Everything here is up-to-date for 2025 — actionable, tested, and tailored for service businesses and trades.
Designing a free website means using no-cost website builders, hosting tiers, or open-source platforms to create an online presence. You can publish pages, add images and contact details, and appear on search engines — often within an hour. This guide shows which tools to use, the steps to follow, SEO basics for free sites, and pitfalls to avoid.
These platforms let you build without upfront cost. Choose based on your goals: simple landing page, portfolio, or one-page business site.
Fast one-page sites, simple editor, free subdomain. Great for single-service landing pages or promos.
Limitations: no custom domain on free plan, limited SEO fields.
Free hosting for static sites (Jekyll, Hugo). Full control, no platform branding — ideal for technicians comfortable with Git.
Limitations: requires developer skills, manual SEO tweaking.
Extremely easy to set up and connects directly to your Google Business Profile. Perfect for local trades with minimal pages.
Limitations: basic design options, limited analytics and SEO control.
Drag-and-drop editors with many templates. Free tiers include platform ads and forced subdomains.
Limitations: branded footer, limited code access, and SEO controls in free plan.
Powerful CMS with many free themes. Good for blogs and content-heavy sites.
Limitations: WordPress ads and no plugins on free plan, limited monetisation.
Quick, content-focused pages and link hubs. Excellent for contact-first or portfolio use.
Limitations: not ideal for local SEO or rich schema markup.
Follow these practical steps to launch a usable, discoverable free website today.
Are you collecting leads, showing a portfolio, or publishing contact details? Pick the primary action (call, booking, or form) — it informs layout, copy and calls-to-action.
For a single page landing page pick Carrd or Google Sites. For content and blogging choose WordPress.com. For full control and no branding, use GitHub Pages + static generator if you can manage code.
Headline, 3 service bullets, trust signals (photos, testimonials), and a clear CTA (Call now / Book). Keep meta title under 60 characters and meta description ~120–155 characters including your main keyword and location.
Replace stock images with photos of your work or team. Compress images to under 300 KB, add descriptive alt text containing relevant keywords (e.g., tradie-service-city).
Consistent NAP (name, address, phone) across site and business listings, add local keywords, and link your Google Business Profile. Even free sites benefit from these signals.
Install analytics (Google Analytics or built-in) to track visits and conversions. Improve the page based on real visitor behaviour — tweak CTA text, hero photo, or top services.
Free sites are great for quick presence, but there are real limits for businesses that need predictable leads and local search performance.
Best if: You're validating a service or need a single landing page that doesn’t need advanced SEO or integrations.
Best if: You rely on your website for consistent leads, SEO visibility or need a partner to manage updates and optimisation.
Try a free demo of Congero to see a professional, SEO-ready site in 60 seconds — then decide if you keep the managed plan for $49/month with unlimited updates and local SEO included.
START FREE DEMOEven with limited features you can apply key SEO practices that improve visibility for local search.
Write unique meta titles (≤60 chars) and meta descriptions (120–155 chars) with your main keyword and target suburb or city.
Add NAP markup, embed a Google Map, and ensure your Google Business Profile is verified and linked to the site.
Link services, testimonials and contact sections together. Keep navigation simple — one or two clicks to contact is ideal.
Compress images, use descriptive file names and alt text, and lazy-load large files to save bandwidth.
Add LocalBusiness schema where possible — even simple JSON-LD improves how Google displays your business in results.
Avoid heavy scripts, use compressed images, and prefer static pages for fastest load times on limited free hosting.
Knowing these avoids wasted time and lost credibility.
A trades business launched a Carrd free page and claimed initial bookings, but struggled to scale. After switching to a managed Congero site they gained local SEO, unlimited updates via text, and doubled enquiries in 8 weeks.
Try Congero’s free demo — get a live, mobile-responsive, SEO-ready preview based on your business details. No credit card required.
START YOUR FREE DEMO NOWIf you like it, Congero’s managed plan includes domain, hosting and unlimited updates for $49/month — ideal for trades and local services.
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