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How do I launch a website for free?

Female working from home on a laptop and tablet device whilst drinking a hot drink. She is sat at a table with her living room in the background

Today, lots of people are creating and running their own websites, and you can do the same! There are lots of options for small businesses to get online – even without the need to hire an expensive web professional or develop a new skill yourself.

There are various free website-building services out there that allow you to build a website quickly and get published in a matter of minutes. You just need to find the right one for your needs and get stuck in. Bear in mind, however, that free sites typically mean a limited service, and there will probably be ads on your site to cover the host’s costs.

Try it for free

At Go Sitebuilder, we offer a free 14-day trial so you can see exactly what our website builder can do. The trial also lets you explore the possibilities of a paid platform with dedicated support. During the free trial, you will be able to publish your website with a Go Sitebuilder domain and enjoy the full functionality of our service. When the 14-day period is over, you will have the option to go premium and start running your website like a pro.

Keeping it free

If, however, you are determined to commit to a free service, you will need to do a bit of exploring. At the free level, hosts will put a low cap on the amount of data you can upload to your website (meaning you’ll be limited on adding things like images and videos). Different hosts will have different policies, so you should explore your options. The bandwidth limits are also low, and there could be other restrictions. Shop around to find a host that offers the best service for your needs in their free package.

If you’re a business that’s looking for sustainable success, we wouldn’t recommend a free website builder as a viable long-term option. There are millions of websites on the internet, and there will be competition in your space. This competition could have very expensive, very professional websites of their own. The limitations of a free website will mean you will almost certainly be unable to compete with this. It’s also unlikely that you’ll also be able to get a free, unique domain name – making it difficult for your customers to find you online. A free website is a good way to familiarise yourself with a platform, but you will need to invest in your site if you want it to be successful.

A simple solution

Fortunately, there are inexpensive ways for you to get your business online. Our premium plans at Go Sitebuilder are just £9.99 per month, and this will give you unlimited access to a wide array of powerful features like ecommerce, emails and a free domain name. Get started with a free 14-day trial and you’ll see just how easy it really is!

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What is a website launch checklist?

A female of dual heritage is sat in an office meeting room wearing a casual denim shirt creating a website launch checklist

Before you launch your website it’s essential that you have completed all the necessary steps ensure that everything is working properly. No one wants to go to a website and see that something is missing or that a website address is broken! Creating and using a website launch checklist will ensure that everything is up and running as it should be before you invite the rest of the world to look at your site.

Take a look at the quick checklist below to make sure your website is ready to go come launch day…

1. Proofread

When creating amazing content, you’ll need to make sure you’ve taken the time to fix any typos. Customers will notice them and it may be distracting or even impact their perception of your business. Just take a few extra moments to go through your site’s pages and proofread your content to make sure it’s accurate. You can always ask friends and family to give your copy a quick read through as well – it’s always best to have a second pair of eyes on it!

2. Optimise content for user experience

You’ll want to make sure your website is set up to be user-friendly and easily accessible by as many people as possible. Going for a standardised font and size makes the content easy to read for your site users. You’ll need to make sure your menu bar is easy to use and that people can get to where they’re going. If you want to go the extra mile, use a contrast checker to ensure that someone with vision impairments can read the copy on your website.

If your website features audio and video files, you may want to consider transcribing them, then take a quick moment to check these work properly too.

3. Optimisation for search engines

Check that everything works as intended to ensure your web conversions and overall SEO scores are high. Go through your site and click all the clickable links, including images to see if they link through to the desired pages. You’ll want to make sure you have alt-tag descriptions on any images as well, so the search engines can “see” them.

If your website accepts payments, you should also do a test payment, going through the whole process to make sure everything is working as it should do.

4. Check for mobile users

With more and more internet users accessing websites through their mobile, it’s essential that your website is compatible with phones. Grab your own mobile phone and go through every web page, ensuring the text is the correct size, that images are properly spaced, and that all buttons work as they should. It’s also handy to get your friends involved too. The more phones you test on, the better the experience will be.

This isn’t a step you need to worry about if you have a Go Sitebuilder website as all sites are instantly responsive!

5. Do compatibility testing

If your website has been built using plugins, it’s advisable that you run a compatibility test to check against any glitches or conflicts between your site builder and the plugin. It’s just another way of ensuring your website is running smoothly when it comes to launching!

Again, if you have a Go Sitebuilder website this isn’t something you need to add to your list – although we always advise you check all links and forms work before sharing your website. At Go Sitebuilder we have built-in all features and funcationality from the ground up, so you don’t have to use risky third-party plugins.

If you’re still considering the best way to get your website up and running, why not check out our 14-day free trial? No credit cards or previous website building experience needed, so, what are you waiting for?