What is the Best Offline Website Builder Software

Offline site-building software is a set of tools intended for creating a site without the necessity of going online before you test or deploy it.

Generally, such solutions are either pre-bundled, i.e., they come with several software apps by the same developer included as a united set) or piecemeal, i.e., the site builder software must be downloaded separately from any app you may need later.

Unlike online site builders, (see my handpicked collection of the beginners’ best choice), this software doesn’t require new users to create an account. Instead, the workstation becomes the login point, which is way safer than inserting your personal details through a website, like a name, credit card number, password, etc. No matter how secure an online site builder is, it is never insured against hacks.

So, before I introduce the five best site-building software, let me expose the main benefits as opposed to those deployed online:

Complete control and flexibility: With offline software, you are not bound to any limits on what you can do with your website. Even if you have no HTML or CSS knowledge, you will learn much during the working process.
No monthly fees: By opting for offline site-building software over an online counterpart, you get rid of the monthly payments. You buy the software once and have lifetime access to it (note that free site-building software is available). However, with every new release, you must pay the patch fees.
Your web host solution choice: With offline site-building solutions, you can choose your web host without being tied down to the company’s hosting service.
Working on the site whenever you wish: Offline site building software works without an internet connection. So, you can work on the site as much as you need and go online only when ready to test and publish the site.

Now that you’re already aware of all the benefits of offline site-building solutions and are sure you need one for your project, let me introduce the five best variations of the market as of today.

NicePage – Best Choice for HTML Sites

NicePage, formerly known as Artisteer, is currently the best offline site-building solution if you have an HTML site in mind. Its impressive functionality makes creating an engaging, interactive website a breeze.

The service can be a good choice for no coders, as well, since it introduces loads of pre-designed themed templates and development blocks and allows downloading a diversity of images from multiple popular sources, like Pixabay, Instagram, Google, etc.

And when the site is ready, it will be exported as HTML or a theme for Joomla or WordPress (read my review). Note that NicePage not only supports Mac OS and Windows apps but also WP plugins, Joomla extensions, and Web apps.

Features List

NicePage is richly packed with features. See the most significant ones:

Visual Page Editor for adding grids, text, and other elements through drag-and-drop positioning. The editor includes Smart Magnetic Guides for aligning the position of an element, Grid Columns for site and graphic editors, Move Blocks, and such functionalities as resigning elements and blocks, setting the exact distance between elements, pasting images from clipboards, etc.
Contact Form Builder with multiple tools like field types, input styling, multiple layouts, the function to show or hide field conditions, calculation formulas, etc.
E-Commerce Broad Functionality includes setting up elements, PayPal and Stripe payments, page templates for product lists, shopping carts, checkout, product details, etc.
Element Properties for straightforward web and web design customization and fine-tuning. This involves over a thousand fonts, color presets, a color picker, over 80 layouts, video background, animation effects, as well as background, shadow, transparency, border, radius, and font properties.
Media Libraries have over three million images, thousands of templates, over 9,000 block designs, and a 2.5+ million icon collection.

Pros:

Drag-and-drop interface;
Freehand positioning;
Mobile optimization;
Animations library.

Cons:

The free version comes with limited functionality.

System Requirements

Nicepage comes as a desktop app for Windows and macOS. Nicepage plugins for WordPress and Joomla are also available. Thus, the following system requirements should be considered when downloading the software.

Windows:

Operating System: Windows 10 or later.
Processor: Intel Core i3 or equivalent.
Memory: 4 GB RAM or more.
Storage: 500 MB of free disk space.
Display: Screen resolution of 1366×768 pixels or higher.
Internet Connection: Required for software activation and access to Nicepage’s cloud-based features.

macOS:

Operating System: macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later; only 64-bit binaries are provided.
Processor: Intel Core i3 or equivalent.
Memory: 4 GB RAM or more.
Storage: 500 MB of free disk space.
Display: Screen resolution of 1366×768 pixels or higher.
Internet Connection: Required to download and activate the software as well as to get access to its cloud-based features.

Pricing

NicePage offers a free site-building software download with an unlimited Free starter Edition for individuals. However, it is rather limited. The three other paid Personal, Business and Pro plans are priced at $6.75/mo, $12.75/mo, and $18.75/mo billed annually.

TemplateToaster – Best WP Website Builder

TemplateToaster software enables users to scheme and develop templates, themes, and responsive sites without the use of coding. The desktop app is to be downloaded and installed on a PC and can be run regardless of the Internet connection.

