Business Email Cost: Google, Microsoft or Your Host
Business email costs $1 to $14 per user a month. Yearly totals for 1, 3 and 10 people at Google, Microsoft, Zoho, Fastmail and Namecheap, read 6 Nov 2026.
Small Business
How to Make a Website for Free, What "Free" Really Includes, and When to Stop
You can make a website for free today on several builders. What changes from one to the next is the small print: the web address you get, whose branding sits on your pages, and what you must pay for the moment you want your own domain. This guide reads that small print on each maker's own help pages, gives you a seven-step plan, and says honestly when a free site stops being enough. Checked 10 November 2026.
Key takeaways
- Free builders exist and work. Wix, Canva, WordPress.com and Google Sites let you publish a site without paying. Squarespace offers a 14-day trial, not a free plan.
- The catch is usually the address and the branding. A free Wix site lives at siteprefix.wixsite.com/siteaddress and connecting your own domain needs a paid plan. Canva Free shows a "Designed with Canva" footer. WordPress.com free sites show WordPress.com ads.
- Google Sites is the exception on domains. Google's help page shows how to connect a custom domain, up to five per site. You still pay for the domain itself.
- Limits are specific. Wix free: 500 MB storage and 1 GB bandwidth. Canva Free: five sites on my.canva.site and up to 10 sections per published page.
- Free is fine for testing, a hobby or a one-page event. For a business that wants customers to trust it, plan to pay for at least a domain once the site matters.
The short answer
To make a website for free: write down the one thing the site must do, pick a free builder that fits that job, start from a template, write your own words, add a way to contact you, check it on a phone, and publish on the free address. Canva suits a one-page site, Google Sites suits a simple information site and can use your own domain, Wix and WordPress.com suit people who expect to grow into a paid plan. Stop using free when you need your own domain on a builder that charges for it, when the builder's ads or branding would put customers off, or when you need features such as payments or bookings.
Who is writing: Amariq designs and builds websites, mostly paid ones, so read this knowing we have a view. Every limit below is from the maker's own help or pricing page, read on 10 November 2026. We did not build a test site on each builder for this post.
What ranks for this search, and what it leaves out
On 10 November 2026 the first page of Google (US, English) for "how to make a website for free" mixed builder home pages and guides: Google Sites, Canva, GoDaddy, Weebly and Squarespace, a Forbes Advisor step-by-step guide (16 September 2026), Reddit and Quora threads, and long YouTube tutorials on building a "100% free" WordPress site with a free domain.
The builder pages each say "free" about themselves. The guides give steps. What a reader still has to dig out on their own: how the free plans differ on the three things that matter to a business (the address, the branding and what forces an upgrade), and a clear point at which free stops being the cheaper choice. That is what this guide adds.
What each free option really gives you
| Builder | Free plan? | Web address on free | Branding or ads on free | Key limits on free | What you pay for first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Yes, up to 999 free sites | siteprefix.wixsite.com/siteaddress | Wix ads (removed by upgrading) | 500 MB storage, 1 GB bandwidth | A plan to connect your own domain |
| Canva | Yes, on Canva Free | A my.canva.site address | "Designed with Canva" footer, cannot be removed on Free | 5 sites on the free domain; publish up to 10 sections per page; up to 45 pages | Canva Pro (or Teams or Education) for a custom domain |
| WordPress.com | Yes | A WordPress.com address | WordPress.com ads shown to visitors | Plugins need a paid plan, per its pricing page | The Personal plan removes ads and includes a domain for the first year |
| Google Sites | Free with a Google account | A Google Sites address | None found on the help page we read | Custom domains: up to five per site | Only the domain itself, bought from a registrar |
| Squarespace | No, a 14-day free trial | Trial site | Not applicable | Trials expire after 14 days; one 7-day extension can be requested | A paid plan to publish |
Sources, all read on 10 November 2026: Wix "Building a Website for Free" help page; Canva Websites overview and publishing help; WordPress.com pricing page; Google Sites "Use a custom domain" help page; Squarespace trial help pages. We have left prices out of this table on purpose: several of these makers show different prices by country, and the free tiers are what this guide is about.
Two smaller details that catch people:
- Wix: you cannot change the template once a site is created, according to Wix's help page. You can start a new site with another template instead.
- Canva: sites built from the mobile or link-in-bio templates publish to a canva.link address only. Use a Website template if you want a proper site address.
