Having a powerful and trusted online presence is essential for any business, regardless of its size and niche specialization. A business website serves as a virtual storefront, letting you connect with potential customers, showcase your products or services, build customer base and establish credibility.
As a small business owner, however, you might wonder if it’s possible to create a professional website without breaking the bank. The good news is that this is possible due to website builders and content management systems (CMS) that offer free web design options.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the purpose, goals and advantages of a business website, delve into the choice between website builders and CMS, and provide step-by-step instructions on how to create a free small business website. As a result, you will be well-informed to be able to make an unbiased decision and launch your online presence successfully.
A Business Website: Purpose, Goals and Advantages
The primary purpose of any business website is to establish an online presence, letting potential customers find information about the company, its products or services, location and other related data. This platform basically acts as an intermediate between customers/partners and an entrepreneur, helping enhance brand recognition, facilitate eCommerce transactions and provide valuable resources and content to visitors.
Setting clear business goals matters a lot as well. As a company owner, you may have an intention to expand the customer base, increase revenue via online sales, build brand awareness and improve customer engagement rate. By having a clear vision of what the website aims to achieve, you can tailor your online strategies and effectively measure success.
Another significant advantage of having a business website is its ability to reach a global audience 24/7. Unlike physical storefronts that have limited opening hours, a website is accessible any time, letting potential customers interact with the business when required.
Finally, a business website can serve as a powerful marketing tool that can make your business thrive. It enables companies to showcase their products or services through multimedia elements like images, videos and interactive solutions. Social media integration also allows for easy content sharing, thus spreading the word about your business.
Apart from obvious advantages of having a small business website such as reaching a worldwide audience or having your customers aware entrepreneurs get full access to a fully customizable platform featuring flexibility in the face of the latest mobile technologies.
So, if you currently have an idea to get started with your business website, your next step will be picking the most affordable platform. Is it possible, though, to get a site absolutely for free? Let’s find that out below.
Is It Possible to Create a Small Business Website for Free?
In theory, it is. But when it comes to real market conditions, users will clearly understand how free services can be even to the detriment of the project development especially in the long run. The main downsides of using free services to build a business website are as follows:
- Free Features are not enough – free plans come with baseline options. For example, some website builders limit access to theme collection, add-ons, or even page components. You may not even be able to place a contact form box or Features section to highlight the company’s key benefits.
- Custom Domain – a free domain will never let your business grow. Besides, it may have a negative effect on the website SEO and search engine ranks not mentioning users’ recognition.
- Zero eCommerce Options – you will never find a free plan that offers at least minimal eCommerce functionality. As a rule, selling features are available in premium plans. So, you will not be able to create an online shop with a free plan.
- Hidden Costs – when you finally realize a free plan will never work out, you will need to pay for a premium plan or even switch to another platform. A few services offer migration services or website export/import. In other words, you will need to do everything from the start.
Website Builder vs CMS: Which One to Pick for Your Business Website?
Availability of innovative website builders and CMS platforms eliminates the need to hire a web design expert or a coder. These systems are generally easy to use, letting you come up with a solid online representation within a couple of hours.
At the same time, website builders and CMS have a number of distinctions that refer to their complexity, ease of customization, flexibility, degree of knowledge required, affordability etc. thus, it makes sense to discuss the pros and cons of both software types to see which of them works best for you.
Website Builders
As a rule, website builders offer an intuitive interface that is easy to understand. The platforms are followed by detailed tutorials and extended customer support. They proved to be a cost-effective solution as well as offering a simple step-by-step web building process without coding.
Website Builders Pros: | Website Builders Cons: |
| ✔ Simple Editing – they are very easy to use. The software was designed to help non-technicians build a great site in no time at all. Some platforms follow the latest web technologies introducing AI-based instruments. ✔ Great Design – website builders usually come with a diverse selection of templates for any field or niche. Whether you need a stunning portfolio, professional business card or an up-to-date digital store, you will find it here. ✔ Flexibility – a selection of add-ons, widgets and third-party integrations makes the customization process easy and fat. Users can create a unique style for higher customers’ engagement. ✔ Cheap Plans – You can choose from a plan that meets your requirements. Once you have subscribed, you will no longer worry about hosting, domain, security and other issues. You pay once and for all. | ✘ Limited Customization Capabilities – the platform comes with some code editing restrictions although some builders provide an access to CSS. ✘ No Import Option – once you have chosen a platform, you need to stick to it for good with no chance to transfer your website to another platform, or CMS. |
Content Management Systems (CMS)
CMS platforms are programs designed to create functional websites of different types. They let users handle the web building process for different needs including small business or eCommerce. The software is functional enough with an array of functions to implement. Most platforms come with an easy editing process though plugin integration and customization still requires some technical skills.
