Imagine signing up for web hosting and having someone build your website for free. No fuss, no page builders, no AI involved. You just sit down, fill out a form, and the DreamHost team takes care of the rest. From scratch. By hand. And it looks good. Sounds absurd? Yet it’s real – this is an actual offer.
DreamHost has announced that anyone who signs up for at least one year of hosting is eligible to request a free, hand-crafted WordPress website. No templates, no click-and-drag builders, no frustration. In the age of AI and automation, this move might seem unexpected. But DreamHost emphasizes that despite the success of its automated site-building platform “Liftoff,” there is still strong demand for a more human, hands-on approach to design.
“There’s something uniquely personal about a beautiful new website that’s been shaped by skilled hands,” said Brett Dunst, Vice President of Corporate Communications at DreamHost. “Not rough hands that have known the toil of manual labor, or the clawed hands of androids desperate to find their humanity, but smooth human hands that have only known the touch of the world’s finest keyboards.”
It might make you smile, but there’s a method to the madness. While the rest of the industry races toward automation, DreamHost is taking a different route – reminding us that sometimes, humans can still do things better than algorithms. Or at the very least, make them look better.
So, what do you have to do to get one of these sites?
Not much. You just need to be a DreamHost customer – new or existing. The service is available to all hosting users who fill out a special request form. All you need to do is describe what the site is for and share your design preferences. DreamHost’s in-house designers will then build a responsive, up-to-four-page WordPress site. That’s it.
The site can be a simple landing page, a portfolio, a service showcase, or even a basic blog. The only requirement? You need to be on an active DreamHost hosting plan. Just creating an account isn’t enough – the site will be built directly on your hosting environment.
How long will the promotion last?
It’s a limited-time offer – and no one knows exactly when it’ll end. DreamHost hasn’t provided a specific cutoff date, so if you’re thinking of taking advantage of it, you might want to act fast. From what’s been shared, the offer could disappear at any moment or be restricted to certain hosting plans.
Is it worth it? From a customer’s perspective – absolutely. Hiring a web designer these days can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Here, you get it bundled with hosting. For DreamHost, sure, it’s not cheap to offer. But it’s clever. Because let’s be honest – how many customers will stick around longer if someone helps them get started without the usual headaches?
Is this the future of the hosting industry?
This feels like a surprise marketing punch. While everyone else is shouting “We’ve got AI!”, DreamHost is calmly saying “We’ve got people.” Simple, bold, and – most importantly – effective. No one likes wasting time building a website from scratch, especially beginners. DreamHost is betting that a little human touch goes a long way – and they just might be right.
But there’s more to it than meets the eye. In today’s hosting world, most companies are all-in on automation. Drag-and-drop builders, AI-generated websites from prompts, pre-made templates – all designed to help users “do it themselves.” And sure, that works. But it comes with trade-offs: lack of personal touch, limited customization, average design quality – and, more often than not… frustration.
DreamHost flips that script. Instead of giving you tools, they give you a finished product. It’s a completely different value proposition compared to platforms like Wix, Squarespace, or Hostinger with their site builders, or marketplaces like Fiverr and WordPress.com that connect users with freelancers and agencies. DreamHost cuts out the middlemen, skips the learning curve, and doesn’t redirect you to a marketplace. Instead – they just do the work for you.
This could have real impact on the industry. If the model proves successful, other hosting companies may be forced to respond. Maybe not with free websites, but with bundled starter services, partnerships with designers, or simply by making the entire process much easier.