The Free Website Guys

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of SquareTowel

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Produce and sell embroidered kitchen towels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

• Establish an e-commerce site

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

facebook

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Working with thefreewebsiteguys was probably one of the best decisions that I have ever made. What started out as a pipe dream, has been made a reality. I just started SquareTowel and no budget for a website to be developed. I had looked at other free website design programs and was not very happen with them. 

I seen an add on my Facebook page for thefreewebsiteguys and to fill out a form for assistance. When I filled out the form on Facebook requesting assistance, I did not expect to hear back from anyone. I was ecstatic when I received Sven’s email saying that they would like to assist in helping with my website design.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

successful launch of an e-commerce site. I was totally excited when I was given the opportunity to load my product into my website. The ease in which I can add material to the website through the Plug-ins truly make the process simpler. When I launched the website, word that I got back from people was a very professionally designed website.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

I was kept in the loop on what was happening with the website and at what stage the development was in. I was given clear instructions on what I needed to do during my portions of the design phase. I was given so many different options to choose from for my website. I picked the website that I felt was best suited for my product.

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I would and wholeheartedly pleased to refer people to The Free Website Guys now and in the future. When I need something more, I will be back to thefreewebsiteguys for assistance.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder & CEO of American Business Collective

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Business Consulting and Bookkeeping

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

• Build company website

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

• Online Search
• Instagram

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To fully build and design a website for my business consulting and bookkeeping firm. Take my vision and make it a reailty

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

A beautiful website A great experience

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Very timely Very responsive Every question was answered promptly

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I cannot express enough gratitude for the outstanding experience I had working with The Free Website Guys. From start to finish, the journey was nothing short of phenomenal. Communication was seamless and efficient throughout the entire process. The team at The Free Website Guys exhibited a rare level of professionalism and responsiveness, ensuring that every concern and question I had was addressed promptly. 
This aspect alone made the experience exceptionally smooth and stress-free. The end result, however, is what truly blew me away. The website they crafted for my business surpassed all expectations. It's not just a website; it's a masterpiece. The design is sleek, modern, and perfectly aligned with the essence of my brand. The functionality is seamless, and the attention to detail is remarkable. 
Every element feels tailor-made for my business, and I still find myself in awe that it's mine. What sets The Free Website Guys apart is their commitment to delivering not just a service, but an experience. They invest time in understanding your vision, and your unique needs. The result is a website that not only meets but exceeds your expectations. 
I am beyond thrilled with the final product, and the positive feedback from my clients speaks volumes. The Free Website Guys have not just created a website for my business; they've elevated my online presence to a whole new level. Without a doubt, I will be referring anyone in need of website services to this incredible team. 
They've not only earned my trust, but they've also become my go-to recommendation for anyone seeking a remarkable online presence. 
Thank you, The Free Website Guys, for turning my vision into a digital reality. Your dedication and expertise have left an indelible mark on my business, and I couldn't be happier. Here's to future collaborations and continued success! Gratefully, Anthony Kelly American Business Collective

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

Truly nothing that I can think of

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Life & Career Coach and Speaker of Samantha Biron

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Life and Career Coaching, Presentations and Workshops

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?
Website Creation

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

They contacted me

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

They set up a website and walked me through the entire process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

First I want to say that I offered to write this review after my website was complete, it was not contingent on any service being offered. The FreeWebsiteGuys contacted me about a year ago to offer to build me a website for free and of course I immediately thought: 'what's the catch?' Turns out, there isn't one! Sven and his team were great as they walked me through each process from choosing a theme to setting up a host (you'll pay the host company for this service) but this ended up saving me about $200/year in hosting fees compared to who I was with before! Sven was also very patient with me when I failed to always keep to our email thread at times and when I didn't always have my content ready. 
He would offer gentle reminders so we wouldn't lose track of what we were doing and even though it took me a few months to finish up my content, we just resumed right where we left off and he patiently answered my questions and even provided me with referrals to other services I was interested in. As it's a free service, don't expect immediate responses as they are quite busy so email replies typically take a few days but if you're not in an urgent rush and you're on a tight budget as a business owner, I would say that this is a brilliant way to go with a very professional and friendly service, especially considering that it's free and they never asked me for any payment of any kind. They are a class act and I'm truly grateful!

