8 Best Website Builders for SEO - Get Organic Traffic

Table of contents

• SEO features that a website builder must support
• 1. Technical SEO Capabilities
• 2. On-Page SEO Features
• 3. User experience & design
• 4. Analytics & integration
• 8 Best website builders for SEO to drive organic search traffic
• 1. Super
• 2. WordPress
• 3. Wix
• 4. Webflow
• 5. Squarespace
• 6. Ghost
• 7. Weebly
• 8. Shopify
• How to choose the right website builder for SEO success?
• 1. Right features
• 2. Scalability
• 3. Affordability
• 4. Customer support
• 5. Security
• 6. UX and design
• 7. Customizability

Organic search is a sought after medium because it delivers high-intent, high-volume traffic. It offers higher conversion rates and lower acquisition costs than most other channels.

But it is becoming more difficult to tap into it year-on-year. The competition is fierce and Google keeps moving the goal post, making even a seemingly insignificant advantage a differentiating factor.

Now, more than ever, the SEO features of a website builder you choose plays a critical role in determining the effectiveness and completeness of your SEO efforts. A good tool provides a robust backend that keeps your website live and customizable parameters that help you rank better on Google.

This guide will help you identify the SEO parameters to look for while choosing a website builder and present a curated list of tools to choose from.

Let’s get started.

SEO features that a website builder must support

1. Technical SEO Capabilities

Technical SEO deals with optimizing your website's backend for better search performance. The lighter your website builder's code, the better your other SEO efforts will pay off.

But light code shouldn't compromise key capabilities that make your website rank and convert. Here are some technical SEO parameters to look for:

Page Speed Optimization

Users return to Google or close the tab if a page takes too long to load. This cause two main issues:

1. It signals poor user experience to Google, who may demote your position or even deindex pages

2. A smaller percentage of users who click your link from Google actually land on your pages, directly impacting conversions. A slow-loading site not only frustrates visitors but also costs you valuable leads and revenue.

Mobile Responsiveness

A good chunk of your website visitors use mobile devices. Your website builder must cater to their limited screen space while ensuring high-conversion elements remain easily accessible to keep your business viable. Imagine a potential customer trying to click your 'Buy Now' button on their phone but struggling because it’s not optimized for mobile. They’ll probably leave and never return.

XML Sitemaps

Search engines use code snippets called ‘crawlers’ to parse through websites, and an XML sitemap acts as their guideline. It tells crawlers how your website is structured, allowing for easier access to your pages and posts. A good website builder should auto-create and update these sitemaps - you shouldn't have to worry about the technical details.

SSL Certificates

Notice how this website's domain begins with 'https' instead of 'http'? That extra 's' indicates it has an SSL certificate, showing visitors the site is safe to use and interact with. Visitors can freely browse and make transactions without security concerns. Google places significant emphasis on SSL certificates to ensure it recommends legit websites to it’s users, so your website builder should automatically provide one with your domain name.

Canonical tags

Duplicate content can confuse search engines and hurt your rankings. Canonical tags fix this by telling search engines which page is the main version, ensuring it gets ranked. A good website builder should make adding canonical tags simple, so you can avoid splitting your SEO efforts across duplicate pages.

Page redirects

When URLs change or pages are removed, redirects guide users and search engines to the correct destination. Whether it’s a permanent 301 redirect or a temporary 302, your website builder should make setting these up effortless to maintain traffic and SEO value.

Clean URL structure

The URL pathway indicates where it takes users. It builds trust with website visitors and encourages them to click on links to get more value and information. A good website builder allows you to customize URLs, allowing you to retain them on your domain for much longer, increasing engagement and chances of conversion. A clean URL, while more of a UX element, is also an important technical SEO factor.

Schema markup support

Schema markup helps search engines display richer, more engaging results like star ratings or event details. Look for a website builder that supports adding schema easily, so your site can stand out and attract more clicks from search results.

2. On-Page SEO Features

On-page SEO is all about optimizing the content and structure of your website to rank higher in search results. A website builder with robust on-page SEO tools ensures you can implement these changes seamlessly for better visibility and engagement.