The app supports major CMS platforms and features a drag-and-drop editor with an array of design and development tools. TemplateToaster lets you create not only CSS/HTML sites but also themes for different platforms, including Joomla, Magento, Blogger, WordPress, Drupal, Opencart etc.

Features List

If you aim to build top-notch quality sites with attractive designs yet don’t have any tech skills, the TemplateToaster website maker can be an appropriate choice, given its rich features list. Check it yourself:

WYSIWYG Editor, along with the drag-and-drop interface, stands for smooth and effortless site-building and configuration with no form of coding.
SEO and Mobility Are Superior. The software offers H1-H6 headings and structured paragraphs for SEO-friendly templates, aside from available plugins. Also, all templates are mobile-responsive, irrespective of the screen dimensions.
E-commerce tools are offered to build e-commerce sites with zero coding and programming. TemplateToaster is compatible with such remarkable E-Commerce solutions as WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop, and Virtuemart.
Compliance of Templates with Web Standards. Essentially, all templates and sites you create with TemplateToaster contain ultra-clean and concise code and are aligned with the latest web development standards, with Bootstrap and W3C, in particular.

Pros:

Ease of use thanks to drag-and-drop editor;
Compatibility with most CMS;
Perfect for theme and template designing;
Interfaces feature multiple standard websites and e-commerce platforms.

Cons:

Exclusive for Windows;
Uploaded templates are no longer editable;
Sites with free editions have brand watermarkings.

System Requirements

TemplateToaster is mainly chosen for Windows yet macOS users can still run it with the help of virtualization tools. Have a look at system requirements below.

Windows:

Operating System: 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7 (32-bit or 64-bit).
Processor: Intel Core i3 or higher (Intel Core i5 or i7 recommended for complex designs).
Memory (RAM): minimum 4 GB, recommended 8 GB or higher.
Storage: minimum 2 GB of free disk space, recommended: SSD for better performance.
Display: minimum: 1024 x 768 pixels, recommended: 1280 x 1024 pixels or higher.
Internet Connection: required for software activation and access to web-based resources.

macOS:

Operating System: macOS Monterey (12.x), Ventura (13.x), or newer.
Virtualization Software: Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion Wine (not recommended for heavy usage).
Processor: Intel Core i5 or higher (Apple Silicon with Rosetta 2 emulation also supported).
Memory (RAM): minimum: 8 GB, recommended: 16 GB or higher.
Storage: minimum: 4 GB of free disk space, recommended: SSD for faster performance.
Display resolution: minimum: 1024 x 768 pixels, recommended: 1280 x 1024 pixels or higher.
Internet Connection: required for activation and updates.

Note that experts recommend using Parallels Desktop as the preferred choice for running Windows software on macOS. In this case it can offer better integration and functionality.

Pricing

TemplateToaster can be downloaded and used for free. However, the introductory free plan will carry the brand’s watermark. As for paid plans, you only have two options: Standard Edition, with a $49 price tag, and the Professional Edition, priced at $99. Note that there’s no refund policy exploited, as the company offers a full product trial.

Mobirise – Best Block-Driven Site Builder

Mobirise offline site-building software is primarily known for its superior block-building properties. In fact, it’s a block-driven builder with which you can create complete sections of websites in one go.

The software is available on Windows, Linux, and Mac, is user-friendly, and is best for small and medium sites, landing pages, and simple web stores. If you are not familiar with the intricacies of web designing and need an effective tool for fast prototyping and small projects, Mobirise is a great choice.

Features List

Despite the simplicity of the Mobirise editor, the solution boasts a pretty large collection of features. Particularly:

Wide Template Selection, covering thousands of variants, along with the same quantity of blocks and themes, ensures you will find the perfect option for your project.
Mobile Compatibility allows building perfectly mobile responsive sites regardless of the screen size. Mobile adaptiveness is automatic. Also, Mobirise AMP will make mobile smartphone browsing as quick and effective as on desktop.
E-commerce tools involve not only respective templates but also a PayPal shopping cart with four options for business monetizing (Buy Now, Donatte, Add to Cart, and Subscribe), contact forms.
With quality SEO Extensions, you will maximize your website’s potential for Google searches.
AI Website Builder lets you generate a ready-made project with tailored content, quality images and customized layouts based on the prompts you provide.
Code Editor allows users with coding expertise to use their skills to improve their sites further. This feature not only provides more freedom over the webpage but also involves SEO extensions.

