Google Business Profile Websites Shut Down: What to Do

Google switched off the free websites made with Google Business Profiles – the ones with addresses ending in business.site – in March 2024. Visitors were redirected to the Business Profile until 10 June 2024, and since then those links show a “page not found” error. If your visiting card, shop board or WhatsApp profile still shows a business.site address, anyone who types it today lands on a dead page.

I’m writing this in 2026 because I still see these links around Nashik – on printed cards, flex boards and old directory listings. Here’s what changed, how to check your own profile, and what to do instead.

What happened to websites made with Google Business Profile?

For a few years, Google let businesses build a simple website from their Business Profile, for free. The address looked like yourshop.business.site (or negocio.site in some regions). Many small businesses in India used it because it cost nothing and took minutes.

Google then retired the feature:

When	What happened
Before March 2024	Businesses could use the free website made with their Business Profile
March 2024	The websites were turned off. business.site and negocio.site links were removed from the website field on profiles, and visitors were redirected to the Business Profile instead
10 June 2024	The redirect ended
Since then	Old business.site links show a “page not found” error

Google announced the change in its Business Profile help centre at the time. That notice has since been replaced by Google’s general help page, so for the record, here are two reports from early 2024 that quote it: Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal.

The business.site shutdown at a glance.

Does an old business.site link still matter in 2026?

Yes, because printed and posted material lasts for years. Places worth checking:

• Visiting cards, letterheads and bill books
• Shop boards, flex banners and vehicle stickers
• QR codes printed on standees, menus or packaging
• Your WhatsApp Business profile and your Instagram or Facebook bio
• Justdial, Sulekha, IndiaMART and other directory listings
• Old email signatures and price lists

In my view, a dead link costs you more than one lost visit. A customer who lands on “page not found” may wonder whether your business is still open – and simply call the next shop on the list.

How do you check and fix the website link on your Google Business Profile?

When Google turned the sites off, it removed business.site addresses from the website field on profiles. So many profiles now show no website at all. That’s not an error, but it is a missed chance. Here’s how to check and fix it, based on Google’s Edit your Business Profile help page:

1. Open your profile. Sign in with the Google account that manages it, then search for your business name on Google – or open the Google Maps app and tap Business.
2. Select Edit profile. Find the Website field with your contact details.
3. Check what's there. If it's empty, or shows an old or broken link, it needs fixing.
4. Enter your full website address. Include https:// at the start, for example https://yourshop.in.
5. Save and test. Open your profile on your phone and tap the Website button to make sure it opens the right page.

If you don’t have a website yet, don’t paste a random link there. Leave the field empty until your site is ready.

While you’re in your profile, it’s a good moment to check your categories, hours and photos too. My guide on how to rank on Google Maps in Nashik walks through each one.

How do you update QR codes that point to business.site?

Many shops printed a QR code that opened their free Google website. What you can do depends on the kind of code:

• A plain (static) QR code has the address built into it. It can’t be changed, so the only fix is to reprint it with your new link.
• A dynamic QR code from a QR service sends people through a short link first. If you made one, log in to that service and change where it points.

When you reprint, point the code at your own domain – for example yourshop.in – rather than at a free tool. Then, if anything changes later, you update the website, not every card and standee in the shop.

Is a Google Business Profile enough on its own?

For some businesses, yes – at least to start. A complete profile shows your phone number, directions, hours, photos and reviews, and many customers call straight from it. A small shop that mainly gets walk-ins can do well with a strong profile and nothing else for a while.

But a profile has limits. There’s only so much room to explain your services, you can’t control how the page looks, and you don’t own the address. The business.site shutdown is also a useful reminder: when you build on a free tool you don’t control, its owner can change or switch it off, and you have to start again.

A website you own fills those gaps. It can hold a page for each service, a gallery of your work, prices or price ranges, answers to common questions and an enquiry form. And it backs up your Google profile, because the same name, address and phone appear in both places.

What are your options for a real website?

There are three honest options:

Option	Good for	Things to know
A free or DIY website builder	Very small budgets, if you have time to learn	When it retired business.site, Google pointed people to builders such as Wix, WordPress and Shopify. You do the design, writing and updates yourself
Just your Google Business Profile	Shops where most customers call or walk in	Free and useful, but there’s limited space to explain your services, and no web address of your own
A professionally built website	Businesses that want enquiries and a site they own	Costs money up front, so check exactly what’s included and who owns the domain

With Clickhold, a basic business website starts at ₹5,999 – up to 5 mobile-friendly pages with WhatsApp and call buttons, an enquiry form, your Google Maps location and SSL, usually delivered in 7–10 days once we have your content. Domain and hosting are charged at actual cost and registered in your name. The details are on our website development in Nashik page, and this guide explains what a website costs in Nashik.

What should a replacement website include?

If you’re replacing an old business.site page, don’t just copy that one page. Use the chance to get the basics right:

• Your own domain, like yourshop.in, registered in your name.
• The same name, address and phone as on your Google Business Profile.
• Call and WhatsApp buttons near the top, easy to tap on a phone.
• Your services or products, each explained clearly, with real photos.
• Your location, with a map, directions and the areas you serve.
• Fast loading on mobile, and SSL (the https padlock).

What if you had connected your own domain?

Some businesses connected their own domain, like yourshop.in, to the Google-made site. If that’s you, the domain is still yours – it just needs to point somewhere new. Log in to your domain provider, or ask your developer, and connect it to your new website. Check the renewal date while you’re there, because an expired domain is much harder to get back.

What should you do this week?

1. Tap the Website button on your own Google profile and see where it goes.
2. Type your old business.site address into your phone’s browser to confirm it’s gone.
3. Make a list of everywhere the old link is printed or posted.
4. Decide: profile only for now, a DIY site, or a professionally built website.
5. Update your profile first, then your social bios and directory listings, and your print material at the next reprint.

Need help?

WhatsApp or call me with your Google profile link. We’ll check what it shows today and tell you honestly whether you need a new website or just a few fixes to your listing. If the listing itself needs work, our Google Business Profile optimisation covers it, and for a full check of your website and profile, ask for our free website & SEO audit.