You apply
Two minutes. Tell us what the business does, what you need the site to do, and how to reach you.
Day one
The website your
business deserves.
Built for free.
We design and build your website from start to finish, so you do not have to.
The pages, the layout, the contact forms and the mobile version.
You review it and tell us what to change.
Then we put it live.
No card needed to apply. We reply within one working day.
1,000+
Websites built
Small business sites designed, built and launched, from a first ever website to a long overdue replacement. Not a template dropped on a page. Each one is built around what that business sells.
7 days
From brief to live
The usual turnaround once we have your words and pictures. You get a draft to look at, tell us what to change, and it goes live on the day you are happy with it, not before.
24/7/365
On-going support
Monitoring, backups and security running every day of the year, plus the changes you ask for as the business moves on. All of it included in the hosting, with nothing to sign and no notice period if you ever decide to leave.
The catch
Why would anyone build a website for free?
Because we do not make our money on the build. We make it back over the months you stay hosted with us, and only if you stay. If the site is no good you leave, and we have worked for nothing. That is the whole arrangement, and it is exactly why the site has to be good.
There is no setup fee, no deposit and no invoice waiting at the end. The design, the build and putting it live genuinely cost you nothing.
- Nothing to pay before, during or after the build
- No minimum term, so we have to keep earning it every month
- You own the finished site and can take it with you
What this normally costs
Design and build
£1,500 to £5,000
Logo and brand work
£150 to £600
Phone version
£300 to £900
Domain and setup
£120 to £300
Your build
£0
Typical market rates for the same work, quoted independently in each currency rather than converted at an exchange rate. The only thing you pay for is the monthly hosting plan once the site is live.
How it works
From applying to live in about a week
Four steps. Two of them are yours, and neither takes long.
We build it
We plan the pages, design the layout around what you sell, and build the whole thing. You do not have to watch.
Days two to sixYou look it over
You see the draft before anybody else does. Tell us what to change, in your own words, and we change it.
Day sevenIt goes live
We put it live, point the domain at it, and look after it from then on. That is where the monthly plan starts.
The day you say so
You do not need to know
how any of this works.
Never had a website built before? Not sure what a domain is, or what you are meant to send us, or what half the words on this page mean? That is normal, and none of it is your job. We tell you what we need and when we need it, in plain words, and we show you rather than describing it.
We have built for people who run their entire business from a phone, and for people who asked their daughter to set the email address up. Both got the same website, and both got the same patience. Nothing you ask us here is too basic.
A professional website, built properly.
Made for phones, quick to load, and set up to be found.
Built for phones first
More than half the people who find you will be holding a phone. The phone layout is designed on purpose, not squashed down from the desktop one and hoped for the best.
Designed around what you sell
Not a theme with your logo dropped into it. The pages follow what your business actually does and what you want a visitor to do next.
Ready to be found
Page titles, descriptions, headings and site structure set up the way search engines expect, so Google can tell what each page is for without guessing.
Quick, every time
Hand written code and properly sized images, with none of the page builder weight that makes a site crawl on a phone signal.
Looked after, not left alone
A secure connection, software kept up to date, daily backups and monitoring that runs while you are asleep. If something breaks we usually know before you do.
Changes without the invoice
New prices, new photos, a new page. Send it over and we do it, usually the same day. It is part of the plan, so there is no hourly rate waiting at the end of it.
What you end up with
The shapes that actually work
Every site is built from scratch for the business it belongs to. These are the three layouts most small businesses turn out to need.
The local trade
Phone number where a thumb already is, the jobs you take, the areas you cover, and a form that lands in your inbox.
The place people visit
Photographs first, then the menu or the price list, the hours you are open, and a map that opens in one tap.
The appointment book
What you treat, who is doing the treating, what it costs, and a booking link that behaves itself on a phone.
Side by side
How this compares
Against the two things you are most likely weighing it against.
| FreeSiteCrew | Other free website offers | A design agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to build | Free | Free | £1,500 to £5,000 |
| Minimum term | None | Commonly 12 to 24 months | Not applicable |
| Monthly cost | From £10 | Often £15 to £40 | Hosting billed separately |
| Who owns the site | You do | Sometimes the provider | You do |
| Changes after launch | Included in the plan | Usually charged for | Charged by the hour |
| Time to live | About a week | Several weeks | Six to twelve weeks |
Typical market ranges rather than quotes from named companies. Check anything here against whoever you are comparing us with, and if we have it wrong, tell us and we will correct it.
Questions
Free website questions, answered
If yours is not here, email us and we will answer it properly.
Can a small business website really be free?
Yes. We design and build the website at no charge, with no build fee, no deposit and no invoice at the end for the design work. You pay for hosting and support once the site is live, and nothing at all before that.
What is the catch with a free website?
With most free website offers the catch is the contract: the build is free, and you are tied into hosting for one to two years to pay for it. Ours is that we only make the build back if you choose to stay, month by month. There is no minimum term, so the site has to be worth keeping.
How much does a small business website cost?
A design agency typically charges £1,500 to £5,000 to design and build a small business website, before hosting, a logo or a phone version are added to it. With us the build is free and the only cost is the monthly hosting and support plan.
How much is website hosting each month?
Hosting and support start at £10 a month, billed in your own currency. That covers the hosting itself, a secure connection, daily backups, security updates, monitoring and the changes you ask for as the business moves on.
Am I tied into a contract?
No. There is no minimum term and no notice period, which is the main way this differs from most free website offers. Cancel in any month and the plan stops at the end of the month you have already paid for.
Who owns the website if someone else builds it?
You do. The finished website, your content and your domain are yours, which is not true of every free website offer. Some providers keep the site on their own platform, so it is worth asking whoever you are comparing us with.
How long does it take to build a small business website?
About a week with us, against six to twelve weeks for a typical agency project. The week starts the day your words and pictures reach us rather than the day you apply, because the content is the part we cannot do for you.
What do I need to provide to get a website built?
What the business does, any photographs you want used, and answers when we ask questions. If you do not have photographs, or you are not sure what the words should say, tell us and we will work with what you have.
Will my website show up on Google?
Every site we build is set up so search engines can read it properly: page titles, descriptions, headings and structure all done the way Google expects, and the site submitted once it is live. Nobody can promise a position, and anybody who does is guessing.
Can I move my website somewhere else later?
Yes, whenever you like. Tell us and we stop billing at the end of the paid month, hand over the site files, and help your next host get them running. There is no exit fee and nothing to unpick.