Pros:

Ease of use, given the drag-and-drop functionality;
Affordable add-ons;
Reinforced multimedia capabilities;
Immense selection of templates and blocks.

Cons:

Poor free version;
Limited features.

System Requirements

You can mostly run Mobirise on Windows and macOS yet it also has limited compatibility with Linux. Watch the system configurations below that suit your requirements.

Windows:

Operating System: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 (64-bit recommended).
Processor: Intel Core i3 or higher (recommended: i5 or i7).
Memory (RAM): minimum 4 GB, recommended: 8 GB or higher.
Storage: at least 1 GB of free disk space for installation and project file.
Display: minimum 1280 x 720, recommended: 1920 x 1080.
Internet Connection: required for updates, theme downloads and cloud publishing.

Linux (Mobirise is not officially supported on Linux but you can try running it via Wine or similar compatibility layers):

Operating System: Ubuntu 18.04 or later, Debian 10 or later, Fedora 32 or later.
Processor: Intel Core i3 or higher.
Memory (RAM): minimum 4 GB, recommended: 8 GB or higher.
Storage: at least 1 GB of free disk space.
Display resolution: minimum 1280 x 720.
Internet Connection: required for download, activation and updates.

macOS:

Operating System: macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or later.
Processor: Intel Core i3 or Apple Silicon (M1, M2 recommended).
Memory (RAM): minimum 4 GB, recommended: 8 GB or higher.
Storage: At least 1 GB of free disk space.
Display resolution: minimum 1280 x 720, recommended: 1920 x 1080.
Internet Connection: required for download, activation and updates.

Pricing

Mobirise doesn’t have the traditional tiered pricing systems that most competitors offer. Instead, the vanilla version of this offline site-building solution is free to download and use. But once you want to get the most out of the service, you must pay accordingly. Mobirise suggests purchasing individual extensions and themes, priced at $50 on average, or opting for the Website Builder Kit to access all premium themes, around 9,000 site building blocks, a PayPal shopping cart, and Code Editor widgets. You can obtain it at a $149 one-time fee.

Pinegrow – Best Option for Professional Use

The downloadable drag-and-drop design app and self-hosted WP plugin Pinegrow were developed with the requirements of professional web designers in mind. It can be used as a bespoke CMS to build and edit static HTML pages to get an intuitive and comprehensive site/content management system regardless of the niche.

Also, Pinegrow allows working faster with CSS/SASS, HTML, Bootstrap, GreenSock Interactions, Tailwind CSS, WordPress and WooCommerce.

However, Pinegrow is not the easiest of the reviewed offline site-building platforms. Although the user interface of this solution works similarly to image editing apps such as Snapseed or Photoshop, it’s more appropriate for professionals than beginners.

Features List

Being a cross-platform app running on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux, Pinegrow is richly packed with features. The primary ones are as follows:

Advanced Visual Editing Tools enable users to rearrange, modify, edit, and add diverse CSS and HTML components. Also, you can create a repeater to inject a specified code component into the chosen layout.
The Editing and Multi Review Mode lets you check how your project will perform on desktop and mobile screens. Also, the automatic examination of stylesheets will reveal probable mistakes and defects.
Element Collection is immense. It includes UI elements, buttons, code blocks, tables, and many other elements to enrich a website.

Pros:

Full freedom and flexibility for tech-savvy users;
Multiple features and visual editing tools for professional use;
Flexible payment options;
Multi Review mode;
Simultaneous multi-page editing.

Cons:

Hard-to-navigate dashboard;
Challenging to use for no coders;
Complicated pricing system.

System Requirements

Pinegrow is mostly compatible with Windows and macOS. However, users report that it can be run on Linux as well (predominantly on Ubuntu). Check out the major system requirements for each OS.

Windows:

Operating System: Windows 10 or Windows 11.
Processor: minimum 1 GHz, recommended: 2.4 GHz or higher.
Memory (RAM): minimum 2 GB, recommended: 4 GB or more.
Storage: at least 500 MB of free hard disk space.

Linux:

Operating System: Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS or 22.04 LTS.
Processor: minimum 1 GHz, recommended: 2.4 GHz or higher.
RAM: minimum 2 GB, recommended: 4 GB or more.
Storage: at least 500 MB of free hard disk space.

macOS:

Operating System: macOS 14 (Sonoma) or macOS 15 (Sequoia).
Processor: minimum 1 GHz, recommended: 2.4 GHz or higher.
RAM: Minimum 2 GB, recommended: 4 GB or more.
Storage: at least 500 MB of free hard disk space.