Here are some on-page SEO parameters to look for:

Meta title and description

Meta titles and descriptions are the first things users see on search results. They influence click-through rates and give search engines context about your page. A good website builder allows you to edit these fields for every page, so you can craft click-worthy, keyword-rich summaries that drive traffic.

Header tag hierarchy

Header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) structure your content for both readers and search engines. Proper hierarchy ensures your content flows logically and highlights key points. Look for a website builder that makes organizing and customizing header tags straightforward, helping your content rank better and engage readers. It helps to have good markdown features to make writing fun.

Image optimization

Images add visual appeal but can slow down your site if not optimized. Your website builder must allow you to compress images, add alt text for accessibility and SEO, and ensure they load quickly without compromising quality. Faster-loading images improve user experience and boost your rankings.

Content Management System

Your website is only as good as its content, and managing it should be hassle-free. A content management system (CMS) helps you organize, edit, and publish pages with ease. The best website builders include a user-friendly CMS, so you can focus on creating high-quality, search-friendly content without technical barriers.

3. User experience & design

A well-designed website doesn’t just look good—it keeps visitors engaged and ensures they find what they need effortlessly. User experience and design play a key role in keeping users on your site longer, reducing bounce rates, and thus improving search rankings.

Responsive design

Your website should look great and work smoothly on any device, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. A good website builder ensures responsive design automatically, so you don’t lose visitors (or rankings) due to poor mobile usability.

Navigation structure

An intuitive navigation structure makes it easy for users to explore your site and for search engines to understand it. Your website builder should offer flexible options for navbar and internal linking to create a seamless journey for visitors and improve crawlability.

Page layout control

Customizing page layouts helps you showcase your content in the best possible way. From positioning call-to-action buttons to organizing sections, your website builder should give you the freedom to control the layout without sacrificing usability or speed.

Core Web Vitals optimization

Core Web Vitals measure how fast, stable, and interactive your website feels to users. Metrics like loading time, visual stability, and input responsiveness directly impact your rankings. Choose a website builder that prioritizes these metrics to deliver a smooth experience and stay in Google’s good books.

4. Analytics & integration

Tracking and improving your website’s performance is crucial for sustained growth. A website builder that supports analytics and seamless integration with tools allows you to measure success, identify gaps, and refine your SEO strategy.

Understanding how your site ranks, what keywords drive traffic, and where users drop off is essential for improving SEO. A good website builder offers built-in analytics or integrates easily with SEO tools, giving you actionable insights to enhance visibility and engagement.

8 Best website builders for SEO to drive organic search traffic

1. Super

Super turns your content in Notion into beautiful websites. It builds on the flexibility and organization capabilities of Notion, and offers all SEO features discussed in the previous section.

Key SEO strengths

1. Technical SEO made simple

Super automatically generates and updates your sitemap and enables schema markup implementation. It’s also super-easy to set up canonical tags and page redirects. Furthermore, even free Super sites come with an SSL certificate. These technical SEO features help search engines better understand and index your content.

2. Complete meta tag control

Take full control of your site's appearance in search results with customizable meta titles and descriptions. Super makes it simple - just navigate to the Pages tab, click Edit SEO settings, and update your meta information. You can also implement hreflang tags for international targeting, all without technical expertise.

Super also makes it simple to optimize every page element, from image alt text to URL structure.

3. Clean, SEO-friendly URLs

Transform Notion's complex alphanumeric URLs into clean, keyword-optimized slugs. Unlike Notion's fixed URL structure, Super lets you create readable, SEO-friendly URLs that boost user trust and search visibility. Simply edit page paths in your dashboard to create optimized URLs that include your target keywords.

4. Enhanced tracking and analytics

Monitor your SEO projects with comprehensive tracking capabilities. Super enables integration with various analytics tools beyond just Google Analytics, including heatmaps and A/B testing tools. Add tracking codes directly through Super's code section for complete visibility into user behavior and conversion paths. They allow you to monitor user behavior, identify drop-off points, and optimize your conversion funnel.

