1. Decide what the website is for
Pick one main action you want a visitor to take: call, book, order, or ask for a quote. Every page should make that action obvious. A website that tries to do everything usually does nothing.
2. Get a domain name
Your domain is your address (yourbusiness.com). Keep it short, easy to say out loud, and close to your business name. A .com is still the safest choice. Domains usually cost around $10–$25 a year. Register it in your own name, not your web designer’s, so you always control it.
3. Choose how to build it
- Do it yourself with a website builder (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify for stores). Lowest cost to start, but you pay monthly forever and spend your own evenings on it.
- Use a template and fill in your details. Faster than starting from scratch. (We sell our own one-page templates for local businesses.)
- Hire someone to build it for you. Costs more up front but you get a site built to bring in customers, and your time back.
4. Write the pages that matter
A small business rarely needs more than these:
- Home: what you do, where, and the main button (call or book), all visible without scrolling on a phone.
- Services: each service in plain words, with rough prices if you can share them.
- About: why you, how long you’ve served the area, and real photos (not stock photos).
- Reviews: real reviews, with a link to your Google listing.
- Contact: phone, address, hours, map, and a short form.
Write like you talk to customers. Answer the questions people ask you ten times a week, right on the page.
5. Make it fast and phone-first
Most local customers find you on a phone, often standing outside or in a hurry. Use compressed images, avoid heavy video on the home page, and make the phone number tap-to-call. Test it on your own phone before anything else.
6. Make it readable by Google and AI assistants
This is the step most websites skip. Search engines and AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI answers need to read your business details, not guess them:
- Put your name, address, phone and hours in the page text, not only inside an image.
- Add structured data (schema markup) describing your business, services and FAQs.
- Give every page a clear title and description.
- Keep your details the same everywhere: website, Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook.
Not sure how your current site does? Run our free AI visibility check.
7. Connect your Google Business Profile
For local businesses, your free Google Business Profile often matters as much as your website. Fill in every field, add photos, choose the right categories, link to your site, and ask happy customers for reviews.
8. Launch, then keep it alive
Before launch, click every button and link on a phone. After launch, keep hours and prices current, add new reviews and photos, and make sure someone answers when people call or text. A great website can’t fix a phone that rings out.
What does a small business website cost?
Roughly: a do-it-yourself builder costs a monthly subscription plus your time. A professionally built site for a local business usually costs from several hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the industry and features, plus hosting. Our own websites start at $890, with hosting & care from $39/mo, and you own the site.