How to Make a Website for Your Business
The honest 2026 playbook: DIY builders, freelancers, agencies, and the new AI route.
There are exactly four ways to get a business website in 2026, and picking is easier than the industry makes it look. (1) DIY on a template builder: $16 to $46/mo plus 20 to 60 hours of your evenings. (2) A freelancer: $1,500 to $5,000 and 2 to 6 weeks. (3) An agency: $3,000 to $15,000 and 4 to 8 weeks. (4) The AI route: paste your info (or your old site's URL) into PISCES and a complete site exists in about 90 seconds, free to preview, $29/mo on your own domain. The five-minute decision: if you enjoy building and have the hours, DIY; if you need complex custom functionality and have real budget, agency; everyone else starts with the free AI draft and only spends money if it disappoints.
The steps, whichever route you pick
- 1. Buy your domain at a registrar (about $12 to $20/yr), not from your website platform: it keeps the exit door open.
- 2. Get the site built by one of the four routes above.
- 3. Nail the nine essentials: clear headline, visible contact, services with prices, proof, a booking or quote action, hours, mobile perfection, speed, basic SEO. (Full checklist: what a small business site needs.)
- 4. Connect Google: a Business Profile plus Search Console, so the site can actually be found.
- 5. Keep it alive: update prices and photos quarterly; a stale site reads as a closed business.
What it costs
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 AI build + publish a one-pager on a free address (with badge) |
| Launch | $29/mo | 3 pages, your own domain, 25 AI edits a month, no badge |
| Pro | $99/mo | 25 pages, blog, Stripe store, booking, full Next.js code export |
Full details on the pricing page.
See your site rebuilt by AI, free
Paste your current website's URL and PISCES rebuilds it, 10x better, in about 90 seconds. Keep it only if you love it.
Get my free rebuild →Frequently asked questions
Can I make a business website for free?
Yes, genuinely: PISCES builds your site free and publishes a one-page version on a free address with a small badge, no credit card. Wix and Weebly free tiers exist but put THEIR ads on YOUR labor. Free is a real starting point; your own domain at $29/mo is the professional finish.
What is the fastest way to get a business website?
The AI route: about 90 seconds to a complete draft, an evening to polish, live the same day. Nothing else is within weeks of that.
What is PISCES?
PISCES is the AI website builder from Marketing By Magnet: paste your current site's URL (or answer a few questions) and the AI builds your entire site in about 90 seconds. Free to build and publish a one-pager; $29/mo for your own domain; $99/mo for blog, store, booking and full code export.