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes. They were consistently responsive from a project management standpoint.

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Free Service, Very Responsive and Professional, Delivered Results

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

There was nothing they needed to improve on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of BAT - Brockmann Analytics & Trading

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Financial Advisory service app telling subscribers what to buy and when to sell in the stock market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

• set up website

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

Referral

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Embarking on a seamless and painless journey into the realm of website creation became a reality when I collaborated with The Free Website Guys. I'll admit, prior to our collaboration, the concept of a URL link was an enigma to me, and its functionality remained shrouded in mystery. However, thanks to the expertise of The Free Website Guys, not only did I not have to unravel the intricacies of a URL link and other setup issues, but I found myself blissfully unburdened by the complexities of setting up both the back end and front end of the entire operation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Timely updates and demonstration of the final product

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

I received timely updates and answers to my inquiries as we went along

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They were kind and understanding that I knew nothing of the process and patience with my questions and concerns

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

Not that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ecommerce - sells goods

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

• Create an website
• Have an online shop
• adapt the template, as much as possible to my needs and taste

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

I was contacted on LinkedIn

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Creating a website where I could sell physical products online. With all the pages and sections requested, using my logo and pictures.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I, now, have a website with a store just like I wanted. I just need to make the changes needed, but after that, is ready to go. Just the time that was saved for me by them, I'm very grateful! Thank you :)

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Great experience with The Free Website Guys. Great communication, the website had some specific customizations, and I had an excellent experience working with them, especially with Sven. The website looks like I wanted, they explain things very clearly making it accessible to everyone.
They have a variety of services and also give you a lot of choices when it comes to your website. Even though they use pre-build templates, they do as much as possible to personalize it in a way that comes close to your expectations.

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They have a very nice approach. Also, even though they make most of the work themselves, they always send you the instructions on what you need to do next. And I thought that was very impressive. Most companies just do what they have to do and then, you need to find a way to finish what needs to be done. They don't, they kind of guide you all the way, even when their job is done!

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

I would say, that even though they "give" you quite good discounts when comes to hosting and a few other things, I would say that have a bigger variety of templates would not hurt, more so the premium ones. Also, it would be lovely to don't pay so much for hosting/domain, ... But maybe they cannot do much about it... They are great and help a lot!...

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Coach of Modern Way Coaching

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Coaching for tech professionals

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

• Website development

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

Online Search

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from The Free Website Guys were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• End to end website development

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• End to end support (domain search, hosting, site development, design, customization etc)

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

excellent

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I recently had the pleasure of working with The Free Website Guys to create a new website for my coaching business. I wasn't sure what to expect since it seemed a bit too good to be true, but ultimately, I was beyond impressed. From start to finish, the process was seamless and efficient. They made it easy for a site development noob like myself to follow along from A to Z. 
The team at The Free Website Guys was attentive to detail and went above and beyond to make sure that my website met my exact needs (even adding a few customizations I requested that were beyond the initial scope). The quality of the design and overall delivery of the service was impeccable. 
I'm excited to grow my business now in large part because of this new, quality site. I enthusiastically recommend The Free Website Guys to anyone looking for a reliable web design company!

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

Not really. Could maybe suggest what a future, more sophisticated site could evolve to if I choose to work with them as my business scales.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director-Business Advisor of Embark Business Advisory

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

I am an experienced Business Advisor and CPA Accountant, and my business Embark Business Advisory works with SME owners and their businesses, with a focus of “Let’s unlock your business potential together”.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

• Setup Business Website

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

Online Search

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from The Free Website Guys were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Setup new website & related instructions to change-mange & related CEO setup

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Provided website setup with tailored pages-structure

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Very responsive & delivered on time

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Right from start to finish the experience with the The Free Website Guys, and Sven as our direct contact, getting our free website set up has been positive. Information and requirements have been clearly provided and explained, and responses have always been timely.

