How to Create a Website in India (2026): Free and Paid Ways, Step by Step

To create a website, choose a domain name, buy a web hosting plan, install WordPress or a website builder, then add your Home, About, Services and Contact pages and publish them. You can do it without writing code.

In India, Hostinger's Premium plan costs around ₹139 a month on a 48-month term (₹6,672 upfront plus GST), or ₹2,388 for 12 months. Both include a free domain for the first year, 3 websites, 20 GB of storage, and a choice of WordPress or Hostinger's website builder. The plan renews at ₹449 a month.

For a simple page, Google Sites, Blogger and the Wix Free plan cost ₹0. The catch is the address, which ends in sites.google.com, blogspot.com or wixsite.com, though both Google tools can also use a domain you buy.

Prices and plan details checked on 21 October 2026 on the official websites, as shown to visitors in India. Prices change, so check the live page before you pay. We may receive a commission if you buy through some links, at no extra cost to you.

Which way of creating a website should you choose?

Use a free builder for a hobby page or a school project, and a paid website builder if you want to drag blocks into place with nothing to install. Choose WordPress on web hosting for full control and a blog or shop later. Hostinger's Premium plan includes both WordPress and its builder.

A domain is your website's address, such as sharmabakery.in. Web hosting is rented space on a server, a computer that is online day and night. WordPress is free software, called a CMS (content management system), for building and editing pages from a dashboard.

Sorted by price. All prices exclude 18% GST. Monthly prices apply to the term shown and are paid upfront.

Plan	Price (term)	Renews at	Websites	Storage	Free domain	Ads, store, payments
Google Sites or Blogger	₹0	₹0	Not published	Not published	No; sites.google.com or blogspot.com address, or connect a domain you buy	Not published
Wix Free	₹0	₹0	Up to 999 free sites	500MB	No, wixsite.com address	Wix banner ad at the top
Hostinger Single	~₹69/mo (48 months, ₹3,312); ~₹159/mo (12 months, ₹1,908)	₹289/mo	1	10 GB	Not included	WooCommerce free
Hostinger Premium (WordPress or website builder)	~₹139/mo (48 months, ₹6,672); ~₹199/mo (12 months, ₹2,388)	₹449/mo	3	20 GB	1 year (12-month term or longer)	WooCommerce free; builder store listed from Unlimited
Wix Light	₹250/mo (yearly, ₹3,000)	₹250/mo	1 site per plan	2 GB	1 year	No Wix ads; no online payments
Wix Core	₹500/mo (yearly, ₹6,000)	₹500/mo	1 site per plan	50 GB	1 year	No Wix ads; accepts payments, basic online store

Wix showed Core at a 50% sale price of ₹250 a month for the first year until 22 October 2026.

Route 1: How to make a free website

Google Sites, Blogger and the Wix Free plan let you create a website at ₹0 with only a free account. The trade-off is an address that includes the company's name, such as yourname.blogspot.com, and fewer tools. A free site suits a class project, a club page or a first portfolio.

• To make a website on Google, use Google Sites, a free tool from the same family as Google Docs. You pick a template at sites.google.com/new, edit it and click Publish at the top right, as Google's Sites help shows.
• Blogger is Google's free blogging service. Click New blog, enter a name, choose an address ending in blogspot.com and click Save. Our guide on how to start a blog compares it with WordPress.
• Wix Free gives you Wix's editor and templates. Wix's help centre says the address is siteprefix.wixsite.com/siteaddress, storage is 500MB, bandwidth is 1GB, and a Wix banner ad sits at the top.

Google Sites (Settings, then Custom domains) and Blogger (Settings, Publishing, Custom domain) can both use a domain you buy elsewhere. On Wix, using your own domain needs a paid plan.

• Pick it if you need a page for a school project, a club or a first portfolio, and ₹0 matters more than your own address.
• Skip it if you run a business. A wixsite.com or sites.google.com address looks temporary to customers.

