How to Make a Website for Your Small Business on a Budget

Build a Website for Free with HubSpot CMS
Amy Rigby
Amy Rigby

Updated:

Published:

If you’re stressing over how to make a website for your small business on a budget, wait till you hear about the time I won a $1,000-a-month retainer client with a website I’d built by myself for free.

Two small business owners on a laptop looking up how to make a website for your small business on a budget

Build your website with HubSpot's Free CMS Software

In this post, I’ll walk you through a five-step process to get your small business site up and running in one day. It’s similar to the process I followed years ago. Plus, I’ll give you a peek at the exact site I built back then.

But first, I promised you a story.

How to Create a Small Business Website on a Budget

In 2013, I was fresh out of college and trying to make a name for myself as a freelance writer. I didn’t have much money or website experience, so I built a free portfolio using the website builder Weebly.

Here it is, in all its glory. (Yes, I’m a tad embarrassed by the “Powered by Weebly” in the corner.)

my old small business website that i built for free using weebly. it has a “powered by weebly” label in the bottom left corner.

That humble site was enough to convince a startup to sign a retainer agreement for $1,000/month, bringing me on as its marketing writer. We ended up working together for over four years.

Today, I’m going to walk you through exactly how to make a website for your small business on a budget — or even for free.

If you’re a small business owner, I highly recommend using a website builder because it will be the easiest way to get started. When deciding which website builder to use in this demo, I considered Weebly, Squarespace, WordPress, HubSpot, and Hostinger.

HubSpot's Free Website Builder

Create and customize your own business website with an easy drag-and-drop website builder.

  • Build a website without any coding skills.
  • Pre-built themes and templates.
  • Built-in marketing tools and features.
  • And more!

I chose Wix because it’s updated more frequently, has native ecommerce features if needed, provides more theme options, and offers a free plan that gives you a free, customizable branded URL (e.g., yourname.wixsite.com).

Also, as of January 2025, Wix is in the top three most popular CMSs in terms of marketshare (WordPress and Shopify are the only ones to surpass Wix).

So, let’s dive in!

Step 1: Sign up for a free website builder like Wix.

wix homepage reads, “create a website without limits” with a “get started” button

After you sign up, Wix will ask you who you’re designing the site for. Select the first option: “For myself, my business or a friend.”

wix asks, “who are you creating a website for?” select “for myself, my business or a friend.”

Next, Wix will ask you for your preference in getting started. Because I’m well-versed in website builders, I selected “Exploring the platform myself.”

wix asks, “what’s the best way for you to get started?” with “exploring the platform myself” selected

Next, Wix will give you the option of starting a chat to generate your website entirely with AI or getting started without AI. I have used Wix’s AI builder twice before, with varying results. It has gotten better and faster, but I still prefer to use a prebuilt template and customize it myself.

In my opinion, AI website builders are fine if you’re on a budget and want something fast. But if you’re picky like me and willing to take the time, it’s best to choose a template and customize it yourself. Because only you know your preferences.

If you’re interested, check out HubSpot’s AI website builder. It’s free!

Now, back to Wix. If you want to skip the AI builder, click “Set up without chat.”

wix website says “bring your ideas to life with ai” with two options: “start chat” and “set up without chat”

From there, type in your business category. I typed “writer” and then selected “Marketing Writer Portfolio.”

wix website says, “what type of website do you want to create?” “writer” appears in the search bar, and there is a dropdown menu with options like, “writer blog,” “writers forum,” and “marketing writer portfolio.”

After selecting “Marketing Writer Portfolio,” Wix loaded my dashboard within five seconds. It then asked me to choose a custom domain name. If you haven’t yet decided on a name, you can always click “Skip” and do so later when you’re ready to launch your site.

wix website asks, “what would you like to call your website?” with an option to type in your website name or click “skip”

Wix will then ask you to add any apps. I decided not to add any. If you plan to sell products or services online, then I suggest you select “Online Store” or “Bookings.” However, you can always add these later, so don’t get stuck on this step.

wix website says, “choose the apps you’d like to add”

After you’ve chosen your apps, click “Continue to Dashboard.”

wix website says, “you’re all set!” with a button that says, “continue to dashboard.”

Pro tip: Test out a few website builders, like I did, before you decide which one to build your final site on. You can try HubSpot’s website builder for free.

Step 2: Choose a website template.

