5 Website Builders for Small Businesses with Green Hosting
Building a professional website in-house, on a limited budget doesn’t mean compromising on design, quality or functionality. And, in an age where AI and the internet are pumping out carbon like there is literally no tomorrow, there are options for us all to easily live and work digitally but with a reduced environmental impact.
If you’re after robust website hosting with easy-to-master design features, including e-commerce functionality without compromising on performance, this review focuses on the best website platforms that combine affordability with ease-of-use and create sites that can grow with your business as well as being the more sustainable options. The results may surprise you; this review excludes some of your well-known options because of lack of green hosting or ethical concerns.
Hostinger.com – great value, professional and easy to get started with little experience
www.hostinger.com delivers exceptional value for small businesses working with tight budgets but who want the best functionality that grows with them.
If you’re not a WordPress expert, Hostinger helps you get off the ground by giving you all the tools and tips you need. It also has a dashboard for managing SEO, updates, test websites and security that doesn’t require a degree in IT to use it.
The website builder is intuitive, with AI-assisted design tools that speed up the creation process and there is a variety of e-commerce plug-ins to choose from, including affiliate options. The business plan includes AI content creation but I would caveat that with it being a bit basic at the moment. It is unlikely to give you the quality content you need to be search-engine friendly but if you get writers’ block, it will give you somewhere to start. On the other hand, the AI support, is actually really good and if it fails, it will put you in touch with a human. For businesses concerned about environmental impact, Hostinger operates data centres powered by renewable energy sources.
The Business plan includes a free local CDN (Content Delivery Network), which reduces digital load, improves site speed, and lowers your carbon footprint. You receive 100GB of SSD storage, free SSL certificates, and unlimited bandwidth.
BEST FOR:
Best deal for multiple websites and landing pages
Improved SEO with WordPress plug-ins
Helpful AI assistant if you’re new to WordPress web design
- From beginner to expert
- Ideal for growing businesses, start-ups and affiliate marketers
- Plans from £1.99/month
- Business plan includes up to 50 websites & 5 email boxes per site
- Bundles email, web build and hosting all-in-one
- Lots of storage
- Advanced SEO: WordPress provides more advanced SEO including schema mark-up for improved SEO
- Additional plug-ins and tools such as email marketing available
- AI + human support
- Powered by renewable energy
- Local CDNs
- Free SSL
- Free domain available (depends on availability of your chosen domain in the ‘free’ category)
Create.net – UK-based, green website builder
www.create.net specialises in drag-and-drop website building for non-technical users. The interface allows you to see changes in real time, removing guesswork from the design process. Templates automatically adjust for mobile devices, ensuring your site works properly across all screen sizes.
The platform includes basic e-commerce tools suitable for small product catalogues, along with integrated blogging features and contact forms. Pricing starts at £7.99 per month, positioning it in the mid-range bracket.
Create.net operates with carbon-neutral hosting, making it suitable for businesses prioritising environmental responsibility.
BEST FOR:
A great alternative to Wix that is green and ethical.
Easy to use templates and pre-designed blocks
- Great for beginners and micro businesses
- From £7.99/month per website
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Carbon-neutral hosting – built to be green
- SSL included
- UK company
- UK-based customer support from friendly humans
- Dedicated account management
- E-commerce ready
- Integrate with E-bay and Amazon
- No transaction fees
- Small business community
Ionos – a great entry-level website builder
www.ionos.co.uk bundles domain registration, hosting, email, and website building tools into a single package. This integration simplifies management and provides one point of contact for support. The website builder includes templates for various business types and basic e-commerce capabilities. Ionos has a big focus on AI and pre-designed templates.
Pricing begins at £1 per month for a 12-month introductory period (£16/month), though standard rates apply after renewal. Security updates, backups, and server maintenance occur automatically. Ionos operates green data centres powered by renewable energy, suitable for businesses seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.
BEST FOR
Pre-designed templates that you don’t want to make a lot of changes to.
- Suitable for beginners and micro businesses
- Current discounted offer £1/month for 12 months!
- Free domain
- Green data centres – renewable energy
- AI SEO optimisation
- AI website-builder
- Logo creator
- Online booking
- Site analytics
- 24/7 customer services
WordPress: the popular website builder for every use
WordPress is one the with automatic security patches, performance optimisation, and daily backups. The platform suits businesses requiring WordPress’s flexibility and extensive plugin ecosystem without managing technical maintenance.
