Starting an internet business is an adventure; with great excitement comes a heavy cost! Like any entrepreneur, I knew that, without a website, there would be no success.

But to have a proper website, you need to pay for domain names, hosting, and developers — expenses add up to thousands very quickly.

I refused to accept anything above a reasonable cost, so I researched and researched until I found perhaps the most wonderful thing: Google Sites.

It allows me to build my website for free; the best thing is that it is free forever!

Here is my story, and you will get to learn how to create your professional website at no cost at all.

The Challenge: Building Websites at Exorbitant Rates

While trying to build a new website for my business, cost became a huge consideration. A good website would generally incur costs in:

1. A domain name ($10-$50 per year).
2. Web hosting ($5-$500 per month, depending on a variety of factors).
3. Web design and development (thousands of dollars).
4. Ongoing maintenance and security upgrades.

I calculated all the above costs, and it hit me that making a professional website could easily cost me about $5000.

This was a huge investment for a small business, and I simply could not afford to make such an investment at that point.

The Game Changer: Google Sites

On a fateful day when I was browsing Google’s amazing free offerings, I stumbled upon the Google Sites feature (sites.google.com). It changed everything.

Unlike traditional website builders, Google Sites is completely free and provides all the features that you need to build a website with complete functionalities.

What Additional Types of Features are Available with Google Sites?

1. No cost at all: No need to buy a domain or hosting.
2. Free Hosting for a Lifetime: This means permanent availability of your website online with no renewals.
3. Simple Drag-and-drop Editor: No requirements for coding. Just drag and drop elements to customize your site.
4. Benefits of SEO: Your website will be automatically indexed by Google, thus ranking it higher with little SEO effort.
5. Speed and Security: There is a need to speak of the fastest and never down.
6. High Domain Authority: No domain is of Google (sites.google.com) and it has high trust and zero spam score. sites.google.com has a 96 DA score and no spam score as you can see below.

Having been excited by the benefits that I read about, I decided to try it out.

In a few hours, I had my very first professionally arranged website that was ready to go live.

Step-by-Step Tutorial: How Did I Create My Free Website?

Building a website on Google Sites was much easier than I had thought. Here is a step-by-step guide about how I did it:

Step 1: Access Google Sites

Go to sites.google.com and sign in with your Google account.

Step 2: Select a Template or Start from Scratch

Google Sites offers many templates to be used for businesses, portfolios, or personal blogs.

You may either pick one or design a custom one from scratch.

Step 3: Create the Layout

With drag-and-drop editor, I then designed the layout of my site by adding:

1. Text sections to introduce my business
2. Eye appealing images
3. Engagement via video
4. Buttons and links pointing to my services and/or products

Step 4: Add Business Information

I have added all the important things like:

1. Business name and logo
2. Contact details
3. Social media link
4. Product or service descriptions

Step 5: SEO

To optimize this site for ranking on Google, I:

1. Used relevant keywords in the whole content
2. Put alt text in images
3. Wrote a compelling description of the site
4. Ensured mobile-friendly design

Step 6: Publish the Site

After I was satisfied with the design changes, I clicked on the Publish button, and the website went live instantaneously.

The URL started as sites.google.com/view/mysite.

The Performance of My Website

I have had amazing results since creating my Google Sites website.

1. Traffic growth: The website is ranking on Google with little SEO.
2. No Downtime: The site has not faced any downtime like many paid hosting services.
3. High Conversion Rates: My affiliate marketing site has returned more leads and sales than I could potentially expect.
4. Cost Benefits: The site I made on this platform is free of cost.

This was one of my affiliate marketing sites that I built using Google Sites, and it has earned revenues on an even basis with zero hosting costs. I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Is Google Sites Good Enough for You?

Google Sites are the best for:

1. Small business owners looking for no-cost website options.
2. Bloggers and content creators.
3. Students and educators who need a free website for projects.
4. Affiliate marketers looking to create landing pages for free.

If you need a custom domain such as www.yourbusiness.com and extra features, then much better-paid website builders like WordPress, Wix, or Shopify will be your best option.

Final Suggestion: Save $5,000 on Your Business Website

Google Sites provides me with a free professional-looking, highly efficient site, or at least the free version of Google Sites has provided that for now.

If you are just starting or need a simple yet powerful site, I recommend Google Sites without a doubt.

You don’t have to worry about hosting, domain costs, or maintenance. Focus only on your content and growing your business.

Enjoy zero cost for a website. If I can do it, so can you!

Want to check out one of my sites? Here’s an example: [https://sites.google.com/view/ufcodds]

So what are you waiting for? Go to sites.google.com and create your website for free today!