There is no single best website builder for contractors; the right one is the platform you can own outright, that AI search engines are allowed to read, and that loads fast on a phone. On speed, hosted builders lead: in Chrome’s real-user data for August 2026, 86.0% of Duda sites and 81.2% of Wix sites passed Google’s Core Web Vitals on mobile, against 48.7% of WordPress sites and 53.0% of all websites[1][2][3][4]. Yet WordPress runs 49.3% of the contractor websites that ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI named in our study of 511 sites, so a slower platform clearly does not keep a business out of AI answers[5]. Decide on ownership and control first, then speed.
BaaDigi builds websites, mostly on Next.js, so we compete with every platform on this page. Every figure below is from public datasets or the platforms’ own pages, so you can check it.
How do the main website builders compare for contractors?
| Platform | Share of AI-recommended contractor sites | Passes Core Web Vitals (mobile / desktop) | Share of all websites |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 49.3% | 48.7% / 53.3%[3] | 40.2% |
| Duda (plus 2.5% on Hibu, which runs on Duda) | 6.8% | 86.0% / 87.5%[1] | 0.7% |
| Wix | 6.5% | 81.2% / 86.8%[2] | 4.2% |
| GoDaddy Website Builder | 2.9% | 83.8% / 80.5%[7] | 0.6% |
| Squarespace | 2.7% | 72.1% / 66.4%[8] | 2.4% |
| Webflow | 2.2% | 71.2% / 82.1%[9] | 0.8% |
| All websites (baseline) | — | 53.0% / 60.2%[4] | — |
Read the columns separately. The study column describes contractors AI engines named; it cannot show that a platform helps or hurts your chances, and a custom or hand-coded site accounted for another 15.9%[5]. The speed column covers every site on each platform worldwide, not just contractors. GoDaddy’s figure rests on a smaller sample of about 15,000 sites, so treat it with more caution[7].
Why does WordPress lead AI recommendations if it is the slowest?
Because it is everywhere. WordPress runs 40.2% of all websites and 58.8% of sites whose content system can be identified[6], so it is no surprise it runs about half of the contractor sites AI engines name[5]. Its lower speed score reflects the range of themes, plugins and hosting WordPress sites run on, not the software alone: a well-built WordPress site can be fast, and a badly built one on any platform can be slow.
Speed still matters for the people who land on your site. A phone visitor waiting on a slow page is a lead you paid for and lost. Test your own site rather than relying on the platform average.
What should a contractor check before choosing a platform?
- Can you leave with your site? Some builders let you export your pages; others let you take only your domain and contacts. Each platform guide below covers this in detail.
- Can AI search engines read it? Check whether you can edit robots.txt, whether the platform blocks or allows AI crawlers by default, and whether it can publish an llms.txt file.
- Is it fast on a phone? Use the platform’s pass rate as a starting point, then test your own pages.
- Can it show your services, areas and prices clearly? A page for every service and service area, with structured data describing your business, gives search engines and AI something specific to cite.
- What will it cost after year one? Several builders advertise first-year prices; ask what renewal costs before you sign up.
Could your hosting block AI search engines without you knowing?
Yes. On July 1, 2025, Cloudflare, which sits in front of a large share of websites, announced it was changing its default to block AI crawlers unless they pay for content[10]. A contractor site can be unreadable to ChatGPT or Perplexity because of a setting at the hosting or CDN layer, whatever builder it runs on. If AI engines never cite your site, check your CDN and hosting settings as well as your platform.
How often do AI answers link to a contractor’s website at all?
Less often than most owners assume. In our study, ChatGPT cited the business’s own website in 36.0% of its business mentions and Perplexity in 58.5%[5]. The platform debate matters less than making sure your site is the clear, consistent source for your business name, services and service area, so that when an engine names you, it has something of yours to point to.
Every guide in this series
- What Website Platform Do the Contractors AI Recommends Actually Use?
- Is WordPress Good for a Contractor Website?
- Is Wix Good for a Contractor Website?
- Is Squarespace Good for a Contractor Website?
- Is Webflow Good for a Contractor Website?
- Is GoDaddy Website Builder Good for a Contractor Website?
- Is Duda Good for a Contractor Website?
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best website builder for a contractor?
- The best choice is the platform you can own outright, that AI search engines can read, and that is fast on a phone. Hosted builders like Duda and Wix pass Google’s Core Web Vitals most often, while WordPress runs about half of the contractor sites AI engines recommend. Decide on ownership and control first.
- Is WordPress or Wix better for a contractor website?
- Wix sites pass Core Web Vitals far more often (81.2% on mobile versus 48.7% for WordPress in August 2026), but WordPress gives more control and runs 49.3% of the contractor sites AI engines named in BaaDigi’s study versus 6.5% for Wix. See both platform guides for ownership and export details.
- Does my website platform affect whether ChatGPT recommends me?
- Our study found contractors named on every common platform, and it cannot show that any platform causes a recommendation. What it does show is that most AI mentions did not cite the business’s own website, which is something any platform can fix.
- Can Cloudflare block AI crawlers from my site?
- Yes. Cloudflare announced in July 2025 that it was changing its default to block AI crawlers unless they pay. If AI engines never cite your site, check your CDN and hosting settings as well as your website platform.
Related reading
Sources
Every source was opened and read on the date shown. Vendor prices change; check the vendor's page before buying. How we research: methodology.
- HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: Duda (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
- HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: Wix (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
- HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: WordPress (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
- HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: all websites (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
- BaaDigi study: website platforms of 511 AI-recommended contractors (September 2026) — checked 2026-09-21
- W3Techs, usage statistics of content management systems — checked 2026-09-21
- HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: GoDaddy Website Builder (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
- HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: Squarespace (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
- HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: Webflow (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
- Cloudflare, "Content Independence Day: no AI crawl without compensation" (July 1, 2025) — checked 2026-09-21