Honest comparison
Looking for a WebsitesForFree alternative?
We use the same "free build, pay for hosting" model. The difference: you get hand-coded PHP and a senior SEO consultant, not a proprietary platform you can never leave.
No platform lock-in
WebsitesForFree state plainly that their sites "cannot be exported". Ours can. Plain PHP source, yours forever.
Built by an SEO, not a web designer
A pretty site that nobody can find on Google is a leaflet. Our builds ship with the SEO basics done properly so they can actually rank.
Founder-led, not faceless
Every site is built personally by Graham. Your emails are answered by the same person who built and hosts your site.
Where WebsitesForFree wins
We are not pretending they are bad. They turn sites round in 48 hours which is impressive, their base price is £10 lower per month than ours, they have hundreds of five-star reviews on Trustpilot, and their built-in editor lets you change copy yourself without emailing anyone. If those things are your top criteria and you prefer DIY editing, they are a fair pick. We bet on ownership and ranking, and we handle edits for you instead.
Side by side
The honest comparison
| Feature |
GM
GM SEO Services
|
WebsitesForFree |
|---|---|---|
| Build cost | Free | Free |
| Monthly hosting | £29.99 (founder pricing £19.99 for first 10) | £19.99 |
| Free trial length | 10 days | 10 days |
| Build turnaround | 5 to 7 working days | 48 hours |
| Platform | Hand-coded PHP (yours to keep) | Proprietary platform (cannot be exported) |
| Full site export on cancel | Yes, free | No, site cannot be exported |
| Domain ownership | You own it on your own registrar | You own it (separate purchase) |
| On-page SEO | Schema, sitemap, titles, meta, image alt, GBP-ready | Schema, sitemap, basic on-page |
| SEO experience behind it | 18+ years (Graham, since 2006) | General web design and development |
| Support | Direct email to the person who built it | UK email support |
| Editor access | We edit it for you (concierge) | Built-in self-serve editor |
| Edits included per month | 1 free (we handle it), then £45 | Self-serve via editor; help via email |
| Setup fee | None | None |
| Minimum contract | None, monthly rolling | None, monthly rolling |
| Upsell to full SEO retainer | £299/mo Starter, £699/mo Growth | Not offered |
Comparison reflects publicly available information on websitesforfree.co.uk at the time of writing. We will update this page if their offer changes. If anything here is out of date, email contact@gm-seo-services.com and we will correct it.
The big one
Why "you can't export the site" matters
WebsitesForFree are upfront about this on their FAQ: "The website itself is built on our bespoke platform, so it can't be exported." It is not a hidden trap, but it is a serious commercial decision you should make with your eyes open.
It means: if you ever want to switch to another agency, hire an in-house web developer, or simply stop paying, you do not take your site with you. You start again. Every piece of content you wrote, every product you set up, every Google ranking you built sits inside their platform.
Our position is simple. The site is yours. We hand-build it in plain PHP, the language under most of the internet, with no proprietary platform or CMS in between. If you ever cancel we send the complete source: PHP files, images, any contact-form data, the lot. Drop it on any shared host that supports PHP (most do, around £3 a month) and the site keeps running. There is no platform-shaped hole in your business if we ever stop being a good fit.
That single difference is worth the extra £10 a month to most business owners we speak to.
Get a free website you actually own.
Apply in 10 minutes. No card charged for 10 days. Hand-coded PHP, full source on cancel, real SEO foundations.
Start my free buildAlready know what you want? See the full offer.