Why we build websites for free (and how we actually make money) ยท #3
Every business owner who hears about our free website program asks some version of the same question: what is the catch? It is a fair question. Websites cost real money to design and build, and nobody hands them out for no reason. So here is our reason, and our whole business model, in plain language. If anything below sounds like a bad deal to you, do not apply. We would rather lose an application than start with a misunderstanding.
What is actually free
The design and the build are free. If your application is accepted, our team designs a professional website for your business, builds it, and puts it live on your domain. Your site includes the things a real website needs: a design matched to your business and your colors, pages that work on phones first, the basic setup so search engines can find and read your pages, security certificates, and a walkthrough showing you how to update your own text, photos, and hours. You do not pay us for any of that work, and you never get a surprise invoice for it later.
What is not free: hosting
Every website on the internet lives on a server, and that service is called hosting. Hosting is the one thing you pay for. It costs $19.99 per month, or $199 per year if you prefer to pay annually. We tell you this up front, before you apply, and we ask you to acknowledge it inside the application so there is no confusion later. After your email is verified and before we start building, we set your hosting up with you. No hosting, no build, because a website with nowhere to live is just a pile of files. You are paying for the home your site lives in. The work of building the house is on us.
How we make money
Two ways, and only two. The first is the hosting fee above, which covers the servers and the upkeep that keeps your site online, secure, and backed up. The second is optional upgrades, offered only after your site launches. Some owners add an AI chat agent that answers visitors and captures leads around the clock. Some add a CRM so every inquiry from the site is organized in one place. Some add social posting or regular blogging. Plenty of our clients never buy a single upgrade, and that is fine. The free site is not a trial that expires or a demo with features locked. It is a finished website.
Why we work this way
Most business owners have been burned by marketing promises before, so they do not buy promises anymore. A free website removes the risk from the decision. You judge our work by looking at it, not by trusting a pitch. In return, we meet owners we would never have reached with ads, and when a business grows and wants more from its website, we are the team it already trusts. Some of those owners become paying clients for years. Enough of them do that the math works for us, and the ones who never spend beyond hosting still got a website they are proud to share.
The exit terms, because they matter
Some free website offers hold your site hostage. If you leave, you pay a fee to take your own files with you, or you discover the domain was never really yours. We think that is backwards, so our terms are simple. Your domain is registered in your name and it is always yours. You can cancel hosting at any time. If you leave, there is no exit fee, and your website files go with you. We would rather keep you with good work than with fine print, and if the day comes when you outgrow us, we will shake your hand and wish you well.
One more honest detail
Applications are reviewed by a real person, and not every business is accepted. Because people, not software, build every site, spots are limited, and we look for businesses that are ready: a real operation, a clear idea of what it does, and the basics prepared. If that is you, the application takes about five minutes, and preparing well makes it stronger. Our article on what to prepare before you apply walks through the whole checklist.