What Is The Difference Between A Website Builder And A Website Host?

If you're creating a new website, you’ll run into two terms early on: website builder and website host. They sound similar, but they serve completely different roles in how your site gets built, stored, and shown to the world.

A website builder is a tool you use to design, structure, and edit the site itself, or what people actually see when they visit. A website host is the service that stores your website’s files and delivers them to anyone who visits your domain.

Most modern platforms include both, but they’re not interchangeable. Knowing the difference helps you choose the right tools for your team, your technical comfort level, and your long-term site goals.

What Does a Website Builder Actually Do?

Website builders give you the tools to create a website. They let you build and edit pages without needing to write code from scratch.

Most website builders include:

Drag-and-drop design interfaces
Page templates or themes
Built-in modules for text, images, videos, and forms
Basic SEO tools and site navigation settings
Optional integrations like contact forms, maps, or ecommerce tools

Popular website builders include Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress (with visual themes or plugins). They let marketers, small businesses, and non-dev teams quickly create sites without writing HTML or CSS.

Some platforms (like HubSpot’s Content Hub) also function as a website builder, but are integrated directly with marketing tools, forms, and CRM data.

What Does a Website Host Actually Do?

A website host stores your site’s files and makes them accessible on the internet. Without hosting, your site wouldn’t be visible to anyone—even if you’ve designed every page.

Hosting handles things like:

Server storage for HTML, images, scripts, and other files
Bandwidth and speed optimization
SSL certificates (for site security)
Uptime guarantees and traffic management
Domain routing and email setup in some cases

Hosting platforms include providers like Bluehost, SiteGround, GoDaddy, and cloud-based services like AWS or Google Cloud. Many site builders (like Wix or Squarespace) include hosting automatically, so you may not realize you’re using both.

Key Differences Between a Website Builder and a Website Host

Here’s a simple breakdown of how the two differ:

Function	Website Builder	Website Host
Purpose	Design and create the website	Store and serve the website files
Tools included	Page editors, templates, design tools	Servers, bandwidth, file storage
User interface	Visual or code-based site creation	Backend configuration
Audience	Marketers, designers, small teams	Developers, IT, site admins
Can exist without the other?	No—needs hosting to go live	Yes—can host other files

While some services offer both, you’ll still want to know what’s being handled on the backend. A free website builder may include limited hosting. A high-powered cloud host may not include any visual editing tools at all.

Do You Need Both a Website Builder and a Website Host?

Yes—in most cases, you’ll need both. But whether you buy them separately depends on which platform you choose.

Some scenarios:

If you use Wix, Squarespace, or Webflow: Hosting is included. You don’t need to shop for a separate host.
If you use WordPress.org: You’ll need separate hosting from a provider like Bluehost or WP Engine.
If you use a CMS like HubSpot’s Content Hub: Hosting is built in, and it’s tightly integrated with your CRM and marketing tools.
If you hand-code your site: You’ll need a host to store and serve your custom-built files.

Bottom line: the builder creates the site; the host puts it on the internet. In modern platforms, they often come bundled, but they serve different functions behind the scenes.

What Happens If You Only Have One?

If you only have a website builder (without hosting), your site might exist on your local machine or inside the tool, but no one can see it publicly.

If you only have hosting (without a builder), you can upload files—but unless you’ve written code or used another tool to create your site, there’s nothing to display.

This matters when:

You’re switching platforms (e.g. migrating from WordPress to Webflow)
You’re using an agency to design the site but plan to host it yourself
You’re considering tools like GitHub Pages, which assume you’ve built the files already

Many users run into this when trying to move from one provider to another and realize they only paid for hosting, not the editor, or vice versa.

What If You’re Using HubSpot?

HubSpot's Content Hub is both a website builder and a website host. You can build pages, manage themes, run A/B tests, and edit blog content—in one place. And since hosting is included, you don’t need a separate provider.

This setup is especially helpful for:

Marketing teams that want to control web content without developer help
Businesses that want their CRM, web content, and automation tools connected
Companies migrating away from WordPress or juggling fragmented tool stacks

The combination of builder + host inside the CRM also makes it easier to manage page personalization, lead capture, and attribution without leaving the platform.

How to Choose the Right Setup for Your Website

Ask yourself a few key questions before committing to a builder or host:

Do you want to build your site yourself, or work with a developer?
Do you want your hosting and builder to be in one place?
Do you need marketing tools, forms, and CRM baked into your site?
How important are speed, uptime, and SEO performance?
Will you want to scale or redesign the site later?

If you need total control over code, you might want to separate builder and host. If you want an all-in-one solution with marketing baked in, something like HubSpot or Webflow might make more sense.

Last Thoughts: Website Builders vs Website Hosts

Website builders and website hosts work together, but they’re not the same thing. The builder helps you design your website. The host delivers that website to your visitors.

Understanding that difference helps you avoid platform mismatches, budgeting issues, and surprise gaps when you go to launch.

Need help choosing the right web setup or migrating platforms?
FMK helps teams make smart decisions about builders, CMS tools, and hosting options. especially when moving toward integrated CRM experiences.

If you’re sorting through options or planning a switch, let’s talk.