CMS Pros: | CMS Cons: |
| ✔ Advanced Flexibility – you can choose from hundreds of plugins, modules, and widgets for any taste; ✔ Advanced SEO Features – CMS platforms reserve much space to fine-tune your website’s SEO. You are not limited to meta titles and descriptions only but can work on the content making it more relevant and suitable for search engines. ✔ Extended Editing – a full access to website’s PHP and CSS lets users edit practically each and every element creating a stunning design to stand out. ✔ Affordability – opting for CMS is a more cost-effective decision considering lower hosting and domain costs. The handicap will be terminated once you hire a professional developer or get addicted to paid premium themes and plugins. | ✘ Difficult to Use – They are much more difficult to use if compared to website builders. The lack of technical and coding skills may result in serious stumbling blocks. ✘ Not All-in-One – you need to take care of several things at the same time apart from the building process. You need to register and prolong the domain name as well as take care about hosting for the site. |
To sum it all up, website builders are generally easier to use yet they may lack functionality when it comes to setting up complex projects. CMS, in their turn, are more full-featured and provide advanced design customization solutions. However, it takes time and effort to master them. This may be a challenge for non-techies.
Website Builders That Allow to Create a Business Website for Free
The list of website builders to be used for small business website creation may be quite long. We have picked 5 best tools that are currently the most popular and feature-laden. Here they go.
SITE123 – Easy Way to Build a Free Business Website
| Product Name: | SITE123 |
| Official Website: | site123.com |
| Complexity: | Super easy |
| Free Plan: | Yes |
| Premium Plan: | From $10.80/mo |
| Founded: | 2015 |
| Headquarters: | Israel |
SITE123 – is a fast and easy way to build a free business website from scratch. The system has distinguished itself as one of the simplest and most affordable platforms for DIY website creation. It is known for its intuitive web design approach, abundance of free templates and multiple high end design customization tools to give your project personalized look. What’s important, the website builder does not require an obligatory coding background yet it works great for starting all types of web projects, including small business websites. SITE 123 highlights include:
- App Market – The website builder makes it possible to choose from multiple free and paid extensions available in its collection. There are multiple business apps you can integrate into your website to give it the required niche focus. These include Analytic Tools, Online Forms, Live Chat Support, Social Marketing Tools, Galleries, Booking etc. Use the search filter option to simplify the choice of the required app.
- Free Designs – SITE123 boasts quite an extensive collection of free responsive designs divided into several categories. Business themes are available here as well. A range of flexible customization tools allows giving your project a touch of personalization.
- Multilingual Tool – The tool allows creating websites in different languages to make them accessible to international users. Depending upon the terms of your pricing plan, the number of languages you can use for your website can be up to 5, which increases your project performance.
- Blogging and eCommerce – With SITE123, you can set up and manage quality blogs and online stores, depending upon your business specialization. It takes around a few hours to get started with your project here.
- Logo Maker – The platform allows designing your own business logo (if you don’t have the one) and integrating it into your website for maximum brand promotion.
- Customer Interaction Tools – SITE123 grants access to multiple customer interaction tools, which matters a lot for managing different types of businesses. The most popular features include Schedule Booking, Restaurant Reservations, Ticket Selling etc.
The website builder has a free plan, which works great for testing its baseline features. To get access to more advanced tools and features, you will have an opportunity to upgrade to one of premium subscriptions. There are 4 of them here, with the most affordable subscription costing $10.80 per month.
Summing Up: SITE123 works equally great for non-coders and web design pros. This is a nice pick for small business websites due to the availability of niche tools and features.
