Does my small business need a website?

Plenty of small businesses rely on social media alone, and that's understandable, because it's excellent for reach. But a website does something social media can't. It builds trust and shows up on Google, and on top of that it stays under your control. And just so we're clear, this isn't a sales pitch telling everyone to spend money on a website tomorrow. We want to show you honestly when it pays off and when you can happily wait.

Who a website really pays off for

Not every business is the same, and there's no point pretending otherwise. A website does the most where a client wants to see who you are, what you've done so far and whether they can trust you before they decide. The bigger or more personal the decision, the more the site is worth.

In practice, a website pays for itself fastest if you recognise yourself in one of these situations.

• You offer a service people google together with a town. Think “plumber Split”, “beauty salon Kaštela” or “bookkeeper Kaštela”. When somebody searches for exactly that, you want to be where they're looking. We cover how to get there in SEO for small businesses.
• Trust is part of the job. Healthcare, personal care, repairs in somebody's home, anything where a client lets a stranger near themselves or near their money. A tidy site with reviews settles their doubts before the first phone call.
• You have an offer that has to be shown and explained. A joiner with a portfolio, a host with a few apartments, a caterer with a menu. None of that fits easily into one Instagram bio.
• You live off enquiries, not passing trade. If work comes to you because somebody found you and got in touch, rather than because they walked past your window, then the website is your window.

If your business runs on local demand and word of mouth, have a look at a few of our case studies. They show what a site of that size looks like in practice.

What you actually get

It's easy to say “you need a website because everyone has one”. It's more useful to look at what a site actually changes in the day-to-day running of a small business.

That last one deserves a few more words. Your reach on social media isn't really yours. The rules change, posts reach fewer and fewer people, and an account can be blocked without any explanation. A website is an asset that stays yours. We wrote more about that difference in a website or just Instagram.

A website or social media alone

The table makes it fairly clear that they work best together. Social media brings the reach and grabs attention, and the site turns that attention into trust and, in the end, an enquiry.

On social media you're a tenant. A website is yours, and it keeps working for you while you sleep.

When a Google profile alone is enough

Honestly, some businesses don't strictly need a website at the start. If you mostly work with regulars and referrals, and new work rarely arrives “from the internet”, a well set up Google Business Profile can be perfectly enough as a first step.

A profile makes sense as a starting point in cases like these.

• You work strictly locally and live off recommendations from the neighbourhood.
• You offer a simple service that doesn't need much explaining.
• You're just starting out and want to see whether there's demand before you spend anything.
• What matters most is showing up on the map, with your address, opening hours and phone number.

Even then, make the most of the profile. Add photos, describe your services, ask happy clients for reviews and reply regularly. It costs nothing and goes a long way. Once you start losing enquiries because people who don't know you want to see more than the profile shows, it's time for a site.

What a good enough first website looks like

People often think a site has to be big and expensive to be worth anything. It doesn't. For most small businesses, the first version just needs to be small, fast and clear, with no frills. One good page beats ten half-empty ones.

A solid minimum that does the job usually looks like this.

• A clear line on who you are and what you do. Right at the top, so nobody has to hunt for it.
• Your services and roughly who they're for. So a visitor can see straight away whether they're in the right place.
• A few photos of real work. Yours, not stock images.
• Reviews or references. Even three honest sentences from happy clients will do.
• Contact details at every step. Phone, email and WhatsApp, and ideally a short form as well.

All of that fits into a simple, fast website build that loads well on a phone and that Google understands. A blog, booking or a web shop can come later, if and when you need them. Starting small and doing it well beats waiting for the “perfect” big site that never gets published.

What it costs and whether it pays off

Naturally, the first question is money. We only give a concrete price and deadline after a short conversation. Both depend on the scope, meaning how many pages there are, whether you need booking or a shop, and how much text and imagery has to be prepared. A simple presentation site is the most affordable, and more complex projects cost more. We've broken down how long all of this takes in how long a website takes.

Rather than looking only at the cost, look at what you get for it. You pay for the site once, plus smaller yearly costs for the domain and hosting, and then it works for months and years. If over a year it brings you even a few serious enquiries you wouldn't otherwise have had, it has usually paid for itself already. The figures and what drives the price are in how much a website costs.