Top free website builder options for small business
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Finding a truly free website builder for small business sites can be a real challenge, but I’ve tracked down one option that’s genuinely free – though it’s not without its limitations. Completely free builders like this are incredibly rare, especially for eCommerce, as most of those features sit behind paywalls.
Instead of leaving you with just that one free option, I’ve put together a list that also includes providers offering free trials, low-cost plans, and money-back guarantees. This way, you can explore the options that best fit your small business website without a big upfront cost and risks.
Best free website builders for small businesses
- Wix – best free website builder for small business sites overall
- Squarespace – top builder for professional-looking sites with a free trial
- Bluehost – best cheap website builder with eCommerce included
- SITE123 – beginner-friendly free website builder for small businesses in the UK
- GoDaddy Website Builder – best builder for basic business sites with a free trial
- Web.com – affordable, easy-to-use builder with money-back guarantee
Can I build my own business website for free
Yes, you can build your own business website for free. However, the answer really depends on your needs and the website’s purpose. For basic business sites, free builders can work in a limited capacity if you’re willing to accept restrictions like subdomain use, storage and bandwidth caps, and challenges with scalability.
However, for larger business sites – especially those needing eCommerce functionalities, SEO tools, and dedicated domains – free options will almost always fall short. These features typically come with paid plans as they require advanced tools, customisation options, and integrations for smooth operations.
Best free (and nearly free) website builders for businesses: detailed list
Teaming up with the Cybernews research team, I’ve tested dozens of top web builders over two months to narrow down the top candidates for the best free website builder for small business sites in the United Kingdom. Below, you’ll find my list of the best free builders in terms of ease of use, templates, and eCommerce and business functionalities.
1. Wix – best free website builder for small businesses in the UK
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | Free version or £9-119/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 14 days |
| Best deal: | Get Wix with 50% OFF |
Wix tops the list of the best free website builder for small business sites by making everything super easy, even for users on its free plan. From setup to navigating its interfaces, the experience is highly intuitive. Plus, its vast collection of 900+ beautiful templates means you can easily find the right fit for your small business, no matter the industry.
Wix offers a free plan. While it’s considerably more limited than the premium option, it’ll get the job done if you want to build a basic site without spending any money at all or if you want to test Wix’s services before upgrading. Paid plans start at £9/month and you can cancel within 14 days for a full refund.
For which websites is Wix free plan suitable?
| Website type | Benefits | Limitations |
| Simple business site | Straightforward setup with intuitive editor, scores of templates for all plans | Free plan includes Wix ads and subdomain, limited advanced features |
| Business blog | Built-in blogging tools | Features may not be as well-developed as those on dedicated blogging platforms |
| eCommerce + blog | All-in-one platform for eCommerce and blogging | eCommerce unavailable on free plan, lacks advanced features |
My experience using Wix
Wix’s biggest appeal is how easy it makes creating and running your own website, whether you’re a small business owner or a casual user. With over 900 templates, you’ll have no trouble finding one that is just right for your business. Unlike some builders that reserve certain templates for specific plans, Wix’s templates are accessible to all plans.
Alternatively, you can also use Wix’s AI builder to get your site up quickly and effortlessly. Simply answer a few questions and it will generate a customised site for you. I also find Wix’s drag-and-drop editor extremely intuitive. Compared to top builders like Squarespace and Bluehost, Wix offers more flexibility and feels smoother.
Wix’s free plan includes 500MB of storage and 500MB of bandwidth. My main concern for small business owners is the Wix-branded subdomain, favicon, and ads you must display on your website, which isn’t exactly professional. To get rid of Wix branding on your site, I recommend upgrading to a paid plan.
2. Squarespace – free trial for sleek and polished small business sites
| Overall rating: | |
| Price range: | Free trial or £12-35/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 14 days |
| Best deal: | Get up to 36% OFF Squarespace |
Squarespace is another top pick for building small business sites in the United Kingdom. It allows you to quickly and easily create a beautiful, professional-looking website. Plus, the builder offers various business tools to facilitate and enhance your daily operations.
While there’s no free plan, Squarespace provides a 14-day free trial for you to test it out before committing to a paid plan. Paid plans start at £12/month, and you can receive a refund if you change your mind within 14 days.