Wix – The Best Small Business Website Builder
| Product Name: | WIX |
| Official Website: | wix.com |
| Complexity: | Very easy |
| Free Plan: | Unlimited |
| Premium Plan: | from $22/mo |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Headquarters: | Israel |
Wix – is a multi-purpose website builder that is perfect for newbies with no technical skills. It offers an array of stylish and responsive templates for small business and eCommerce. They are easy to edit or customize with a set of built-in features and integrations. The platform comes with extra SEO and marketing tools to promote your business, integrations for page customization, and AI-drive technology to create ready-to-go projects in minutes. The major business-related features of the system include:
- Wix Ascend CRM – a tool for business marketing and customer management. It offers instruments to capture leads and turn them into paying clients. Users will be able to improve customers’ loyalty and manage business communications via LIve Chat, effective SEO strategy, and other built-in features to engage with the target audience.
- AI-Based Website Builder – the platform follows the latest technologies and offers its AI-driven solution. It is able to create a ready-to-go website in less than 10 minutes. It will have all the necessary integrated options following your business niche and preferences.
- eCommerce Features – those who want to sell products online, will appreciate a set of Wix merchant tools. They include eCommerce-oriented templates, seamless payment integration, intuitive product management system, instruments to create special deals and promotions.
- Wix App Store – an ultimate marketplace for users who need to connect third-party services that may include email marketing tools, analytics and metrics, security features, image galleries, user acquisition forms, and more.
- Business Templates – Wix comes with over 800 templates available in its collection. All of them are responsive, customizable, free and niche-specific. Users can create different layouts and use them any time you need thanks to Wix Dynamic Pages. For example, you can create a template for the product page and use it for various items over and over again without manual editing.
Wix has an unlimited free plan, which is great. You will have a chance to test the editor and some other baseline features. But it will never work for a live and long-running project, as it has a limited tool option without a chance to connect your own domain. So, to launch a solid website, Wix offers several types of plans included in its Website and Business/eCommerce subscriptions. The cost starts at $22 per month.
To make the plans more affordable to new subscribers, Wix frequently offers discounts and special offers. The system makes it possible to save up to 50% of the initial cost of its plans when signing up from Tuesday to Thursday on a weekly basis. If you are not satisfied with the selected plan for some reason, there is the 14-day money back guarantee.
Summing Up: Wix was designed to create websites of any type. It is a good solution for small business sites as well as offering a whole pack of features and editing tools for non-technicians.
Weebly – Simple Small Business eCommerce Platform
| Product Name: | Weebly |
| Official Website: | weebly.com |
| Complexity: | Average |
| Free Plan: | Yes |
| Premium Plan: | From $10/mo |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Headquarters: | USA |
Weebly – is a simple small business eCommerce platform, which is a great choice for running feature-rich projects without a line of code. The platform comes with a drag-and-drop editor, which ensures hassle-free and easy web design process. Advanced eCommerce functionality contributes to the development of feature-laden web stores, although creation of other projects is also possible here. The list of Weebly advantages includes:
- Blogging – The website builder was initially created as a blogging platform, which explains the diversity of tools, designs and features it offers to launch this type of projects.
- Business Templates – Weebly offers three web design options to its subscribers. It is possible to use one of the pre-designed themes, select and customize a template on your own or get a brand new template from the system developers.
- eCommerce – The platform has acquired a strong eCommerce focus after its merge with Square in 2018. It now allows creating small and complex online stores, using a set of integrated eCommerce features/tools.
- Weebly Marketing Tools – The website builder comes with Weebly Promote Tool, which helps improve your business email marketing campaign. It automatically generates messages, using the data on user activity. The tool has a set of pre-designed templates that can be used for diverse types of emails.
- Hosting Options – Weebly allows publishing and storing videos in two ways. You can either upload your file to YouTube platform and other video hosting services or add it directly to Weebly hosting, where it will be automatically displayed on your project.
- App Center – The system grants access to multiple integrable applications and services you can add to your website when required.you can choose from versatile extensions, such as LiveChat, PinPoll, Call-Out-Box and more.
The website builder has an affordable and understandable pricing policy. Everyone will find a plan to use here with regard to niche specialization, personal requirements and budget. The system has a free plan that works well for testing the system, but it’s still not enough to design more feature-rich projects with it. If you expect deeper flexibility and more advanced features, you can decide to upgrade to one of premium subscriptions. The most affordable of them costs $10 per month.
