There are still many people and companies and startup nonprofits that don’t have a website, digital presence, or social media. On the one hand, it’s become so easy that millions of people have one that maybe shouldn’t have one, but yet, the ones who should, don’t yet, because of the perceived technical learning curve.
And, to be honest, some learning is required, as it is with doing anything new. One barrier that is easy to get out of the way is the money requirement; yes, you can get started with a basic website without spending money. And, you can even have a basic website with a custom domain, like a digital brochure, for under $100 per year. Here’s what’s available as of June 2023:
To just get a free website, you could use any of these “freemium” website builders (start for free, and then pay for an upgrade for more features and custom domain)—
Wix (example: https://djchuang.wixsite.com/home)
WordPress (example: https://djchuang.wordpress.com)
Canva (example: https://djchuang.my.canva.site)
Carrd (example: https://djchuang.carrd.co)
Google Sites (example: https://example.djchuang.com)
Webflow.io (example: https://djchuang.webflow.io)
ConvertKit (example: https://djchuang.ck.page)
Uncody (example: https://djchuang.uncody.site)
Kleap (example: https://djchuang.kleap.co)
Hocoos AI Website Builder (example: https://eldon6401.hocoos.com)
For people and startup nonprofits with no budget (a la $0), using a free website builder is a good way to start, because having something is better than having nothing. There’s even a few that will connect to a custom domain for under $50/year, not counting cost of the annual domain registration. I’ll be adding a list of those to this article soon (gimme a day or so.)
For people that don’t have new content and updates to post every month or more often, there’s no need to be paying over $100/year for a simple brochure website. (Popular website builders like Wix and Squarespace are around that $200/yr price point, so save your money for later, when/if you need more features on your website.)
Here’s my best insider tech tip: register a domain name for your #brand or #nonprofit name and connect it for free to a Google Site, like I did https://example.djchuang.com as an example). The cost for a domain name? Roughly $10-$20/year, depending on #tld (aka domain extension; you already know the popular ones like .com or .org; but there’s also a thousand new endings, like .bible, .church, .network, and many many more.)
Where to register your domain name? May I suggest my favorite registrar: porkbun.com
Photo by Le Buzz Studio on Unsplash