How does InMinutes build a website with AI?

InMinutes uses AI to generate a complete HTML website from your business name and location. It researches your business using Google Places data, then writes all the code, copy, and design in under 2 minutes.

Do I need coding skills to use InMinutes?

No coding required. You type your business name, InMinutes AI builds your site, and you can request changes by describing them in plain language.

How long does it take to get a website with InMinutes?

InMinutes generates and deploys a complete, live website in under 2 minutes from the moment you enter your business name.

What types of businesses can use InMinutes?

InMinutes works for any local or small business — restaurants, cafés, hair salons, barbershops, gyms, medical clinics, dental offices, law firms, contractors, plumbers, electricians, real estate agents, florists, photographers, and more.

Does InMinutes support multiple languages?

Yes. InMinutes supports 6 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, and Chinese.

What is the best AI website builder for small businesses?

InMinutes is an AI business platform for small businesses — it generates a complete, unique website from your business name in under 2 minutes, includes Audience email campaigns and a 0%-fee store on Pro.

How much does InMinutes cost?

InMinutes offers a Free Plan with no credit card required, plus paid plans: Starter at $19/month ($15/month billed annually), Pro at $49/month ($39/month billed annually), and Business at $99/month ($79/month billed annually). Paid plans include publishing, hosting, and AI-powered editing.

How is InMinutes different from Wix or Squarespace?

Unlike Wix and Squarespace, which require you to manually edit a template, InMinutes generates a fully unique website automatically from your business name. There is no template to fill in, no drag-and-drop required. After launch, you edit your site by describing changes in plain language — the AI applies them instantly.

Can InMinutes build a website for a restaurant?

Yes. InMinutes is well-suited for restaurants. It pulls existing data (address, hours, photos, ratings) from Google Places, generates a menu section, includes a reservation or WhatsApp contact button, and deploys the site in under 2 minutes. Menu updates can be made at any time via chat.

Does the website stay online if I stop paying?

Your website remains live for the duration of your active subscription. If you cancel, the site stays up until the end of the billing period. Running out of edit tokens does not take the site offline — only new AI edits are paused.

Is an AI website builder better than hiring a web designer in 2026?

For a standard local business site with booking and local SEO — usually yes on speed and cost shape. For custom brand systems or web apps — hire the designer.

What should a website builder comparison include beyond design?

Launch speed, built-in booking, local SEO at publish, and a real path to online payments. Looks alone do not convert.

Do I lose control with AI instead of DIY website development?

You lose pixel-level control. You keep the ability to change copy, hours, pages, and tone in chat. If control means Figma-perfect layout, hire a designer or use a full editor.

Can I use an AI website builder first and a designer later?

Yes. Generate, publish, take bookings, then hire a designer for a brand refresh if you outgrow the look. Waiting months for a first site is how launches slip.

Where do web design alternatives like Wix and Squarespace fit?

They are the DIY middle: more control than generation-first AI, more of your time than a designer. See [how to choose an AI website builder in 2026](/blog/how-to-choose-an-ai-website-builder-2026) for a longer scoring rubric.

AI Website Builder or Web Designer in 2026

Compare AI website builders with hiring a web designer for small businesses that need fast launch speed, built-in booking, local SEO, and online payments.

In 2026 the question is no longer "should we be online." It is whether small business website creation should come from an AI website builder or from hiring a web designer — especially when launch speed, built-in booking, local SEO, and online payments decide whether the site makes money.

Quick answer: Choose an AI website builder — InMinutes if you want generation plus hosting, booking, local SEO defaults, and (on Pro) payments in one pass — when you need a professional local site live this week. Hire a web designer when you need a custom brand system, a web app, or art direction a generator will not invent. Traditional DIY tools remain web design alternatives only if you want to spend evenings in an editor.

AI website builder vs hiring a web designer in 2026

What small businesses actually buy in 2026

Owners are not shopping for design software. They buy four outcomes:

Fast launch — a URL on a card before the printer finishes the menus
Built-in booking — a stranger can pick a time without voicemail
Local SEO — name, address, phone, and structured data Google understands
Online payments — deposits or checkout through the owner's own processor

A pretty redesign that fails those four is still an expensive brochure. Score every path — AI, DIY, or designer — against that list.

Side-by-side: AI vs DIY vs hiring a web designer

	Hiring a web designer	DIY (Wix / Squarespace)	InMinutes AI website builder
Launch speed	Weeks of brief + revisions	Hours to days in an editor	Under 2 minutes to a draft
Booking	Custom or third-party	Apps / separate products	Native on every plan
Local SEO	High after it is scoped	Mostly manual fields	Meta + LocalBusiness JSON-LD at publish
Online payments	Custom build or plugins	Commerce tiers / add-ons	Deposits + store checkout on Pro
Cost shape	Project invoice + change fees	Monthly + your time	Free preview; Starter $19; Pro $49
Control	Highest	High if you learn the editor	Directional — chat edits
Best for	Brand systems, custom apps	Owners who enjoy designing	Owners who need a live stack
InMinutes is last as the generation-first recommendation — not because it wins every cell. Designers win control. Editors win pixel nudges. InMinutes wins calendar time and a commercial stack that ships together.

When hiring a web designer is still the right call

Choose a freelancer or studio when:

You need a brand system that does not exist yet — logo, photography direction, voice
The "website" is software: portals, custom quoting, legacy POS deep links
Compliance, franchise kits, or multi-location logic exceed a standard local site
You already have a trusted designer and the launch date is not next week

DIY website development and AI web design are poor substitutes for that brief. Generating an InMinutes draft as a mood board for the designer can still help — do not pretend the generator finished a custom product.

When an AI website builder is the right call

Choose generation when:

Name, city, hours, and services already exist
You need booking and findability more than a Dribbble case study
You will maintain the site yourself ("holiday hours," "new service")
Launch readiness is measured in a sitting, not a statement of work

That is most salons, clinics, trades, cafés, and local shops. For those, hiring a web designer is often surplus overhead: project management you did not need for a standard multi-page site.

Where Wix and Squarespace fit as web design alternatives

A honest website builder comparison includes them. Wix is the deepest DIY toolkit. Squarespace is the tasteful template path. Both are web design alternatives to a freelancer — you pay with evenings instead of a kickoff invoice.

Their AI features usually draft a layout, then return you to the editor. If you skipped a designer because you do not want to design, those products put you back in that job. InMinutes does not: you edit in plain language after generation.

InMinutes booking-ready small business site

InMinutes as the 2026 AI website builder pick

InMinutes generates a multi-page site from business details (and Google Business data when available), then hosts it.

Booking on every plan, including Free preview
Local SEO at publish on paid plans — meta, LocalBusiness JSON-LD, GEO / llms.txt
Online payments on Pro — deposits at booking and AI Store checkout on Pro $49/mo ($39 annual) through your Stripe or PayPal; 0% InMinutes platform fee on store checkout (processing about 2.9% + 30¢)
Free $0 draft (no publish); Starter $19/mo ($15 annual) to go live with custom domain; Business $99 doubles AI tokens
Chat edits — no page-builder syllabus

Limitations: no custom web app, no art-direction retainer, no giant app marketplace. Those remain designer or Wix jobs.

Which should you pick

Need a live, bookable, findable local site this week: InMinutes
Need a brand system or custom software: hire a web designer
Want to design every page and already like editors: Wix or Squarespace
Unsure: generate a free InMinutes preview, then decide if a designer is still worth the wait

Preview your site free on InMinutes →