Summing Up: Weebly website builder boasts a strong eCommerce focus, diversity of templates and abundance of business tools. These features make the platform a great pick for this type of projects, which can be easily created equally by beginners and web design experts.
Webnode – All-in-One Website Builder
| Product Name: | Webnode |
| Official Website: | webnode.com |
| Complexity: | Average |
| Free Plan: | Yes |
| Premium Plan: | From $4/mo |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Headquarters: | USA |
Webnode – is an all-in-one website builder that offers an intuitive platform to set up and manage business projects. It is created to empower users to establish a trusted web presence without the need for extensive coding skills. The main Webnode highlights encompass:
- Business Templates – The website builder offers a wide range of professionally designed responsive themes, including those tailored specifically for business projects. They cover various industries and can be personalized to match your company branding.
- eCommerce Integration – For businesses looking to sell products or services online, Webnode provides an opportunity to set up a web store and then manage the inventory, accept payments securely, add/manage goods and adjust other eCommerce settings.
- Blogging – If you feel that your business website needs a blog, Webnode allows connecting one due to its built-in blogging engine. This is how you can share industry insights, updates, news and engage with the target audience.
- Online Forms – A business website requires the use of online contact forms that perform various functions. Whether you need to collect users’ feedback, inquiries or reach any other business goals via interacting with users, Webnode makes it possible to integrate online contact forms where and when needed.
- Social Media Integration – Take your time to connect social media profiles to your business website, making it easy for visitors to follow your company updates/events and engage with clients/partners on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.
- Multilingual Support – If your business targets partners/customers from abroad, Webnode makes it possible to create several language versions of your project. Its multilingual support allows doing that with no extra integrations and coding.
Webnode makes it possible to create a website absolutely for free. In this case, your website will include reliable hosting, unlimited number of pages, professional customer support and other features. Premium plans are divided into Website and eCommerce, with the most affordable of them costing $4 per month.
Summing Up: Webnode offers a diversity of tools and features tailored to the needs of businesses. Its user-friendly interface, customization options, multilingual support, eCommerce functionality and other business-oriented features make it a nice pick for establishing online presence for your company.
Pixpa – Free Website Builder for Portfolio Creation
| Product Name: | Pixpa |
| Official Website: | pixpa.com |
| Complexity: | Average |
| Free Plan: | 15-day trial |
| Premium Plan: | From $3/mo |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Headquarters: | USA |
Pixpa – is a free website builder for portfolio creation used to set up, manage, customize and promote quality projects for creatives, photographers, artists and businesses that need professional portfolios to showcase their products or services. Listed below are the major Pixpa highlights:
- Portfolio Creation – Pixpa provides an intuitive and visually-oriented platform to create and customize portfolios with no coding required.
- Customizable Templates – The website builder grants access to the collection of professionally designed, responsive and completely customizable themes that cater to various creative industries. They can be further personalized to match your business style.
- eCommerce Integration – The portfolio website builder comes with built-in eCommerce functionality, letting you add an opportunity to sell your products/ services, if needed. Likewise, you will be able to manage orders and inventory tools, accept and process payments, adjust shipping options etc.
- Client Galleries and Proofing – Creatives using the service can showcase their work to clients through password-protected galleries and enable the client proofing feature for simpler business collaboration.
- Analytics – Pixpa comes with integrated analytics to track visitors’ behavior, location info, traffic sources, website parameters and other important business metrics. This data can further be used to improve the required factors and refine your business/marketing strategy.
- Online Proofing and Selling – Due to the availability of integrated proofing and selling tools, users have an opportunity to offer prints, share proofs and manage orders directly from the website.
Pixpa offers a free 15-day trial, after which you have to pick and upgrade to one of premium subscriptions. There are four of them here. The most cost-effective solution will cost you $3 per month billed annually.
Summing Up: Pixpa allows creating a portfolio website for free using a variety of integrated tools and features. This is a nice solution for creatives, photographers, artists and businesses that aim to sell their products/services to the target audience.
