Starting a business

How to make a website for your business

By the Storyhand Studio team

You don't need to know code to have a good website. You need to know what it has to do, which pages it needs, and who will build it. This guide walks you through all three, in plain words.

What your website has to do

A small business website has one job: help a stranger decide to contact you. To do that, it must answer four questions in seconds, especially on a phone:

1. What do you do?
2. Where do you do it?
3. Why should I trust you?
4. How do I reach you or book?

The pages you need

• Home: what you do, who for, your area and a clear button to call, book or request a quote.
• Services: each service in plain words, with prices or starting prices if you can.
• About: who you are and why you started. People hire people.
• Photos or work: real jobs, real results.
• Reviews: real quotes from real customers, with their OK.
• Contact: phone, email, a form that asks what you need to know, your hours and area.

That's it for most new businesses. Five or six pages done well beat twenty pages nobody reads.

Before anyone builds anything

• Buy your domain (your web address) in your own name, with your own login.
• Gather your words and photos. Write a few lines for each page, and collect your best photos taken in good light.
• Have your logo and colors ready, so the site matches your cards and signs.

Option 1: Build it yourself

Website builders let you drag in text and photos and pick a template. Good for: tight budgets and people who like doing it themselves. Watch out for: the time it takes, monthly fees that add up, and templates that make you look like everyone else. Most people underestimate how long the writing takes.

Option 2: Hire a freelancer

A freelancer builds it for you. Good for: a custom look without agency prices. Watch out for: who owns the accounts. Make sure the domain, hosting and login are in your name, and that you can edit the site without calling them for every change.

Option 3: Get it done for you

A done-for-you package builds the website along with the logo, brand and the rest of your setup, so everything matches. Good for: new owners who would rather spend their time on the work. Watch out for: the same thing as a freelancer: you should own everything. Prices vary widely; see how much a small business website costs.

After it's live

1. Put your website on your Google Business Profile, cards, truck and social pages.
2. Set up a business email at your domain.
3. Check it on your own phone. Tap every button.
4. Update it when your prices, services or photos change. A site that's clearly out of date costs you calls.