Once you’re in your dashboard, go ahead and skip to the “Design your website” step to choose a template. You will customize your website design later.

wix dashboard with the option to select “design your website”

Again, I’ve used Wix’s AI builder before, and it’s gotten better recently, but I still recommend clicking “Customize a Template.”

wix dashboard asks, “how would you like to design your website?” and has two options: “customize a template” or “generate a design with ai”

Based on “Marketing Writer Portfolio,” Wix suggested some themes that fit my business.

wix shows multiple website templates and has the headline, “pick the website template you love”

Wix has over 800 website templates, so you have plenty of options. If you don’t like what it suggests, keep exploring.

You can also preview any template by clicking “View.”

wix templates with an arrow pointing to the “view” button

I really liked this one, so I clicked “Edit Template” to begin customizing the template.

wix template preview with an arrow pointing to the “edit template” button

Pro tip: Once you choose a template, you’re not locked in forever. With a website builder, it’s very easy to change your template if you want to update your design.

Step 3: Customize your template.

After clicking “Edit Template,” Wix loaded my dashboard. I noticed Wix is really pushing its AI features, as a popup immediately appeared, encouraging me to “enhance your AI content.”

wix popup says, “enhance your ai content”

As a writer, I’m comfortable creating my own website copy. But for the sake of this experiment, I decided to give it a test run so you can see how it works.

Just type some information about your small business website and what it offers. Then, click “Generate Site Text.”

wix popup for ai text generation with the following input: “i’m a writer offering content marketing services and blog posts to tech companies.”

Here’s what Wix AI came up with:

wix ai-generated text on a writer website

I found it too wordy and vague, so I ended up changing it later.

I really liked Wix’s editor and dashboard. The UI is bright and intuitive. All I had to do was click an area, and I could edit it, like this headline:

wix website editor shows a headline being edited

What impressed me the most was that Wix has a pretty sophisticated built-in image editor, which is not something I’ve found in other website builders like WordPress.

The Wix background removal was not as clean as Canva, but it had a nifty AI feature, so once again, I decided to test it for you.

wix photo studio ai image editor with a photo of a woman with sunglasses on her head

I prompted the Wix AI Image Editor to “remove the sunglasses” from my photo.

wix photo studio ai image editor with the prompt: “remove the sunglasses”

The results looked pretty convincing! But, I thought I looked better with the sunglasses on, so I didn’t end up using this AI-edited photo.

wix photo studio ai image editor with ai-edited photo of the woman without the sunglasses on her head

Editing my small business website pages was as simple as navigating to the left menu and selecting which page I wanted to modify.

wix editor showing site pages and menu

I also wanted to swap out the little yellow circle icon for something more writerly, and that was simple to do.

wix editor with vector art options

Despite never using a typewriter in real life, I chose that as my website icon. Wix even let me change the typewriter’s colors to match my website color palette.

wix editor changing vector art colors

Remember how I said you could add ecommerce and booking features later? Just click on the + icon where it says “Add Elements.”

Then click “Store” if you plan to sell products online.

wix elements to add an online store

And select “Bookings” if you want your visitors to be able to book and pay for appointments, meetings, or classes via your website.

wix elements to add online bookings

After about an hour and a half of playing around with it, I was pretty happy with my simple writer website. Want to see it?

how to make a website for your small business on a budget: example of the finished small business website built on wix for a writer

Once you're happy with how the desktop version of your site looks, it’s time to check the mobile version. To do this, navigate to the mobile icon on the upper left corner of the Wix editor.

wix editor switching to mobile version of site

Pro tip: Mobile optimization is crucial to SEO (which helps users find your website), so don’t skip this part!

wix popup reads, “edit your site for mobile”

When I saw the mobile version of my site, the first thing I noticed was this shopping cart hovering smack dab in the top middle, interrupting the flow of text.

the mobile preview of the writer’s site on wix with shopping cart icon on top of site

In the mobile editor, Wix lets you “hide” elements. I was able to hide the shopping cart icon. I also adjusted the top section so that it wasn’t so tall.

wix mobile editor hiding the shopping cart icon

Now, it looks much better:

the finished mobile version of the writer’s site on wix, without the shopping cart icon

Wix’s platform will walk you through some basic steps to optimize your mobile site. For example, it asked me if I wanted to have a “back to top” button.

wix mobile editor gives you the option to add a “back to top” button

The only complaint I had about the Wix editor is that, when I switched to the mobile version of my site, the editor was buggy at first. While I was trying to select the orange up-and-down arrow to adjust the height of that section, that button kept disappearing. But after a few tries, it corrected itself.