Route 2: Use a website builder (Wix or Hostinger)

A website builder bundles hosting, templates and a visual editor into one plan, so there is nothing to install. Wix Light costs ₹250 a month on a yearly plan (₹3,000 plus GST). Hostinger's builder comes with its Premium plan at around ₹139 a month on a 48-month term.

Wix Light connects your own domain, includes a free one for a year, removes Wix branding and gives 2 GB, but it cannot take payments. Its ₹250 a month is the regular price.

Wix Core adds payments, a basic store and 50 GB for ₹500 a month on a yearly plan (₹6,000 plus GST), with the same free domain. Its payment providers for India include Razorpay, PayU India and Paytm, and Wix offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Hostinger Website Builder has no free plan, only a 14-day trial. Premium covers up to 3 websites, 20 GB, a free domain for one year and 400+ templates. It costs ₹2,388 for 12 months and renews at ₹449 a month.

A store in Hostinger's builder costs extra. The builder page lists "Ecommerce available" on Unlimited (around ₹199 a month on 48 months, renews at ₹649) and Cloud Startup, not on Premium, as an add-on at ₹89 for 3 months, then ₹699 a month. It connects to Razorpay for cards, net banking and UPI.

Our best website builder guide compares more builders.

• Pick it if you want to place blocks on a page with the mouse and publish without installing anything.
• Worth knowing: for a builder shop, Wix Core at ₹500 a month costs less than Hostinger Unlimited (₹649 a month at renewal) plus the ₹699-a-month store add-on; for a site without a shop, Premium gives you 3 websites against one on Wix.

Route 3: WordPress on Hostinger web hosting

WordPress is free, so you pay only for hosting and a domain. Hostinger Single costs around ₹69 a month plus GST on 48 months but has no free domain. Premium, at around ₹139 a month, adds a free domain for a year, 3 websites and 20 GB. Most readers should take this route.

Hostinger Single hosts 1 website with 10 GB of storage and weekly backups. It costs ₹3,312 for 48 months or ₹1,908 for 12 months, and renews at ₹289 a month. There is no free domain or free email inbox, and Hostinger's website builder page lists plans from Premium up.

Hostinger Premium hosts 3 websites with 20 GB and weekly backups. It adds a free domain and 2 email inboxes per website for a year (then ₹39 a month each). It costs ₹6,672 for 48 months or ₹2,388 for 12 months, and renews at ₹449 a month.

On 12 months, Premium with its free domain (₹2,388) costs less in year 1 than Single plus a .in domain (₹1,908 + ₹899 = ₹2,807). For most first websites, Premium is the better buy.

All Hostinger web hosting plans include free SSL (the padlock, see Step 6) and WooCommerce, the free WordPress shop plugin. Every plan offers India as a server location, and hosting has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Our Hostinger plans in India guide compares the plans in detail.

• Pick it if you want a business site, blog or shop that can grow, and you are happy to follow the steps below once.
• Skip Single if you need a free domain or a business email address. Single includes neither.

What does a website cost in India in year 1 and year 2?

A website costs ₹0 on a free builder, and a paid plan starts at ₹2,388 plus GST for a year of Hostinger Premium. Year 2 costs more, because sale prices end and the free domain needs renewing. Hostinger Premium on 12 months goes from ₹2,388 in year 1 to ₹6,287 in year 2.

Route and plan	Year 1	Year 2	Year 1 with 18% GST	Year 2 with 18% GST
Google Sites, Blogger or Wix Free	₹0	₹0	₹0	₹0
Google Sites or Blogger with your own .in domain	₹899	₹899	₹1,061	₹1,061
Wix Light, yearly	₹3,000	₹3,660	₹3,540	₹4,319
Wix Core, yearly	₹6,000	₹6,660	₹7,080	₹7,859
Hostinger Single, 12 months, plus a .in domain	₹2,807	₹4,367	₹3,312	₹5,153
Hostinger Premium, 12 months	₹2,388	₹6,287	₹2,818	₹7,419
Hostinger Premium, 48 months paid upfront	₹6,672	₹899	₹7,873	₹1,061

How we worked it out. Year 1 is the first-term price on 21 October 2026, including any free domain. Year 2 is 12 months at the renewal price (₹449 or ₹289 a month at Hostinger, Wix's regular price) plus a .in domain renewal. Wix Core uses ₹500 a month in both years.

