Guides
Plain answers for owners who need a website and don't want to overpay for one: what it costs, how long it takes, what a free offer really costs, and what goes on the page.
Researched and written by the FreeWebGuy team with AI assistance. Every price and statistic links to its source, and every guide shows the day it was last reviewed.
The ways to get a business website, how long each one takes, and what happens after you ask for one.
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You have five ways to get a business website: a DIY builder ($17 to $49 a month, billed yearly), an AI builder ($22 to $49 a month), a freelancer ($2,000 to $7,600), an agency ($5,000 to $15,000) or a done-for-you service (October 2026 prices). FreeWebGuy builds your site for $0 and charges $15 a month once you approve it.
A DIY builder site takes 1 to 2 weeks and a site built by a freelancer or agency takes 4 to 8 weeks (Ueni, 2026; WebsiteSetup, 2025).
You send a brief that takes about 3 minutes, and FreeWebGuy sends a private preview of your first version within 48 hours of your brief.
Website as a service (WaaS) means a provider designs, builds, hosts and maintains your website for a monthly fee, not a one-time project price.
Build prices, monthly fees and first-year totals, with the source and check date beside every number.
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A small business website costs about $200 to $800 to start on a DIY builder like Wix, $2,000 to $7,600 with a freelancer, and $5,000 to $15,000 with an agency (WebsiteSetup, 2025). FreeWebGuy charges $0 to build and $15 a month after you approve it: $180 for hosting in year one, plus a domain if you need one.
A Squarespace website costs $19 to $99 a month billed annually, or $25 to $139 billed monthly, across four plans on squarespace.com/pricing as of October 14, 2026: Basic, Core, Plus and Advanced.
A Wix website costs $17 to $159 a month across four Premium plans, billed yearly, per wix.com/plans on October 14, 2026: Light $17, Core $29, Business $39 and Business Elite $159.
Website maintenance costs $30 to $250 a month for a small business site according to WebsiteSetup (March 2026), and $50 to $500 a month according to GoDaddy (April 2026).
How free website offers make their money, who owns what, and what the research says about going without a site.
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The build is free: FreeWebGuy charges $0 to design and build your website. It makes its money from the $15 monthly hosting plan, which starts only after you approve the preview and go live. Your domain, about $10 to $25 a year, and any third-party services you add are paid separately.
83% of US small businesses have a website, up from 64% in 2018 (Clutch, August 2025).
Most small businesses do: Clutch found in August 2025 that 83% of US small businesses have a website, up from 64% in 2018.
Your Google Business Profile, local search and AI assistants, and the part your website plays in each.
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Local SEO for a service business starts with a verified Google Business Profile, then a website that states your services, service area, phone number and hours in plain text, matching details on every listing, and answered reviews. Google says local results rest on relevance, distance and prominence (Google Business Profile Help). Nobody can promise a position.
Google turned off websites made with Business Profiles in March 2024; visitors were redirected to the profile until June 10, 2024 (Search Engine Journal, February 2024).
45% of consumers now use ChatGPT or other generative AI for local business recommendations, up from 6% a year earlier (BrightLocal, 2026).
Ask every customer for a Google review after the job, using the review link from your Business Profile, and never pay for, filter or write reviews yourself: Google's policy and the FTC's rule (16 CFR Part 465) both ban it.
The pages, details and words a small business website needs, and what to leave off.
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Start with the details customers look for first: 85% say contact information and opening hours matter when they research a local business (BrightLocal, 2025). Then 6 pages, each with one job: home, services, about, photos and reviews, service area, and contact. This checklist lists what goes on every page, the common mistake on each, and the add-ons your trade needs.
Write website copy for a local business by answering 3 questions in the first screen of every page: what you do, where you do it and why someone should call you instead of the next listing.
A website launch checklist for a small business covers 5 areas: the facts on every page (name, phone, hours, services), the paths that bring work (forms, tap-to-call, booking), the technical basics (domain, HTTPS, phone layout), Google (Search Console and your Business Profile link), and the legal pages.
About 3 minutes. No credit card. Pay nothing until you approve it.
