- Rebecca Tomasis
- Sep 16
- 5 min read
Free websites aren’t just for personal projects. When it comes to building a nonprofit website using a free website builder is a fantastic way to get your cause online and start making an impact without any upfront costs.
Plus, with the right tools, you’ll get access to features and website infrastructure that rival what some organizations pay for, without spending any of your precious funding.
The best part? You don’t need to be a design pro or spend hours watching tutorials to make a great site. With a free plan from Wix, you can start building your nonprofit's website today.
Ready to learn how to build a nonprofit website for free? Let’s explore how you can get started with building a free website and bring your mission to life.
How to make a free nonprofit website with Wix
Sign up for a free Wix account and choose a professionally designed nonprofit website template.
Customize it with the drag-and-drop editor by adding your mission, images, and text.
Publish your site to go live and start sharing your cause with the world.
How to make a free nonprofit website in 5 steps
01. Choose a free nonprofit website builder
When it comes to choosing a website builder for your free site, you'll first want to understand the unique needs of your nonprofit. A strong website is crucial for reaching potential donors, volunteers and beneficiaries, so you'll want to choose carefully where you build it.
When choosing a free website builder, consider its ease of use. Consider one like Wix that has a drag-and-drop editor. You'll also need to consider the number and quality of available website templates you can use (Wix has over 2000 free, customizable ones, including many specifically for nonprofits), if you can create a mobile-friendly site without a paid plan, as well as any storage or bandwidth limits.
As your nonprofit grows and gains more supporters, you might need more than your free website can offer. So it's important to understand what they offer for the day after.
It's also important to consider the website infrastructure of the website builder you use. Creating a free site doesn't mean you have to compromise on website security and reliability. With Wix, for example, all sites include enterprise-grade infrastructure, including secure web hosting and security.
If you choose to build a free website, you won't be able to customize your domain name. But it's worth considering a paid plan in order to secure a customized name for your website that matches your nonprofit vibe and brand.
Most free nonprofit website builders include standard limitations, no custom domain, ads and some lack advanced functionality, like accepting online donations, so it's important to consider this before building.
Learn more: What do I need to make a website?
02. Select the right nonprofit website template
If you're creating a free website for your nonprofit, chances are you need to create something impactful, fast. The best way to do this is with a pre-designed template.
Most website builders offer thousands to choose from, across a wide range of industries and types. For example, Wix offers specific templates for:
Once you have your template, don't forget to customize it for your organization. This includes your logo, brand colors, images of your work, and of course, compelling text that tells your story.
Expert tip:
"Once you pick the right layout or template for you, it's really important to take the time to customize all the content. Many people overlook this step. Make sure you remove any unrelated images or paragraphs and focus on creating a clear flow for the content that tells the story you want to share with your audience." -Dafna Rabin, Wix Templates design team lead
03. Design and customize your website pages
All websites, free or not, will contain a range of pages. Generally, the most important will be your homepage, followed by your "About Us" page and a clear "Donate" page. If your organization runs programs or events, you'll also want dedicated pages for those.
When creating a website, you need to decide how many pages you'll have and their hierarchy. What's the most important page? Is it your homepage, or is it a specific campaign page? You'll also want to plan their hierarchy in your header and how you will encourage users to move between pages.
Each page should then be customized with your chosen color palette, unique media (images and/or video) that showcases your impact, and your text.
Be inspired by these nonprofit website examples, all built on Wix.
04. Add your required functionality or integrations
When it comes to this step, you may run into limitations with your free website builder. For example, if you want to accept online donations, in most cases you'll need to choose a paid plan.
Wix offers a range of readymade solutions to help you accept donations. You can accept donation payments by using the Wix Donations app, by adding a PayPal Donate button or by using the Get Donations app.
Learn more: What is Wix for nonprofits?
05. Review, test, and publish your nonprofit website
Regardless of the goal of your free website, it's important to review what it looks like and how it works before going live. Once live, ask for feedback from your team, volunteers and supporters on its design and functionality. Free websites with Wix don't expire, so you have as much time as you need to get it right.
Also, once you've built a free website, you can always transfer to a paid plan down the road. With Wix, it's easily done and includes the automatic transfer of your design and content. Upgrading can unlock features like a custom domain name and the ability to accept online donations, which are essential for many growing nonprofits.
What does a free website include?
This can vary between website builders but with Wix, for a nonprofit website, you get:
Drag-and-drop editor
2000+ website templates
Mobile-optimized design
Custom website design options
Free stock photos
Font library
500MB storage
1GB bandwidth
SSL security certificate
Website hosting
Auto-save
SEO tools
A blog
Some marketing tools
Site analytics (see Wix analytics)
Auto site backup
Help center access
What are some of the limitations of a free website?
While creating a free website can be a quick and efficient way to get a website built, it's not without its cons. Some of these include:
Forced ads display
Platform logo/banner present
Subdomain URL (e.g., yournonprofit.wixsite.com/site)
Limited branding control
Limited storage space (typically 500MB)
Restricted bandwidth
No custom code options
No custom domain name
No professional email
Limited integration options
No eCommerce features (including online donations)
Basic site analytics
Can I build a nonprofit website for free with AI?
Yes, you can build a nonprofit website for free using AI. Platforms like Wix's AI website builder allow you to create a free site automatically and within minutes. You can then customize your free site as you would from a template, with your own colors, layout and content that reflects your nonprofit's mission.
Free websites created with AI come with many of the same pros and cons as a website built for free with templates.