The .in domain is ₹899 a year at Hostinger and ₹660 a year in Wix's domain search. GST is added at 18%, the rate the GST Council's FAQ gives for IT services. Email inboxes are left out.

Over four years, Premium bought for 48 months costs ₹9,369 before GST (₹6,672 plus three .in renewals), about ₹2,342 a year. Buying 12 months and renewing yearly at ₹449 a month would cost ₹21,249, more than twice as much.

If you are not sure the website will last, start with 12 months. Hostinger's 30-day refund covers hosting, but not most country-code domains such as .in.

Before you start

• A name for the site, plus two spare domain ideas.
• A budget of ₹2,388 plus GST for Premium on 12 months, or ₹6,672 plus GST on 48 months.
• A way to pay. Hostinger India accepts UPI, RuPay and other cards, and PayPal in US dollars.
• Your content: a logo, photos and text for four pages. The best AI chatbots can draft text, but check every fact.

Step 1: How do you choose a domain name, .in or .com?

Choose .in if most of your customers are in India, and .com if you sell abroad or want the most familiar ending. At Hostinger, .in costs ₹899 a year and .com ₹1,499 a year. Both cost ₹1 for the first year if you register for 3 years, and Premium includes one free for a year.

The .in registry's policies say anyone in the world can register a .in domain. Choose a short name that is easy to spell aloud on a phone call, without hyphens or numbers, and check it on Hostinger's domain search. With Premium, claim it free in Step 3.

Step 2: Buy a web hosting plan

Buy Hostinger Premium on a 12-month or longer term, because monthly plans and Single include no free domain. The 48-month term has the lowest monthly price, around ₹139, but you pay ₹6,672 plus GST upfront. The 12-month term costs ₹2,388 plus GST.

1. On Hostinger's web hosting page, pick a term from the list: 1, 12, 24 or 48 months.
2. Click Choose plan under Premium.
3. At checkout, tick the company details box and enter your GST code for a GST invoice. Invoices already issued do not change if you add it later.
4. Pay by UPI, card or PayPal.

Avoid monthly billing. Premium is ₹679 a month on the 1-month term, against ₹199 a month on 12 months.

Step 3: Set up the plan and install WordPress

In hPanel, Hostinger's dashboard, click Setup next to your new plan, choose to create a new website, and pick WordPress or Hostinger AI Builder. Then claim your free domain, leave the recommended server location, and wait a few minutes while Hostinger sets everything up.

1. On the Home page, find your plan under Account actions and click Setup.
2. Choose to create a new website, then select WordPress.
3. Pick the admin language, enter an admin email and a strong password, and choose to start with AI or a blank site.
4. Claim your free domain, or connect one you already own.
5. Leave the server location on Hostinger's suggestion and wait for setup to finish.

Hostinger says the free domain must be claimed within 12 months of buying the plan and verified within 15 days of registration to stay active. If you skip it during setup, use the Claim Domain button on the hPanel Home page later.

If you pick AI Builder instead of WordPress, Hostinger asks for the domain first, then lets you start from AI or a template. Steps 6 to 8 apply to both.

Step 4: Pick a WordPress theme

A theme sets your site's design. Log in to the WordPress admin screen, go to Appearance, then Themes, and click Add New. Search or filter the free themes, click Preview, then Install and Activate. WordPress.org says a dedicated team reviews every theme in its directory.

Use Live Preview to see your own content in a theme before you switch, and open its demo on your phone. WordPress.org's theme guide explains block themes and uploading a theme you bought elsewhere.

Step 5: Create the key pages (Home, About, Services, Contact)

Go to Pages, then Add New, type a title, add text and images as blocks, and click Publish. Make Home, About, Services and Contact first. Then, in Settings, Reading, choose "A static page" and select Home, so your Home page opens first.