Pricing

Pinegrow doesn’t offer a free plan, unlike all other reviewed offline site-building solutions. Neither does it provide its products for a one-time payment. The only free offer is the Pinegrow Interactions, an add-on for Pinegrow Web Editor to extend the HTML and CSS editing features.

Instead, it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for all its plans, which get refreshed annually. So, the license you buy to use Pinegrow is provided only for one year, after which you get charged again. This refers to annual subscriptions.

The price depends on what you include in your plan. You can add Tailwind Visual Editor, WP Builder, and Shop Builder for WooCommerce. The yearly and lifetime price for the three editors is $249 (excluding the taxes), and the monthly charge will be $30 (excluding the taxes). If you opt for the lifetime package, after a year of use, you won’t receive any updates and will only have the current version of the solution at your disposal.

GrapesJS – Open Source Offline Website Builder

GrapesJS is the downloadable open source, white label, no-code website builder with the visual editor. It works great for landing pages, email and business websites. The software is tailored for tech-savvy enthusiasts as well as for professional web developers. GrapesJS features excellent performance as a headless CMS used to manage web page content and provide flexibility in different business areas.

The software ensures seamless integration with external libraries, backend systems and custom components. This compatibility makes it a powerful solution for creating professional web apps.

If you are new to website development, note that using GrapesJS will certainly require a moderate learning curve. This mostly tackles innovative customization options and overall software implication.

Features List

As an open-source and browser-based software, GrapesJS grants access to multiple features that ensure its high end performance. Have a look at them below:

Completely Customizable UI is fully-integrated, enhancing UX for seamless user experience.
Visual Page Builder makes it possible to add, rearrange and edit CSS and HTML components with special attention to details.
Access to Custom Components, Widgets and Blocks that are integrated into the system by default makes the process of website and app creation easier and faster.
Flexible Data Hosting makes it possible to choose between cloud and self-hosted options.
Integrated Style Manager ensures granular control over CSS entities, allowing for detailed design settings.
Direct Access toCSS, HTML and JS code in the editor is a must-have for professional web developers.

Pros:

Open-source, while label and highly customizable;
Multi-format support (multipage websites, landing pages, emails, newsletters etc.);
Modular architecture with plugin support;
Built-in asset manager
Code is always at hand directly in the editor.

Cons:

Takes time to explore and master;
Limited choice of templates provided ot-of-the-box;
Requires download and installation.

System Requirements

GrapesJS is mostly used for Windows and macOS yet running it on Linux is sometimes possible as well (Ubuntu recommended). Before downloading and installing the software, check the required system configurations:

Windows:

Operating System: Windows 10 or Windows 11.
Processor: minimum 1 GHz, recommended 2.4 GHz or higher.
Memory (RAM): minimum 2 GB, recommended 4 GB or more.
Storage: at least 500 MB of free disk space.

Linux:

Operating System: Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS or 22.04 LTS.
Processor: minimum 1 GHz, recommended 2.4 GHz or higher.
Memory (RAM): minimum 2 GB, recommended 4 GB or more.
Storage: at least 500 MB of free disk space.

macOS:

Operating System: macOS 14 (Sonoma) or macOS 15 (Sequoia).
Processor: minimum 1 GHz, recommended 2.4 GHz or higher.
RAM: minimum 2 GB, recommended 4 GB or more.
Storage: at least 500 MB of free disk space.

Pricing

GrapesJS is free and open-source by default. You won’t encounter any hidden costs, subscriptions or licensing fees here. To get access to advanced features, though, you will be offered to upgrade to one of premium plans (StartUp and Business). The price of a monthly subscription starts at $200, while that of an annual subscription starts at $2000. Not cheap, indeed.

Verdict

Regardless of your skill level, you will find an appropriate offline site builder from the top five solutions I have reviewed. They are all reliable, highly functional and reasonably priced. Basic sites can be created without spending a dollar, while complex ones won’t cost much.

Which option will work best for you? Nicepage and Pinegrow were created with the needs and skills of professional web developers involved in the creation of HTML sites. If you have got used to working with WordPress, then it makes sense to choose TemplateToaster for this purpose. GrapesJS is for those ready to invest in more complex projects.

Finally, Mobirise is the most popular software out of 5 investigated platforms. Users like it because of the clear interface, ease of use and AI approach. It will definitely be a good pick for beginners and web experts alike.