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In {year}, building a website is becoming easier than ever with website builders like Wix, WordPress.org and Weebly. Website builders and AI-generated tools make it easy to set up the basics of your website in a short period. This article covers how to build a website for free (or for very little cost!). We’ll cover where you can save money and when you might want to upgrade as your business grows down the line.
A website is one of the first places people turn to learn more about your business. Your website gives prospective customers a first impression, and with 30% of all business conducted online, you want to put your best foot forward. In the post-pandemic era, where more and more people are shopping online and relying on online services for convenience, it’s more important than ever to have an online presence that stands out. If you’re just starting your business and are hesitant to invest money in a website, luckily there are ways to build a website for free or for minimal cost.
To set up a website set, you’ll need two different components:
A website platform allows you to build the content and design of your website.
A website host is the platform that makes your website available on the Internet. You need a website host to publish your website and allow people to find it by entering your domain name.
Some platforms will provide both services. For example, GoDaddy allows you to set up a domain and use its website builder. But oftentimes, you can expect to set up the web host with one company and the website platform with another.
Some website builders, like Wix, Weebly and Webflow, allow you to build a website on their platform with a free plan. To build a website for free, you would choose a free website builder. For free website hosting for small businesses, you can use the company’s subdomain option (which is a URL that includes the company’s name in your domain name).
Setting up a website doesn’t need to take long, but there are multiple steps. We cover the general process and highlight where you can cut costs and potentially not pay at all.
The easiest way to build a free website is to use a website builder like Wix, Weebly, Webflow or WordPress.com. These platforms offer limited capabilities with their free plan, but you can set up a website without paying money. This is a good way to get started for free and decide if you’d like to upgrade later.
Platforms like WordPress, Wix, and Weebly give you the option to use a subdomain for free. This means the platform’s name will appear in your URL: www.yourbusinessname.wix.com. This is not ideal for many businesses because it looks less professional than owning your domain: www.yourbusinessname.com. But the good news is that you can use a subdomain for free, and if you’re just getting started you can always upgrade to the paid option down the line.
It only takes 50 milliseconds to form an opinion about a website, so you want to make sure yours looks good. One of the benefits of website builders is that they come with templates you can choose, which makes the whole design process easier and faster. For example, when you create an account with Wix, you’ll be asked many questions about what kind of website this is for. You’ll then be able to choose from dozens of templates based on your responses. Remember, you’ll end up changing the copy and images of the template, but many features of a template are fixed (such as the headers and overall design), so choose one that is as close to what you want as possible.
Website builders like Wix and Weebly allow you to share information about the type of website you want to create. When you use Wix, for example, you will select from a series of options such as “Online store,” “portfolio,” and “blog.” Wix will provide templates best suited for these website types, so you’ll already have a headstart. Then, you’ll just need to make content adjustments. Keep in mind, templates are not meant to be changed or modified drastically. If you are determined to make your website appear exactly as you envision it, you’ll probably need to work with a professional website developer (which will cost you!). However, the good news is that you can build something functional, professional and beautiful with these companies' website templates.
Photo caption: Some website builders, like Wix.com, allow users to generate designs using AI, which speeds up the initial set-up process even further.
Now that you’ve chosen the best template and subdomain name for your website, it’s time to create the content. While it may sound overwhelming to build a whole website, you can get one up and running with minimal information, and you can always add to it later.
Here are the essential website pages you’ll want to include:
A home page: This is a basic landing page for your business that should quickly give people a clear description of what your business does, which products or services you provide.
An about page: Here’s where prospective customers turn when they want to learn more. You can share the story of your business and the founders and why you created it.
A product or services page: Here’s where you’ll include information about what you’re selling and how people can buy it
A contact page: Here’s where people will click if they have questions and want to learn more. Make sure it’s easy to contact you, either with a contact form or by providing your email and/or phone number.
This guide would be incomplete without mentioning the hidden costs you may run into when setting up a free website (or even one you are paying for). It is good to be aware of these limitations before you start, so that you’re not surprised later on.
One of the potential downsides of free plans is that they will likely display external ads on your website, which can make a website appear unprofessional. Free websites also have limited storage, so if you want to upload a lot of videos on your website, you might run into issues. There are ways to work around this, such as linking to Vimeo or Youtube. If you run an e-commerce store, you may be limited to processing payments or setting up products. You can look into integrating external payment processors such as Stripe, which won’t charge you money to link (though don’t forget about payment processing fees!)
If you find your business would benefit from a custom domain, and removing ads for a more professional appearance, it is likely worth upgrading to a paid plan. When you’re selling a product or service, you want to put your best foot forward, and having a website with a ton of external ads, or one with a subdomain doesn’t make a great first impression. Paid plans typically start at around $20 per month, but the price will vary by company and specific plan.
When you’re first starting with your business, a free website may be sufficient. As you grow your business, you may need specific features like payment processing (if you’re charging people money on your website) or an email welcome series. You can do this either through integrations with other tools (for example, you can connect Stripe as a payment processor to your website) or directly on the website builder itself if they have the capability.
You may decide you need a custom domain name. If your domain name is specific enough, you can probably find one for under $20 per year.
Paid plans for website builders typically start at around $20-30 per month. But there are additional costs for tools like integrations, setting up a custom email, or being able to collect emails on your website with an opt-in. Every company will vary in how they price these additional offerings. Still, the bottom line is that if you’re using your website for a business, be prepared that you’ll likely need to upgrade to a business plan eventually.
Building a website can seem like an overwhelming process. With so many options and prices it can be hard to know where to start. Our advice is to start somewhere. Build a free website and you will quickly see if you need to upgrade or not. Collect feedback early on about how people are using your website and use it to improve. You don’t need to perfect your website before you publish it. The good news is that once you start it becomes much easier to build on what you have and keep improving.