CMS That Allow for Free Small Business Website Creation
WordPress – Free CMS for Small Business Website
| Product Name: | WordPress |
| Official Website: | wordpress.org |
| Complexity: | Above average |
| Free Plan: | Unlimited |
| Premium Plan: | from $2.95/mo |
| Founded: | 2003 |
| Headquarters: | Worldwide |
WordPress – is one of the most popular platforms over the years. It boasts millions of websites across the globe. They include blogs, small business sites, digital stores, etc. The system is very easy to use though customization still requires at least basic HTML skills. However, it comes as a flexible solution considering a selection of plugins and integration capabilities. WordPress benefits encompass:
- Thousands of Themes – the software boasts the widest selection of themes with thousands of templates to choose from. It can be either a small business or eCommerce mockup with options that refer to any industry or niche. Most of these themes are free to use and customize.
- Customization and Design – as an open-source platform, WordPress ensures endless web design and customization capabilities with a chance to modify any template. Users are free to develop and add scripts of their own, have a piece of code embedded to their websites, add extra functions, site elements, and components to stand out. However, you are supposed to have at least a baseline coding experience.
- Plugins and Integrations – from eCommerce plugins to analytic tools, forms, ad banners, security widgets, and thousands of other add-ons are available for WordPress users. You can seamlessly integrate third-party services for email marketing, SEO optimization, reporting, and more.
Initially, you do not have to pay for the CMS itself. Users may access it and start building a website at no cost. However, you are supposed to have a domain and hosting to keep your website files. Also, users will have to pay for premium templates in case they want to use an exclusive theme while some plugins and extensions are also paid.
The best option is to get a WP-optimized server solution with all settings and integrations already included in the plan along with a domain name. Bluehost is yet the best option offering seamless WP integration, access to WP plugins and themes, great performance, and advanced security starting at $2.95 per month.
Summing Up: Although WordPress may not be the best option for newbies if compared to website builders, it delivers endless customization and design capabilities, in addition to endless plugins. The platform certainly serves well when it comes to small business websites.
Joomla – Free Open-Source CMS for Business Use
| Product Name: | Joomla |
| Official Website: | joomla.org |
| Complexity: | Complex |
| Free Plan: | Unlimited |
| Premium Plan: | from $2.95/mo |
| Founded: | 2005 |
| Headquarters: | United States |
Joomla – is a free open-source CMS for business use known for its flexibility and ability to handle the development of complex websites and web applications. Joomla is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database, thus being a powerful tool for creating and managing content-rich websites. It boasts an active community of developers and users, offering multiple features for business website creation:
- Content Management – Joomla provides a comprehensive content management system, letting businesses organize and categorize content efficiently. It supports various content types, including articles, images, videos, and documents.
- Multi-Language Support – For businesses targeting international audiences, the CMS offers built-in multilingual support. This feature makes it possible to create content in multiple languages, making it easier to reach a global customer base.
- eCommerce – Joomla allows for web store creation by integrating extensions like VirtueMart or HikaShop. If you plan to sell services or products with Joomla, this is the only way to do that here.
- Access Control – The platform offers website access control, letting you distribute roles to users willing to edit, publish or access specific content. This is a nice feature for large projects with multiple contributors.
Joomla is a free CMS yet you will still have to pay for web hosting, domain name and required integrations/plugins. It makes sense to pick HostGator or Bluehost, for example, as a hosting provider depending on the features needed and available budget.
Summing Up: Joomla is a multi-faceted CMS that can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to create and manage their websites effectively. However, the CMS requires coding skills and web design background to set up, host and manage your project as well as extra investments to pay for it.
Drupal – Another Quality CMS for Small Business Websites
| Product Name: | Drupal |
| Official Website: | drupal.org |
| Complexity: | Complex |
| Free Plan: | Unlimited |
| Premium Plan: | from $2.95/mo |
| Founded: | 2009 |
| Headquarters: | United States |
Drupal – is another quality CMS for small business websites that is used to develop all types of websites – both for personal and business needs. This is a great pick for entrepreneurs who need complex feature-laden projects with advanced customizability. If you plan to set up a large business website, this CMS is what you need. Its major features include:
- Easy Content Adding – Drupal excels at content management, making it easy to add and update content. You can add those content types your project requires along with high end content categorization and tagging options.
- Customizability – The CMS comes with a vast library of modules and themes you can integrate into your website to give it the required functionality. Businesses can create unique and tailored websites to match their branding and specific requirements here.
