How to make a website for your business

1. Decide what the site is for

For almost every local business the answer is the same: get people who found you to call, book or ask for a quote. Write that down. Every decision after this is about removing obstacles between a visitor and that action.

That means your phone number belongs at the top of every page, not in the footer, and on a phone it should be one tap to call.

2. Get your domain name

Register a domain in your own name, not a web designer's. Short, easy to say on the phone, and ideally with your town or trade if your business name is taken. A .com costs roughly $10–$25 a year.

Our domain name guide covers choosing one and the mistakes to avoid.

3. Choose how you'll build it

You have three routes: a website builder you use yourself, a builder that starts you with a finished design, or paying someone. Our builder vs. web developer guide compares them.

If you want to see what yours could look like before deciding anything, type your business into our builder. It shows three finished designs for your trade in a few seconds, free.

4. Gather your content first

This is the step that decides whether the site takes two days or two months. Before you touch a builder, collect:

Twenty or more photographs of your work, your team and your vehicles. Phone photos are fine if they're sharp and well lit. A list of your services, one line each. Your service area: the towns you actually cover. Your hours. Three to five genuine reviews, with permission. Anything customers always ask before they book.

Do not wait for a logo. If you do not have one, your business name in a good typeface is enough to launch.

5. Plan the pages

A local business rarely needs more than five: Home, Services, About, Reviews or Work, and Contact. Many do well with a single long page covering all of it.

If you serve several towns or offer distinct services customers search for separately, a page for each can help people find you. Only add them if you have something genuinely specific to say on each; thin copies of the same page help nobody.

6. Build it with the essentials customers look for

Before anything else is polished, make sure the site has: a tap-to-call phone number at the top; your town in the main headline; real photos; your services in plain words; your hours; a simple contact or quote form; and a link to your Google reviews.

Check what a small business website needs for the full list.

Write the words customers are searching for

People don't search for your business name until they know it. They search for the job and the place: "water heater replacement Aurora", "nail salon near me", "emergency electrician Thornton". Use those plain words in your headings and service descriptions, the way a customer would say them on the phone.

Give each main service a clear heading and two or three sentences on what it involves, roughly what affects the price, and how quickly you can usually do it. That is exactly what someone comparing businesses wants to know, and it is what search engines read to decide what your page is about.

7. Launch checklist

Open it on your own phone and tap every button. Fill in your own contact form and make sure the message arrives. Check it loads quickly on mobile data, not just Wi-Fi. Add it to your Google Business Profile. Add it to Google Search Console so you can see when it starts appearing in results.

Then tell people. Put the address on your van, your invoices and your email signature.

Mistakes that cost small businesses customers

Hiding the phone number. If a customer on a phone has to scroll to find how to call you, many won't. Put it at the top of every page.

Writing about yourself instead of the customer. "Family owned since..." is fine lower down. The top of the page should say what you do, where, and how to get it.

Stock photos of people who don't work for you. Customers notice, and it undermines everything else. Ten honest phone photos beat a hundred glossy stock ones.

No prices at all. You don't have to publish a price list, but "from $X" or "call for a free quote" tells people what to expect.

Launching and forgetting. Update your hours on holidays, add new photos as you finish jobs, and check your contact form still works every few months.