Oakpress Studio Do I need a website
Do I need a website for my small business?
If new customers find you by searching, yes: Google mostly shows websites, and most people check one before they call. If all your work comes from regulars, it can wait. Here’s how to tell, and the cheapest website that does the job: £295, live in 7 days.
· by Jack Thomas
Do I need a website for my small business?
If your customers find you by searching, yes. If every job comes from regulars and word of mouth and you’re booked up for months, you can manage without one for now. Most small businesses are somewhere in between, and that’s where a website starts paying for itself:
- People check before they call. BrightLocal’s 2026 consumer survey found 54% of people visit a business’s website after reading good reviews. If there’s nothing to visit, some of them ring the next name instead.
- Google mostly shows websites. Search “[what you do] Middlesbrough” and the normal results are nearly all websites. Facebook pages rarely make page 1 for a service and a town.
- AI answers need something to read. The same survey found 45% of people now use ChatGPT or similar tools for local recommendations. They name businesses they can read clear facts about.
Is a Facebook page enough instead of a website?
Facebook is great for showing recent work and keeping regulars up to date. It struggles with new customers who don’t know you yet: Google rarely shows Facebook pages for “[service] [town]”, visitors often hit a log-in prompt, and you don’t control the page. If Facebook closes or restricts it, it’s gone. Keep the Facebook page and add a simple website that it links to.
What I keep seeing when I check Teesside businesses
I run free Found Checks for businesses across Teesside. The same pattern comes up again and again: a business with great Google reviews, a Facebook page and no website, sitting below competitors with fewer stars, because those competitors have a page that tells Google what they do and where. The reviews are already doing the hard part. What’s missing is a page for Google to read.
What’s the cheapest way to get a website that works?
Usually a small site that does one job well: says what you do, where you work, your prices or a guide to them, photos of real jobs, and one clear way to get in touch. With me that’s a Starter site:
- Starter, £295: up to 3 pages (or one long page), live in 7 days, with the Google basics done.
- Business, £595: up to 6 pages, so each service gets its own page and can be found for it.
- You pay 50% to start and 50% before it goes live, and the domain is registered in your name.
Not sure you need one at all? A free Found Check shows where you come up on Google, Maps and ChatGPT right now. Sometimes the honest answer is a £149 Search Fix, not a new website. See also what a website costs in the UK.
Prices
A fast website with the Google basics done, written with you.
A page for each service, so you can be found for each one.
Your Google profile, listings and website basics fixed. 5 things or your money back.
50% to start, 50% before launch. Google work is extra and optional: the Search Fix (£149) or Grow (£99 a month).
Do I need a website for my small business?
If new customers find you by searching, yes. Google mostly shows websites and Google profiles for “[service] [town]”, about half of people check a business’s website after reading its reviews, and AI tools recommend businesses they can read facts about. If all your work comes from regulars and referrals, it can wait.
Can I use Facebook instead of a website?
For keeping regulars updated, yes. For winning new customers, it’s weaker: Google rarely shows Facebook pages for a service and a town, some visitors hit a log-in prompt, and you don’t control the page. Keep Facebook and add a simple website it links to.
Is a Google Business Profile enough without a website?
A Google Business Profile can get you into the Maps results on its own, and it’s free. But a website gives Google and AI tools more to go on, gives each service its own page, and gives people who check you out somewhere to land. The two work best together.
How much does a simple small business website cost?
With me a Starter site of up to 3 pages is £295 and live in 7 days, and a Business site of up to 6 pages is £595. Freelancers in UK price guides more often charge £1,500 to £3,000 for 5 pages. Every price is fixed before I start.
What should a small business website have on it?
What you do, the towns you cover, prices or a guide to them, photos of real work, your reviews, and one clear way to get in touch. Each service should have its own page title and words so Google can match it to searches. It should load fast on a phone.
Come in.
Send me your business name and town, and within one working day I’ll show you where you come up on Google, Google Maps and ChatGPT, plus the 3 fixes that would move you up. Free, with no obligation.