HubSpot's Free Website Builder

Create and customize your own business website with an easy drag-and-drop website builder.

  • Build a website without any coding skills.
  • Pre-built themes and templates.
  • Built-in marketing tools and features.
  • And more!

Pro tip: Even with a website builder like Wix, you can hire a developer to write custom code if there are features that you’d like to have that aren’t natively included in the app. For example, HubSpot has a network of partners who can customize HubSpot-hosted websites.

Step 4: Publish your site.

I was pretty happy with how my site looked, so I decided it was time to launch. It was as easy as clicking “Publish.”

wix “publish” button

I got this popup confirming that my site was live, and it included my Wix URL.

wix popup reads, “congratulations. your site is published and live online”

Pro tip: You’ll be happy to know that once your Wix site is live, it will be indexed by Google, even if you’re not on a paid plan.

Step 5: Register a custom domain name.

At this point, your site is live, but it’s got Wix branding and a Wix URL. You can customize the prefix of the Wix URL that comes with your free account.

Now, this part was embarrassingly difficult for me to figure out. To change the prefix of your Wix site URL, you must go to Account Settings.

From there, you can edit your site prefix.

wix “change site url prefix” popup

Sure, you could share this Wix URL with customers. But if you want a professional image and a memorable URL, it’s well worth investing in a custom domain.

Normally, on a self-hosted website, a custom domain costs less than $20/year. But since Wix is a website platform, you have to upgrade to a premium plan to get a custom domain. The cheapest premium plan costs $204/year.

Just remember that because Wix is an all-in-one platform, that cost includes the domain registration and web hosting. If you wen the self-hosted route, it would end up costing around the same.

Now, in Wix, to connect a custom domain to your site, go to Settings > Connect Domain.

wix “connect domain”

Then, search for the domain you want. If it’s available, click Get It.

wix “connect a domain” section with domain search bar and green “get it” button

From there, select “Get the domain for free with a Premium plan.” There’s no use in selecting “Buy domain only” because you still won’t be able to connect your custom domain to your Wix site until you upgrade to a Premium plan.

wix options to get the domain with a paid plan or buy domain only

This Wix premium plan is $17/month if you pay annually and $24/month if you pay monthly.

wix checkout for one year of a paid plan totaling $204

Step 6: Set up your marketing tools.

Once you launch your website, you still need to make sure your potential customers actually find it. In Wix, there’s a Marketing & SEO tab that you need to visit to ensure visitors can find you.

wix marketing & seo tab

Wix makes it easy by walking you through an SEO checklist based on your goals and the keywords you’d like to rank for.

wix seo setup checklist

SEO is a major part of website marketing — but it’s not the only one. You still want to set up emails and other messaging to reach your target audience.

To help you achieve this, consider a CRM. With Wix, you can use an app to connect HubSpot, a leading CRM, to your Wix website to get unified customer data, keep track of interactions, and send personalized marketing.

This is yet another step that I wish I’d implemented in my small business. Without a CRM, I’ve had very disjointed marketing efforts and customer communications.

For example, early in my business, whenever a potential client contacted me via email or through my website contact form, I was mentally keeping track of whether I needed to follow up with them, which meant that sometimes I forgot.

Eventually, I set up a system in my project management tool and my to-do list app. I convinced myself that my business simply wasn’t “big enough” to warrant a CRM.

However, if you want to scale your business, it’s best to set yourself up on a CRM now so that you can grow wisely!

To do this in Wix, visit Marketing & SEO > Marketing Integrations > Go to Marketing Integrations > Apps > App Market.

Then, search for “HubSpot” to find the HubSpot by SyncSmart integration.

wix hubspot integration

Click “Add to Site” to gain the power of syncing website contact form submissions and contacts to the HubSpot platform. That way, you can keep track of interactions, get reports, personalize messages to customers, and keep customers coming back for more.

wix hubspot integration with “add to site” blue button

The Easiest Way to Build a Small Business Website

Use a website builder. That’s the secret. Now, what is a website builder, and what is its alternative?

HubSpot's Free Website Builder

Create and customize your own business website with an easy drag-and-drop website builder.

  • Build a website without any coding skills.
  • Pre-built themes and templates.
  • Built-in marketing tools and features.
  • And more!

