The IONOS website builder alternative, free to start
No contract, no minimum term, no introductory price that doubles in month thirteen.
A real Clay site, built from a Google listing
IONOS is a hosting company and its builder is sold the way hosting is sold: a plan, a term, an introductory rate and a renewal. That is a reasonable way to buy a server and a strange way to buy a page about a plumbing business. Clay builds the site from your Google listing, gives you a live address for nothing, and the paid plan is a monthly price with the same number on it next year.
Clay vs IONOS
What it looks like when it is live
Drawn rather than described, the page, the address, and what it can switch on.
How it works
Search your business
Type your name, Clay pulls your photos, hours, reviews and contact details straight from your Google listing.
Pick a style
Choose a look and Clay builds a full site around your content. Change anything with a tap, no code, no templates to wrestle.
You're online
Publish to your own name.clay.site in minutes. Add a custom domain and connect your own tools whenever you're ready.
Real sites, made with Clay
Open one. It is the live site in a frame, not a screenshot, so what you see is what it looks like right now.
Questions
How long does it really take?
Most people are live in two to three minutes, search your business, pick a style, publish. There is nothing to install and no signup needed to see your site first, because it is built from your Google listing rather than from a blank page.
Is it free?
Yes. You get a live site on your own name.clay.site address with a small badge in the footer, and nothing expires. The paid plan is your own domain, the badge removed and the pro features.
Do I need any tech skills?
None. If you can type your business name, you can build a Clay site: the live page is the editor, so you tap the thing you want to change. There is no code anywhere, and nothing to install or keep updated, see the WordPress comparison for what that saves.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes, buy it wherever you like and point it at Clay on a paid plan; the certificate is issued for you. Until then the free name.clay.site address is a real one you can print, and it keeps working afterwards.
Can I leave mid contract?
That is between you and IONOS, and worth reading before you do anything. Clay costs nothing to try in the meantime, on your own free address.
Do I lose my domain?
No. A domain is yours wherever it is registered; you point it at Clay: a domain, the badge off and the pro features.
Is there phone support?
No. Support is by email and it is answered by the people who built it, which is a real trade and worth knowing about in advance.
Try it with your business
Search your business and see your site in seconds, free, no signup.