I need a website for my business: 5 ways to get one

You need a website for your business, and the question underneath is who should build it and what that costs. There are 5 ways to get one, and the right one depends on your budget this year, the hours you can give it and how much you want to touch it after launch. This guide puts all 5 side by side with first-year costs taken from each provider’s own page on October 14, 2026. What a small business website costs in 2026 has the full price tables, and what a done-for-you website is explains the fifth route in depth. FreeWebGuy is one of the 5, and it sits in the table on the same terms as everyone else.

What are the 5 ways to get a website for my business?

A small business can get a website from a DIY builder, an AI builder, a freelance web designer, a web design agency or a done-for-you service. The table shows what each costs in its first year at list prices, how many of your own hours it takes, when you see a first version and who makes changes after launch.

The 5 ways to get a business website. First-year cost at list prices before a domain, checked October 14, 2026. Sources at the end of the page.

Route	First-year cost	Your hours	First version	Who edits it later
DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace)	$204 to $588	All of them: design, writing, setup and every update	When you finish building it	You
AI builder (Durable, Hostinger)	$264 to $588	Checking and rewriting the AI draft, then every update	A draft in under a minute	You
Freelance web designer	$2,060 to $7,900	Meetings, your content and rounds of feedback	4 to 8 weeks	You, or the freelancer at an hourly rate
Web design agency	$5,060 to $15,300	Meetings, your content and rounds of approval	4 to 8 weeks or longer	The agency, usually on a retainer
Done-for-you subscription (UENI, Jottful)	$329 to $2,227	A questionnaire, then reviewing the site	About a week	Their team, within plan limits
FreeWebGuy	$180, plus a domain if you need one	About 3 minutes for the brief, then reviewing the preview	Within 48 hours of your brief	You, with the site’s AI builder and the platform’s 24/7 chat support

The DIY range runs from Wix Light at $17 a month to Squarespace Plus at $49, both billed yearly; the AI range from Durable Launch at $22 a month billed yearly to Durable Grow at $49 billed monthly (each vendor’s page, October 14, 2026). The freelancer and agency rows add hosting at $5 to $25 a month (Ueni, September 22, 2026) to WebsiteSetup’s build estimates of $2,000 to $7,600 and $5,000 to $15,000 (November 22, 2025). The subscription range runs from UENI’s Website Launch plan, $79 setup plus $249.90 for the year, to Jottful Pro, $199 setup plus $169 a month (both checked October 14, 2026). The FreeWebGuy figure is 12 months of hosting at $15.

Should I build my own website on Wix or Squarespace?

Build it yourself if you like the work and have the evenings to give it. A DIY builder site takes 1 to 2 weeks of your time, according to Ueni’s cost guide (September 2026), and the plan fees are the lowest in the table.

What goes wrong is rarely the software. The site stalls half-finished because writing about your own business is harder than it looks, the photos never get taken, and the free plan you started on sits on the builder’s address with the builder’s branding; a custom domain on Wix needs a Premium plan (wix.com/plans, October 14, 2026). Promotions end, too: Wix’s 50% discount on Core, Business and Business Elite applies to the initial term only (same page), so year two costs more than year one.

Choose this route if you want full control and will keep editing the site yourself. FreeWebGuy vs Wix and FreeWebGuy vs Squarespace show both routes side by side.

Can an AI website builder do it for me?

An AI builder gives you a draft in under a minute. Most of the work comes after the draft. Durable says its sites are “ready to go online in 30 seconds”; the free tier is a private preview, and publishing on your own domain takes the Launch plan at $25 a month, or $22 billed yearly (durable.com/pricing, October 14, 2026). Hostinger’s builder costs less with a long prepay: $143.52 covers 48 months, then it renews at $10.99 a month (hostinger.com/website-builder, same date).

The draft will describe services you do not offer and use wording you would never say, so every line needs checking, and after launch you are the editor for good. Can ChatGPT or AI build my website? lists the jobs that remain after the draft, and FreeWebGuy vs Durable compares the two approaches.

How much does it cost to have someone build a website?

A freelance web designer charges $50 to $95 an hour and spends 40 to 80 hours on a small business site, which comes to $2,000 to $7,600 (WebsiteSetup, November 2025). Ueni’s guide puts a small business site at $1,500 to $3,500 (September 2026). An agency charges $5,000 to $15,000 for the same kind of site (WebsiteSetup), and Clutch, which collects client reviews of agencies, says most web design projects it reviews cost under $10,000 (updated September 21, 2026).

