How to create a website on Google for free

Google Sites is the primary free website builder Google offers, though it's worth understanding what it actually is and whether it fits your needs before recommending it to clients. You access Google Sites by going to sites.google.com, signing in with a Google account, and clicking "Create." From there you choose a template or start blank, then use Google's drag-and-drop editor to add pages, text, images, and embedded content. The interface is genuinely intuitive—you can build a basic informational site in under an hour without any coding knowledge. Pages are published instantly, and Google automatically handles hosting and SSL certificates, so security basics are covered.

The practical limitations matter for your business. Google Sites doesn't give you a custom domain unless you pay for Google Workspace, which costs $6 monthly and up. You get a free subdomain under sites.google.com instead, which looks unprofessional for client work. You also have limited design flexibility compared to WordPress or other builders—no custom code injection, limited template options, and you can't export your site data easily if a client wants to leave later. The platform is genuinely free, but the constraints mean you're building something Google essentially controls. For your own agency site, a free option on a different platform with better domain options usually makes more sense. For client projects, you'd typically steer them toward WordPress with a free theme or a more robust builder, even if they need to pay for hosting.

If a client specifically asks for "free," Google Sites works for ultra-basic sites like a single landing page, a portfolio for a solopreneur, or temporary project pages. It's also fine as a quick internal tool for teams. But if you're building anything you want to own, rank in search results with a professional domain, or maintain long-term control over, you should honestly tell clients the free option comes with real trade-offs. WordPress.org hosted on budget hosting ($3-5 monthly) typically delivers better results and more flexibility than Google Sites, making it the stronger recommendation for actual business websites.