How to Make a Website (2026 Beginner's Guide, Free Options)

To make a website, pick a platform, choose a template, add your pages, connect a domain, and hit Publish — a drag-and-drop builder can get you live in an afternoon with no code. Most beginners should start with Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress; if you’re selling products, Shopify; if you just need one page, Carrd or Canva. The right choice depends on what the site is for, how often you’ll update it, and whether you care about a free tier.

Which website platform should you use?

A few things the table hides:

• Wix and Canva free plans are real but limited — you get a working site, but it lives on their subdomain and shows their branding. That’s fine for a personal project, not for a business.
• Squarespace has no free plan. It’s a paid product with a 14-day trial. If a “free website” roundup tells you otherwise, it’s out of date.
• WordPress is two different things. WordPress.com is a hosted service with a free tier; WordPress.org is the free open-source software you install on your own hosting. Most “serious” sites use the second one.
• Shopify earns its fee only if you’re actually selling. Running a brochure site on Shopify is paying for a checkout you never use.

What does a website actually cost?

Three separate costs stack up. Knowing them stops the surprise when the free plan runs out.

The cheapest realistic setup is a static site: you pay for the domain only, host free on Cloudflare Pages or Netlify, and pay nothing monthly. The easiest is a builder at roughly $15–25/month. WordPress sits in the middle at ~$5–15/month for hosting.

Step by step: the easiest path

This walkthrough works on any drag-and-drop builder. Menu names differ slightly, but the flow is the same.

1. Pick a platform using the table above. For a first site, Wix or Squarespace.
2. Sign up and answer the setup questions (site type, goals). Skip anything you don’t know yet.
3. Choose a template. Filter by category — portfolio, restaurant, blog — then pick one close to your goal. You’ll change the colors and fonts later, so don’t hunt for a perfect match.
4. Replace the placeholder content. Swap in your headline, real text, and your own images. Delete any section you don’t need rather than leaving “Lorem ipsum.”
5. Add pages from the Pages panel (usually left sidebar). Start with Home, About, and Contact.
6. Set your navigation so new pages appear in the top menu. Test every link.
7. Connect your domain. In the builder, go to Settings → Domains → Connect a domain you already own and follow the DNS instructions. If you don’t have one yet, you can buy it right there — compare how to choose a domain name first.
8. Preview on mobile. A large share of your visitors will arrive on a phone.
9. Publish. Click the Publish button, then open your domain in a private browser window to confirm it loads.

The whole thing is genuinely an afternoon. The part that takes longest is writing the content — budget your time there, not on the design.

What every website needs

You don’t need fifty pages. You need these, and little else:

Keep the navigation to five items or fewer. Every extra menu option is a chance for a visitor to leave.

Common beginner mistakes

• Hiding the point. If a visitor can’t tell what the site is for in five seconds, rewrite the headline. Lead with the outcome, not the company name.
• Chasing perfection before publishing. A live, imperfect site beats a perfect draft that never ships. Launch, then refine.
• Ignoring mobile. Build desktop-first and your site will look broken on phones. Design for mobile, then check desktop.
• Huge images. Full-resolution photos slow the page down. Compress them first.
• No domain. A yoursite.wixsite.com address reads as a hobby project. A custom domain costs about the price of one coffee per year — see how to get a domain name for free if budget is the blocker.
• Forgetting the call to action. Every page should answer “what should I do next?” Add a button, not a dead end.

Where to go next

If you chose WordPress, the WordPress tutorial for beginners walks through hosting, themes, and your first post in detail. Not sure between the two biggest builders? Compare Wix vs Squarespace before you commit. And if you only need a single page to collect leads or sell one thing, how to make a landing page is the more focused route.

Once the site is live, the work shifts from building to getting found. A blog is the usual next step — see how to start a blog — and how to get more traffic to your website covers the rest.

FAQ

Can I make a website for free?

Yes. Wix, Canva, Carrd, and WordPress.com all have free tiers, and a static site on Cloudflare Pages is free apart from the domain. Free plans usually mean a subdomain (yoursite.wixsite.com) and the platform’s branding.

What’s the easiest way to make a website?

A drag-and-drop builder like Wix or Squarespace: pick a template, swap in your content, connect a domain, and publish. No code, no setup beyond a signup.

How much does a website cost per year?

A domain is ~$10–15/year. A builder adds ~$200–350/year for a hosted plan; a static site adds nothing. WordPress hosting runs ~$60–180/year plus the domain.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. Builders and WordPress are entirely visual. A static site involves a little code or configuration, but AI tools can scaffold it for you.

Do I need a domain name, or is a subdomain fine?

A free subdomain is fine for testing and personal projects. For anything you want people to take seriously — a business, a portfolio, a blog you’re growing — buy the domain.