How to choose a website for a small business

Before comparing builders and agencies, write down what the website is for in one sentence. For most small businesses the answer is simple: help the right people find you, understand what you offer, and contact you.

That sentence decides almost everything else. A site whose job is to bring enquiries needs clear service pages, fast loading on mobile, and an obvious way to call, message, or fill in a form on every page. Visual effects come a distant second.

A website builder such as Wix or Squarespace is a reasonable choice if you need a basic page quickly and are comfortable editing it yourself. The trade-offs are monthly fees, limited control over speed and structure, and a site that looks like many others.

A custom site costs more at the start but is shaped around your customers and services, loads faster, and is owned outright. It makes sense once the website is meant to be a real source of business rather than an online business card.

One page per service you want to be found for, written in the words your customers use. A clear statement of where you work and who you serve. Contact options that work on a phone, including WhatsApp where your customers use it.

Underneath, it needs correct page titles and descriptions, a sitemap, structured data that tells search engines what your business is, and pages that load in a couple of seconds on a mobile network.

Will the domain, hosting, and code be in my name? What will it cost per year to keep running? Who writes the content? How will I update it? What happens to my existing search rankings if this is a redesign?

Clear, written answers to these questions are a better sign of a good partner than a polished portfolio.