As the Editor in charge of all things website builders at TechRadar I spend a lot of time thinking about website builders, testing website builders, and deciding which are the best website builders. In fact, I’ve even been known to dream about them - which is probably concerning.
So, when the world’s biggest website platform launched an AI website builder, I was intrigued. Initial reports were mixed, although largely unfavorable. I’m not one to take things at face value, so I took the chance to give it a go.
Here is what I found.
It’s an AI website builder
Not too much of a surprise here, but if you have used any of the best AI website builders on the market you're not going to be greeted by anything drastically different. You start your website building journey by ‘talking’ to an AI chatbot.
The bot is going to ask you some questions about your website, so you’ll need some basic information such as your business name, what you want your website to achieve, and what makes your business different from your competitors.
Finally, hit submit and the AI will start creating your website for you. A few moments later and you’ll be the proud owner of a shiny new website…
...well, sort of.
It isn’t free
In a promotional article from WordPress, the company states:
“Just Say the Word—Try Our New AI Website Builder for Free”
Although this isn't untrue, you may find it misleading.
You can indeed try the WordPress AI website builder for free and view the results without spending a cent. But if you want to use your website - add a domain, host it, launch it, and so on - you’re going to have to pay.
This isn't what I would classify as a free website builder, but it isn't going to break the bank. Prices for WordPress start at $4/mo and that comes with a free domain for the first year. So it’s very affordable, but not free.
If you’re expecting AI magic, you won’t find it here
Many of the criticisms I have seen of the WordPress AI website builder are aimed at the quality of the website you end up with. Although this isn’t inaccurate, the images are generic in nature and the layout is pretty basic, it’s hardly surprising.
From the couple of websites I tried creating using the WordPress AI tool, the results were similar in nature to those you would get from top competitors such as Wix AI and Squarespace.
I did find it lacked some structure that would have been helpful. For example, I told the AI that I was selling bread online and could deliver nationally. Common sense would suggest adding an online store to my page would be a sensible move, which it didn’t do - some competitors would get this right.
There is clearly a misconception here that needs addressing. AI website builders aren't going to ask you a couple of generic questions and build you a perfect website in seconds. Perhaps this is what the future has in store, but it certainly isn’t true right now.
AI can help you build a site structure and fill it with content that will give you a starting point. To get a great finished website, you’ll still need to put in the time to edit and tweak everything the AI provides.
So, what’s my verdict?
It’s fine.
The WordPress AI website builder isn’t breaking any new ground, but it serves a purpose, especially for those who aren’t sure where to get started.
If you want something that is going to do a bit of a better job at turning your 3-4 answers into a website, I’d recommend checking out Wix AI website builder - you'll get better results, but it will cost more and you will still need to do a fair amount of editing to make it fit for purpose.
However, if you want AI to create a perfect site with incredibly little input, you’d be best off waiting a few years.
