Website Builders for Contractors: Ranked

57% of users won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site. For contractors, where 68% of traffic comes from phones, that stat should shape every website decision you make.

Most “best website builder” articles are affiliate-driven garbage. They rank platforms by commission rates, not by what actually works for a plumber or roofer trying to get the phone to ring.

This ranking is different. We evaluated platforms based on what matters for home service contractors: mobile performance, local SEO capability, page speed, form functionality, and total cost of ownership over three years.

How we ranked these platforms

We built test sites on each platform using identical content: a homepage, 3 service pages, an about page, and a contact page. We measured Core Web Vitals scores, mobile usability, and SEO fundamentals out of the box.

We also factored in real-world usage patterns. Contractors don’t have time to learn complex systems. They need something that works, looks professional, and shows up in local search.

Scoring criteria:

• Speed (25%) - Core Web Vitals, mobile load time
• SEO capability (25%) - Local SEO features, schema markup, URL control
• Ease of use (20%) - Time to launch, learning curve, maintenance burden
• Lead capture (15%) - Form options, click-to-call, chat integration
• Value (15%) - Total 3-year cost including hosting, plugins, themes

The rankings

1. WordPress with a quality theme

Score: 87/100

WordPress powers 43% of all websites globally. There’s a reason it dominates: flexibility, SEO capability, and a massive ecosystem of tools.

For contractors specifically, WordPress offers the best local SEO foundation. You control every URL, every meta tag, every schema markup element. Plugins like Rank Math or Yoast handle technical SEO. Local business schema is simple to implement.

The downside is maintenance. WordPress sites need regular updates, security monitoring, and occasional troubleshooting. If you’re not tech-comfortable, you’ll need to pay someone $50-150/month for maintenance.

Best for: Contractors who want maximum SEO control and are willing to invest in setup or ongoing maintenance.

Total 3-year cost: $1,500-4,500 depending on hosting, theme, and maintenance choices.

Speed score: 85-95 (with proper optimization)

SEO score: 95

We have a detailed guide on WordPress visitor tracking if you’re already on the platform.

2. Webflow

Score: 84/100

Webflow hits a sweet spot between design flexibility and ease of maintenance. No plugins to update. No security patches to worry about. Hosting is included and optimized.

The visual builder produces clean code, which means fast sites without the bloat that drags down many WordPress installs. Core Web Vitals scores are consistently strong out of the box.

SEO controls are excellent. You can customize meta tags, add schema, control redirects, and manage your sitemap. The CMS is intuitive for adding blog posts or service pages.

The learning curve is steeper than Squarespace or Wix. Webflow’s power comes with complexity. Plan to spend 8-12 hours learning the system before you’re productive.

Best for: Contractors who want a professional, unique design without ongoing maintenance headaches.

Total 3-year cost: $1,400-2,500

Speed score: 88-94

SEO score: 88

Learn more about Webflow visitor tracking integration options.

3. Squarespace

Score: 79/100

Squarespace templates look polished. The editor is intuitive. You can have a professional-looking site live in a weekend with zero technical knowledge.

For contractors, that simplicity matters. You’re running a business, not learning web development. Squarespace handles hosting, security, and mobile optimization automatically.

SEO has improved significantly. You now have control over meta descriptions, URL slugs, and can add custom code for schema markup. The platform automatically generates sitemaps and handles basic technical SEO.

The limitations show up when you want to do anything custom. Form options are basic. Blog functionality is adequate but not powerful. You’re working within Squarespace’s constraints, which sometimes means compromising on exactly what you want.

Best for: Contractors who prioritize simplicity and design quality over advanced features.

Total 3-year cost: $500-1,200

Speed score: 82-88

SEO score: 78

Check out our Squarespace visitor tracking guide for lead capture options.

4. Wix

Score: 74/100

Wix has improved dramatically over the past three years. The old reputation for slow, bloated sites no longer matches reality. Their latest editor produces reasonably fast sites with decent mobile performance.

The drag-and-drop interface is the easiest to learn. Complete beginners can build something presentable in hours. Templates designed for contractors and home services are plentiful.

SEO used to be Wix’s weakness. That’s changed. You now have solid control over on-page elements, and Wix SEO Wiz provides step-by-step optimization guidance that’s actually useful for local businesses.

The ecosystem has gaps. Third-party app options don’t match WordPress. Some integrations that are trivial on other platforms require workarounds on Wix.

