The short version: Wix, Google Sites, Carrd, WordPress.com and Mailchimp all let you build a free small business website, but "free" always means a trade-off, usually a clunky URL, limited pages or no custom domain. Pick based on what you're trying to do, not which platform has the shiniest templates.
The uncomfortable bit nobody tells you upfront
Every "free website builder" list online reads the same way: here are ten tools, go pick one, good luck. What they don't say is that a free website is a starting point, not a finishing line. If you're serious about getting found on Google, selling anything, or looking credible to a client who's comparing you against three competitors, you will outgrow the free tier within about six months. That's not a reason to avoid free builders. It's a reason to pick one you can grow out of without starting from scratch.
I've watched small business owners spend a weekend building something gorgeous on a free plan, only to discover they can't connect a real domain, can't remove the platform's branding, or hit a page limit the moment they want to add a blog. So before you touch any tool, decide what the site needs to do: is it a digital business card, a place to collect leads, or a shop?
If you just need something simple and fast
Carrd is the one most people haven't heard of and should have. It's built for single-page sites, and the free plan gives you three sites, each on a carrd.co subdomain. No code, drag and drop, done in an afternoon. It's perfect for a sole trader, a local tradesperson, or anyone who needs a page with their services, a phone number and a contact form. The catch: one page only on the free tier, and you can't use your own domain without upgrading to the Pro plan, which runs about $19 a year, one of the cheapest upgrades in this whole list.
If you want something that looks like a "real" website
Wix is still the biggest name for a reason. The free plan gives you a wix.com subdomain, drag and drop editing, hundreds of templates, and enough storage for a small catalogue or portfolio. The problem is the free URL looks like yourbusiness.wixsite.com/something, which instantly signals "I didn't pay for this" to anyone who looks closely. Wix also shows its own ads on your free site, which you have no control over. If you want your own domain and no ads, the cheapest paid plan is around £10 to £17 a month depending on your country, which isn't expensive, but it's not free either.
If you want full control and don't mind a learning curve
WordPress.com (not to be confused with self-hosted WordPress.org) gives you a free plan with a wordpress.com subdomain, limited storage, and WordPress's own ads showing on your pages. It's more flexible for blogging and content than Wix, and if you ever want to migrate to a fully self-hosted WordPress site later, the move is far smoother than leaving Wix, because WordPress.com content exports into WordPress.org. That matters more than people realise: switching platforms later is one of the biggest hidden costs of "free" website building, and WordPress is the only one on this list that lets you leave without losing your content structure.
If you want it free, forever, no catch
Google Sites is the plainest option and the one most people dismiss too quickly. It's completely free, there's no page limit, it's included with any Google account, and you can connect a custom domain through Google Domains or a third-party registrar without paying Google anything extra for hosting. The templates are basic and it won't win design awards, but for a business that just needs an "about, services, contact" site with no monthly fee ever, it's hard to beat. The trade-off is SEO: Google Sites pages are notoriously slow to rank, and you have very little control over page speed or structure, both of which matter for search.
If your business is really about email, not a website
If you already run Mailchimp landing pages for email capture, you may not need a separate website at all for a soft launch. Mailchimp gives every plan, including the free one, the ability to build a landing page with a form, a product showcase, or an event sign-up, hosted on a Mailchimp subdomain or your own domain if you connect it. For a business whose main goal is building a list before a launch, this is often faster than building a full site.
A worked example: picking the right one
Say you run a small mobile dog grooming business covering three towns. You need people to find you on Google, see your prices, see photos of the van and the work, and book a slot. Here's how the decision plays out:
- Carrd would work for a one-page "who I am and how to book" site, but you'd outgrow it the moment you want a gallery page and a separate pricing page.
- Wix free gives you the gallery and pricing pages, but the wixsite.com URL on your van sticker looks unprofessional, so you'd likely upgrade within the first month anyway.
- Google Sites would be free forever and fine for information, but your competitors running paid Wix or Squarespace sites will likely outrank you in local search within a few months, because Google Sites templates are thin on the SEO basics like meta descriptions and structured headings.
- The realistic answer: start on Wix free to design it, test it for a month, then pay the roughly £12 a month to connect your own domain once you've confirmed people are finding the page. That's a smarter order than paying upfront for a domain and hosting before you know the site works.
The step-by-step for choosing without wasting a weekend
- Write down the three things the site must do (example: show services, show prices, take a booking or enquiry).
- Check whether the free plan of your chosen builder lets you add a custom domain later without rebuilding the site. Wix, WordPress.com and Carrd all allow this upgrade path. Google Sites does too, but with more manual setup.
- Build the site on the free tier first. Don't buy a domain or pay for anything until you've used the site for at least two to four weeks.
- Check page load speed using Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool before you commit long-term, because a slow free-tier site will quietly cost you visitors you'll never know you lost.
- Only then decide whether to pay for the custom domain and ad-free upgrade.
This matters because the biggest mistake I see is business owners buying a domain name and a year of hosting before they've even confirmed the site structure works for their customers. Build cheap, test, then commit money.
What free costs you
None of these builders are free in the way people assume. You're paying with one of three things: your own time learning the editor, a subdomain that looks less credible than a real one, or your visitors seeing someone else's ads on your page. If your business depends on first impressions, a dentist, a lawyer, a wedding photographer, the credibility cost of a free subdomain is often higher than the roughly £3 to £15 a month it costs to remove it. If your business is more casual or you're testing an idea before committing, the free tier is the right call and you shouldn't feel you need to rush into paying.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
One more thing worth saying plainly: a free website builder will never replace real strategy around who finds your site and why. If you're weighing up whether to build this yourself or get outside help structuring your online presence, it's worth reading about what an AI consultant for small business does before assuming you need one, because for a basic site, you often don't.
Beyond the website itself
Once the site exists, most small businesses find the bottleneck isn't the builder, it's everything around it: the visuals, the fonts, the small design choices that make a free site look deliberate rather than default. If you're choosing a typeface for headings, the guide on free sans serif fonts covers clean options that work well on any of these builders. If your business communicates with Arabic-speaking customers, the piece on free Arabic fonts is worth bookmarking, since most builder template fonts don't support Arabic script. And if part of your business involves events or signage alongside the website, the free seating chart templates post covers Canva, Fotor and Kapwing for the same free-tool-first approach.
This guide is part of my AI for Small Business: 25 Plain-English Guides to Automation, Marketing, Sales and Admin.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free website builder for a small business?
There isn't one single best option, it depends on your goal. Carrd suits a simple one-page site, Wix suits a business that needs multiple pages and a gallery, Google Sites suits anyone who wants zero ongoing cost, and WordPress.com suits a business planning to blog or grow into a fully self-hosted site later.
Can I use my own domain name with a free website builder?
Usually not for free. Most builders, including Wix and WordPress.com, require a paid plan to connect a custom domain. Google Sites is the exception, since you can connect a domain you've bought elsewhere without an extra platform fee.
Are free website builders good enough for Google search ranking?
They can rank, but free subdomains and template-heavy builders like Google Sites tend to load slower and have weaker SEO controls than paid plans, so you're at a disadvantage against competitors who've invested in a real domain and faster hosting.
How long should I stay on a free website plan before upgrading?
A reasonable test window is two to four weeks of real traffic. Build the site free, see if people engage with it, then decide whether the credibility and speed benefits of paying are worth it for your specific business.
Primary sources
Run a business, a brand or a blog? I feature tools, products and expert guest posts for an audience of 15,000. See how it works