For which websites is Squarespace free trial plan suitable?
| Website type | Benefits | Limitations |
| Simple business site | Beginner-friendly, beautiful templates for a professional look | Many tools are paid add-ons |
| Business blog | Strong blogging, SEO, and marketing tools | Blog editor could be more intuitive |
| eCommerce + blog | Robust eCommerce and service features | Premium pricing, additional transaction fees |
My experience using Squarespace
The first thing I noticed about Squarespace is its sleek and elegant templates. With 179+ options, most of them modern and visually pleasing, you’ll find plenty of options whether you’re a wedding planner, an interior design firm, or a consulting agency. Setting up and building your website is also an absolute breeze, though you get fewer customisation options compared to Wix.
Squarespace is generous with its features, too. For blogging, it offers features like podcast support, email campaign integration, and multiple author support. Plus, there are AI-powered tools for generating website copy, product descriptions, and email campaigns. As for eCommerce, you get functionalities such as gated content, product merchandising, and inventory management.
Squarespace’s free trial runs for 14 days and is available for all the plans. During this period, you have access to pretty much all the same features as a paid plan.
3. Bluehost – affordable builder with WordPress integration for small businesses
| Overall rating: | |
| Price range: | £1.59-7.69/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 30 days |
| Best deal: | Get up to 83% OFF Bluehost website builder! |
Bluehost’s WonderSuite is another great option for small businesses in the UK. It lands a spot on this list by offering an easy-to-use platform, designed to simplify WordPress setup and management.
Unfortunately, Bluehost doesn’t offer a free plan or trial. However, it remains a strong choice due to its affordability, with prices starting at just £1.59/month. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee so that you can try it out risk-free.
For which websites is Bluehost suitable?
| Website type | Benefits | Limitations |
| Simple business site | Very affordable pricing, AI-powered design | No free plan, limited customisation |
| Business blog | Integrated SEO tools | Features may not be as robust as dedicated blogging platforms |
| eCommerce + blog | Integration with WooCommerce | Transaction fees, limited scalability options |
My experience using Bluehost
The first thing that caught my eye with Bluehost is its integration with WordPress, which is rare amongst website builders. Right off the bat, you’ll see WordPress optimisation everywhere.
For instance, after selecting a template, you’ll be automatically taken to the WordPress dashboard. Here, you can edit using the traditional WordPress interface or the Bluehost Website Builder, or simply switch back and forth between the two. Both are easy to navigate.
The WordPress editor is a familiar sight if you’ve used WordPress before. Though it may not provide the smoothest editing experience, it offers plenty of customisation options. Meanwhile, Bluehost Website Builder uses WonderBlocks, which provides pre-designed content blocks for fast page creation. There are over 300 templates – many of them well-suited for businesses.
Bluehost’s support for WooCommerce integration is another plus. If you’re selling online, you can manage products, set up payment gateways, and handle shipping with ease from a single platform. There’s also a marketplace where you can integrate third-party apps, themes, and services to extend functionality.
The cheapest plan is Basic at £1.59/month. It offers 10GB of storage, a free SSL certificate, and a CDN (content delivery network).
4. SITE123 – easy and free website builder for small business sites
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | Free version or £10.10-63.17/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 14 days |
| Current deal: | SITE123 from $12.80/month |
SITE123’s strongpoint is that you can easily create a website for your small business and launch it in a matter of minutes. A no-nonsense builder that prioritises ease of use, every aspect from setup to editing and management is made as simple as possible.
SITE123 has a free version, but it comes with limitations. To get rid of these limitations, you’ll need to upgrade to 1 of its 5 paid plans, starting from £10.10/month. All paid plans include a 14-day money-back guarantee.
For which websites is SITE123 free plan suitable?
| Website type | Benefits | Limitations |
| Simple business site | Beginner-friendly, quick setup | Basic features, free plan can’t connect custom domain, floating SITE123 tag |
| Business blog | Basic SEO and marketing tools | Functionalities can’t match dedicated blogging platforms |
| eCommerce + blog | User-friendly platform for an all-in-one solution | Limited flexibility and scalability, not ideal high-traffic eCommerce sites |
My experience using SITE123
My favourite thing about SITE123 is that it eliminates all complexity and technicality that stop small business owners from creating their websites. Putting ease of use first, the setup process is beginner-friendly. With the help of its AI wizard, you can get your site up in no time. The pre-designed templates also allow busy business owners to create a publish-ready website without having to tinker with design or coding.
However, this simplicity comes at the cost of customisation options, so don’t expect Wix’s level of flexibility. It also means that SITE123’s features are more basic compared to platforms like Squarespace or GoDaddy.