5. Mobile-first performance

Super offers customizable mobile layouts, element visibility control, and optimal font sizing - all while maintaining fast loading speeds.

6. Customization without compromise

Create engaging, branded websites that convert visitors into leads. Super offers customizable templates and CTA buttons that help reduce bounce rates and increase pages per session - crucial metrics for SEO success that Notion's basic design options can't match.

7. Performance optimization

Speed matters for both users and search engines. Super optimizes page load times while maintaining design quality. Super’s mobile-responsive layouts adapt seamlessly across devices, with granular control over element visibility and positioning.

8. Enhanced user experience

Create engaging, conversion-focused layouts with customizable CTAs and navigation. Super's Core Web Vitals optimization ensures your site meets Google's performance standards, reducing bounce rates and improving session duration.

9. Content Management System

Organize and publish SEO-optimized content effortlessly. Super's CMS combines Notion's content capabilities with advanced optimization tools, letting you focus on creating quality content while handling technical SEO automatically. Since you can focus on creating SEO optimized content, you will be able to attract better quality traffic that converts.

Use Super for SEO if you…

1. Are a Notion user

Super is perfect if you are comfortable with Notion or happy to learn and use it as the backend for website content. You can customize your site any way you want — Super can handle it without bloating the codebase.

Whether a one-person blog or an enterprise website, your site’s backend stays solid, sitemap auto-updates, and you get 24 x 7 uptime - even when Notion is down.

2. Want to go with a no-code website builder

You need not know how to code to build a website with Super. You only deal with the front end, without worrying about the technical stuff. Your design, brand, and even SEO does not depend on your coding capabilities.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t add code. You have the option to add custom CSS to finetune design and add code snippets to integrate your website with external tools for analytics, marketing, or monetization.

3. Wish to build a brand

Brands tend to rank better on Google than information sites. Websites that are built around a homepage supported by other brand pages like pricing, about, etc., tend to get SEO brownie points. This makes branding a secret SEO ingredient, and design is at the center of it.

You do not need to be a designer to create a powerful brand, you just need to use Super. It enables you to add any color and font. You can create beautiful navigation bars and go as intricate as adding shadows to CTAs buttons, all without writing code!

4. Plan on using other marketing channels, in addition to SEO

SEO is a powerful marketing channel but that’s what it is - just one of the many ways to market your product/service. If you plan to leverage all channels including social media, YouTube, email, etc., your Super site could become the perfect central point of all the marketing action, thanks to the integration capabilities.

5. Like to use SEO and analytics tools

In order to access your traffic data, external SEO tools like Google Analytics, Ahrefs, Google Search Console, etc., require you to add a tracking code snippet to your site. The ability to add custom code makes doing that super-easy, without having to use plugins.

Furthermore, Super provides a built-in analytics tool called Super Analytics, making tracking SEO campaigns easy, without relying on complicated tools like Google Analytics.

6. Prefer real customer support, not chatbots

Need help with Super? We've got your back! Our support team typically jumps in within 10 minutes - whether you're just starting out or tweaking advanced settings. Plus, we've built a treasure trove of guides and a vibrant community forum where fellow users share tips and tricks. You'll find quick answers to common questions and detailed solutions for those tricky technical challenges. It's like having a friendly SEO expert on speed dial!

Pricing

Start building with Super's free plan, which includes access to all themes and comprehensive customer support. Build your site on a super.site domain and explore our platform's capabilities without any cost commitment.

Upgrade to our Personal plan at $12/month (billed annually) to connect your custom domain and unlock premium templates. This plan includes custom fonts and code capabilities, giving you the tools to build a professionally branded website with enhanced features.

For growing businesses needing more power, our Pro plan delivers advanced search functionality, expanded SEO tools, and premium analytics. This comprehensive package helps you scale your online presence with professional-grade features.

Choose your plan

Limitations

The only limitation of using Super is that it does not support eCommerce. So if that’s you choice of monetization, you should go with Shopify or WordPress with the Woocommerce plugin.