Which free builder fits which job
| Your job | Good free fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A one-page event, launch or portfolio | Canva | Fast to design, one page is its strength |
| A simple information site for a club, class or small team | Google Sites | Plain, quick to edit, and you can add your own domain |
| A small business site you expect to grow | Wix or WordPress.com | Easy path to a paid plan with your domain later |
| A blog | WordPress.com | Built for posts, categories and readers |
| You want to try Squarespace's design | Squarespace trial | 14 days to decide, but you pay to publish |
| You or a friend can write HTML | A static host | See our free website hosting guide for what each host allows a business |
A seven-step plan for a free website
- Write down the one job. "Get enquiries for my cleaning business" or "Share the dates for our tournament". Every later choice follows from it.
- Pick the builder from the table above.
- Start from a template close to your job. Change the colours and fonts later; get the structure right first.
- Write your own words. Say who you help, where, and how to reach you, in the first screen. Our homepage design ideas show what to put there.
- Add a clear way to contact you. A phone number, an email address or a form. Our contact page guide covers what to include.
- Check it on your phone. Most visitors will see it there first. Tap every button.
- Publish, then tell Google. Publish on the free address, then add the site to Google Search Console. Our guide to getting found on Google explains the first checks.
When to stop using free
A free site is a fine start. These are the signs it has become the expensive choice.
| Sign | Why it matters | Usual next step |
|---|---|---|
| You are printing the address on a van, a card or an invoice | A builder subdomain is hard to remember and looks temporary | Buy a domain and connect it. See what a domain name costs |
| The builder's ads or badge appear next to your offer | Visitors may not trust a business that does not own its page | Move to the builder's first paid plan, or a builder without forced branding |
| You want an email address at your own name | A domain is needed first. See our business email cost guide | Buy the domain, then the email |
| You need payments, bookings or a shop | These are usually paid features | Compare the paid plans, or see our ecommerce website cost guide |
| You hit a limit: pages, sections, storage | Free plans cap these, as the table shows | Upgrade, or rebuild on a better fit |
| Enquiries matter to your income | Design and words decide whether visitors contact you | Consider a designed site. See how much a website costs |
The domain is usually the first and smallest cost. On Google Sites it is the only one: you buy the domain and connect it for free. On Wix and Canva you need a paid plan as well before your own domain will work.
Mistakes to avoid on a free site
- Building on someone else's domain for years. If you later move, links and search history stay with the old address. If you will need a domain, get it early.
- Copying the template's sample text. Placeholder words and stock claims make a site look unfinished. Write your own.
- Using photos you do not have rights to. Use your own photos or the builder's licensed library.
- Forgetting the legal pages. If you collect names or emails, you likely need a privacy policy. See our privacy policy guide.
- Never checking on a phone. Free templates can still break on small screens if you add long words or wide images.
Free versus paid: an honest view
A free site costs time instead of money. For a hobby, an event or a test, that is a good trade. For a business, the question is not whether free works, but what the free version says to a new customer and how much time it takes you to get it right. Many owners start free, learn what they need, and move to a paid plan or a designer once the site starts bringing in work. That path is sensible. The one to avoid is a free site that quietly puts customers off for years because nobody checked how it looked to them.
How Amariq can help
If you have built a free site and want it to bring in work, send us the address and we will tell you what we would change first. If you are ready for a designed site, we build on Webflow, Framer, WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace or a custom stack, and we can keep your content and move your domain. Each project is priced from its scope, never by the hour, with 40% to start, 30% at design approval and 30% before launch. Once the final payment is made, the design, copy and code belong to you, and your domain, hosting and analytics accounts sit in your name. See our web design service.
Frequently asked questions
Can I really make a website for free?
Yes. Wix, Canva, WordPress.com and Google Sites let you publish without paying. Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial instead of a free plan.
Can I use my own domain on a free website?
On Google Sites, yes: its help page shows how to connect up to five custom domains to a site. On Wix you need a paid plan, and on Canva you need Canva Pro, Teams or Education.
What is the best free website builder?
It depends on the job. Canva for one page, Google Sites for a simple information site with your own domain, Wix or WordPress.com if you expect to upgrade later.
Do free websites have ads?
Some do. WordPress.com says free sites show WordPress.com ads to visitors. Wix says upgrading removes Wix ads. Canva Free shows a "Designed with Canva" footer.
Is a free website good enough for a business?
For a test or a very small start, yes. Once customers judge you by the site, a domain of your own and no builder branding usually pay for themselves.
How long does it take to make a free website?
A one-page site can take an afternoon. A small business site with your own words and photos usually takes a few days of work, mostly writing.
Bing Webmaster Tools Setup for Small Business Sites
How to set up Bing Webmaster Tools for a small business site: add and verify, sitemap, IndexNow and the AI Performance report. Bing pages checked 8 Nov 2026.
robots.txt Explained: What It Does and What to Put In
What robots.txt does and does not do, sample files for a business site, AI crawler names, and where to edit it on your platform. Checked 10 Nov 2026.