Free website vs paid website: is free good enough for a small business?
- Published
- Reading time
- 11 min
- Written by
- Apurba Sardar
Short answer
A free website is fine for testing an idea, or for a business that only needs a simple page with its phone number, timings and location, especially if you connect your own domain, which Google Sites allows. For an established shop, clinic or service business, free usually costs you in other ways: an address on someone else’s domain, their ads or branding, missing features and a site you can’t move. A simple paid site with your own domain works out to roughly ₹4,000–₹17,000 a year over three years, depending on who builds it, so weigh that against what a few extra customers are worth to you.
In this guide
- What happened to Google’s free Business Profile website?
- The free options that are left
- What “free” really costs you
- When a free website is genuinely fine
- When free starts costing you customers
- What a paid website really costs over three years
- Free vs paid: a decision table
- If you start free, set it up so you can move later
- Where WebNestle fits
“Why pay for a website when I can make one for free?” It’s a fair question. Free builders really are free to start, Google Sites costs nothing, and plenty of Kolkata businesses do well with an Instagram page and a Google listing. We build paid websites, so read this with that in mind, but we’ll be straight about when free is good enough.
This guide covers the free options that actually exist in 2026, including what happened to Google’s free Business Profile websites, what “free” costs you, when it’s genuinely fine, what a paid site really costs over three years, and a decision table to help you choose.
What happened to Google’s free Business Profile website?
For years, Google let businesses make a basic free website from their Business Profile, on an address ending in business.site. Google turned these sites off in March 2024 and sent visitors to the Business Profile instead until 10 June 2024; after that, the old addresses show a “page not found” error. Google suggested moving to other builders, including Google Sites, Wix and WordPress (Search Engine Journal’s report of Google’s notice (opens in a new tab)).
If your visiting cards, WhatsApp profile or Google listing still show a business.site address, customers who tap it land on an error page. Take it off, and put a working site in its place. Your Business Profile itself is still free and still the most important free listing you have; our Google Business Profile setup guide covers it step by step.
The free options that are left
- Google Sites. Free with a Google account and easy to use. Google describes it as a tool for team, project and event sites, and it shows: there are few design choices, and no shop or payment features of its own. Its big plus is that the site owner can connect a custom domain (Google Sites Help (opens in a new tab)), so you can have yourname.in for just the cost of the domain.
- Wix’s free plan. A capable drag-and-drop builder, but the free site lives at an address like siteprefix.wixsite.com/siteaddress, shows Wix ads on every page, can’t connect your own domain or take online payments, and gets 500MB of storage (Wix Help Center (opens in a new tab)).
- Weebly’s free plan. Weebly, now part of Square, still offers a free plan on a weebly.com address. Its pricing page (opens in a new tab) shows that connecting your own domain needs a paid plan, and removing Square’s ads needs a higher one.
- WordPress.com’s free plan. A yoursite.wordpress.com address with WordPress.com ads shown to visitors; a custom domain needs a paid plan (WordPress.com pricing (opens in a new tab)).
- Instagram and link-in-bio pages. Your Instagram bio can carry a link, and tools like Linktree give you a free page of buttons at an address like linktr.ee/yourname. Removing Linktree’s own branding is a paid feature (Linktree pricing (opens in a new tab)).
What these have in common: on the free plan, your address ends in someone else’s name. You’re using a room in their building, on their rules.
What “free” really costs you
- The address isn’t yours. It’s long, hard to say over the phone and looks temporary on a visiting card or signboard. If you later move to your own domain, every place that points to the old address (your Google listing, QR codes, printed menus, Instagram bio) has to be changed.
- Their ads and branding on your page. A customer comparing two clinics sees an ad for a website builder on yours. To many people, that looks like a business that hasn’t invested in itself.
- No ownership or portability. You can copy your text and photos, but the site itself often can’t move. Wix, for example, says its sites have to be hosted on Wix’s own servers (Wix Help Center (opens in a new tab)). And if a company changes its rules, as Google did with business.site, you rebuild from scratch.
- Missing features. Free plans are designed to make you upgrade. Wix’s free plan doesn’t take payments or connect a domain; Google Sites has no shop or payments of its own; a link page has no room for a price list or a booking form.
- Limits on showing up in Google. A link-in-bio page has almost no text for Google to understand what you offer or where, so it rarely appears for anything beyond your name. A free builder site can rank for local searches, but any visibility it earns is tied to an address you don’t own and may have to leave.
- Your time. Free builders still need someone to write, photograph, build and update. That’s usually the owner, late at night, after closing.
When a free website is genuinely fine
- You’re testing an idea. A home baker, a weekend tiffin service or a new tutor doesn’t need to spend money before knowing customers will come. A free Google Sites page or a link page is a sensible start.
- You only need a simple information page: phone number, timings, location and a few photos. Google Sites with your own domain does this well for the price of the domain.
- Nearly all your customers come through Instagram or word of mouth, and you sell by chatting on WhatsApp. A link page that points to WhatsApp, your catalogue and Google Maps may be all you need for now.
- It’s temporary: an event, a stall at a Puja fair or a one-off campaign.
Two rules even then. Keep your Google Business Profile complete, because it’s free and matters more than any free website. And if you can afford a domain, buy it in your own name now, so the address on your cards never has to change. Our guide to choosing a .in or .com domain explains how.
When free starts costing you customers
- You’re an established shop, clinic, salon or coaching centre, and customers compare you with competitors who have proper websites.
