Google's free business websites are gone. Here's the replacement.

Does Google have free websites?

Not any more. The free website builder inside Google Business Profile was retired in March 2024. For a few months afterwards visitors to a .business.site address were bounced to the owner's Business Profile instead, but that redirect stopped on 10 June 2024. Since then the old links just fail.

Your Business Profile itself is still free and still works — the listing, the map pin, the reviews, the photos. Only the website attached to it was removed. That distinction matters, because a lot of owners assume they lost the whole listing and start rebuilding something they never lost.

Why is my Google business website not working?

Check the address. If it ended in .business.site, it is switched off permanently and there is no setting to bring it back. If it ended in something else — your own domain, or a builder like Wix — then it is a different problem: an expired domain, a lapsed hosting bill, or an unverified profile.

One more variant we see: my Google business page is gone. That is usually not the website at all, it is the profile being suspended. Searches for "google business profile suspended" have exploded over the past year. Suspension is a separate fight, and while you're having it, you have no online presence at all — which is exactly the argument for owning a site.

A Business Profile is rented space. It can be suspended, edited by strangers, merged with a duplicate listing, or switched off by a policy change you never read. A website at your own domain is the one address nobody else can take away.

Can Google Sites be used for a business website?

Yes — and this trips people up, so it's worth being precise. Google Sites and business.site were two different products. The one that shut down was the Business Profile builder. Google Sites, at sites.google.com, is still running, still free with any Google account, and you can even point your own domain at it.

So it is a genuine option. Here is the honest trade-off:

• It knows nothing about your business. No Maps photos, no reviews, no opening hours pulled across. You type every word and upload every picture.
• The templates are recognisable. Customers may not name it, but "this looks like a school project" is a judgement they make in about two seconds.
• It costs a weekend, not RM 0. Free software, paid for in your Saturday.

If your time is genuinely free and the site only needs to exist, Google Sites is fine. If the site is meant to sell, it is the wrong tool.

Do you need a website for Google My Business?

Technically no — a profile works with the website field empty. Practically, an empty field costs you. The profile shows a "Website" button on every search result; with nothing behind it, the customer's next move is whichever competitor does have one. And everything above applies: the profile is not yours.

How to add a website to your Google Business Profile

Once you have an address to point at:

• Open your Business Profile (search your own business name while signed in, or go to the Business Profile manager).
• Choose Edit profile → Contact.
• Paste your address into the Website field and save.

It usually shows up within a day. If the field refuses your link, the usual cause is a profile that is unverified or under review — not the link itself.

The replacement we build

The old business.site page was built from your Google listing. So is ours — except it is a full website rather than a single card, and it is built for you rather than by you.

• Paste your Google Maps link. Nothing else to fill in.
• We pull your photos, reviews and hours and build the whole site — usually within 24 hours.
• You look at the real thing on a private link. Nothing is payable at this point.
• Want it live on your own domain? RM 188 a year, free .com included. Don't want it? Walk away and owe nothing.

What it costs, honestly

Free was the whole appeal of the Google builder, so it's fair to ask what the replacement runs. Malaysian agencies quote RM 2,000–RM 5,000 up front plus RM 300–RM 800 a year. Subscription studios are RM 379–RM 479 a month. DIY builders are RM 50–RM 150 a month once you add a domain and strip the ads. We're RM 188 a year, after you've seen it. The full cost breakdown is here.