The trouble on this route comes later. The scope grows, the schedule waits on your content, and the site goes quiet when the freelancer moves on, because every update after launch is billed by the hour. Pick this route for a large catalog, custom software, an integration with your existing systems, or a brand that needs original design work. Hiring a web designer vs FreeWebGuy covers what you give up and what you keep.

What is a done-for-you website?

A done-for-you website is one a company designs, builds and hosts for you for a monthly fee, so you never open an editor unless you want to. Prices and terms vary more than in any other route, all checked October 14, 2026 on each provider’s own page:

• UENI charges a $79 setup fee (shown against a $599 list price) plus $24.99 a month, or $20.83 a month billed yearly, and says sites launch in 7 days.
• Jottful charges a $199 setup fee for up to 5 pages if you take it within 48 hours of seeing a free preview of your site, otherwise $499, plus $65 to $169 a month depending on the plan, and says it launches in one week.
• Hoot Host builds up to 5 pages for $0 and charges $15 a month for hosting; you get 1 design option, and the site cannot be exported or moved to another host.
• WebsitesForFree.net builds a one-page site for $0 and charges $15 a month, with a preview within 72 hours.

FreeWebGuy builds the site for $0 and charges $15 a month for hosting, which starts only after you approve the preview and set up your SMBcrm plan. The first version arrives within 48 hours of your brief. Bigger sites, or briefs missing key details, take a few days more. The $15 covers hosting with SSL, your domain connected, a layout built for phones first, SEO basics, a contact form that emails you, the AI builder for your own edits and the platform’s 24/7 chat support. A new domain costs about $10 to $25 a year, paid to the registrar, in your name. The team behind FreeWebGuy, from Section 5 Media, Triaza, SMBcrm and The SMB Hub, has built more than 1,000 websites.

The limits: the site runs on SMBcrm hosting, so it is not a set of files you can move to another host. Your domain, logo, photos and text stay yours; the design and the platform are licensed while your plan is active. If you cancel, the site goes offline, and we can help you gather your text and images. We review every brief and can decline a project that does not fit.

Which of the 5 is right for me?

Four questions settle it for most owners:

1. Do you want to build and maintain the site yourself? If yes, a DIY or AI builder. If no, read on.
2. What can you spend this year? Under $300 points to a DIY builder or a $15-a-month done-for-you service. $300 to $3,000 adds the subscription services and the lower end of freelancers. Above that, a freelancer or agency.
3. Do you need custom software, a large online catalog or an integration with a system you already run? If yes, a freelancer or agency. FreeWebGuy quotes new pages and large catalogs separately and can decline a brief that needs custom development.
4. Who updates the site next year? If the answer is “nobody, probably”, pick the route where the site works without you: a done-for-you service, with an editor you can open when you want to.

If you answered no, under $300, no and nobody, you are the person FreeWebGuy was set up for.

What should I have ready before I start?

Whichever route you choose, the build goes as fast as you hand over the details: your business name as you want it shown, phone, email, address or service area, hours, 3 to 8 services with a sentence each, prices or ranges if you publish them, 10 to 20 photos of your work, your logo if you have one, and the link to your Google Business Profile. What should be on a small business website? explains where each item goes. The FreeWebGuy brief asks for exactly this list and takes about 3 minutes; how it works shows the steps after you send it.

How do I spot a bad “free website” offer?

Five warning signs, and how to check each one:

1. The monthly price appears only after you hand over your details or your card. Find the number on the pricing page before you fill in a form.
2. A contract or minimum term is in the terms but not on the page. Search the terms for “term”, “minimum” and “cancel”.
3. You cannot see the finished site before you pay. A preview you can walk away from is the whole point of a free build.
4. There is no legal company name, address or named person anywhere on the site.
5. “Free” depends on buying something else through the company’s link. The Free Website Guys, for example, builds for free but requires a year of hosting bought from a partner host through its link, and provides no long-term support (thefreewebsiteguys.com, October 14, 2026).

FreeWebGuy’s answers: the price is $15 a month and it is on every page; the plan is month to month; you see a private preview and pay nothing until you approve it; the operator is Leads 365 LLC in Gilbert, Arizona; and the hosting is billed by SMBcrm at that price, with no partner purchase. Is a free website really free? goes through the whole checklist.

What happens if I send FreeWebGuy a brief?

You spend about 3 minutes on the brief. Within 48 hours you get a private link to a first version of your site. You tell us what to change, and reasonable revisions before launch are included. When it matches your brief, you approve it, set up the $15 SMBcrm plan and go live. If it does not, you walk away having paid nothing. What happens after you request a free website walks through each step, and pricing lists everything the $15 includes and the few things that cost extra.