When we had a couple of IT “challenges” from our end with 3rd party providers for Domain Nam, Sven was able to guide us through the issues to assist resolution. Overall, we had a great experience and were happy customers of The Free Website Guys.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

LunarLoveByKimberley is a Spiritual and Psychological Healing Service offerred online to clients around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

My issue with the Free Website guys was 

1. They mentioned it was free with no hidden costs, I discovered there were hidden affiliate fees.. and 
2. they mentioned they would build a free website for me, what I experienced instead was them issuing a list of instructions with the expectation on me to do the work! I was trying to highlight that this did not seem ethical. If they had pitched it as an instructional service , my expectations might have been different. And it was important to me that I highlighted this so other's didnt have a similar experience. To me I made it crystal clear at the start that building a website at this point was not a priority for me as I didnt have time nor resources handy and was content with my Etsy shop till I sorted the Marketing out, it was only because they offerred to do it for me for free that I accepted! I did not expect to be landed with all the work and added costs!

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

So after I wrote the initial review, John, the co- founder of the Free Website guys did reach out and committed to wanting to resolve things, he did apologise and I agreed to give things another shot. In this time John has done his best to try and bridge the gap between what his team felt was fair and my expectations. They didnt feel it was right for them to work on building this for free... and to me when you say a free website it needs to be precisely that. 

While initially they maintained that they dont upload content.. they did make an exception for me id say 95% of my images and text from my Etsy store were transferred to my new website during our second attempt at this. I was still left with images of cakes from the template Id selected which I will now need to delete and replace etc.. that quantum of work still remains. They did not feel it was necessary to do this and I did but we agreed to disagree.

What's the status of this engagement?

They have handed the website over after also connecting my upi and giving me instructions as to how to upload pictures onto the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with your partner evolve?

I think John did take cognisance of my feedback and my reviews across platforms! He did request me to remove these as he said that they were demotivating his team while they were working on my site. So I agreed to do so with the caveat that I would post fresh reviews once we were done.

In what ways can they improve?

They can definitely be clearer on what they offer. Timelines and costs. They expect you to have graphic artists etc on hand. Which is a bit much to my mind at least. These things need to be made crystal clear at the start.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

They do not upload content and if you do not know how to use Elementor you are going to be challenged. This seems more like something they give you instructions on till you throw your hands up in the air and pay to have them sort things. As a marketing strategy I understand but you then need to be clear on your tg. What you get is a framework with a guide re how to progress. They are very mindful of their time.. not so much yours.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on June 10, 2023

Kimberley Parker

Founder, LunarLoveByKimberley

Consulting

1-10 Employees

Mumbai, India

Confidential

May 2015 - Jul 2023

Project summary

The Free Website Guys was hired to build a website for a therapy and spiritual guidance company.

Feedback summary

The Free Website Guys fell short of meeting the client's expectations. They lacked helpfulness and attention to detail. They also failed to provide specific timelines for project completion. Their overall performance was unsatisfactory and did not meet the client's needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of LunarLoveByKimberley

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Therapy and Spiritual guidance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

• Set up a website
• seo management

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

they reached out to me on Etsy

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

free offer

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Good grief, talk about a scam! These guys reached out to me on Etsy offering to build a free website. Now this was not high on my list of priorities currently as I explained as I wanted to get my marketing right first but since they offered & once Id read their reviews I agreed. They kept making mention of this being "free" & how they have 900 applicants so why they had to reach out to me on Etsy Ill never know. 

When i asked about costs they said there were none barring the web hosting (Affiliate partner) . Alas this is not true.. they refused to build a website and kept stalling till I had paid for a template ( another partner site they receive a commission through) . Then I discovered that there is very little they actually do beyond sending instructive mails expecting me to do ALL the work which I do not have time for at this point. 

And they work on their own timelines responding when they feel like it but expect me to be immediately responsive! I had at the start mentioned that I do have a domain at Wix which they chose to ignore and again asked me whether I had a domain and what I needed to do to transfer it.. again I was required to do all the actual work. 

I understand picking out a template, I understand authorising them to act on my behalf I do not agree with being giving instructions and being expected to build my own website. If I wanted to do that I would have gone on Udemy or any learning platform and figured it out. There are several AI support platforms which facilitate this currently PLUS I am based in India where hiring a quality website designer at an affordable rate is easily an option. 

So, these guys have done nothing but waste my time and try to be extra clever. They need to pitch this as what it is and INSTRUCTION GUIDE to building a website and make expectations and hidden costs crystal clear instead of deliberately misleading people this way. I did give them the option to refund my money which they have again pretended to be deaf about and I do have all email exchanges which will validate all that I have said on here. In fairness.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Nil. They just kept expecting me to spend money after insisting it was free adding hidden costs, and expecting me to do all the work. They did not make this clear at the start, did not offer any specific timelines for completion.

