A custom website lends legitimacy to any enterprise yet costs can deter small business owners. This guide examines the best free website builder options for startups and small businesses to establish an online presence on a budget.
Table of Contents
Benefits of a Website for Small Businesses
While not mandatory, beneficial website capabilities include:
- Central online destination – Consolidate company info, offerings, contact options in one place.
- Broader visibility – Get discovered via search engines and directory listings.
- Credibility – Demonstrates an established, tech-savvy operation.
- Lead generation – Capture visitor info through newsletter signups, contact forms etc.
- Customer support – Provide details like FAQs, user manuals, live chat.
- Branding – Stylize site with logo, messaging and colors reinforcing identity.
- Marketing – Promote services through content like blogs and email opt-ins.
Carefully consider core goals before investing extensive time customizing free website builders. Focus energy on differentiators, not just creating a generic placeholder.
Do Small Businesses Really Need a Website?
For bootstrapped startups and simple operations, a website becomes essential when:
- Selling products or services directly online.
- Establishing thought leadership through content publishing.
- Enabling bookings, inquiries and leads online.
- Facilitating customer support interactions.
- Presenting extensive visual portfolio like design services.
- Promoting offline businesses like appointment-based services.
If most of your transactions occur offline or through separate online channels, free website builders may suffice for supplemental basic online presence.
Risks and Downsides to Free Website Builders
While seemingly attractive, free website builder options pose some risks:
- Limited customization – Constrained templates and integration options.
- Ongoing upsell – Constant nudges to upgrade to paid plans. Annoying limitations.
- Required Commerce Upgrades – Extra fees enable basic ecommerce capabilities.
- Ads on Site – Intrusive owner-supplied or third-party ads distract visitors. Some even inject cookies for ad targeting.
- Subdomain URL – Less professional appearance using subdomain versus custom URL.
- Branding Restrictions – Limited ability to customize design closely matching brand guide. Constrained templates.
Data Portability – Difficult extracting content from some providers later if switching platforms.
Evaluate if inconveniences of free platforms undermine brand and revenue opportunities long term.
What is the Catch with Free Website Builders?
Common limitations to expect with free website builder plans for small businesses:
- Limited page count – 5 to 15 pages typically
- Mandatory footer branding attribution
- Restricted templates and elements
- Minimal custom CSS modifications
- Capped monthly visitors – 500 to 3,000 range
- No search engine submission
- Required ads
- Less customer support
- Encouraged upgrades like “premium” badges
- Spotty uptime
As the saying goes, you usually get what you pay for. Thoroughly test-drive any free web builder option before public launch.
Do Free Website Builders Look Unprofessional?
Some characteristics can give free website builders an amateur appearance:
- Subdomain URL – YourSite.providername.com signals small operation.
- Unsophisticated design – Limited custom templates with commercial appearance.
- Required branding – Mandatory footer attribution undermines branding.
- Ads – Cheapens feel and can be intrusive.
- Self-promotion popups – Overeager offers for platform upgrades appear spammy.
- Lightweight content – Thin pages give an incomplete first impression.
Maximize use of customizable elements brands provide. Or if needing fuller creative control and custom domain, explore lowest-cost shared hosting plans starting around $60 annually.
Hidden Costs of Free Website Builders
Look for the following ways basic “free” plans nickel and dime businesses:
- Transaction fees – Paying to enable ecommerce capabilities like shopping carts
- Premium themes – Pushing paid templates to unlock ideal designs
- Email fees – Charging extra for custom email accounts
- Domain registration – DNS management charges to use custom domains
- Visitor limits – Overages if exceed monthly site visitor threshold
- Support fees – Charging for live chat and phone assistance
- Vertical apps – Add-ons for booking, leads etc carry monthly fees
Sufficient for personal sites, but weight total costs against value for business purposes.
Do You Need a Custom Domain for Credibility?
Using your free provider subdomain (yoursite.providersite.com) is permissible when:
- Testing an idea before full website investment.
- Planning to transition to paid provider plans eventually.
- Operating local brick-and-mortar business with existing name recognition.
But invest in a custom domain when:
- Website is primary online presence.
- Establishing thought leadership and personal brand.
- Running ecommerce operation.
- Targeting media opportunities.
A proper domain builds credibility. But start with free subdomains to validate websites before committing funds on unproven concepts.
Can Free Website Builders Be Used for Ecommerce?
Limited ecommerce capabilities available on free plans:
- Accept payments through third-party integration like PayPal
- Minimal product inventory management
- Lack shipping calculators and label printing
- iPhone app creation requires upgrade
Ecommerce on free plans works only for simplest implementations like small eBay or Etsy complement stores. Any sizable product catalog or order volume necessitates upgraded paid plans or standalone platforms like Shopify.
Building an Effective Free Website
Tips for maximizing free website builder plans:
- Convey credibility – Show real business info like addresses, licenses, founder bios, years in business.
- Spotlight strengths – Feature achievements, testimonials, case studies proving capabilities.
- Guide visitors – Use clear, prominent calls-to-action, navigation, page transitions.
