A free website builder is enough if you just want to post your company's or shop's basic information like a business card. It falls short if you want more inquiries, want to be found in search, or want to show your company's credibility. The reasons are the ads and address limits on free plans, and the fact that free tools don't help with the writing and the planning.
Free tools are enough for companies that only need to post basic information
Companies that can get by with a free website builder are those whose content fits into business hours, address, map, phone number, and a simple introduction of the menu or business. If customers already come through referrals and word of mouth, and the website is used by those people to check your location or phone number, a free site does its job.
Free tools fall short for companies that want their website to bring in new customers. That role needs a structure that can be found in search, writing that makes people want to get in touch, and a look that conveys a trustworthy company, and there are parts the features and limits of free tools can't reach.
Limits common to free plans
Most free website building services have limits like the following. Before signing up, check the latest plan table of the service you want to use.
- Ads or logos of the service provider are shown on screen
- The domain (your website's address) is limited to a free one that includes the service's name
- There are caps on capacity and number of pages
- You can't create email addresses on your company's domain
- There are restrictions on search settings and fine design adjustments
Of these, the ads and the domain have the biggest impact. With ads showing, a site run by a company can easily look like a personal hobby page. Also, a page built up on a free domain gets a different address when you later move to another service, which makes it hard to carry over its search standing.
4 situations where free tools fall short
You want new customers to find you in search
To be found in search, you need headings that match the words customers search for, descriptions for each page, and tidy internal links. Free tools do have settings for this, but what to write is up to you. The tool won't tell you what content you should write.
You want more inquiries and applications
Whether inquiries increase is decided by the writing more than the features. You begin with the reader's concerns, show prices and the process, and create a flow where they can reach the apply button without hesitation. Just putting text into a free tool's template can't create this flow.
You want to show your company's credibility
Customers and applicants look at your website before they sign or apply. Ads being displayed, no custom domain and a thin company profile all affect how credible you appear. If you're aiming at business deals or recruitment, a custom domain is the first thing to get in place.
You want to update repeatedly after launch
As you build up news, case studies and a blog, the number of pages grows. A time comes when you reach the free plan's capacity or page limit, or when organizing your articles becomes difficult.
Steps for switching away from a free tool
If you start with a free tool and later move to a paid approach, the steps are as follows.
- Get a custom domain. Choose a short name that shows your company or service name
- Save all the text and photos from your current pages to your own computer
- Find the pages with the most traffic and note down their addresses
- Build the new website and move the content of the noted addresses to the new pages
- Check whether you can set up forwarding from the old addresses to the new ones. On free plans this may not be possible; if it isn't, put a note on the old page pointing to the new address
- Publish the new website, then close the old pages
Steps 3 to 5 carry over the standing you've built up in search. Forwarding in step 5 can be difficult with free tools, so if you're thinking of switching, the earlier you act, the less you have to move.
Comparing free tools, building with AI and hiring a professional
| Item | Free tool | Use AI | Hire a professional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | ¥0 | From tens of thousands of yen | From several hundred thousand yen |
| How the text is conceived | You think it up yourself | AI drafts it | A creator interviews you and writes it |
| Ads shown | Often shown | Often not shown | Not shown |
| Custom domain | Often available on paid plans | Available | Available |
| Best suited for | Posting basic information | Building a marketing site fast and cheap | Building from your strengths |
The costs in the table are guidelines showing general trends. They vary with the provider.
3 questions to tell whether free is enough
You can tell whether a free tool is enough with the following three questions.
- Would it be fine if no new customers came from your website? If so, a free tool is enough
- Are there situations where customers or applicants see you as a company? If so, prepare a custom domain and an ad-free screen
- Are you likely to have 10 or more pages a year from now? If so, choose an approach that's easy to update from the start
If none of the three apply, starting with a free tool and moving when you need to is also a sensible choice. Even so, we recommend registering a custom domain in your own name from the start.
Common mistakes when choosing a free tool
Starting free without planning for a switch
If you get a custom domain from the beginning, you can keep using it as is even if you later move to a different way of building. A domain costs little, and it is the cheapest insurance against an address you'll later want to change.
Making images heavy and slowing down the display
Putting in photos taken on a smartphone as they are makes the page slow to display. When pages are slow, more people leave before reading. Shrink images before you add them.
Leaving the site as is after launch
If business hours or prices are left out of date, visitors who come to your shop are confused. Set one day a month to check the information you've posted.
When free is enough and when it isn't, by industry
Whether a free tool is enough depends on the industry.
For small restaurants and salons, where most customers come through word of mouth or map apps, a site with business hours, location, menu and how to book does its job. The approach is to focus on your map app listing and social media updates, and use the website as a place to keep basic information.
For industries where customers compare and choose, such as construction companies, professional offices and medical institutions, free tools tend to fall short. This is because many people check a company's credibility before ordering, and take time to read about its track record, its approach to pricing, the representative's thinking and the FAQ.
If you sell products by mail order, you need payment and inventory management features, which goes beyond what free tools offer. You'll need to choose between a dedicated online shop service and combining one with your website.
If you want to use it for recruitment too, applicants look closely at what the company is like. The number of pages with employee voices, the flow of the work and the job conditions grows, so you need a structure that's easy to update.
In any industry, asking yourself whether "customers decide by looking at the website" or "only check it after they've decided" will show you whether a free tool suits you.
When to move to a paid approach
It's time to consider a paid approach when situations like these arise: when you start worrying that inquiries aren't coming in, when business partners start checking you out as a company, when the ads start to bother you, or when the content you want to post is approaching the free plan's limit. If even one of these applies, it's worth getting a quote and comparing cost and results.
FAQ
It depends on the plan. Even when creating and publishing a website is free, a custom domain and hiding ads are generally features of paid plans. Before signing up, check whether the features you want to use are included in the free tier.
It may. However, appearing is not the same as ranking high for what your customers search. To be found in search, you need to decide who and what searches you are writing for, and organize the content accordingly.
Before you start building your website is a good time. A name close to your company or shop name may already be used by someone else if you try to get it later.
It's useful as a draft. However, it tends to produce text that could apply to any company, so add facts only your company can write, such as your strengths, track record and customer voices.
Yes. The text and photos can be used as a draft when you refine the site later. If you hold the custom domain in your own name, moving is also easier.
When you're ready to consider a paid approach
Merci Ltd. offers site-factory, led by AI, and Custom-Made Production, led by creators. For companies that feel the limits of a free tool, we've put the differences between the two on a single page so you can choose by cost and degree of customization.