SITE123’s free plan comes with 250MB of storage and bandwidth. The kicker is that you can’t connect your own domain and will have to put up with the SITE123-branded floating tag on your website.
5. GoDaddy Website Builder – business-focused builder with free trial
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | Free trial or £7.99-13.99/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 30 days |
| Current deal: | Get up to 50% OFF GoDaddy website builder |
GoDaddy’s biggest draw is its business-centric approach to website building. The builder offers integration with a wide variety of tools tailored for businesses, including eCommerce and social media features.
There’s no free plan available, but GoDaddy gives you ample time to test its platform with its one-month free trial for all website-building plans. If you’re ready to switch to a paid plan, prices start at £7.99/month and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
For which websites is GoDaddy Website Builder suitable?
| Website type | Benefits | Limitations |
| Simple business site | Quick and easy setup with pre-designed templates | Editor lacks flexibility compared to other builders, few customisation options |
| Business blog | Basic blogging features included | Lacks advanced blogging capabilities and SEO tools |
| eCommerce + blog | Combines business, eCommerce, and marketing tools in a beginner-friendly platform | Limited scalability for larger business websites, advanced features require third-party integrations |
My experience using GoDaddy Website Builder
GoDaddy sets itself apart by offering robust support for small businesses. Its setup process is incredibly easy, requiring zero technical or design knowledge. However, this simplicity means limited customisation options, making the editor feel more restrictive compared to, say, Wix. In fact, GoDaddy caps its template selection at just over 20, further limiting design flexibility.
Another indication of GoDaddy’s business-focused approach can be seen on its dashboard. Resembling a business command centre, the dashboard offers functionalities like email marketing, web analytics, and social media integration. For eCommerce, it provides a slew of features including inventory management, analytics, and built-in payment processing.
One standout feature is GoDaddy InSight – a goal-based to-do list that tracks metrics like website views, conversions, and social media activity. The stats are then used to compare your website to similar businesses.
On the SEO front, GoDaddy offers some very helpful tools, including an SEO wizard. I find the wizard rather helpful on a basic level. Among other things, it helps you to edit content, meta description, and headline to rank higher.
You can try any of GoDaddy’s plans for 30 days, with all features available during the trial. If you’re ready to upgrade to a paid plan, prices start at £7.99/month and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
6. Web.com – simple website builder for UK small businesses
| Rating: | |
| Price range: | Free trial or £6.99-11.99/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 3 days |
| Current deal: | Get up to 50% OFF GoDaddy website builder |
Web.com is another solid choice for small business owners. It offers a simple-to-use platform with a wide variety of eCommerce tools at a very affordable price point.
While there’s no free plan, Web.com has an extended one-month free trial for you to test out everything from its editor and interface to its performance. If it’s to your liking, you can purchase one of its paid plans from £6.99/month.
For which websites is Web.com suitable?
| Website type | Benefits | Limitations |
| Simple business site | User-friendly, business-oriented templates, social media integration | Few business tools, SEO functionalities not included in entry planFew business tools, SEO functionalities not included in entry plan |
| Business blog | Basic blogging features included | Lacks blogging capabilities |
| eCommerce + blog | Straightforward blogging platform, templates for online stores, can sell up to 500 products | eCommerce only available on the most expensive plan, limited functionality and scalability |
My experience using Web.com
The first thing that caught my attention was Web.com’s introduction of AI-powered functionalities. From AI builder to AI writer, these tools are helpful additions that can greatly simplify busy business owners’ day-to-day operations. I found the AI builder smooth and helpful while creating my website, though it may not be as dynamic as Wix’s version.
I also appreciate the way Web.com caters to businesses. For starters, it offers over 194 templates across 9 different niches – many of them geared towards businesses. For those running an online store, there are plenty of options designed specifically for eCommerce with clear call-to-action features. In terms of looks, the templates are clean and professional, though they may not be as eye-catching as Squarespace or Wix’s collections.
Web.com’s business-oriented features deserve a mention as well. While they may not be as extensive or as well-developed as those found on Squarespace or GoDaddy, they still offer solid functionality. These features mainly focus on appointment and eCommerce, branding and marketing, and social media.
Unfortunately, Web.com doesn’t have a free plan. However, it does provide a one-month free trial. That said, this trial has certain limitations, including no access to eCommerce functionalities as well as restricted features in its social media and email marketing suites.
