Guides

What Is the Best Website Builder for Contractors in 2026?

By Ryan Goering, CEO, BaaDigi · Last updated October 2026 · 10 sources checked

The best website builder for contractors is the one you can own outright, that AI search engines are allowed to read, and that loads well on a phone; no single product wins on all three. On Google’s Core Web Vitals, hosted builders lead: in Chrome’s real-user data for August 2026, 86.0% of Duda sites and 81.2% of Wix sites passed 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 convenience sample of 511 sites, so a lower pass rate did not keep WordPress contractors out of the AI answers we recorded[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 other figure below is from public datasets or the platforms’ own pages, so you can check it; the AI-recommendation shares come from our own study, which explains its method and limits.

How do the main website builders compare for contractors?

Share of AI-recommended contractor sites (BaaDigi study, convenience sample, n = 511)[5]; Core Web Vitals pass rate, August 2026, HTTP Archive / Chrome UX Report[3]; share of all websites, W3Techs, September 21, 2026[6]
PlatformShare of AI-recommended contractor sitesPasses Core Web Vitals (mobile / desktop)Share of all websites
WordPress49.3%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%
Wix6.5%81.2% / 86.8%[2]4.2%
GoDaddy Website Builder2.9%83.8% / 80.5%[7]0.6%
Squarespace2.7%72.1% / 66.4%[8]2.4%
Webflow2.2%71.2% / 82.1%[9]0.8%
All websites (baseline)—53.0% / 60.2%[4]—

Read the columns separately. The study column shows which platforms AI-named contractors happen to use; it cannot show that a platform helps or hurts your chances, and another 15.9% ran a platform the study could not identify[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 give it less weight[7].

Why is WordPress so common among AI-named contractors when it passes Core Web Vitals least often?

One likely reason is that it is everywhere, though our study cannot test why. WordPress runs 40.2% of all websites and 58.8% of sites whose content system can be identified[6], so finding it on about half of the contractor sites AI engines named in our sample is not surprising[5]. The pass rate is a platform-wide average across every WordPress site, built with many different themes, plugins and hosts; it does not tell you how a particular WordPress site performs, and a well-built site on any platform can pass while a badly built one fails.

Speed still matters to the person who lands on your site. A phone visitor waiting on a slow page is a lead you paid for and lost. Test your own pages instead of trusting 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 answers this for its platform.
  • Can AI search engines read it? Check whether you can edit robots.txt and whether the platform or your CDN blocks or allows AI crawlers by default.
  • Does it pass Core Web Vitals on a phone? Start from the platform’s pass rate above, 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; get the renewal price before you sign.

If you want to own the site outright and have someone to keep it updated, self-hosted WordPress or a custom build fits. If you want the platform to handle hosting and software updates and can accept renting, a hosted builder fits, and Duda, Wix and GoDaddy pass Core Web Vitals most often. You still need to keep content, your domain, forms and account access up to date on any platform. If nobody will maintain the site, do not pick WordPress.

Could your hosting block AI search engines without you knowing?

Yes. On July 1, 2025, Cloudflare announced it was changing its default to block AI crawlers unless they pay creators for their content[10]. That means a contractor site behind Cloudflare or a similar service 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?

Our study cannot answer that. Its records keep one website domain per business, shared by every engine that named it, and not each engine’s cited sources, so the per-engine citation rates an earlier version of this page reported were withdrawn on October 2, 2026[5]. Check it for your own business: ask the questions your customers ask and look at the sources each answer lists. Whatever platform you pick, make the site 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

Frequently asked questions

What is the best website builder for a contractor?
The one 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 ran about half of the contractor sites AI engines named in BaaDigi’s 511-site sample. Decide on ownership and control first, then speed.
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 ran 49.3% of the contractor sites AI engines named in BaaDigi’s 511-site sample versus 6.5% for Wix. Pick WordPress if someone will maintain it and you want to own the site; pick Wix if you want the platform to handle hosting and updates, though content, domain and forms still need looking after. Both platform guides cover ownership and export.
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. It also cannot show how often engines cite a business’s own website, so check the sources listed in the answers you care about.
Can Cloudflare block AI crawlers from my site?
Yes, if your site is behind Cloudflare. Cloudflare announced in July 2025 that it was changing its default to block AI crawlers unless they pay creators for content. 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.

  1. HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: Duda (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
  2. HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: Wix (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
  3. HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: WordPress (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
  4. HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: all websites (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
  5. BaaDigi study: website platforms of 511 AI-recommended contractors (September 2026) — checked 2026-10-02
  6. W3Techs, usage statistics of content management systems — checked 2026-09-21
  7. HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: GoDaddy Website Builder (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
  8. HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: Squarespace (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
  9. HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report: Webflow (August 2026 data) — checked 2026-09-21
  10. Cloudflare, "Content Independence Day: no AI crawl without compensation" (July 1, 2025) — checked 2026-10-02