- Workflow Management – The platform offers advanced workflow and content approval systems. This is valuable for businesses with multiple contributors and editorial processes.
- Simple User Management – Due to the simple built-in user management system, Drupal allows creating and assigning roles as well as specifying their permissions. This makes your project development more organized and logical.
- eCommerce – Drupal can be used to set up and manage online stores. This is done via integrating modules like Drupal Commerce. This is beneficial for companies willing to sell products or services online.
Just like other CMS systems, Drupal is free to download and install. Get ready to pay for hosting, domain name and premium extensions that come up to your business website specialization.
Summing Up: Drupal is a modern full-featured CMS that is best suited for large businesses that require professional online business presentation. This is not the easiest platform for beginners as it takes time, skills and effort to explore and master it.
Magento – Flexible Open-Source eCommerce Platform
| Product Name: | Magento |
| Official Website: | magento.com |
| Complexity: | Complex |
| Free Plan: | Unlimited |
| Premium Plan: | from $2.95/mo |
| Founded: | 2007 |
| Headquarters: | United States |
Magento is a flexible open-source eCommerce platform distributed as a part of Adobe package. Released in 2007, the software has gained popularity as a powerful web store development system. Some of the world renowned brands use Magento for their websites. These include Ford, Nike, Coca Cola etc. This is one of the best proofs of the company’s trustability and functionality. Magento highlights include:
- Advanced eCommerce – Magento was created with the only purpose – web store creation. Thus, this is the top choice for businesses willing to sell products or services online. It supports a variety of product types, including physical goods, digital products as well as subscriptions.
- Multiple Product Management – Businesses powered by Magento can manage lots of products in their web stores, using advanced features. These include product categorization, configurations, attribute sets etc. This is important when you plan to offer multiple items for sale.
- Payment Options – It is possible to connect different payment gateways to Magento. It also comes with specific options like PayPal, cash on delivery as well as built-in bank transfer.
- Multi-Store Management – For businesses operating multiple web stores or brands, Magento provides an opportunity to manage them from a single admin panel. This simplifies store management and allows for centralized control.
- Inventory Tracking – Magento grants access to multiple inventory management tools, letting businesses automate reordering processes, keep track of stock levels, provide accurate product availability info to customers etc.
Magento Open Source is provided for free, but if you wish, you can get Magento Commerce at extra cost. The software comes with full support and is hosted specially for you. However, this is a very expensive solution.
Summing Up: Magento is a trusted eCommerce platform that offers a broad range of features for professional web store set up and customization. However, it works best for complex and large online stores due to its advanced tools and integrated feature set.
Steps to Start a Business Website
The procedure of setting up a website is quite time-taking and complicated just because it involves several steps. The number of these steps may vary with regard to the type of project you intend to launch, your budget, time and skills. The common list, however, will remain unchanged as it includes must-have steps only. Have a look at them now.
- Website Builder Choice
- Template Selection
- Design Customization
- Adjust SEO Settings
- Pick the right keywords – those that are relevant to your business and those that are widely searched for by your potential customers. There are special tools to help you identify, analyze and track the required keywords;
- Update the website. Make sure to regularly publish fresh content using the selected keywords with appropriate URLs.
- Remember about link building. Add internal and external links wisely. Internal links are those available on your website pages, while external links are those you palace to other high authority websites. Make sure to add them wisely so that they can add value to the required keywords.
- Take care of image optimization. Images and videos should be compressed not to slow down the website load time. Don’t forget to add image metadata like tag and captions.
- Boost website load speed. Your website pages should load as fast as possible to avoid high abandonment rates. There are special programs to track this parameter and to check whether your website performs as required.
- Pick Domain Name and Hosting
- Test and Publish the Project
- Promote and Market the Website
As mentioned above, the very first step is choosing a web design platform – a website builder or a CMS. Generally, it takes some time to pick the best tool as you will have to explore and compare several platforms at a time.
We have simplified this choice for you, having selected and described the best systems for you. Your task is to browse these descriptions and to pick the most suitable software with regard to your business niche and other crucial parameters.
Having made the choice, sign up for an account or install the CMS on the previously selected hosting. Follow the instructions on how to get started and proceed to the next step.