- You want to show up on Google for searches beyond your exact name, like “dentist in Behala” or “tiffin service in Salt Lake”.
- You need bookings, a menu, a price list, course pages or online payments. Our guide to UPI and payment gateways explains the payment side.
- You print the web address on signboards, menus, bills or vehicles.
- You get most enquiries through directories and want a place of your own that you control; see Justdial vs your own website.
If two or more of these sound like you, a free site is probably holding you back more than it’s saving you.
What a paid website really costs over three years
Free is ₹0 every year. Paid options need comparing over time, because some are cheap to start and expensive to keep. These are rough ranges from what we see local businesses pay around Kolkata, before GST and business email:
| Option | Year one | Years two and three | Rough 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free builder on a free address | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0, plus your time and the limits above |
| Google Sites with your own .in domain | The domain, often ₹100–₹800 with a first-year offer | Domain renewal, roughly ₹600–₹1,300 a year | Roughly ₹1,300–₹3,400, plus your time |
| A paid builder plan, built by you | A yearly plan, often ₹3,000–₹15,000 depending on plan and builder, plus any paid apps | The same subscription (check the renewal price), plus domain renewal once any free first year ends | Roughly ₹10,000–₹50,000, plus your time |
| A site built by a freelancer or studio | A build fee, roughly ₹8,000–₹40,000, often with first-year hosting | ₹2,000–₹6,000 a year for domain and hosting | Roughly ₹12,000–₹52,000 |
| WebNestle Starter | ₹7,999 one-time, with a domain and 1 year of hosting | About ₹2,500 a year for domain and hosting | About ₹12,999 |
Spread over three years, a simple professionally built site works out to roughly ₹4,000–₹17,000 a year, or about ₹330–₹1,450 a month. The useful question isn’t “free or paid?” but whether the site brings in more than that. For a business where one new customer is worth a few hundred rupees or more, it usually doesn’t take many. For the full breakdown, see how much a website costs in Kolkata, and for builders compared with hiring someone, WordPress vs Wix vs a custom website.
Free vs paid: a decision table
| Your situation | Good choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Testing a new idea or side business | A free builder, Google Sites or a link page | Costs nothing while you find out if customers come |
| You only need timings, phone, location and photos | Google Sites with your own domain | Your own address for the price of a domain |
| You sell mostly through Instagram and WhatsApp chats | A link page, plus a complete Google Business Profile | Points people to where you already sell |
| An established shop, clinic, salon or coaching centre | A paid site on your own domain | Looks established, can show up in local searches, and holds prices, services and booking in one place |
| You need bookings, menus, price lists or payments | A paid site, or a paid builder plan if you’ll build it yourself | Free plans rarely include these |
| The address goes on signboards, menus or vehicles | Your own domain, whatever the site runs on | The address should never have to change |
If you start free, set it up so you can move later
- Register a domain in your own name if you can, and connect it, rather than printing a free address.
- Keep your own copies of your text, photos, price list and logo in one folder, so a rebuild later is quick.
- Use exactly the same name, address and phone number on the site, your Google Business Profile and every directory.
- Put WhatsApp and call buttons at the top, so a visitor can contact you in one tap.
- Review it every few months. Remove old offers and check that prices and timings are current.
Where WebNestle fits
We’re a small Kolkata studio that builds paid websites, so we’re not neutral. Our Starter plan is ₹7,999 one-time for up to 5 pages, with a .in or .com domain registered in your name and a year of hosting, WhatsApp and call buttons, an enquiry or booking form that sends to WhatsApp, Google Business Profile set up or cleaned up, and basic local SEO. From year two, renewal is about ₹2,500 a year. You own the site and can move it any time.
Before you pay anything, we make a free demo homepage with your business name, photos and services in about 2 days, so you can compare it side by side with what you’d build for free. See our pricing, or read about websites for tiffin services if you’re one of the home-food businesses weighing up a free page right now.
Common questions
Is a free website good for a small business?
It can be, for testing an idea or for a simple page with your phone number, timings and location. For an established business, free plans usually mean someone else’s address, their ads, missing features and a site you can’t move. Many owners start free and move to their own domain once customers start finding them online.
Does Google still give businesses a free website?
No. Google turned off the free websites made with Business Profiles, the ones on business.site addresses, in March 2024, and stopped redirecting them to the Business Profile after 10 June 2024. The Business Profile itself is still free, and you can add any website address to it.
Is Google Sites good for a business website?
For a simple information page, yes: it’s free, easy to use and lets the site owner connect a custom domain. It has few design options and no shop or payment features of its own, so it suits a basic page better than a business that needs bookings, menus or online orders.
Can I use my own domain with a free website?
On some platforms. Google Sites lets you connect a domain you’ve bought, so you pay only for the domain. The free plans of Wix, Weebly and WordPress.com don’t include your own domain; you need a paid plan for that.
How much does a basic paid website cost over three years?
From what we see around Kolkata, a simple site built by a freelancer or studio comes to roughly ₹12,000–₹52,000 over three years, including domain and hosting. Building it yourself on a paid builder plan often comes to ₹10,000–₹50,000. WebNestle’s Starter plan comes to about ₹12,999: ₹7,999 one-time plus about ₹2,500 a year from year two.
Is an Instagram page enough instead of a website?
For being discovered, and for a business that sells through chats, Instagram can carry you a long way. But you don’t control the platform, it shows little detail about prices and services, and it rarely helps you show up in Google searches beyond your name. A simple website plus a complete Google Business Profile covers what Instagram doesn’t.