Free website tools every small business should set up (2026)

The short list

Four free Google tools and a few low-cost payment and booking tools cover what most small business websites need. The Google tools are free, and the payment tools and most booking tools have a $0 starting option. What they cost you is an afternoon of setup and, for payments, a fee on each sale.

Here is the order we suggest. The time column is our rough estimate of the time you spend at the keyboard, not a figure from Google.

Each step has its own guide with the official setup steps for the big builders. Links are at the end of every section and in the list at the bottom of this page.

Before you start: two things you need

A Google account the business controls. Use an account the owner can always sign in to, not one that belongs to a designer or a past employee. Your Analytics data, Search Console history and Business Profile all live in that account, not in your website builder.

A site on your own domain. Some builders limit these tools on free plans. Wix, for example, needs a Premium plan and a connected domain before you can add a Google Analytics ID or connect the site to Google through its SEO Setup Checklist, according to Wix’s help center.

Step 1: Google Business Profile

If customers visit you, or you travel to them, a Business Profile is the free listing that shows up in Google Maps and in local results. Google says virtual offices and rented mailing addresses where the business does not operate are not eligible.

Start this one first because it has the longest wait. Google picks the verification method for you, such as a video recording, a phone or text code, email or a postcard. Google reviews submissions for up to 5 business days, and a postcard usually arrives within 14 days.

Once you’re verified, add your website address to the profile. Google’s old free Business Profile websites were shut down in 2024, so the link should point to a site you run. Full steps: Google Business Profile and your website.

Step 2: Google Search Console

Search Console shows the searches that bring people to your site, which pages Google has indexed and what it found wrong. You prove you own the site by adding a DNS record at your domain provider, or for some property types an HTML tag or file.

Then submit your sitemap, the file that lists your pages. Most builders make one for you. Search Console keeps 16 months of performance data, so starting early gives you a longer history to compare against. Full steps: Google Search Console setup.

Once Search Console is running, you can import the site into Bing Webmaster Tools, which accepts sites from Search Console up to 100 at a time, according to Bing’s webmaster blog.

Step 3: Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics is free. It records events, such as a page view, a form sent or a purchase, so you can see where visitors come from and what they do.

On most builders you paste one code, the G- measurement ID, into a settings field. Then mark the actions that matter, such as a contact form, as key events. Google’s Realtime report shows whether data is coming in. Full steps: Google Analytics for small business.

Step 4: PageSpeed Insights

PageSpeed Insights tests a page and gives it a 0-100 performance score, plus Core Web Vitals from real Chrome users when your site has enough traffic. Scores of 90 and up are rated good.

The score is a diagnostic, not a ranking. Google says Core Web Vitals are used by its ranking systems, but good results don’t guarantee top rankings and the most relevant content still wins. Full guide: PageSpeed Insights explained.

Step 5: payments and booking

Stripe, PayPal and Square charge no monthly fee for basic online card payments. You pay per sale instead: 2.9% + 30c at Stripe, 2.99% + 49c for PayPal’s standard card payments, and 3.3% + 30c on Square’s Free plan, according to their US pricing pages.

For appointments, Calendly Free, Google Calendar’s free booking page and Square Appointments Free all start at $0. Acuity Scheduling has no free plan. Full comparison with a worked example: Stripe vs PayPal vs Square.

The WordPress shortcut

On WordPress, Site Kit by Google is Google’s free official plugin. It connects Search Console, Analytics, AdSense, PageSpeed Insights and Tag Manager from your WordPress dashboard. It needs WordPress 5.2 or newer and PHP 7.4 or newer.

We build on WordPress every week, and connecting these tools is part of the first day on a new site. Site Kit means you don’t have to paste codes into theme files.

What it costs over 3 years

The tools are $0. The real cost is the website they sit on, plus card fees if you sell online. Here is the same 3-year math we use across the site: the plan for 36 months, a domain ($36.96 when the plan includes year one free, otherwise $48.24) and one Google Workspace email inbox at $252.

Bluehost Starter’s $3.99 a month needs a 36-month term and renews at $9.99. Wix Light can’t take online payments; Wix says that starts on Core.

Card fees often cost more than the site. At 50 online payments of $80 a month, Stripe’s 2.9% + 30c works out to $2.62 per payment, $131 a month and $4,716 over 3 years. The payments guide runs the same example for PayPal and Square, and explains transaction fees that some builders add on top.

What you keep if you change builders

This is the good news about Google’s free tools: they belong to your Google account, not to your builder. If you move your site, your Analytics history, Search Console data and Business Profile stay put. You add the Analytics ID to the new site, update the website link on your profile, and submit the new sitemap.

One tip: verify Search Console with a DNS record when you can. A Domain property is tied to your domain, so it keeps working when the site moves to a new builder. An HTML tag pasted into a builder’s settings goes away with the old site.

The website itself is harder to move. Our exit scores rate self-hosted WordPress 10/10, Squarespace and Shopify 5/10 and Wix 3/10. Read leaving your website builder before you pick one.

The one rule to remember: a privacy policy

When you add Google Analytics, Google’s terms require you to post a privacy policy that tells visitors you use cookies and Google Analytics. California’s CalOPPA also requires a posted privacy policy on commercial sites that collect personal information from California consumers, and the FTC expects you to keep the promises your policy makes.

This is general information, not legal advice. Our US website laws guide covers privacy, accessibility and email rules in more depth.

What to do next

• Google Business Profile and your website: eligibility, verification, review rules.
• Google Search Console: verify, submit a sitemap, read the reports.
• Google Analytics for small business: setup per builder and privacy settings.
• PageSpeed Insights: what the score means and fixes per builder.
• Stripe vs PayPal vs Square: fees, a worked example and booking tools.
• Websites and SEO: what each builder lets you control once the tools are in place.