What does a free business website actually cost?
The build really can be free. Running a website rarely is. A web address, hosting once the free period ends, changes down the track: someone pays for those. Here’s exactly what’s free with Kiteleo, and what isn’t.
What’s free and what isn’t, with Kiteleo
| What | On Kiteleo’s free plan | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Designing and building a one-page website | Free | We ask about your business first, then build from your answers. |
| Hosting, first year | Free | The clock starts the day your website goes live. |
| Hosting, after the first year | NZ$20 a year | That’s if you’re still on the free plan. On the monthly care plan, hosting is included. |
| Changes once it’s live | Up to 3 hours a year, free | Use up the 3 hours and free changes stop until your next year starts. |
| A “Built by Kiteleo” line in the footer | Required | It costs you nothing, but it’s a condition: the line stays while you’re on the free plan. |
| Your web address (domain name) | Not included | Buy your own, or we can help you register one. The registrar sets the price, and it renews. |
| Business email | Not included | An address at your own domain is a separate service. You pay whoever provides it. |
| Owning the design and code | A one-time NZ$500, optional | This applies only to the free one-page website. We hand over a copy of its files and it’s yours. |
| SEO or a monthly care plan | Optional, paid monthly | You pay for these only if you ask for them. Our terms say what each includes and costs. |
| A bigger website | By quote | More pages, a shop, bookings, anything custom: not free. You see the quote before we build a thing. |
So what does it cost to run?
After the first year, hosting on the free plan is NZ$20 a year. That’s the hosting, not the whole cost of being online. Your web address renews with its registrar. Business email, if you want it, goes to its provider. Those prices vary and they change, so check the provider’s current price before you commit.
Who owns what
Your web address, your words, your photos and your logo are yours. Leave, and they go with you. The free one-page website itself, its design and its code, stays with Kiteleo unless you buy it outright for a one-time NZ$500. And you can leave the free plan whenever you like: just email us.
Five questions to ask about any free website
Every provider writes its own rules, and they’re not the same as ours or each other’s. Before you say yes to anyone, us included, ask:
- What exactly is free, and for how long?
- What renews, when, and for how much?
- Whose name is the web address in?
- If I leave, what comes with me, and what does that cost?
- What will it cost to change something once the website is live?
What this guide doesn’t cover
These are Kiteleo’s own figures, as at the date above. Our terms are the full version, and if the two ever disagree, the terms win. We’ve left out other providers’ prices and typical prices for web addresses and email, because they vary and change. None of this is legal or financial advice.
Where Kiteleo fits
The short version is on the home page, under Pricing and in the practical answers. Wondering whether one page is enough? Read one-page or multi-page website: which do you need?
Next: what to prepare before someone builds your website, or all guides.
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