3 Reasons Why A ‘Free Website’ Does More Harm Than Good To Your Business

One of the first questions a small business owner asks is, “Do I Really Need a Website For My Business?”

My response will always be that a small business owner doesn’t need a website to get started, but to really make inroads (and money) in their business, they will eventually need a paid website with plenty of functions.

The second question I’ve seen a lot recently is: “Can I not just create a free website using Canva?”

I want to explore 3 reasons why a free website does more harm than good to your business.

1. Most Free Websites Aren’t Websites At All

Let’s use the example of Canva.

Canva is a graphic design platform that allows you to create beautiful designs even if you have very little graphic design experience.

I love Canva for creating social media posts, Pinterest Pins, Portfolios, Invoices, etc etc

I can use my brand colours, my preferred fonts and literally DIY my whole branding right there in the app, it’s an absolute game changer!

Now, Canva does give you the option to create a website.

But believe me when I say, not all websites are created equal. You only need to do a quick Google search of “Best website platforms” to get a whole host of “advice” and conflicting opinions.

The reason why I say most free websites are not really websites at all and could be doing more harm than good to your business is that Canva only allows you to create a one-page website.

This is great to showcase your services in a portfolio-style design and add a link on your social media platforms, for example.

Maybe you’re developing a “freebie” for your business, and need a single-page landing page to promote it.

But ultimately, what happens after your potential customer views that page?

Nothing happens.

They view it, usually forget about it, and you may have lost a customer.

This is one of the reasons why a free website does more harm than good to your business if your goal is to actually make some money or develop your contact list.

FYI: If you want a custom domain name for your website, you’ll need to purchase one AND use the paid version of Canva to host your site.

That free website is looking costlier by the minute!

2. A Free Website Does More Harm Than Good To Your Business If You Have No Way to Make Sales

So, let’s explore this idea further.

As a small business owner, I am going to hazard a guess that you want to make money.

Following on from the example above. 

If you only have a single landing page advertising your services or your lead magnet, but have nowhere to lead your customers, then to put it bluntly, you needn’t have bothered in the first place.

The beauty of a well-crafted website allows you to guide your potential customer or client on a journey around your site.

Imagine this:

Someone lands on your free website, takes a look at your page and decides they’d like to work with you or buy from you.

But as they move around your “website”, they find that they need to navigate to your socials to truly engage, nor can they go right ahead and purchase a product. 

Maybe they want your freebie, but they still need to get in touch with you rather than just access it from your site.

All of this will probably result in a lost client.

Contrary to that, a website allows you to do all of the above with ease!

3. A Potential Customer May Be Put Off By The Lack of Functionality, eg Buying Options

Since we’re talking about making sales, I bet you’d love to have a site that has built-in purchasing options for those potential customers who land on your website.

Building seamless buying or booking options is a game-changer for ease of use and customer experience.

You want to create an experience that is as frictionless as possible for anyone who lands on your website.

If you can’t embed certain functions on your site, as above, you’re already making it more difficult for those potential new clients.

The only way to include those features on your website is to purchase a fully functional website with a personalised domain name.

Let me give you an example.

I used Wix to build my website using their premium plan, but I didn’t pay full price.

Wix has a 50% discount on all of their products every Tuesday.

So for 2 years, I paid £12.50 / month for my website.

Suddenly, it’s not looking so expensive!

What you gain from a paid website version is worth it if you can make sales, develop your email list, host your freebies and simply have a one-stop shop for all your products and services.

I hope by now you have realised that a free website does more harm than good to your business if the goal for your business is to make money, get your business found, showcase your products and services and highlight your business as a professional entity.

If you’re not fully convinced, I’ve got a bonus reason for you.

Bonus Reason: SEO capabilities

Have you heard of SEO?

It stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and is used to tell search engines what your website is all about so you can rank higher on their search pages.

It’s almost impossible (I’m being generous by saying almost!) to gain any traction with SEO on a single-page website hosted by the likes of Canva.

You’re simply not providing Google (or any other search engine) with enough data to figure out who you are and what you do.

A key feature to improve your website’s SEO is to add a blog to your website, which you obviously can’t do with a single-page website.

I know what you might be thinking when reading this: “I have no clue about SEO!”

This is where Wix comes in.

If you were to build your website with Wix, you’d have access to their SEO checklist.

They walk you through exactly how to add basic SEO to your site without needing to know anything about SEO!

That is one of my favourite features of the Wix platform.

Ok, by now you should definitely have a better idea of why I have said that a free website does more harm than good to your business.

If I have made you think twice about creating a free website, then I’d highly encourage you to watch my FREE Beginners Wix Website Tutorial that will help you understand the platform and how to build your website.

You can access the tutorial by clicking THIS LINK.