• Home: what you do, where you work, and one clear button, such as Chat on WhatsApp.
• About: who runs the business, since when, and a real photo.
• Services: one short section per service, with prices if you can share them.
• Contact: phone, WhatsApp link, email, address and opening hours.

Add a Privacy Policy page if a form collects names or phone numbers. Then go to Settings, Permalinks, choose Post name and click Save Changes, so pages get clean addresses such as yoursite.in/about.

Step 6: Turn on SSL (the padlock)

SSL encrypts the connection between your site and its visitors, and it puts https and a padlock in the address bar. Hostinger installs a free SSL certificate automatically on web hosting plans once your domain is added, so you usually only need to confirm it shows Active.

To check, go back to hPanel and open Websites, then Dashboard, then Security, then SSL. If no certificate is listed, click Install SSL. Hostinger says the status moves from Installing to Active within a few minutes.

Step 7: Make the website mobile friendly

Many visitors will open your site on a phone, so check every page on your own phone before you share the link. A theme or builder resizes pages for small screens, but large images, wide tables and tiny buttons can still break the layout.

• Buttons should be far enough apart to tap with a thumb.
• Your phone number should be a tap-to-call link.
• Resize phone-camera photos before you upload them, or pages load slowly on mobile data.

Step 8: Add your website to Google Search Console

Google Search Console is Google's free tool that shows whether your pages are in Google's index and which searches bring visitors. Add your site as a property, prove you own it, then submit your sitemap so Google can find every page.

1. Open Search Console, click the property list and select Add property.
2. Choose Domain or URL prefix. Domain covers yoursite.in with and without www, but you must add a DNS setting at your domain company. URL prefix offers more ways to verify.
3. Follow the verification steps on screen.
4. In the Sitemaps report, enter yoursite.in/wp-sitemap.xml under Add a new sitemap and click Submit. WordPress has created this sitemap by itself since version 5.5.

Google Sites and Blogger sites are verified automatically if you sign in with the Google account that manages them, according to Google's Search Console help. In WordPress, also open Settings, Reading and untick "Discourage search engines from indexing this site".

How to make a website for a business in India

A business website should make it easy to call, message and pay you. Add a WhatsApp chat link, list the business on a free Google Business Profile with your website address, and, if you sell online, connect an Indian payment gateway such as Razorpay, which accepts UPI.

• Google Business Profile: go to business.google.com/add and click Add your business to Google. Google says adding or claiming a business is free. After you verify it, add your website link.
• WhatsApp link: WhatsApp's help centre says to use https://wa.me/ followed by your full number in international format, leaving out the plus sign, leading zeroes, brackets and dashes. For an Indian mobile, that is 91 and the 10-digit number.
• Payments: the builder store at Hostinger, a paid add-on listed on Unlimited and Cloud Startup, connects to Razorpay for cards, net banking and UPI. Wix needs Core or higher to accept payments. WooCommerce on WordPress comes with Hostinger plans at no extra cost.

If customers ask the same questions all day, our list of the best AI chatbots for business covers chat assistants you can add to the site.

Common mistakes when you create a website

• Buying Single and expecting a free domain. The free domain needs Premium or higher on 12 months or longer.
• Leaving search engines blocked. With "Discourage search engines" ticked, Google is asked not to list your site.
• Using your domain on Blogger without www. Blogger needs an address such as www.yoursite.in. Then turn on Redirect domain under Publishing.
• Expecting a refund on a .in domain. Hostinger's refund policy excludes most country-code domains and all renewals.

What to remember

• Google Sites, Blogger and Wix Free cost ₹0, but your address carries their name.
• Hostinger Premium on 12 or 48 months suits most readers: a free domain for a year, 3 websites, 20 GB, and WordPress or the builder.
• Year 2 costs more. Premium bought for 12 months goes from ₹2,388 to ₹6,287 before GST.
• Before you pay, check the renewal price, storage and number of websites, and add 18% GST.