Unless you’re a web developer, you’ve basically got two options when it comes to building a website:

  • Self-hosted (three separate providers: host + CMS + domain registrar). A self-hosted site needs to connect three separate providers: the host (which stores your website’s files), the CMS (which makes it easy for you to edit your website without coding knowledge), and the domain registrar (which is where you buy your domain).
  • Website builder (all-in-one hosting, CMS, and domain registration). A website builder is a centralized place that takes care of your hosting, CMS, and (sometimes) domain registration. Further, it features an easy drag-and-drop editor so you can customize your website template without knowing how to code.

    As far as website builders go, there are many free options available. HubSpot, WordPress, Wix, and Canva offer free software to build your dream website on a budget. I also love that these free website builders provide themes you can build upon to customize your site.

And because these offer drag-and-drop editing, you don‘t have to know anything about coding to create a website that resonates with your organization’s mission and delights customers. This is especially helpful if you have a small team and don’t have one allocated developer yet.

Pro tip: We did our homework on free website builders and compiled this comprehensive list.

If you’re pressed for time and have it in your budget, you could also hire a web developer to build your small business site for you — but this will be the most expensive route.

There are, however, two things you can do to mitigate the cost of hiring a developer to build your small business site:

  • Hire a freelance web developer versus a web design agency. Indie developers are likely going to be more affordable than a full-fledged agency because the latter has way more overhead.
  • Have the developer customize a prebuilt theme instead of building a custom website from scratch. Building a custom website is often unnecessary. There are so many beautiful, robust website templates out there that you’re bound to find one that suits your small business needs.

    As a compromise, you could hire a developer who can take a premade template and then customize parts of it for you. That way, you’re not paying someone to spend more hours starting from scratch.

Pro tip: Website design and development are different. Consequently, designers and developers are responsible for creating different facets of your site. While it's possible to find someone who can do both, you might have to hire separate people.

That brings me to my next point: Unless you need a developer to build a custom plugin or a designer to create a truly unique user interface, you might find your money is better spent elsewhere (such as on website templates).

How to Make a Website for Your Small Business on a Budget: FAQs

How much does it cost to build a website for a small business?

This answer varies widely depending on your needs and preferences. You can build a website for a small business for free if you use a website builder's free plan or for tens of thousands of dollars if you get it custom built by a developer.

GoodFirms surveyed 100 web development agencies and found that the average cost of a small business website was $1,000 to $7,000.

Another data point: I hired a freelance web/graphic designer to build my brand kit years ago, and if I were to hire her to build a standard website today, she would charge at least $3,800.

So, I hope that gives you a general idea of the cost of building a small business website.

How can I create a website without spending money?

If you have literally zero dollars to spend, you can get a free website with a branded URL (e.g., yoursite.wixsite.com) from Wix, as I showed you above. You can also achieve something similar with Weebly, like I did many years ago.

Is it worth making a website for a small business?

Absolutely! Even if you are a brick-and-mortar business, having an online presence is crucial to building brand awareness and winning over customers. Consumers rely on the internet more than ever before when deciding which business to patronize.

In fact, according to Zippia research, 99% of shoppers go online to find local businesses.

Can I build my own website for free?

Yes! To build your own website for free, you’ll need to use a free website builder. If you don’t upgrade to the paid versions, your free website will likely have a branded subdomain, branding on the website, and maybe even ads that you don’t control.

Is Wix free?

Yes, Wix does have a free plan, though it will be limited, and it’s not advertised well on the Wix website. With it, you can build a website for free and get a free branded subdomain; however, if you want to connect a custom domain or use ecommerce or booking features, you will have to upgrade to a paid plan.

Build a website for your small business without breaking the bank.

As a small business owner myself, I know how tight the budget can get. But what I love most about small business owners is how scrappy we can be.

Yes, you can make a small business website on a budget. And you can do it yourself, thanks to no-code website builders. I can’t wait to see what you make!

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

HubSpot's Free Website Builder

Create and customize your own business website with an easy drag-and-drop website builder.

  • Build a website without any coding skills.
  • Pre-built themes and templates.
  • Built-in marketing tools and features.
  • And more!
Topics: Website Design

Related Articles

Create and customize your own business website with an easy drag-and-drop website builder.

BUILD A WEBSITE

CMS Hub is flexible for marketers, powerful for developers, and gives customers a personalized, secure experience

START FREE OR GET A DEMO