- Mobile optimization – Menus, buttons and layouts tailored for smaller screens.
- Contact forms – Easy visitor contact process drives lead generation.
- Clear messaging – Strong taglines, headlines and consistent branding throughout.
Quality images – High-resolution photos presenting professionalism.
Though limited by templates, inject differentiation and priority information where possible.
Do Free Website Builders Look Cheap?
Downsides of some design elements:
- Excessive ads – Appear overly promotional
- Cluttered pages – Too much content with poor whitespace usage
- Amateur stock photos – Generic, watermarked or dated pictures
- Short pages – Sparse content signals low effort
- Mismatched fonts – Inconsistent typography
- Overly animated elements – Distracting movements
- Left-aligned text – Uneven ragged edges scan poorly
- Outdated templates – Seem behind aesthetic trends
While not always possible to change, minimizing adverse elements helps raise credibility. Prioritize clean, focused presentation.
Can You Publish Articles on Free Website Builders?
Limited blogging capabilities on free plans:
- Post articles but minimal formatting options
- No built-in SEO customizations like meta tags
- Ad injections between paragraphs
- Restricted templates undermine branding
- Difficult content migration if switching platforms
- Comment and discussion features disabled
- Analytics limited or nonexistent
Free website builders marginally work for basic blogging. But content creators need more robust CMS tools justifying paid plans or platforms like WordPress.
Suitable Types of Businesses for Free Website Builders
“Free” works best for simple informational sites supporting:
- Local service businesses – plumbing, cleaning, fitness
- Offline retail – Directions, hours, basic shop info
- Restaurants – Menus, reservations, order takeout
- Professional profiles – Contact, experience, portfolio
- Small hobby sellers – Containing supplemental info
Prioritize custom development budgets on sites central to conducting business. Use free to casually augment physical oroffline channels.
Top Free Website Builders for Small Businesses
Wix
- 500MB storage
- 10 published pages
- Ad banner required
WordPress.com
- 3GB storage
- Custom CSS disabled
- Video uploads limited
Weebly
- 500MB storage
- Site branding on pages
- 15 published pages
Squarespace
- Limited templates
- 2 weeks free trial
- Paywalls advanced features
Webador
- 100MB storage
- 5 page sites
- Major template restrictions
Always review latest terms. Features fluctuate frequently with free site builders.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Committing to a Free Website Builder
- Does the site template match my industry and branding?
- What key info do I need to publish online?
- Will ongoing limitations hamper site goals?
- Are visitors capped based on business model needs?
- Does storage accommodate multimedia needs?
- Can I test the builder adequately before launch?
- Will support meet business requirements if issues arise?
- Is there a clear growth path as needs evolve?
Avoid shortsighted selections lacking longer term scalability if business takes off.
Warning Signs to Avoid with Free Site Builders
Don’t work with platforms displaying these red flags:
- Bad privacy and security practices
- Overwhelming unusable site builder editor
- Rife with annoying upsells and constant popups
- Primarily serves intermediary domain registration role
- Requires excessive customer information just to signup
- Associated with numerous bad reviews and complaints
- Lack of online instructions and documentation
Your brand perception will suffer if hosted on an unprofessional platform. Thoroughly vett.
Specialized Free Website Builders
Alternative free platforms suited for specific needs:
Blogs
- WordPress.org (self-hosted open source)
- Blogspot
- Tumblr
- Medium
Portfolios
- Behance
- Dribbble
- Carbonmade
Ecommerce
- Shopify Lite – Basic sales features but requires payment processor
- Ecwid – Adds cart to sites. Transaction fees.
Business Tools
- Google Sites – Integrates with Workspace apps
- Microsoft SharePoint Sites – Syncs with Office suite
Match website builder strengths to the priority business functions needing online presence.
Should I Just Use Social Media Instead of a Website?
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram work for basic brand building but lack key website benefits:
- Central hub consolidating company information
- Ability to publish extensive content like blogs, resources
- Custom branding and design control
- Lead generation opportunities like newsletter signups
- Site functionality like contact forms, calls-to-action etc
- Owned media channel not subject to platform algorithm changes
Websitesremain essential business infrastructure. Social supplements brands but should not serve as the only online presence.
Key Takeaways for Creating Free Small Business Websites
- Focus on primary brand, products and contact information
- Keep design and navigation extremely simple
- Minimize overpromotion – avoid free site appearance
- Guide visitors to conversion goals like contact forms
- Use high-quality branding assets like logos
- Leverage multimedia but stay within bandwidth limits
- Show credibility via customer evidence, bio details etc
While templates limit customization, make the most of available elements to convey professionalism.
The Bottom Line on Free Website Builders for Small Business
Free website builders provide an affordable starting point gaining basic online presence. But growth ambitions demand paid plans or standalone hosting supporting customization and scalability. Before overinvesting in a free site, align expectations to key business needs, branding, content plans and potential limitations. For many bootstrapped startups and simple entities, free builds adequate foundations while paying customers and revenue justifies fuller platforms.
