Today, every business, big or small, needs an online presence. A primary website is what caters to this requirement. A web platform with a free website builder helps you get one up quickly. Forbes.com says: “Globally, 71% of businesses have a website in 2023. More than 28% of businesses conduct online activities, and more than 43% of small businesses plan to invest in their website performance.”
Mobile phones’ capability to quickly access websites may prove costly for a business without a website. It may be vulnerable to competitors’ grabbing opportunities.
Today, thanks to technology, building a website is not a non-affordable thing. Yet, it may cut into the limited budgets of small businesses. This article aims to help such enterprises build their websites with a limited budget or entirely free.
Let’s look at a few web platforms that offer free website builder. These offer web design templates too. Let’s understand how to design a free website.
1. WordPress.com
WordPress constitutes over 50% of the total websites built worldwide. There won’t be any web professional who doesn’t know WordPress.
WordPress is a preferred choice for many. It offers free plugins, templates/themes, and customization options. Website builders like Elementor and Divi make website building easy. They have simple and easy-to-use drag-and-drop features.
You can purchase a domain name and hosting space and build your website on WordPress. It will save you the cost of paying a professional to create it. The free version comes with a subdomain (e.g., yourwebsite.wordpress.com).
You can learn WordPress here:
- WPCrafter – WordPress For Non-Techies
- Tyler Moore
- Darrel Wilson
- Elementor Page Builder for WordPress
- WP Beginner
2. Wix.com
Wix is another free-to-use web development platform. It offers extensive templates, which are beautiful and align with modern trends.
Like WordPress, Wix also offers a free plan with a Wix-branded domain (e.g., yourwebsite.wixsite.com). A total of 250M+ worldwide users trust Wix.
Wix is now quickly becoming a popular option for creating websites with simple-to-use features. One can launch a website within minutes with Wix.
The newly introduced Wix Studio is yet another advanced arm of Wix to help professionals to:
- Deliver the best quality websites to clients with advanced tools and features.
- Manage all sites, templates, and apps from a single workspace for teams.
Here are a few YouTube channels to start your Wix journey.
3. Weebly – easy-to-use free website builder
Weebly is known for its user-friendly platform. It also offers a free plan with a Weebly-branded domain, e.g., yourwebsite.weebly.com. It provides a simple drag-and-drop builder with various themes.
Users can build their website by accessing customizable webpage designs. Weebly offers numerous practical tools to help users build websites and grow their business online.
Weebly is now a part of the Square product suite. It helps you set up payment gateways on your website, allowing customers to pay in a way convenient to them.
The following YouTube channels have extensive training with Weebly.
4. Strikingly:
Opt for the free plan with Strikingly-branded domain, i.e., yourwebsite.strikingly.com. Strikingly offers a one-page website option. Anyone can build a website within 10 minutes with Strikingly’s drag-and-drop features.
All templates of Strikingly support e-commerce, blogs, forms, live chat, memberships, and many other helpful features. The mission of Strikingly is to equip every other business with a website.
Strikingly offers a free domain with the pro-plan.
Training yourself on Strikinglly with the following YouTube channels:
5. Google Sites:
Google Sites is best for creating basic websites. It’s a part of Google Workspace and offers a free website builder. Google doesn’t offer advanced features. However, it provides enough options to bring your website online.
You can access Google Sites with your Google account. The template gallery of Google Sites provides you with plenty of web design templates to start with. Building a website with Google Sites is easy with the readymade content blocks, which you can drag and drop on your web page.
Otherwise, you can start with a blank template and create your unique design from scratch. The free website at Google comes with a URL address: https://sites.google.com/view/yourwebsite.
You can learn more about Google Sites on the following YouTube channels.
6. Webflow:
Webflow allows a high level of customization with its advanced options. Free plan comes with a Webflow subdomain, e.g., yourwebsite.webflow.io. Webflow is best for those who want more control over design and interactions.
Webflow allows you to:
- Fully customize your page structure
- Design a website exactly the way you want
- Create intricate and rich animations
- Create pages rich in content
- Go live quickly
Start learning Webflow with the following YouTube channels.
7. Jimdo:
Jimdo also provides a free plan with Jimdo-branded domain, e.g., yourwebsite.jimdosite.com. Build professional websites with Jimdo. It is easy to set up and offers numerous free website templates.
Working with Jimdo is fun with its intuitive drag-and-drop building tools.
You can learn Jimdo at the following YouTube channels:
FAQs
No, there are no hidden charges with the free plans.
Yes, you can update the website content daily.
Yes, you can upload all videos and images to these websites. However, it’s wise to consider copyright issues before using third-party content.
Conclusion
Having a website online is a necessity today. Delaying a website for business purposes may affect your business badly in today’s digital world.
There might be many reasons for not having your website online. It may be a lack of time, lack of funds, or non-availability of professionals at hand. However, now that you know the platforms where you can create one with a free website builder.
Eventually, once you begin, you will learn the game and perfect your website. However, a free website doesn’t add brand value. Therefore, purchasing a domain name related to your business name makes sense.
Once you are confident of getting incoming traffic to your website, you can migrate your website to a professional hosting platform.