Sometime this March 2024, Google will shut down their free websites from their Google Business Profile. If you have taken advantage of Google’s Free Websites, you need to take action NOW! When the websites are taken down, if someone clicks on the link, they will be redirected to your Google Business Profile until June 10, 2024. After that date, customers will get a “404 page not found” error when they try to visit your website. In other words, you need a new website. Most businesses actually outgrow these free websites within a few months. You are limited in how much you can customize it. Additionally, if you want to add certain functions, you probably can’t or you need to pay more.
Nevertheless, if you have one of Google’s Free Websites, it’s time to move it!
According to Google…
Domains that end with business.site and negocio.site will be removed from the website field on your Business Profile in March. We recommend that you update your Google Business Profile to point to a new website.
Google Support
Having your own website gives you credibility and trustworthiness. If someone wants to know more about your business and gets the 404 page not found” error, that doesn’t look good. They will go elsewhere. Probably to one of your competitors.
Options for Free Websites
Ideally, now would be a good time to upgrade to a Hosted WordPress Website. However, you will incur some costs. If you’d like to discuss your options on building a WordPress site, please click here to schedule a free 15-minute Zoom call to review your options.
Almost-Free Websites
If you have a limited budget, here are some free-to-a-point website builders. They are in my preferred order. By “free-to-a-point” I mean as your business grows and you need more options and functions, sure you can add them, however, the added fees start to add up. At that point, you might as well get a hosted WordPress website.
- WordPress.com – If you want your own domain name — which I highly recommend for branding and SEO — choose their “Starter” for $48/yr and you get a free domain for a year. For free, your domain will look like yourbusiness.wordpress.com. This is my #1 choice because when you are ready to upgrade to a hosted WordPress site, it’s easy to export all your content from one to the other. If you have an ecommerce site, adding WooCommerce to your free website will require an upgraded plan. At that point, go to the hosted WordPress and you’ll have way more flexibility and it’s 100% customizable. Besides that, you own your site!
- Canva.com – According to their site, “Canva websites are only available to Canva Free, Canva Pro, Canva for Teams, and Canva for Education users.” It is a free website builder. You can design a free, one-page website. For start-ups, this may be all you need. Consequently, when you outgrow it — and most of you will — you need to move. Furthermore, from what I gather, their SEO is not very good.
- Shopify for Ecommerce – I absolutely recommend Shopify for ecommerce (if you’re not on WordPress). They offer you some free time to set up your shop, but it will have a “storefront password” and to activate your checkout, you have to upgrade to one of their paid plans. They have a “Starter Plan” for $5/m with a 5% transaction fee through Shopify Payments. What’s more, as you want to add features and “apps”, the fees start adding up.
- Squarespace – I’ve had several clients start on Squarespace and upgrade to the hosted WordPress when they’ve outgrown it. They offer a free 14-day trial. Their “Personal” plan is $16/m, paid annually at $192/yr, includes a free domain name for 1 year.
- Wix.com – I have to admit, Wix has improved over the years. Unfortunately, they no longer have the free website plan The least expensive is their “Light” option at $17/m or $204/yr, including a free domain for a year.
Weigh Your Options!
However, don’t wait too long or your website will be gone. Once you’ve decided on a platform, here’s what you have to do…
- You’ll have to copy and paste all the text from the old to the new. Naturally, you need to do this right away. At least grab your text before you lose the website. Copy and paste it to a Word document. You can always edit it later.
- Do keyword research so you know what your target is searching for.
- Don’t forget the SEO! Most importantly, figure out how to add the “meta description” or “meta tag”. Obviously, this is where your keyword research results come in.
- Make sure you have all the media — videos and graphics — ready for the new one. Don’t think, “I’ll add that later.” You never will.
- Don’t forget your branding — logo and color scheme.
- Focus on UX and UI.
- Since it’s a new platform for you, watch their tutorial videos to understand how it all works. Each platform is different. Hence, they work differently.
This is TIME SENSITIVE!
If you have a Free Google Website, there is no time to waste! Or, if you know someone who does, please share this article with them now!
Here are some more articles on websites and their importance…
- 12 Website Mistakes You Need to Fix for Success
- What You Need to Know to Build Your Website for Effective Results
- How to get SEO for a new Website or a Neglected One?
- What Could Go Wrong When Building Your Own Website?
- 3 Elements of an Effective Website that Produces Results
All in all, you need not be overwhelmed with the thought of building a new website. Especially, when I’m here to help you! Don’t waste another minute! Book your free 15-minute Zoom call to go over your options!