Compare free business website builders
Let’s take a closer look and compare what each of the website builders brings to the table for small businesses in the United Kingdom.
| Brand | Rating | Free plan | Free trial | Best for | eCommerce capabilities | SEO tools | Free domain | Templates | Starting price | Best deal |
| Wix | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | Small to big businesses | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 900+ | £9/month | Get Wix with 50% OFF | |
| Squarespace | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | Small to big businesses | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 179+ | £12/month | Get up to 36% OFF Squarespace | |
| Bluehost | ❌ No | ❌ No | Small to big businesses | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 300+ | £1.59/month | Get up to 83% OFF Bluehost website builder! | |
| SITE123 | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | Small to big businesses | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 160+ | £10.10/month | SITE123 from $12.80/month | |
| GoDaddy | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | Small businesses | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 22+ | £7.99/month | Get up to 50% OFF GoDaddy website builder | |
| Web.com | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | Small businesses | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 194+ | £6.99/month | Get Web.com builder, now 70% OFF |
Web builder ranking methodology
Here at Cybernews, we employ a clear and thorough testing methodology for reviewing website builders. You can check out our how we test website builder guide to find more information about our process.
To help you zero in on the best free website builder for small business sites in the UK, the Cybernews research team and I began by assessing 48 builders. Our goal was to shortlist those that offer free plans, free trials, affordable pricing, and money-back guarantees. From there, we narrowed them down to just 6 builders that met all our criteria. This is how we tested them further:
- Free plan (30%). For this list, I prioritised website builders with free plans. When reviewing the builders, I made sure to check that there were no hidden fees or any significant limitations that would make it hard for you to create your small business websites. However, high-quality free options for businesses are rare, especially if you plan to sell online. So, rather than compelling you to settle for subpar choices, I’ve included other builders that are a close second to completely free options. These builders have very cheap price tags, free trials, or helpful money-back guarantees – allowing you to get plenty of value without a huge financial commitment.
- Website building system (30%). Free or cheaper options don’t mean that website builders can compromise on ease of use. To thoroughly test each website builder for this lineup, I built mockup websites to check their setup and management processes. I focused on their editors and assessed whether they were user-friendly. The ideal option is a drag-and-drop editor as it’s more intuitive and easy to navigate. Additionally, I also checked to see if the builders offer AI tools for setup, design, or content, which could be helpful to small business owners who prefer a hands-off approach.
- Free templates (15%). A wide selection of templates should be available to all users, regardless of whether they’re on free or paid plans. I prioritised builders that offer full collections of modern, professional templates that work well with all businesses.
- eCommerce capabilities (15%). Selling online is a significant part of many small businesses. Therefore, I only included builders that allow eCommerce and provide dedicated features.
- Features (10%). Many website builders tend to gatekeep features behind a paywall, which is understandable. However, I focused on the providers that don’t compromise on the basics such as SSL certificates and SEO tools. It’s even better if the builders integrate site analytics, marketing suites, and social media management.
Based on how well they performed in these areas, I then ranked the builders from 1-6 – providing reliable and comprehensive recommendations that match your small business site.
Final thoughts
It can be tough to find a completely free website builder for your business site that doesn’t compromise on quality. To ensure the best user experience, you want to choose a user-friendly website builder with a wide range of templates, flexible customisation options, and strong, diverse features.
After an intensive search and testing session, my top picks for the best free website builder for small business sites are Wix and Squarespace. Both builders make it very easy for you to get your business online with simple setup processes, intuitive interfaces, and options to scale if and when you’re ready to commit to a premium plan.
FAQ
Which free website builder is best?
Generally, Wix is the best website builder for most users as it greatly simplifies the process of creating and managing your website. Even on its free plan, users enjoy an easy setup and management experience, a massive collection of templates, and plenty of customisation options.
Which website platform is best for small business?
The best website platform for small business sites depends on your needs. For ease of use and beautiful templates, Wix and Squarespace are excellent options. If you’re looking for a basic no-fuss builder, SITE123 and Web.com could be ideal, too.
Is Wix website builder really free?
Yes, Wix website builder is completely free if you opt for its free plan. This plan comes with 500MB of storage and 500MB of bandwidth. However, it does have some limitations – you can’t use your own custom domain, and Wix ads will appear on every page of your site.
Is Google website builder free?
Yes, Google Sites is a free website builder. However, the builder has some serious drawbacks like limited customisation and template options. In fact, many of the templates appear outdated. Additionally, integration options are severely restricted if you aren’t using Google tools. It’s also not designed to accommodate eCommerce sites.
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