2. WordPress

WordPress is one of the most popular platforms for building SEO-friendly websites. Its flexibility, extensive plugin support, and user-friendly interface make it a go-to choice for businesses, bloggers, and e-commerce owners looking to optimize their sites for search engines.

Key SEO strengths

• WordPress allows seamless integration with powerful plugins like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and All in One SEO, providing detailed control over meta tags, schema markup, and content optimization.
• Its search-engine-friendly structure includes clean, crawlable code and automatic XML sitemap generation, helping search engines index your site more effectively.
• WordPress provides flexibility for on-page SEO, with features like customizable categories, tags, and permalinks.
• Numerous plugins and themes are available to enhance site speed, mobile responsiveness, and meet Core Web Vitals requirements.
• The platform is supported by a vast community and frequent updates, ensuring compatibility with the latest SEO best practices.

Ideal use cases

• Content-heavy websites like blogs, news platforms, or media outlets benefit from WordPress's robust content organization and SEO tools.
• Small and local businesses can easily create sites optimized for local search, integrate maps, and manage customer reviews.
• E-commerce stores using WooCommerce can leverage WordPress for SEO-friendly product pages and integrations.
• Portfolio or service-based websites can use WordPress to attract leads and improve visibility through SEO-driven designs.

Pricing overview

The WordPress core platform is free, offering open-source flexibility to users. However, premium plugins for advanced SEO or speed optimization generally cost $30–$100+ per year.

Furthermore, businesses seeking extensive customizations may need to hire developers or invest in managed services, adding to the overall expense.

Limitations

• WordPress has a learning curve, particularly for non-technical users, who may need help with setup and customizations.
• Over-reliance on plugins or poorly optimized themes can slow down the site and negatively impact performance.
• Regular maintenance, including updates and backups, is essential to avoid compatibility issues and security risks.
• Unlike some platforms with built-in SEO features, WordPress requires manual configuration to unlock its full SEO potential.

3. Wix

Wix is a beginner-friendly website builder that combines ease of use with powerful SEO tools, making it an excellent choice for small to medium-sized businesses and creators like you.

Key SEO strengths

• The Wix SEO Wiz offers step-by-step guidance to help you optimize meta tags, titles, descriptions, and alt text, ensuring you can implement SEO best practices without technical expertise.
• Wix automatically generates sitemaps, applies structured data markup, provides SSL certificates, and ensures your site is mobile-optimized—key elements for improving search engine rankings.
• You can adjust advanced settings like custom URL structures, canonical tags, and 301 redirects, giving you the freedom to fine-tune your SEO strategy.
• Wix integrates easily with blogging and eCommerce tools, making it simple to manage SEO for products, blog posts, and content updates.

Ideal use cases

• If you're running a local business, Wix's integration with Google My Business and its localized SEO features can help boost your visibility in search results.
• Wix simplifies content optimization, making it an ideal platform if you're focused on growing organic traffic through blogs or creative projects.
• If you have an online store, Wix provides tailored SEO solutions, including schema markup for products and SEO-friendly URLs to enhance your product listings.
• Wix is a great choice if you're new to website creation and SEO, as it requires no technical knowledge to get started.

Pricing overview

You'll get access to basic SEO tools with the free plan, but your site will display Wix branding and ads, which may not be ideal for a professional online presence.

Premium plans start at $16/month. They allow you to connect a custom domain, remove ads, and access enhanced storage and analytics, all of which are important for growing your site's SEO. Higher-tier plans offer more eCommerce features and greater bandwidth, ideal for scaling your business.

Limitations

• Wix may not be the best option for larger websites with complex SEO needs, as it can struggle with handling more extensive content or custom features.
• If you're an advanced developer, you might find Wix limiting due to its restricted backend access, which can hinder more detailed SEO optimizations.
• While Wix has improved its performance, it can still lag behind platforms designed for high-performance websites in terms of loading speeds.

4. Webflow

Webflow stands out for its high degree of customization and control over both design and SEO. It gives users full access to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making it ideal for advanced SEO needs. Webflow allows custom meta tags, alt text for images, and clean URL structures, with solid support for 301 redirects. It also offers a powerful CMS for dynamic content management, which can enhance content-driven SEO strategies. However, it can be overwhelming for beginners due to its complex interface.