Plans start at £20 per month, positioning it at the premium end. You gain access to WordPress themes, custom functionality options, and staging environments for testing changes before going live. From personal experience, if you don’t have previous experience of WordPress, you might find this harder to use. By comparison, Hostinger leads you through the process step-by-step with everything you need. Customer support includes WordPress specialists who understand the platform thoroughly and you can pay them to build the site. WordPress offsets its carbon footprint through environmental programmes.
BEST FOR
Greatest design flexibility & SEO power (needs intermediate + knowledge)
Largest choice of plug-ins for additional features.
- Most flexible in design but needs intermediate to advanced website building knowledge
- Free domain for one year – email is extra
- Personal plan £7/month when paid for the year, otherwise £17/month
- Premium plan £20/month (12 month subscription – or £32 monthly). Premium plan offers more storage
- Huge range of templates and plug-ins to create a truly tailored site
- Web builder + hosting
- Can add in any number of plug-ins
- Expert SEO plug-ins available
- Scales. as your business grows
Shopify: market leading website builder for e-commerce & affiliates
Shopify is the affiliate and B2C marketer’s top choice as a website builder all over the world. It specialises in e-commerce providing access to drop-shipping companies all over the world to help you make your own e-commerce store. The set-up handles inventory management, payment processing, shipping calculations, and abandoned cart recovery.
Plans begin at £19 per month. The platform includes security certificates, mobile-optimised checkout, and payment gateway integration as standard.
You can add functionality through Shopify’s extensive app marketplace as your business grows. The interface requires no coding knowledge, making online selling accessible to non-technical business owners although some of the affiliate/drop-shipping links can be a bit tricky sometimes. Shopify offers carbon-neutral shipping options and sustainability initiatives.
BEST FOR
Dropshipping stores
More advanced sites might need help from a designer
Side note:
Drop-shipping is a great way to start a business but typically involves transporting a lot of low-value products from all over the world. Whilst the site has some more sustainable drop-shipping suppliers, most of these are outside of Europe (if you’re in UK or Europe as you read this!). If you want to drop-ship and keep your environmental impact down, there are drop-shipping apps in the UK and Europe that provide access to sustainable and local suppliers.
- £1/month for 3 months trial
- Basic account £19/month when paid 12 months in advance, otherwise £25/month paid monthly
- Best-in-class e-commerce with unlimited products
- Template and theme customisation is limited on the basic plan
- Transaction rates are extra
- E-marketing & automation
- Analytics & SEO
- POS is available for. an extra monthly charge
- Add-in apps available e.g. accounts software or your own e-marketing tool, such as sender.net or perhaps to sell digital products
- Blog
- Free SSL
Small Business Website Builder Comparative Pricing & Packages
| Platform | Entry Level Subscription Price | Skill Level | Free Domain | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hostinger Find out more | From £1.99/month for entry level and the business plan offers huge value. | Beginner to expert | Yes, but limited options | Great as a beginner, growing business & for affiliate/dropshipping marketers. |
| Shopify Find out more | £19/month after trial | Easy to moderate (may depend on plug-in, I’m experienced and I didn’t find it intuitive at times) | No | Best for e-commerce businesses of any size, drop-shipping and affiliate marketing. |
| Create.net Find out more | £7.99/month | Beginner, easy-to-use | Yes | Non-technical users wanting carbon-neutral hosting and human support. |
| Ionos Find out more | from £1 per month | Beginner-friendly, template-driven | Yes | All-in-one solution with green energy. Great for starting out. |
| WordPress Find out more | Moderate to Expert | Moderate to expert | No | Needs more experience to set up the website but you can pay for a designer to help. |
Why Some Popular Website Builders Are Not Included in this Review
You may notice we have not included some popular website builders such as Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, and Site123. Whilst these platforms are widely-used and offer varying levels of design and functionality, they were marked down for lack of green hosting, sustainability and environmental commitments, or for ethical considerations relating to global politics.
Our Top Recommendations
For small businesses balancing tight budgets with the need for robust functionality, Hostinger delivers exceptional value. Each plan has features typically found in more expensive plans such as the number of domains supported and free email addresses. Having used many website builders over time, we found this system to be the easiest to use for people with moderate skills and little time. You can get up-and-running quickly and make use of more sophisticated plug-in and SEO features without throwing your computer through a window. Even better, it’s green hosted with local CDN and environmental commitments. If this seems more than you need, the Create.net is a fantastic UK-based drag-and-drop website builder that was founded with green principles.
Check out these other articles…
5 Ways to Improve B2B Lead Generation
The Maven Marketing Academy for Small Businesses
5 Website Builders with Green Hosting for Small Businesses
Join the Strategy Hub Newsletter
Sign up for top tips and know-how for marketing and running a small business.