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How to Make a Website for Free: Options, Steps and the Catches

How to make a website for free: free website builders, AI builders and free hosting compared, a step-by-step build, and what a free site can't do.

Mythex Team · 2026-11-01 · 5 min read

You can make a website for free by building it on the free plan of a website builder or an AI website builder and publishing it to the free address that comes with the plan, or by writing simple pages yourself and putting them on free static hosting. The trade-offs are predictable: your site lives on someone else's address instead of your own .com, and free plans limit storage, pages or features. For a portfolio, an event page, a club site or testing a business idea, that's often all you need. This guide compares the free options and walks you through making one.

If you specifically want AI to do the building, how to build a website with AI covers prompts and fixes in more depth.

Four free ways to make a website

1. A website builder's free plan

Traditional drag-and-drop builders such as Wix or Google Sites let you pick a template and edit it visually. Google Sites is free with a Google account and suits simple internal or school pages. Commercial builders' free plans usually add their branding and keep custom domains for paid plans. Check each one's current terms.

Good for: people who like editing visually and want a familiar template.

2. An AI website builder's free plan

You describe the site in plain words and the AI builds it, with layout, text and images. You change it by asking. Mythex's Free plan, for example, gives you 5 credits a day (10 on your first day, up to 30 a month), unlimited projects, a live preview and one-click publishing to a mythex.app address. No credit card is needed.

Good for: a site that doesn't look like a template, or one that needs more than pages: a booking form, a menu stored in a database, a members' area.

3. Free static hosting with your own code

If you can write HTML and CSS, or are willing to learn, services such as GitHub Pages host simple sites for free. You write the files, upload them and get a public address.

Good for: developers, students learning web basics, and very simple sites.

4. A free blog platform

Blog platforms give you a free address and a writing editor. They're fine if the site is mostly articles, and limiting if you want anything else.

Quick comparison

How to make a free website, step by step

The example here is a site for a weekend running club, built on an AI builder's free plan. The same steps apply to any tool.

Step 1: Decide what the site is for

Write one sentence: "Show new runners when and where we meet, and let them sign up for Saturday runs." That sentence decides what pages you need, and stops you building pages nobody visits.

Step 2: List the pages and sections

Keep it short:

• Home: who the club is, next run, a sign-up button.
• Runs: the weekly schedule and meeting points.
• Join: a form for name, email and pace group.
• Contact: how to reach the organisers.

A one-page site with these as sections is fine too, and easier to keep current.

Step 3: Gather the real content

Have the meeting times, a few photos you have the rights to use, and a short "about us" paragraph ready. AI can draft text, but it can't know your club's actual details. Sites with invented details look generic and can mislead visitors.

Step 4: Build the first version

On an AI builder, describe it in one go:

Build a website for a weekend running club in Leeds. Home page with a photo banner, a short welcome, and the next run's date, time and meeting point. A Runs page with the weekly schedule (Saturday 8am, three pace groups). A Join page with a form for name, email and pace group that saves sign-ups so organisers can see them. A Contact section with an email address. Energetic but clean design, works well on phones.

You can paste this into the Mythex website builder and see the site in the preview within a few minutes. On a drag-and-drop builder, pick a template close to this structure and replace the content.

Step 5: Make it yours

Change the text to sound like you, swap in your own photos, and check the colours match any logo you have. Ask for one change at a time: "make the Join button orange and move it above the photo."

Step 6: Check it on a phone

Most visitors will arrive on a phone. Open the preview at phone size and check that text is readable, buttons are easy to tap, and the form works. See how to make a website mobile responsive for what to look for.

Step 7: Add the basics search engines need

Give each page a clear title and a one-line description, use real headings, and add short alt text to images. Our guide on SEO for AI-built websites lists what to ask for.

Step 8: Publish

On Mythex, click Publish, choose a name, and the site goes live at a mythex.app address on the Free plan. Share the link on your club's social pages and in local running groups.

What a free website can't do

Be clear about the limits before you print the address on a flyer:

• No own domain. Your address includes the provider's name. If you later move to your own domain, old links need to redirect.
• Limited storage and traffic. Fine for a small audience; check the plan if you expect a lot of visitors or large files.
• Branding. Some free plans show the provider's badge or ads.
• Fewer features. Online payments, member areas or larger databases may need a paid plan.
• No dedicated support. Free plans rely on help pages and community forums.

When to pay, and for what

You don't need to pay for everything at once. In rough order of value:

1. A domain name. Usually the first worthwhile spend, for trust and a permanent address. See how to choose a domain name.
2. A plan that lets you connect it. On Mythex that's Pro, 25 USD a month, which also adds code editing, export, GitHub sync and more building credits. Our guide to connecting a custom domain explains the DNS steps.
3. A matching email address, through your domain registrar or an email provider.
4. Paid features such as payments, only when you need them.

Keeping a free site useful

A free site that's out of date does more harm than no site. Put a reminder in your calendar each month to update the schedule and remove old events. On an AI builder, a single message like "change the next run to this Saturday at 8am, meeting at the Roundhay Park gates" is enough.

Where to go next

If you'd like AI to write the code for you from a chat, read how to make a website with ChatGPT. To compare tools before you start, see the best AI website builders.