and add the elements you need to build a website. But I was expecting a wider range of templates than was offered in the free plan, and it would have been great to have more freedom to move and position elements and blocks when editing the templates. That said, I understand that apps impose limitations to allow someone who’s just starting out to create a functional website that doesn’t confuse.

Where Jimdo failed most was flexibility for switching between devices and the inability to access customer support from within the app.

Despite its limitations, Jimdo does succeed in making website creation approachable for beginners. With a bit of patience, it's possible to create a clean, simple site entirely from your phone, which is still a rare and valuable offering.

Weebly Website Builder App Review

Weebly Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (3.5/5)

I’ve used Weebly prior to the test on a desktop and found it very good. My expectation when using it for the first time on a phone was that the app would be fully functional and simple to use.

I was impressed by the wide selection of themes (24), but more would still have been better. That said, I really liked the editor and how quick I was able to get to grips with the interface.

I found the app easy to navigate, but editing templates and building a website took longer than expected. This was mostly due to the app being slow and laggy in various places. It was frustrating to say the least.

Universe Website Builder App Review

Universe Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (2.7/5)

Universe takes a different approach to building websites by using grid type pages in an editor that gives you the flexibility to move blocks around and “position” them anywhere you want on the page. It’s an approach that will excite some, but could be a problem for beginners who don't know the basics of building a website. However, you can create a complete website with Universe.

I was initially impressed by the onboarding process, which asks you questions to determine what you are trying to build. I expected the app to then give me the chance to check out the site builder and get a feel for the app, but instead I was asked to buy a domain. I could skip the domain, only to be even more frustrated when I was presented with upgrades and payment options. This is not a good experience, especially if you’re shopping around for apps to find a suitable site builder for your business.

My favourite feature of the Universe app was the wide selection of carefully organised “blocks.” I also liked the big range of templates - some of which were well designed.

🤔 Somehow - Start on Your Phone, But Finishing Might Be Hard

These apps sit in the middle ground: you can start building a website directly from your phone, but limited features, hidden upgrade requirements, and missing customization options often mean you’ll need a computer or a paid plan to fully complete and polish your site.

Instant Website Builder App Review

Instant Website Builder Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3.3/5)

You can build a website with the Instant app, but the experience is much better on the desktop version. In my opinion there are better apps with more templates and which are more intuitive on the market.

Some of the apps I reviewed give you the impression in the app store that you can build a website when you in fact can’t. Instant on the other hand provides a clear description of what you can expect before you install.

What I disliked most in the Instant App is the welcome dashboard. It was focused more on getting you to upgrade to a paid plan than actually helping and educating you, or giving you access to the editor so that you can start making changes. The interface is fairly simple to use, but somehow I never got used to it.

Strikingly Website Builder App Review

Strikingly Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (2.9/5)

Strikingly allows you to build a website on your phone, or at least get most of the way there. You may need to buy and use some of the “advanced” features in a desktop browser, because they are not available in the app.

The straightforward onboarding process, including a page with clearly labeled sections, led me to anticipate great things from Strikingly’s app. However, the free version of Strikingly is very limited – even more so than Crayon – allowing you to create just a 1 page site. I expected more, because the limitations were not clearly mentioned upfront. This will frustrate anyone looking to test out the free version of the app by creating a multi-page site.

The app does include a nice collection of themes, each structured into “sections”, and the themes are easy to edit.

Crayon Website Builder App Review

Crayon Overall Rating: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2.43/5)

My main impression of Crayon is that it tries to force users to quickly upgrade. The limited 3 page free plan, plus the difficulty that I had in updating templates, made everything seem like an attempt to get me to pay for the premium version. That said, unlike Wix and Squarespace, it is possible to build a website on your phone.

Crayon was fairly easy to use, but I think that beginners to website building will struggle to get started due to the overloaded menu. Once you get used to where everything is, the app becomes fairly intuitive. “Fairly”, because updating the provided templates was frustrating and slow.

The 3 page website offered in the free plan really only gives you a feel of how the app works, instead of letting you create a full website with all the key pages.

This might be enough for creating a very small website, if the information that you want to present is well organised, but the free version of the app may not be sufficient for most users.

❌ NO - Website Builder Apps That Can’t Build a Complete Website from Your Phone

These apps are not designed to create or edit a website directly on your phone. They serve as companion tools for managing your site or checking stats but require a computer for real building.

