Choosing between the Website Builder and Advanced Website Builder

Building a website can feel like it should be simple, and with beehiiv, it can be. Every new beehiiv publication starts with a site that works right out of the box, so you can get set up and start collecting subscribers in minutes. 

From there, it's entirely up to you whether that's the site you keep, or a starting point before you build something more custom. This article walks through the two ways to build your site, the Website Builder and Advanced Website Builder, so you can figure out which one fits what you need right now, and how to move between them.

Website Builder is designed to get you a great-looking site fast, without needing any design experience. Choose from a curated set of templates, pick your colors and fonts, and you're set up and published in just a few minutes.

Website Builder is a great fit if:

• You want to get your site live quickly so you can focus on growing your audience.
• You'd rather not spend time fine-tuning design details.
• You're just getting started and want something polished without a learning curve.

Advanced Website Builder gives you a flexible, drag-and-drop editor with AI assistance, so you can customize every detail of your site exactly the way you want it.

Advanced Website Builder is a great fit if:

• You want full control over your site's layout, design, and structure.
• You have specific branding needs that go beyond templates and theme settings.
• You enjoy (or don't mind) getting into the nitty-gritty details of building a site.

You're never locked into one or the other, and only one design is live to your subscribers at a time. The other stays saved as an unpublished draft, so you can switch back and forth without losing your work, and nothing is ever deleted in the process.

1. From the left panel dashboard, go to Website.
2. The Website Builder Overview page will open. Under Want a more custom design?, choose one of the following:
   • Copy your existing design: Brings your current site's look over as a starting point in Advanced Website Builder.
   • Start with a new template: Begin fresh with a new template in Advanced Website Builder.
     
     

Your Advanced Website Builder site stays as a draft until you publish it, so your Website Builder site remains live the whole time you're working on it.

1. From the left panel dashboard, go to Website.
2. The Website Builder Overview page will open. Find the card labeled Draft design and click Edit design to re-enter Website Builder.
   
   
3. Once you're happy with your site, click Publish changes.
   
   
4. A warning will appear letting you know this will replace your current live design. It explains that publishing will replace your current live design with this one, and that your current live design will be moved to an unpublished draft so you can switch back at any time.
   Click Publish design to live to confirm.
   
   

Whichever design isn't currently live stays saved as a draft rather than being deleted, so switching back and forth is always safe. Since the two designs are kept separate, edits you make in one won't carry over to the other, so any change you want reflected everywhere needs to be made in both places.

Which experience your publication starts with depends on when it was created. Publications created on or after September 21, 2026 start on Website Builder. Publications created before that date start on Advanced Website Builder, and don’t have access to the Website Builder experience yet. 

Advanced Website Builder now requires a paid plan to publish, but only for publications created on or after September 21, 2026. If your publication already had access to Advanced Website Builder before that date, this doesn't apply to you, and you'll keep publishing access.