Do you need a website?
Decide whether a website earns its keep yet, and what the simplest one should have.
5 min read
At some point someone will ask "do you have a website?" — and it is tempting to pay somebody to build one. For many small businesses, a website is not where the sales come from: WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Maps and word of mouth are. But some businesses do need one, and the simplest version is cheap. This lesson helps you decide which you are.
What a website actually does for a small business
- Makes you look real. A buyer checking you out — especially another business — expects to find something more than a social media account.
- Gives you one link that holds everything: what you do, prices, where you are, how to contact you.
- Can be found by search for what you sell, not just your name.
- Can take orders and payments on its own, if you set it up to.
- Belongs to you. No platform can change its rules or hide your posts.
When you do not need one yet
| A website can wait if… |
|---|
| Your customers are local and find you on Google Maps or by walking past |
| Your orders come through WhatsApp or Instagram and that works |
| You have fewer products than fit in a WhatsApp catalogue |
| You have not yet tested whether people will pay for what you sell |
In those cases, a well-filled Google Business Profile, a WhatsApp catalogue and a single page with your details do most of a website's job — see getting found.
When it starts to earn its keep
- You sell to other businesses, institutions or government, who check suppliers online before they call.
- You sell many products, to customers in other cities, and taking every order by chat is eating your day.
- You offer a service where people compare providers before choosing — tutors, clinics, studios, consultants.
- Customers keep asking the same detailed questions that a page could answer once.
Start with one page, not a full site. What you do, who for, where, prices or a price range, hours, and a WhatsApp button. Add pages only when customers keep asking for something the page does not say.
What the simplest good website has
- Your business name and one sentence on what you do and for whom.
- What you offer, with photos and prices (or "from" prices).
- How to buy or book — one clear button: WhatsApp, call, or an order form.
- Where and when — address, map, hours, delivery areas.
- Proof — a few customer reviews or photos of your work.
- The legal basics — your registered business name, and GSTIN if you have one.
It must work on a phone. Most of your visitors will be on one.
Ways to get one
| Option | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| A free business page | Getting a shareable link today | Limited design and features |
| A website builder or online-shop platform | Selling many products with payments | Monthly charges; check the plan before you build |
| A developer or agency | Something custom | Cost, and being stuck if they disappear |
Register the domain name in your own name, with your own email, and keep the login. Many small businesses have lost their website — and their email — because the developer who set it up registered it under their own account.
Keep it alive
An out-of-date website does more harm than none: old prices, closed phone numbers and last year's offers make customers doubt you're still open. If you will not update it, keep it small enough that there is little to go out of date.
The tool below makes the one-page version — your offerings, your details and a WhatsApp button, on a public link you can share.