Squarespace Website Builder App Review

Squarespace Overall Rating: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2/5)

Squarespace is a well-known app which has been on the market for years. I had big expectations, mainly because of its reputation and because of the hundreds of positive reviews.

The truth is that it was just frustrating – You can't build a website on your phone, and even worse, you waste time by being led to believe that you can.

The app description says that you can build a website, and the confusion of finding it couldn't led me to search Google for an answer. This brought me to Squarespace’s help center, which clearly states, “On the Squarespace app, it's not currently possible to add or rearrange blocks on layout pages, only edit their content.”

In short, Squarespace needs to update their Google Play app description to not waste people's time and energy on an app which can’t build a website.

Wix Website Builder App Review

Wix Overall Rating: ⭐☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5)

It was frustrating to go through the process of downloading the app, expecting to be able to build a website on my phone, and then realising that it’s actually impossible.

Wix is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, website builders in the world, with over 200 million users worldwide. You’d expect a company with such huge resources to make a simple, intuitive and complete app for their users. However, this is not what they’ve done. As with its competitor, Squarespace, you're unable to build a website from a phone.

The Google Play description for Wix is misleading to say the least. It states that Wix “gives you the ability to design, customize and manage your website.” This is not the case. Wix’s app is more for keeping track of traffic stats, accessing messages sent from your site, and editing site settings.

The Apps That Got It Right

Here is a list of the app that got it right and let you build a complete website directly from your phone.

They stood out in our tests by offering real mobile editing tools, clear guidance, and a smooth user experience from start to finish.

SimDif Website Builder

1. SimDif ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4.5/5)

SimDif is a website builder designed to help anyone build clear, organized, and optimized websites. Every feature was designed to work smoothly on a phone, tablet, and desktop making it easy for anyone, no matter their tech skills to create and maintain a website from any device.

What makes SimDif different:

A clean, guided editing process
Real structure tools, not just text and pictures
A focus on helping users communicate clearly
A consistent experience across Android, iOS, and desktop

📲 Click here to download SimDif

FreeSite Website Maker

2. FreeSite ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆ (4/5)

FreeSite is a simplified version of SimDif, designed for users who want to quickly create a website without ads or hidden fees. It provides everything needed to build a 7-page website from start to finish on your phone—no desktop required. Its intuitive Graphic Customizer makes it easy to personalize your design, and it’s a great choice for beginners.

Why FreeSite stands out:

Fully mobile-friendly, no desktop needed
Completely free, without intrusive upsells
Easy-to-use editor with helpful visual tools
A solid first step before upgrading to more advanced features in SimDif

📲 Click here to download FreeSite

Jimdo Website Builder

3. Jimdo ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆ (3.6/5)

Jimdo stood out because of its user-friendly approach. It guides users through creating a site step by step and offers good design flexibility. While it's not perfect, Jimdo does a solid job of letting you build a basic site from your phone without needing a desktop to finish the job.

👉 Click here to learn more about Jimdo

Final Thoughts

If your goal is to build a complete, functional website entirely from your phone, the difference between a fully functional website builder and a glorified companion app becomes clear very quickly.

Our tests showed that apps like SimDif, FreeSite, and Jimdo stand out for one simple reason: they let you build, structure, and publish a full site without ever touching a computer. These are the tools that respect your time and give you the freedom to create wherever you are.

Before downloading the next “website builder app”, check what it actually offers. We created this guide to help you choose an app that is designed for building websites from your phone. We've checked the most popular apps so that you dont have to and can save your time by not downloading an app that lacks the functionality you need.

Coming Soon: A Deeper Look at Paid Plans and AI Features

We're currently working on an update that will explore what the paid versions of these website builders offer including what you can expect to get for your money, and whether it's worth the upgrade from the free version.

We'll also be spending more time reviewing AI-assisted features, as they’re becoming an essential part of modern website creation. From content wiritng suggestions to design help and SEO tools, AI can make building your site faster and easier; especially on a smartphone.

Give us your feedback

Have you used one of these apps to build a website from your phone?

We’d love to hear about your experience. What worked well, what didn’t, and which app (if any) truly lets you create your site on the go.

If you have questions about any of the apps listed, or if you think we missed one that deserves to be mentioned, let us know! Your feedback helps us keep this guide useful and up to date for everyone and help us to continue to make SimDif better.

Complete the form below to share you’re feedback. We’re listening and your input can help others find the right app too.

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