Choosing a website builder in 2025 – What’s changed?

Once upon a time, website builders were simple drag-and-drop tools with fixed layout templates. They also needed some technical know-how or extra plug-ins if you wanted your site to actually perform well on the search engines. In recent years, website builders have gone through a rapid evolution, in large part due to the incredible improvements we’ve seen in AI. But that doesn’t mean they’ve become complicated or difficult to use, quite the opposite!

What to look for in a website builder in 2025

As recently as a year ago, most platforms with "AI" simply had an AI assistant to write copy or suggest images. Now, a new generation of builders has emerged where the AI builds the entire site from a single text prompt.

You can now describe your business and the website's purpose in a few sentences, and the AI will generate a complete, multi-page site with a suggested layout, relevant images, and starter content in just a few minutes. This kind of tool is designed for a new user base that includes small business owners, freelancers, and individuals who need a professional website published quickly without any design or coding experience.

Meanwhile, traditional builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify are integrating AI tools directly into their existing editors. These tools are more like co-pilots, enhancing a user's workflow rather than replacing it. For example, you can use AI to generate new sections or pages and get personalised design recommendations, but you’ll probably need to do most of the work yourself.

The last year has seen a significant change in website creation. AI has given rise to a new, super-fast category of website builders for those who want speed and convenience, while also becoming a necessary tool for efficiency and optimisation within the traditional platforms.

With this evolution in technology, there has also been a rise in the standards that your average user expects from a website. This makes choosing the right website builder more important than ever. So, what should you be looking for when it comes to choosing a tool to create the ultimate online presence?

Speed

There’s nothing more frustrating than a slow website, except maybe a slow website-building process! You’re busy, you have a business to run, customers to keep happy, and the last thing you need to be spending weeks on is building a website. This is where the latest AI website builders, like AI Sitebuilder, come in. These tools are designed to take the pressure off and allow you to create a professional site within just a couple of hours.

And with a 2017 Google study showing that 53% of mobile users abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load, we make sure your new site is fast too. Great performance is at the core of what we do, and that includes the website we help to build.

Design quality

While AI website builders speed up the design and build process, they‘re not all created equal in terms of design and overall build quality. It’s important to do your research and find a website builder, whether AI-powered or not, that offers you the best possible quality for your money. Look out for how much you are able to customise the templates included in the website builder; you want to be able to make the site your own, not just slap your logo on a basic cookie-cutter template. Some builders, especially those focused on a quick-start AI model, can limit your ability to make deeper changes to the layout, fonts and colours.

Through a combination of expertly designed templates designed for different industries and AI-driven customisation, AI Sitebuilder guarantees a premium and professional look that fits your business and the audience you’re targeting. And all of this without the expense associated with hiring a traditional web designer.

Mobile-first

Most website traffic, around 60% globally, now comes from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Making sure your website is optimised for these devices not only improves user experience (UX) and reduces bounce rate but also improves your SEO and ranking. This is vital because Google now uses mobile-first indexing. Which means Google primarily uses the mobile version of your site's content for indexing and ranking, even for desktop searches. Since the majority of searches occur on mobile devices, a good mobile experience is a crucial signal of a high-quality, user-friendly website. Thankfully, the AI website builders of today make mobile compatibility a priority, meaning your website will look flawless no matter which device it's viewed on without any extra effort from you!

AI assistance

We’ve talked a lot about AI-driven website builders, but what does that actually mean, and what is the benefit of having AI in a tool like this? Well, think of the AI as a quick-thinking, quick-working personal designer. With just a few clicks and some questions answered by you, the AI can help you write content, choose images and optimise everything for SEO. Thanks to AI assistance, you can get your dream website in a fraction of the time it would usually take. Sounds like a bit of a win to us! It's important to understand the distinction between a full AI website builder and a website builder with integrated AI tools. An AI website builder, like AI Sitebuilder, takes a conversational prompt—like "Build a friendly website for a local bakery in Sydney with great imagery and a fun, modern look"—and generates a complete, multi-page site, including the design, layout, images, and content. This type of builder is designed for speed and simplicity, creating a functional website in minutes with minimal input. On the other hand, a traditional website builder like Wix or Squarespace is a manual drag-and-drop platform at its core, but they now feature AI tools that assist with specific tasks. While you still build the site yourself, these AI features act like a co-pilot, assisting you with individual blog posts, creating product descriptions and SEO meta tags, or design recommendations. However, they don’t automatically build the site from scratch.

SEO & performance built-in

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is all about making sure the right people see your website when they use search engines like Google. It can take some work to get your site set up and performing well from the start, but with the help of AI Sitebuilder, the pressure is off. The built-in AI works to optimise every aspect of your site right from the get-go, with properly structured pages and compelling written content giving you great performance as standard. Within AI Sitebuilder, there are lots of options, integrations and guidance for both site- and page-level SEO. From local business schema to site indexing and metadata, there are plenty of optimisation options. But you don’t need to be an expert or even have heard of any of these things before, as we’ll give you explanations in plain English to help you decide what’s best for your site. You can also check out Search Engine Optimisation guides for more in-depth information. 

