Start here · Web & commerce

How to create a website for your small business

To create a website for your business, you need a domain name, somewhere to host the site, and a way to build the pages. A website builder bundles the building and hosting so you can publish without a developer, while you register the domain separately or through the builder. After launch, basic SEO work helps people find the site when they search.

By Bill Belcamino · Page updated September 19, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

Price this for my team See the software it takes

How to build a website, step by step

Decide what the site must do: show services, take bookings, sell products or collect inquiries.
Choose and register a domain name that matches your business name.
Pick a website builder or hosting setup that fits what the site must do.
Write your core pages: home, services or products, about and contact.
Set page titles and descriptions, connect your domain, and publish.
Add the site to your business listings and search console so search engines find it.

Why it matters

17% of small businesses are still offline Source

SBE Council 2025: 53% sell/market through business websites Source

The software this job takes

Which categories a job needs is Editorial assessment; the tools, prices and dates are Verified data.

Prices are each vendor’s published entry plan, recorded from its own pricing page and dated. The example column prices a team of 10: only per-user prices are multiplied; flat and per-account prices are shown as published. Change the team size in the finder.

You need this

Website Builders

A website builder gets a professional site live without hiring a developer.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Wix	Free (Wix branding); paid plans for a custom domain	Not stated in our record	$0 to startFree (Wix branding); paid plans for a custom domain	Yes	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing
Squarespace	From $19/mo	Per site per month, billed annually	$19/moFlat per site per month, billed annually; includes 2 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	No	Aug 26, 2026Vendor pricing
WordPress	Free software; hosting, themes and plugins cost extra	Not stated in our record	$0 to startFree software; hosting, themes and plugins cost extra	Yes	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Website Builders pricing →Head to head:Wix vs WordPress Wix vs Squarespace4 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

SEO Software

SEO tools show what people search for and how your site ranks against competitors.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Semrush	From $117.33/mo billed annually ($139 monthly)	Per account per month, billed annually; extra users from $45/month	$117.33/moFlat per account per month, billed annually; extra users from $45/month	YesLimited free account — 10 Analytics requests/day, 1 project	Sep 17, 2026Vendor pricing
Ahrefs	From $29/mo (Starter); full toolset from $129/mo (Lite)	Per account per month (Starter)	$29/moFlat per account per month (Starter)	YesAhrefs Free — limited Site Explorer & Site Audit for sites you own	Sep 17, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all SEO Software pricing →Head to head:Semrush vs Ahrefs2 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

Design Tools for Business

Design tools turn templates and AI into finished graphics, presentations and video for marketing, or into product and website designs.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Canva	Free plan; Business $20.83/user/mo ($250/year) or $25 monthly; Pro $12/mo for 1 person	Per user	$208.30/mo$20.83 × 10 users	YesYes — Canva Free, 1 person, 5 GB	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing
Adobe Express	Free plan; Teams $7.99/user/mo (annual, 2-seat min); Premium $9.99/mo for 1 person	Per user	$79.90/mo$7.99 × 10 users	YesYes — Adobe Express Free, no card	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing
Figma	Free Starter; Professional Full $16/seat/mo (annual), $20 monthly; Collab $3	Per seat	$160/mo$16 × 10 seats	YesYes — Starter, 3 design files	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Design Tools pricing →Head to head:Canva vs Figma Canva vs Adobe Express Adobe Express vs Figma6 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Not covered on HelpCompare yet

This job usually also needs domain & web hosting. We don’t track that category yet, so we have no verified prices to show for it. We would rather say so than guess. The guidance on this page still covers what to look for.

What to look for

Editorial assessment

Fit for what the site must do A brochure site, a booking site and a store need different features. Check that the builder handles your main job without add-ons you have to bolt on.
Domain and hosting setup See whether hosting is included and how you connect a domain you already own. Domains and hosting are often priced apart from the builder.
Mobile editing and layout Many visitors will see your site on a phone. Preview every template on mobile before you commit to it.
Basic SEO controls You should be able to edit page titles, descriptions and web addresses yourself. Without these, ranking for your own business name gets harder.
Who can edit Check how many people can log in and edit, and what each seat costs, if more than one person will update the site.
Moving out later Find out whether you can export your content if you outgrow the builder. Some sites are hard to move without a rebuild.

Common mistakes to avoid

Registering the domain in someone else's name If a designer or former employee owns the domain account, you can lose control of your web address. Keep it in a business account you control.
Choosing on template looks alone A good-looking template can still lack the booking, store or form features you need. Check features against your list first.
Assuming a free plan is enough Free plans often limit custom domains or add the builder's branding. Read what the plan excludes before you build on it.
Launching and forgetting it Out-of-date hours, prices or contact details send customers elsewhere. Assign someone to review the site on a schedule.

What to settle before you buy

What is the one thing a visitor should do on our site: call, book, buy or inquire?
Who will write the content and keep it up to date?
Do we already own a domain, and whose account is it in?
Does the site need to connect to booking, payments, email marketing or a store?
Will we build it ourselves or pay someone, and who maintains it after launch?

Ready to take it to whoever signs off?Turn your shortlist into a one-page decision brief with verified prices, or price the whole job for your team size.

Build a decision brief Open the finder

Frequently asked questions

How do I build a website for free?

Of the 3 website builder tools we track, Wix and WordPress list a free plan or free tier (limits are in the table above); Squarespace does not. Before you build the whole site on a free plan, check whether it lets you use your own domain and whether it shows the builder's branding.

How do I build a website with AI?

Some builders can draft a first layout and text from a short description of your business. Treat that as a starting draft: check every fact, price and claim before you publish, and rewrite it so it sounds like you.

How do I create a website for my business on Google?

A business profile on Google is a listing, not a full website, but it is worth setting up alongside your site so you show in local search and maps. Link the profile to your own domain so customers can find your full details.

What is the best website builder for a small business?

There is no single answer. The one that fits depends on whether you need bookings, a store or just a brochure site, and who will edit it. The 3 website builder tools we track (Wix, Squarespace and WordPress) are compared in the table above with verified entry prices and billing units.

How we built this page

We start from the job, not the product. The phrasings people search for this job (for example “how to create a website for my business”) come from our research into how small and mid-size teams describe it. Which software categories the job takes is our editorial judgment. Every tool, entry price, billing unit and date comes from HelpCompare’s open dataset, recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page; nothing is estimated, and where a vendor publishes no price we say so. We take no affiliate commissions and publish no scores of our own. See our methodology or download the data from Open Data.

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How to create a website for your small business

How to build a website, step by step

The software this job takes

Website Builders

SEO Software

Design Tools for Business

Not covered on HelpCompare yet

What to look for

Common mistakes to avoid

What to settle before you buy

Frequently asked questions

How do I build a website for free?

How do I build a website with AI?

How do I create a website for my business on Google?

What is the best website builder for a small business?

How we built this page

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Bill Belcamino