You can build a free website on platforms like Wix, WordPress.com, Webflow (limited), Google Sites, or GitHub Pages. These services let you publish without paying, but free plans usually include platform branding, limited SEO features, constrained storage or bandwidth, and a subdomain (yourname.platform.com). For growing small businesses that need local SEO, reliability and unlimited edits, a low-cost managed solution like Congero (from $49/month) often delivers better long-term results.
We cover the strengths, hidden trade-offs, and the best use-case for each free option.
Drag-and-drop editor, lots of templates, easy to use. Great for one-off landing pages or portfolios.
Flexible blogging platform with a huge plugin/theme ecosystem — limited on the free plan.
Simple, reliable, and completely free for basic informational pages — excellent for internal or small community sites.
Serve static HTML/CSS/JS for free — ideal for developers who want full control and no vendor branding.
Design-first tool with impressive visuals. Starter plan lets you publish to a subdomain with some limits.
Free builders let you publish quickly with no upfront cost, but they often limit SEO, put ads on your site, and use subdomains. Managed solutions (like Congero) cost a small monthly fee but include domain, hosting, SEO, and unlimited done-for-you updates — a better fit for businesses that need leads.
SEE A DEMO • FREE PREVIEWUse this decision checklist to decide whether a free builder will meet your goals or if a managed service makes sense.
Start on a free plan to validate your website idea, but move to a paid or managed plan before you rely on the site for consistent lead flow — that avoids downtime or SEO limitations that can cost you customers.
Follow these steps whether you're using Wix, WordPress.com or Google Sites.
Pick Wix, WordPress.com, Google Sites, Webflow, or GitHub Pages depending on your skill-level and needs.
Choose a clean, mobile-friendly template and swap text, logo and images.
Add NAP (name, address, phone), service pages and meta titles/descriptions with your city keywords.
Publish to the provided subdomain, share on social and list your business on Google Business Profile.
Free to preview • No card required
Many free sites cost you in visibility and customer trust. Here’s what to watch for.
Congero is Australia’s AI-powered managed website service built for trades and local service businesses who need reliable leads and SEO without the headaches.
Start with a free demo and get a working site via WhatsApp in under a minute — no setup fee, no lock-in contract.
Domain registration, hosting, SSL, local SEO, unlimited text-in updates and monthly analytics are included — predictable costs and professional support.
Congero automatically handles meta tags, schema, and on-page signals so you rank for local searches that matter to your trade.
Free demo • Text-in updates • No technical skills required
Answers to the most common questions about free website builders and managed alternatives.
Yes for very small, informational use — but for lead generation, local SEO and reliability, free plans often fall short. Consider upgrading once you rely on the site for customers.
No — Google doesn't penalise free sites simply for being free. However, lower technical SEO, slow loading times and lack of schema can indirectly hurt rankings.
It depends. Some platforms make migration easy, others require content copy/paste or paid exports. Managed services like Congero include migration help and custom domain setup to avoid downtime.
Only if you accept trade-offs: either you know how to code and can use GitHub Pages, or you live with branding/ads and subdomains on commercial builders. For professional business needs, there's almost always a cost to remove compromises.
Try a free Congero demo and compare a managed, SEO-ready site vs your free builder in minutes. See a real preview of your business website — no card required.
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