Can a Small Business Website Really Cost $0? Our Website Auction Explained

What a search for a free website for small business turns up

Type "free website for small business" into Google and you mostly get do-it-yourself offers. You find website builders with a free plan and AI generators. You also find agencies that ask $0 upfront and then bill you monthly.

Some of these are free the way a puppy is free: getting one costs nothing, keeping one can cost you every month. Here is what three real options ask, next to our auction.

Arithmetic: $199 × 12 = $2,388. Sources, checked October 1, 2026: Wix Help Center, "Removing the Wix Banner Ad and Favicon"; Wix blog, "Is Wix really free?", table of Wix plans and the list of free plan limits; Redefine Web, pay monthly websites; my prices are on the home page.

With an AI generator, the machine drafts the pages; checking them, publishing and paying for the plan stay with you. I compared those paths in detail in Should you build your own website or hire someone?

How the auction works

There are two lots. The site of the day is a one-page website, and bidding on it ends every day at 18:00 Warsaw time. The site of the week has up to 50 pages across all languages combined. Its bidding ends every Tuesday at 18:00 Warsaw time.

Warsaw time means little in Ohio, so the auction page shows a countdown with the time left. A bid in the last 5 minutes moves the end 5 minutes later. Bidding never runs past 19:00 Warsaw time. That makes a win with a last-second bid harder.

The first bid can be $0. Each new bid must be at least $1 above the current price, and you cannot place an equal bid. Bids are in US dollars; the euro and zloty amounts on the page are estimates.

After you bid, you get an email with a 6-digit code. You have 10 minutes to enter it; no code, and the bid is cancelled. Once your email is confirmed, later bids from it in the same browser need no code. You can cancel a bid under "My bids", except in the last hour of bidding.

The brief

The brief is a short form about your business, and we build the site from it. Within an hour of your first bid, fill in enough of the brief for us to start the site. So you fill in the brief while bidding is still on, not after you win.

Too late, and your bid is removed from the auction; fill in the brief and you can bid again. Automatic bidding and repeating a bid work only once the brief has the answers we need.

Who wins and what they pay

The highest bid when bidding ends wins. The winner pays their bid and nothing more to us; a domain name and third-party paid services are not included. If the winning bid is $0, the site costs $0.

Equal amounts happen only when automatic bidding maximums match. Then there are several winners, and each of them gets a site. Within 24 hours of our message that you won, reply and confirm you want the site. No reply, and the site may go to the next highest bid.

When the site is ready

Ready 24 hours after the brief is filled in and bidding ends. If something is missing from the brief, the 24 hours start when you send it.

What the price includes

• design and build from your brief;
• one round of changes after we show you the site;
• a preview at our web address, hosted free;
• after payment, the site files and the rights to the site.

You provide the text, photos and logo in the brief. Not included: a domain name and third-party paid services.

After we show you the site

You have 5 working days to accept the site or turn it down. You can turn it down until you accept it, with no reason needed, and then you pay nothing. Payment is due within 7 days after you accept the site.

By bidding, you agree that we publish a link to your finished site in the auction results. Anyone can take part: a person or a company from any country.

The honest fine print

I know how "a $0 website" sounds. It sounds like a timeshare presentation with nicer fonts. So here is the fine print in one place:

• $0 is not guaranteed: the highest bid wins.
• There is one lot a day and one a week, and each lot has one winner unless automatic bids tie.
• You see the site before you pay. Turn it down, and you owe nothing.
• The domain is not in the lot. You buy it yourself, from any registrar you like.

Your steps as a bidder

1. Open the auction, pick the site of the day or the site of the week and place a bid. The first one can be $0.
2. Enter the 6-digit code from your email within 10 minutes.
3. Within an hour of your first bid, answer the questions in the brief. "My bids" lists the answers we need.
4. Watch the countdown, or set a maximum and let automatic bidding bid $1 above anyone who outbids you, up to your maximum.
5. Won? Confirm within 24 hours of our message.
6. See the site, then accept it or turn it down within 5 working days. Pay within 7 days after you accept.

Before you bid

• The answers we need in the brief are due within an hour of your first bid.
• You cannot cancel a bid in the last hour of bidding.
• A win has to be confirmed within 24 hours.
• A link to the finished site will appear in the auction results.

One tip: decide what to say about your business before you bid, because the brief gives you an hour. The answers we need are listed under "My bids". The full rules are on the auction rules page.

When the auction is the wrong tool

An auction is a gamble on the date: you may lose today, tomorrow and the Tuesday after. Need the site by a set date, or with payments and customer logins? Then order it at a fixed price.

My price list is public. One page costs $50, four to eight pages $75–150, and a shop with up to ten products $175–200.

The 24-hour clock starts with my email confirming I have the agreed scope and all your materials. You pay only after you have seen the finished site working; if you don't like it, you pay nothing. The details are in the terms of work. What other builders charge is in How much does a small business website cost.

Questions

I won and changed my mind. Now what?

Before you see the site, you can simply not confirm the win within 24 hours. The site may then go to the bidder with the next highest bid. After you see it, turn it down before you accept it. You pay nothing, and no reason is needed.

When do I accept the site, and when do I pay?

After we show you the site, you have 5 working days to accept it or turn it down. Payment is due within 7 days after you accept it.

What can I change after the preview?

One round of changes after we show you the site is included in the price.

How much do winners pay?

Winners pay their winning bid. Every finished auction, with its price and the finished site, is listed in the auction results.

Do I need a card to bid?

No. To bid you only need an email address for the code. You pay your bid after you accept the site, and nothing more to us.

See what a website needs by industry: for roofers and dentists.