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Do I need a website for my small business?
An honest answer for a local business: when a website can wait, what it does that a listing or a social page cannot, and what one costs.
Not always. But if people look for what you do, a website is the one place online that is entirely yours and says exactly what you want it to say. Here is how to tell whether you need one, and what it should do if you do.
When it can wait
If all your work comes through word of mouth, you are booked up weeks ahead, and nobody ever asks where they can see what you have done, a website can wait. Spend the money when you want more customers, not before.
What a website does that a listing or a social page cannot
- It is yours. A listing or a social page lives on someone else’s platform, on their terms and in their layout. A website we build is yours: on final payment the code, the repository, every credential and the intellectual property transfer to you in full.
- It gives your Google listing somewhere to send people. Your Business Profile has a place for your website address, so someone who finds you on the map can click through and see more.
- It shows your reviews. The reviews customers leave on your Business Profile appear on your site without anyone copying them across.
- It answers questions before they are asked. What you do, where you work and what you have done before, so the people who get in touch already know you fit.
- It turns a visit into a proper enquiry. A few short questions instead of one empty box, so the enquiry you receive already says what the customer wants.
What it should include
A year of hosting, so it is live and secure from day one. Pages you can edit yourself, without touching code and without asking anyone. The enquiry form, a news section, a gallery and WhatsApp chat. And a design made for your business, not a template somebody else is also using.
What it costs
Our websites start from £500 and usually take one to two weeks, with a year of hosting included for reasonable usage. Discovery is free for a website, and you click through a working prototype before you pay anything. What a £500 website actually includes goes through it item by item.
If you are still not sure
Tell us what your business does and where your customers come from now, and we will tell you honestly whether we think a website is worth it for you. Our brief takes about a minute, or you can send us a message.