5. Squarespace

Squarespace is known for its user-friendly design templates, which are optimized for SEO out of the box. It features automatic sitemaps, customizable meta descriptions, and title tags, and allows for structured data like JSON-LD. The platform also handles redirects and offers SSL certificates, contributing to better security and rankings. However, while Squarespace is great for small businesses or personal projects, it doesn’t offer as much flexibility for SEO as Webflow or WordPress, especially when it comes to more advanced customizations.

6. Ghost

Ghost is a minimalist platform that focuses primarily on content creation, making it great for blogs and content-heavy websites. It has built-in SEO features, including the ability to edit meta tags, generate automatic sitemaps, and implement structured data. However, Ghost's simplicity also means fewer options for customization compared to other platforms. Its SEO capabilities are excellent for content-driven sites but may not be ideal for users looking for a fully customizable design or e-commerce features.

7. Weebly

Weebly offers a straightforward drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible to beginners. It provides basic SEO tools such as custom meta titles, descriptions, and URL structures. Weebly also automatically generates sitemaps and integrates Google Analytics. While it's an excellent choice for users seeking ease of use, it lacks some advanced features for in-depth SEO management, such as full control over HTML and limited customization options for site architecture.

8. Shopify

Shopify is a powerhouse for e-commerce websites, with strong built-in SEO tools that help improve product visibility. It allows users to optimize meta tags, product descriptions, and URLs, and it supports structured data for products (like rich snippets). Shopify also has a powerful blogging platform to enhance content marketing. Although it’s more specialized for online stores, Shopify's SEO is more than adequate for e-commerce, though it might require third-party apps to achieve advanced optimizations.

How to choose the right website builder for SEO success?

When selecting a website builder for SEO, you want to ensure it offers the right combination of features, scalability, affordability, and support. Here’s a closer look at the key parameters to keep in mind.

1. Right features

As we discussed earlier, the right website builder should have all the essential SEO features—like meta title and description editing, mobile responsiveness, technical SEO capabilities, and more. Make sure your builder checks all these boxes, so you can optimize your site without hitting any roadblocks. A tool that offers robust SEO features will help you rank better on Google and provide a solid foundation for future growth.

2. Scalability

Your website needs to grow along with your content and brand. A good website builder should scale with you, offering flexible options as your business expands. As you build your brand, you’ll need to optimize more pages and potentially add teams. Make sure your builder allows you to scale your SEO efforts and add collaborators without compromising site performance.

3. Affordability

While you want all the right features, you don’t need to pay for unnecessary extras. A website builder should offer a balance between cost and functionality. For example, WordPress can be expensive when you factor in paid plugins for SEO, which might be overkill for smaller websites. Instead, choose an affordable builder that offers the right tools at a price point that fits your needs—something simple, effective, and easy to manage without breaking the bank.

4. Customer support

Even with the best features, you’ll need reliable support when issues arise. Look for a website builder that provides access to guides, tutorials, and a strong community of users. More importantly, ensure there’s a support team you can contact for quick resolutions, whether it’s through live chat, email, or phone. Fast, responsive customer support ensures you’re never left stuck.

5. Security

Security is often overlooked but essential for both SEO and user trust. Make sure your website builder provides SSL certificates and supports regular security updates. A secure website helps protect your visitors' data and ensures you avoid penalties from Google, which can affect your rankings.

6. UX and design

User experience is key to keeping visitors on your site and improving your SEO. A website builder should offer clean, modern design templates that are intuitive to use and optimize for all devices. A good UX helps reduce bounce rates, which can positively impact your rankings and conversions.

7. Customizability

Lastly, the website builder should give you the freedom to customize your site to your specific needs. Whether it's altering page layouts, changing themes, or adding custom code, make sure your builder provides flexibility without being overly complicated. Customizability allows you to create a website that fits your brand while keeping your SEO goals intact.

Get Super’s bi-weekly Notion Newsletter