Simple website templates in HTML: 11 free picks and how to put one online

By Hykvra · Updated 20 October 2026 · 9 min read

The best simple website templates in HTML are ready-made sites you open in a text editor, change the words and prices, and upload to free hosting. No WordPress, no plugins, no monthly bill. Below are 11 free HTML and CSS templates for different kinds of businesses, plus how to edit one and put it online, with or without your own domain.

Why a plain HTML website is enough

Most small business websites in India change a few times a year: new prices before Diwali, new timings, a new photo. For that, a site made of plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript files beats a website builder or a CMS on almost every count:

• It is fast. There is no database and no server code. Each Hyklates template, all nine pages, weighs well under 300 KB before you add photos, so it loads quickly even on a weak 4G signal.
• Hosting is free. Netlify, Cloudflare Pages and GitHub Pages host static sites at no cost, with HTTPS included.
• Nothing to update. No plugins to patch, no PHP version to upgrade, nothing for hackers to log in to.
• You own the files. The whole site is a folder. Copy it to a pen drive, move it to any host, or hand it to any developer.
• It is a good way to learn. Students can read every line, change it and see the result by refreshing the browser.

“Simple” here means simple to run, not bare. The templates below still have menus, filters, booking forms and one interactive tool each. They just do it with files a browser understands directly.

11 simple HTML templates, by business

Every Hyklates template has nine pages, is built mobile-first, and sends enquiries and orders to your WhatsApp. These are the simplest ones to start with in each category: one data file to edit, few moving parts.

Each template has its own category with more designs: portfolios, restaurants, salons, dental clinics, clinics, fitness, construction and home services, hotels and homestays, schools, online stores and NGOs.

HTML portfolio website templates for students

If the site is for you rather than a business, start with a portfolio. Priya Nair Resume suits freshers, Arjun Mehta Dev is a developer portfolio with a working terminal, and Meera Iyer Design is for UI/UX designers, with a before and after redesign slider. All of them are HTML portfolio website templates you can host free on GitHub Pages. See all portfolio templates or our guide to portfolio website templates.

How to edit an HTML template

You need a laptop, a browser and a free text editor. Here is the whole process:

1. Download and unzip. Download the template from its page and unzip it. You get a folder with files like index.html, about.html and an assets folder.
2. Open the folder in VS Code. Install Visual Studio Code (free), then use File, Open Folder. Double-click index.html in your file manager to see the site in your browser.
3. Edit the one data file. Your WhatsApp number, email, opening hours, prices and the list of services, dishes or rooms live in a single JavaScript file in assets/js, for example place.js for a gym or salon. The README in the folder names it. Change the values between the quotes, save, and refresh the browser.
4. Replace the business name everywhere. Press Ctrl+Shift+F (Cmd+Shift+F on a Mac) to search all files for the sample name and example.com, and replace them with yours.
5. Swap the placeholder art for photos. The templates use drawn illustrations, so there are no stock photos to license. Put your own photos in assets/img, resize them to about 1600 pixels wide and compress them, then point the image tags at them.
6. Change colours if you like. The colours and fonts are variables at the top of assets/css/style.css. Change one value and the whole site follows.

Leave site.js alone unless you know JavaScript: it runs the menus, filters and forms. And keep the “Template by Hyklates” credit in the footer, which is the condition for free use. A one-time licence, at ₹999, removes it for one website.

Put it online for free

All three options below host a static HTML site free, with HTTPS. Pick whichever feels easiest.

Netlify Drop

Open app.netlify.com/drop and drag the unzipped template folder onto the page. The site is live in seconds. Sign up for a free account so it stays online, then rename the site in its settings to get a cleaner address.

Cloudflare Pages

Create a free Cloudflare account, open Workers and Pages, create a Pages project and choose to upload assets. Drop in the folder and deploy. Cloudflare is a good choice if you plan to buy or manage your domain there too.

GitHub Pages

Create a repository, upload the template files to it, then open Settings, Pages and choose to deploy from the main branch. It takes a minute or two to go live. This is the route to learn if you want a portfolio that shows you can use Git.

Add your own domain

A free address works for practice, but a business should use its own domain, such as yourshop.in. Buy one from any registrar. As of October 2026, a .in or .com domain usually costs under ₹1,500 for the first year, though prices vary by registrar and renewals are often higher. Then:

1. Add the domain in your host's settings (Domain management on Netlify, Custom domains on Cloudflare Pages, the Pages settings on GitHub).
2. Copy the DNS records it shows you into your registrar's DNS panel, or move the domain's nameservers to your host.
3. Wait for DNS to update, usually under an hour. HTTPS is switched on for you.
4. Add the new address to your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio and WhatsApp Business profile.

When plain HTML is not enough

Static HTML has real limits. Choose something else if you need:

• Online card or UPI payments taken on the site itself, with stock that updates automatically. Use Shopify or a proper store. See our ecommerce website templates guide.
• Several staff members publishing blog posts or products every week without touching code.
• Logins, student portals, bookings that block a slot for everyone else, or anything that stores data.

For everything else, from a resume to a clinic, a gym or a homestay, a simple HTML website does the job and costs nothing to run. If you want to compare costs first, read what a website costs in India.

More templates

Browse every template, or start with portfolio templates.