Is a free website really free?

How does a free website business work?

A free website business gives away the build, the part that costs the most up front, and charges for something you need every month, usually hosting. FreeWebGuy works this way: the design and build are $0, and it earns its money on the $15-a-month hosting plan once you approve your site and go live.

That only pays if you keep the site: someone who dislikes the preview walks away owing nothing. FreeWebGuy keeps the build at $0 because AI does most of the building and a person checks every first version; hosting covers the cost.

Elsewhere, “free” can mean a DIY builder’s free plan with its branding on your site, a trial that turns into a paid plan, or a low monthly price that depends on a multi-year prepay. The guide to free websites for small business sets those options side by side.

The Federal Trade Commission’s guide on the word “free” (16 CFR 251.1) says the conditions of a free offer belong “at the outset of the offer,” not in a footnote. Use that as your test. If the cost of keeping the site is hard to find, keep looking.

What do you pay, and when?

With FreeWebGuy you pay nothing to send a brief, nothing for the preview and nothing for changes before launch. You pay $15 a month for hosting from the day you approve the site and set up your SMBcrm plan, plus a domain if you need one.

Item	Cost	When	Paid to
Website brief	$0	Day one, no card	Nobody
Design and build	$0	Preview within 48 hours of your brief	Nobody
Reasonable revisions before launch	$0	Until the preview matches your brief	Nobody
Hosting	$15 a month	From launch, after you approve the site	SMBcrm
A new domain, if you need one	About $10 to $25 a year	When you register it, in your name	Your registrar
Online payments, if you sell	The processor’s fees	On each sale	Your payment processor
New pages or a redesign later	Quoted first	After you approve the quote	FreeWebGuy

The first year comes to $180 with a domain you already own, or about $190 to $205 with a new one. SMBcrm hosts and bills your site; FreeWebGuy and SMBcrm are both brands of Leads 365 LLC. The pricing page lists what the $15 includes, and a website with $0 up front explains how the no-upfront model works.

What is the catch?

The catch with FreeWebGuy is the $15 a month to keep the site live, plus a few limits that come with a free build. Each one is written into the Terms of Service, which you can read before you send a brief.

• You pay $15 a month for as long as the site is live. Over 3 years that is $540. Stop paying and the site goes offline.
• The site runs on SMBcrm hosting. The design and platform are licensed to you while your plan is active, so you cannot download the site and move it to another host. Your domain, text and images stay yours.
• FreeWebGuy can decline a brief that does not fit, for reasons such as capacity, subject matter or technical fit. Sending one never commits you or authorizes a charge.
• Big or custom work is quoted. Custom software, complex integrations, large catalogs and new pages after launch need a quote you approve first.

If you need to host the site files yourself, a freelancer or a DIY builder is the better route.

Do I own my website?

You own your domain, logo, photos and text. The site design and the hosting platform are licensed to you while your $15 plan is active, as section 9 of the Terms of Service sets out.

If you leave, your domain stays in your name and your words and photos are yours to reuse; the design, code and platform stay behind. The fact sheet splits ownership between you, FreeWebGuy and SMBcrm.

What happens if I cancel?

If you cancel FreeWebGuy hosting, the site goes offline when the plan ends. You cancel any month in your SMBcrm account, FreeWebGuy charges no cancellation fee, and your domain and content stay yours.

An email to FreeWebGuy does not cancel the plan, so cancel in your account. SMBcrm keeps account data for about 30 days after a plan ends, according to its legal terms, so ask FreeWebGuy early to help you gather your text and images.

Eight questions to ask any free website offer

Ask any free website offer these eight questions before you sign up. A trustworthy offer answers each one on its own site before you hand over a card. FreeWebGuy’s answers cite its Terms of Service.

1. What exactly is free?

“Free” can mean the build, the first year or a trial. Worry if no page shows what keeping the site costs. FreeWebGuy: the build is $0, hosting is $15 a month after you approve the site, and a domain and payment fees are separate (section 3).

2. When do I first pay?

Some offers bill when a trial ends or take a card to hold the site. Worry if you need a card before you see anything. FreeWebGuy: no card until you approve the preview and set up your SMBcrm plan (section 4).

3. Is there a contract or a prepay?

A low monthly price can hide a multi-year prepay. Worry if leaving early costs a fee. FreeWebGuy: month to month, with no FreeWebGuy cancellation fee (section 5).

4. Who owns the domain?

Your domain is the address customers and Google know you by. Worry if the provider registers it in its own name. FreeWebGuy: your domain stays in your name, old or new (section 8).

5. What do I keep if I leave?

Every hosted site goes offline when its plan ends. Worry if nobody can say what you keep. FreeWebGuy: your domain and content, and help gathering your text and images (section 9).

6. What does a change cost after launch?

Some plans bill every edit by the hour. Worry if no rate is stated. FreeWebGuy: you edit with the AI builder, and new pages or a redesign are quoted first (section 3).

7. Who builds it, and does a person check it?

AI tools build fast and can get details wrong. Worry if the answer is vague. FreeWebGuy: “We use AI to build fast. A person checks every first version before you see it.” (section 12).

8. Who is the company, and where is it?

A company with no legal name or address is hard to hold to its word. FreeWebGuy: Leads 365 LLC, 1530 E Williams Field Rd #201, Gilbert, AZ 85295 (section 22).

How do other free website offers work?

Other free website offers trade the up-front cost for something else: your time, a prepay, partner hosting or a monthly fee. Here is how five work, from each company’s own site on October 14, 2026.

• Wix free plan: $0 with no card, and you build the site yourself. Your own domain and no Wix branding take a Premium plan, from $17 a month billed yearly. The better choice if you enjoy building.
• Hostinger Website Builder: Premium is $2.99 a month, paid up front as $143.52 for 48 months, renewing at $10.99 a month. Fine if you build the site yourself and are happy to pay 48 months up front.
• The Free Website Guys: a free WordPress build for accepted applicants, who buy at least a year of hosting from a partner host through its link. It says it does not provide long-term support for free, so it suits owners who want to run WordPress themselves.
• Hoot Host: $0 to build up to 5 pages, then $15 a month for managed hosting once live. Its FAQ says most sites take 2 to 3 weeks and that no site can move to another host. The closest model to FreeWebGuy: compare Hoot Host and FreeWebGuy.
• Durable: an AI builder whose free plan makes a private preview of your site. A live site on your own domain starts at $25 a month, or $22 billed yearly. For owners who will finish an AI draft themselves.

The comparison hub adds first-year costs for these and other options.

Is FreeWebGuy legit?

FreeWebGuy is a brand of Leads 365 LLC, an Arizona company at 1530 E Williams Field Rd #201, Gilbert, AZ 85295. It is run by founder Josh Wendt and the team behind Section 5 Media, Triaza, SMBcrm and The SMB Hub, which has built more than 1,000 websites.

You can check each fact. You see the full site before you pay, the Terms and Privacy Policy are published, the About page links to the team’s other companies, and FreeWebGuy facts lists every price and policy. FreeWebGuy (freewebguy.com) is operated by Leads 365 LLC and is not affiliated with The Free Website Guys (thefreewebsiteguys.com).