The best website builders for self-employed contractors

In a world dominated by digital, having your own website is becoming essential for contractors. It’s a great way for prospective clients and collaborators to see what you’re all about, and to get yourself on the books of the best recruitment agencies.

Websites are the perfect place to show off your CV, skills and experience. They can host a portfolio that shows off your work on previous projects, and offer ways for clients to get in touch with you directly.

You could link to your LinkedIn profile or other social media, or write a regular blog to position yourself as an expert in your field and keep your page high up the search rankings. It’s also another way in which you can demonstrate that you’re a business in your own account – key for contractors trying to ensure they don’t fall foul of IR35 off-payroll working rules.

But where to start with building a website? Whether you’re looking to boost up your web presence or starting completely from scratch, we’ve put together a list of our favourite website builders for contractors looking to make their mark on cyberspace.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a top choice for professional, slick-looking websites that are easy to build thanks to the curated library of templates. There’s a lot of focus on aesthetics here, so you can build a website that attracts attention for all the right reasons.

If you don’t have a lot of experience with design or website building, Squarespace is a good choice as its preset layouts and structured grids make sure that your elements will snap into place and look tight and professional with minimum effort. A business plan starts from £15/month.

Wix

Just like Squarespace, Wix is designed to be an easy-to-use website builder that even beginners can easily master, using the drag-and-drop editor. There are even more choices for template and design than Squarespace, and its unstructured editor means it’s more customisable, so if you know what you’re doing when it comes to websites, then Wix might have the edge for you.

Business plans start from £13/month but there are often offers on, so keep your eyes peeled.

WordPress

In the world of web design, it doesn’t get much bigger than WordPress. WordPress claims that an astounding 41% of the web is built on WordPress. WordPress is suitable for websites of all sizes, from multi-page business showcases to simple blogs. It’s popular for a reason –  it’s easy-to-use and to update but gives you a high degree of control over the design, content and layout of your site.

We’d say it’s less beginner-friendly than tools like Wix and Squarespace, but if you’re a web whizz then you might appreciate the relative freedom of WordPress.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy promises that users can build a website in minutes with no previous experience. Its free website builder is simple and easy-to-use but has all the tools you’ll need to build a professional-looking home for your business, including the option to add things like email marketing and custom domain names.

All its templates are optimised for mobile browsing too, which is a massive plus. For experienced website builders it might feel a bit restrictive.

Weebly

Another good option for first-time webpage builders is Weebly. Its step-by-step set-up will talk you through how to launch your website, with starter guides and planning tools. It can be really helpful to think through the navigation and structure of your site before you build, and Weebly is really good for this.

Again though, the sacrifice you make for ease-of-use is restricted options for customisation and limited advanced tools.

Strikingly

Technophobes rejoice, Strikingly promises that you can build a website in minutes with “zero code or design skills required”. If you want something simple and mobile-friendly, you could do a lot worse than Strikingly, whose focus is on one-page websites that look impressive and are frictionless to use.

The one-page layout might ultimately feel restrictive and in the long-term, this could have an impact on the SEO for your business. But if you’re in the market for nothing but a simple and stunning landing page – Strikingly might be the builder for you.

Jimdo

Jimdo has a particular focus on websites for small businesses, making it a good match for contractors and the self-employed looking to get started on building a web presence. Particularly useful is the addition of a free image library, which saves time trawling for open source images, paying royalties or having to take your own photographs.

There’s also a logo builder, so you can get all your branding sorted in one place, and all sites are optimised for mobile. It can feel a bit clunky and restrictive when it comes to the actual site design though.

Site123

Avoiding drag-and-drop editing tools in favour of an intuitive interface that asks you a few quick questions then builds a site around your needs, Site 123 is perfect for contractors who need a website up and ready to go quickly and with minimal fuss. It also gives you the SEO tools you need to climb up those Google results, and pages are mobile-friendly.

The downside is that the limited design function can leave your small business website looking a bit outdated compared to some of the flashier options like Squarespace.

Having a web presence is a great way to attract new work and clients as a contractor. It can also help your agency or recruiter match you with suitable clients by having somewhere to showcase your skills and experience.

Make sure you’re ready to take on whatever work comes your way through your new self-employed website by sorting out comprehensive contractor insurance cover. Kingsbridge’s contractor insurance packages are designed to cover all the bases – professional indemnity cover to protect your work and reputation, public liability to protect those around you, and occupation personal accident insurance so that you’re taken care of if you’re injured at work.

We also add in Employers’ Liability and Directors’ and Officers’ insurance to make sure you’re comprehensively covered and can fulfil all legal and contractual obligations that might come up. Head to our website for your personalised quote in under 10 minutes.

This is not a sponsored article and neither Kingsbridge nor our staff has received any kind of promotional gifts or payments for the websites or services mentioned in this article.