Best for: Contractors who want the fastest path to a live website with minimal learning.

Total 3-year cost: $500-1,400

Speed score: 75-85

SEO score: 75

We cover Wix visitor tracking in a separate guide.

5. GoDaddy Website Builder

Score: 68/100

GoDaddy’s builder is fast to set up and cheap to run. That’s about where the positives end.

The templates are dated. Customization is limited. SEO controls are basic at best. You’re building a website that looks like it was built with a website builder.

For a contractor who just needs something live today and plans to upgrade later, it serves that purpose. As a long-term solution, it holds your business back.

Best for: Contractors who need something live immediately and will rebuild within 12 months.

Total 3-year cost: $400-800

Speed score: 70-78

SEO score: 62

6. Duda

Score: 76/100

Duda flies under the radar but deserves consideration. It’s built specifically for agencies and local businesses, which means features that contractors actually need are baked in.

Multi-location support is strong. If you serve multiple cities, Duda makes it easy to create location-specific pages that perform well in local search. Built-in widgets for contact forms, maps, and click-to-call work smoothly.

The downside is brand recognition. Homeowners don’t know Duda. That shouldn’t matter, but it sometimes affects how they perceive your site. The template selection is also smaller than Squarespace or Wix.

Best for: Multi-location contractors or those working with an agency.

Total 3-year cost: $1,000-2,000

Speed score: 82-88

SEO score: 83

What about custom development?

A custom WordPress site from a quality agency runs $5,000-15,000 upfront plus ongoing maintenance. For contractors doing $1M+ in revenue, that investment often makes sense. You get a site built specifically for your business with conversion optimization baked in.

For smaller operations, template-based solutions deliver 80% of the result at 20% of the cost. Put the savings toward marketing that drives traffic to your site.

The features that actually matter

Mobile performance

68% of home service searches happen on phones. If your site is slow or hard to navigate on mobile, you’re losing jobs.

Test your site on your own phone. Time how long it takes to load. Try to find your phone number. Try to fill out the contact form. If any of those steps are frustrating, homeowners feel the same frustration.

Google’s PageSpeed Insights gives you a mobile score. Anything below 50 needs immediate attention. Aim for 70+.

Click-to-call prominence

When someone searches “emergency plumber near me” at 10pm, they want to call immediately. Your phone number should be visible without scrolling on every page.

Test this: open your site on a phone and count how many taps it takes to call you. If it’s more than one, you’re losing calls.

Form simplicity

Every field you add to a contact form reduces completions. Name, phone, brief description of the problem. That’s all you need. Email is optional. Address can come later.

Long forms exist because contractors want to pre-qualify leads. In practice, they just reduce the number of leads. You can qualify on the phone.

Local SEO foundation

Your site needs location pages for every city you serve. These pages should have unique content, not just the city name swapped in. They need your NAP (name, address, phone) consistent with your Google Business Profile.

Schema markup tells Google exactly what your business does and where you operate. Most website builders can handle this with some configuration, though WordPress makes it easiest.

Read our guide on local SEO mistakes for more on what to avoid.

Page speed

A 1-second delay in page load time reduces conversions by 7%. At 3 seconds, 53% of mobile users abandon the site entirely.

The biggest speed killers on contractor websites are unoptimized images and too many plugins or apps. Compress every image before uploading. Question every plugin you add.

The 96% problem

Whichever platform you choose, you’ll face the same fundamental challenge: 96% of visitors leave without converting.

They browse your site, check your reviews, maybe look at a service page. Then they leave. Most never come back.

Your website is a leaky bucket. Driving more traffic doesn’t fix the leak. You need to capture demand before it walks out the door.

Visitor identification tools can show you who’s browsing your site even when they don’t fill out a form. When you know a homeowner in your service area spent 4 minutes on your water heater page, you can reach out before they call your competitor.

Read more about capturing lost leads and visitor identification.

Making the decision

If you’re technical or have budget for development: WordPress. The SEO advantage compounds over time.

If you want professional design without maintenance burden: Webflow or Squarespace.

If you need something live fast with minimal effort: Wix.

If you’re multi-location or working with an agency: consider Duda.

The platform matters less than execution. A mediocre WordPress site underperforms a well-optimized Squarespace site. Whatever you choose, invest time in optimization, speed, and conversion fundamentals.

Your website exists to make the phone ring. Pick a platform that makes that easy, then focus on the traffic and conversion systems that fill your schedule.