Transparent pricing

It's no secret that we all hate hidden costs, and when it comes to running a business, sudden additional expenses can easily blow a tight budget. At Webcentral, we pride ourselves on being transparent right from the outset, so you know exactly what you’re getting and how much it’ll cost you. That includes our AI Sitebuilder plans! We’ll let you know what’s included and how much you’ll pay each month, so you can plan your budget and keep your business on track.

6 questions you need to ask when evaluating an AI web builder

When looking at the different website builders available, whether AI-powered or not, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our top 6 questions you need to ask to help you weigh up your options and find the right builder for you and your business:

1.      Can I set up and publish my site in a day?

For most business owners, time is at a premium, so look for builders with guided onboarding and ready-made templates. These will speed things up and get your site published quickly. With the AI Sitebuilder from Webcentral, most sites can be published in under 10 minutes!

2.      Will my website look polished and professional without design skills?

Any website builder worth its salt should let you look through at least some of its most popular templates before you part with any cash. The templates should be modern and customisable, with smart defaults, and there should be something for every industry. The best builders (like ours) won’t require any design skills on your part; they will use AI to discover what you like, how you want your site to look, what it should include and who your target audience is. They will then provide you with a few options to choose from and refine.

3.      Is SEO and performance optimised out of the box?

Not all website builders are created equal. Many will need additional plugins or add-ons for optimisation. Make sure to check for mobile responsiveness, fast loading, and that SEO tools are included as standard, like they are with AI Sitebuilder. We've also got Google integrations, making performance fully trackable. With just a couple of simple steps, you can enable Google Analytics, Google Ads and Google Tag Manager. You can also quickly and easily link your Google Business Profile to your site so that all your essential information, like opening hours and contact info, is always up to date.  

4.      Does the site work seamlessly on all devices?

This is an important question. As we’ve previously mentioned, most users browse, shop and learn on their mobile devices. Ensuring your website looks great and works how it's supposed to on all devices will mean a better user experience (UX) and people sticking around to buy. When building your site, make sure you preview it on different screen sizes and browsers before fully committing.

5.      Can I grow my website with additional features like stores or bookings?

Making sure your online business has room to grow is essential for success. Find a website builder like ours that gives you the flexibility to add e-commerce or other plugins as you need them, without having to completely rebuild your site. We have too many free apps and plugins included in our plans to mention them all here, but we’ve made sure we have something for every type of business or website. Whether you’re looking for ways to improve accessibility, include bookings, offer different payment gateways or anything else you can think of, we’ve probably got an app or plugin for it!

6.      Are the pricing plans clear and affordable?

This probably goes without saying, but it's always advisable to avoid platforms with complex tiered pricing or hidden costs. Knowing exactly what you’re going to be paying as a one-off, monthly or yearly makes managing your cash flow much easier! That’s why we're always up front about pricing and what’s included.

Why an AI website creator might be the best option for your business

There are a lot of benefits to traditional “Do It For Me” web design, but it's not for everyone. This is where AI-powered website builders like AI Sitebuilder come in.

For example, traditional web design tends to be a better choice for large, well-established businesses or organisations that need a complex or high-traffic website, like big e-commerce platforms. But if that’s not you, this kind of web design can be a significant and unnecessary expense.

AI website makers, on the other hand, are the perfect solution for small businesses, startups, and individuals.  They easily let you create a professional online presence quickly and affordably. This makes them ideal for personal blogs, portfolios, or simple e-commerce stores where creating a professional online presence quickly is the top priority.

Core benefits of AI-powered website builders

• Fast, guided setup with AI so you can launch in minutes, not days.

• Modern templates with AI-powered customisation to make your site truly yours.

• AI-powered SEO and speed optimisations that help you rank and keep visitors happy.

• Mobile-first design ensuring your site looks flawless on every device.

• Seamless integrations with popular payment, scheduling, and marketing tools.

• Transparent pricing with no surprises.

The future of AI and website builders

We can only really guess what the long-term future of AI and the website builders it powers will be. But we can be sure that as the AI element gets smarter, you can expect it to take on more complex tasks like advanced organic and paid SEO, comprehensive content strategy and improved design and image generation. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to pick a website builder that is going to grow with your business. Make sure there are options for upgrading your site, and try to choose a company that is always looking for ways to bring its customers the latest innovations and best services (like Webcentral!). This will ensure that you, and your website, can always take advantage of the latest and greatest in AI evolution.

While the world of AI website builders is moving fast, we're constantly innovating to make website creation simpler and more powerful.

Ready to see for yourself how powerful an AI-powered web builder can be? To experience it for yourself, try AI Sitebuilder from Webcentral today! We've designed it to take the hassle out of building beautiful, professional websites, so you can get it sorted in a matter of minutes. This lets you get back to what really matters, making your customers happy.