I have not seen any effort from their side beyond attempts to push affiliate partners and send email instructions for me to do ALL the work. They disappea when they feel like it and expect me to respond instantly. As mentioned I do have all email correspondence to validate what I am saying.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

No. Unhelpful, unattentive to detail, literally missed things I had repeatedly stated up front and deliberately misleading.

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I was impressed at the offer of a free website. I do feel the instruction videos etc were decent but again more pertinent/ relevant to a how to website not an operatoinal one where they take accountability for deliverables.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

Yes. Learn to Listen. Stop misrepresenting facts. Dont claim to have 900 applicants and then reach out to me on Etsy proffering to build a free website. In an age of artificial intelligence they need to take major steps to display their value add and competence.Definitely be more attentive to what your customer is telling you, less dismissive and high handed.

Star Ratings: 

Overall rating: .5

Quality: .5

Schedule: 1

Cost: 1

Willing to refer: 1

Pathetic no way I would recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder and CEO of The Happiness Ninja / World Happiness Mission

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Motivational speaker.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

Free website offer

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

Advertisement

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

Their offer

How many teammates from The Free Website Guys were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To develop a free website. There was no known specs. I was told to pick a theme but not told how/ where to go to do that.

The free website guys were kind enough to offer me a free website but it all went pear shaped from that moment leaving me questioning the authenticity of this company and it's employees. The link they sent me to sign up on wouldn't process my payment so Sven told me to call them to sort it out. Blue Host did the wrong thing by FWG and signed me up for a slightly higher amount, not associated to FWG and their discounted price (it was only like $2.50 more). I didn't know this until after the payment was taken. So Blue Host also did wrong by me too.

The thanks I got for flagging this issue that has impacted both myself and FWG financially, was to be ignored and not communicated with appropriately and attempted to be palmed off to someone else not involved, instead of dealing with the problem appropriately. I felt like I was being communicated with as though I am a child and like I was speaking another language or something. The responses received back were not in alignment with my communicated information.

What would have been a 30 second phone call turned into like 5 days of back and forth emails going in circles. After being pressured to pay immediately to "get on the work schedule next week", this registers as a big red flag to us. I am not sure if this is a dodgy company or if Sven just needs training on effective communication and problem solving skills, but there's something not right here.

Blue Host has done the wrong thing by both myself and FWG and FWG did the wrong thing by me too, resulting in my spending 32 minutes on the phone to Palo to get a refund from Blue Host processed, which was painful and frustrating, causing me mental stress and frustration, resulting in my existing mental health conditions revolving around rage, rape trauma, complex post traumatic stress and dissociative identity disorder to be negatively impacted. Who should I send the bill to for wasting hours of my time as the CEO and founder of my organization? Time is money. Your approach to customer service reeks of dodginess and instantly there is no trust or belief in the company's business ethics and technical skills.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

There was none.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

No. They responded inappropriately.

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Initially, their free offer and ability to track financial metrics was highly commendable. Now, nothing.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

As described already.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of Millsaps Property Management.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a full-service landscaping and pressure washing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Free Website Guys to accomplish?

• Build and design a professional website for me
• Increase customers for My business

SOLUTION

How did you find The Free Website Guys?

Online Search

Why did you select The Free Website Guys over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for the cost
• Company values aligned

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

I am a small business owner, freshly starting up, and wanted a website that was professional and made the business look good. I came across an ad for The Free Website Guys sent an email, and they were in contact in days. They made the entire process extremely easy and were friendly and helpful.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within the first week of being active, I've had numerous visitors to the website as well as already having people requesting quotes.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They have an amazing team, and they keep in constant contact with you every step of the way. Literally, a 30-email thread over the course of a couple of weeks, and my website was not only finished but included the revisions I asked without hesitation. 

What was your primary form of communication with The Free Website Guys?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Anyone looking for a website that you want to look professional and show your customers that you mean business, then I would 1000% recommend you contact The Free Website Guys today!

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Free Website Guys could have done differently?

Not a single thing from my perspective. 10/10 would recommend and would absolutely do business with them any and every time I need their services.