Whether you choose a website builder or a CMS, you will obviously need a template for further customization. Website builders mostly grant access to extensive template galleries with dozens of designs available in stock. These themes are likely to be divided into categories based on the niches they belong to. There may also be a possibility to pick a blank template to set up a website from scratch.
CMS generally offer more extensive template collections. You will be able to choose designs from the built-in catalogs and those available online. They are usually developed by third-party web designers. Thus, they may be paid and free, with the letter being less secure because of potential malware threats.
Take your time to browse and choose a template that aligns with your business’s branding and goals. Keep in mind that a template serves as the foundation for your website’s design. This means, it should be chosen wisely as not all web design platforms provide a template switch option.
Design customization process is no less responsible than template choice. It is up to you to create the look of your site to make it appealing for the target audience. To modify the selected template, reach the editor and explore the available tools. Pick and use those that will help customize website fonts, colors and layouts to match your branding.
You will also have to upload a business logo (or create one, if you don’t have it yet), add content, images and other media files. Don’t forget about the essential web pages, including Homepage, About Us, Products/Services, Contact, Blog (if needed) etc.
While creating website design is more about making an impact upon users, adjusting SEO settings is all about withstanding niche competition. The way your website and its pages rank in the search engines have direct correlation to its popularity. Correct definition of title tags, meta descriptions, keywords and relevant URLs helps boost your project ranking in search engines for those services/products you intend to market. Here is a common SEO strategy to improve your website visibility in search results:
Before you go online with your business website, you will have to choose hosting and domain name first. A domain name should be relevant to your niche and memorable as this is what your customers will have to keep in mind. It is possible to get a free domain through the website builder or use a subdomain if available, but this will have a negative impact upon your project promotion.
Most website builders, by the way, offer hosting and domain as a part of their premium subscriptions. A domain may even come as a bonus either forever or for a predefined period of time. CMS, on the contrary, don’t provide integrated hosting. This triggers the need to look for a hosting provider out there. Fortunately, there are multiple solutions to choose from nowadays based on your project parameters, needs and available budget.
Take your time to test your website functionality, including navigation, online forms, web pages and their display options, products, links, contact details and other elements. Check whether your project is mobile-responsive. Are you satisfied? Then publish it and get ready to reach your goals.
Publishing the website is only half of the task. To keep it working and reaching the audience, you have to make sure it is promoted and marketed as required. With this purpose, share your website on social media platforms, through email newsletters and on your business cards. Implement basic SEO strategies and adjust the required settings to improve your website’s visibility in search engines.
Summary: How to Pick the Best Platform for Your Free Small Business Website
Starting a small business website is not only possible but also achievable with the right approach. Doing that completely for free is quite doubtful, however. If you expect to launch and run a large-scale project for business/eCommerce use, you should be ready to invest in it. The budget does not have to be impressive, though. It will basically depend on your project functionality and web design software you will go for.
Selecting the right platform is the same as choosing a house for a living. You expect it to be comfortable and durable despite weather conditions. The same thing is true for your project. You probably want to start a long-lasting business or online shop that will serve your and customers’ needs round-the-clock.
Users are supposed to clearly understand what they require and what they can expect from a chosen platform.
SITE123 is the easiest website builder, which can be used for small business website development, although it lacks flexibility and integrated functionality to create large-scale projects. Wix appears to be a nice all-in-one solution for business websites that can meet all requirements despite the project type you want to launch.
If you need a tiny shop or a digital shelf to highlight a few of your products, Weebly might be a good option with minimum cost. Webnode also works well for business and eCommerce projects, offering two types of premium packages to come up to any needs.
Plan to set up, manage and promote your creative works? Then using Pixpa will be a smart choice. The website builder targets creatives, artists, photographers and business owners willing to showcase their works to the target audience.
Looking for a trusted CMS? WordPress is the most popular software known worldwide. It comes as a flexible solution in terms of design customization. It will suit the needs of demanding users in terms of customization and those who know how to code.
Joomla makes it possible to set up full-featured projects for business use, demanding code proficiency and web design expertise. The same is about Drupal that mainly targets professional web developers. Magento is not the simplest eCommerce software as well. Thus, it is recommended for large-scale online stores that come with high end integrated functionality.
