Website guides for small-business owners
Plain guides for small-business owners about their website: what to put on it, what it costs, domains and email, and Google.
Redesigning your website
When an old site holds you back, and how to replace it without losing what works.
- Your website is ten years old: what has changed since thenA 10-year-old website was built for a different internet. What changed with phones, security, speed, forms and customer habits, and what still holds.
- Why your old website looks bad on phones and what to doOld websites were built for a desk-sized screen. Here is why yours shrinks, cuts off or hides its menu on a phone, how to test it, and your options.
- When your web designer disappears: getting your website backYour web designer stopped answering. How to check what is at risk, secure your domain first, deal with hosting and files, and get back in control.
- What to tell customers when your website changesHow to announce a new website without fuss: a short email, a social post, what to tell staff, signs at the counter, and when to say nothing at all.
- What to save before you replace your old websiteBefore a redesign, save your text, photos, page addresses, form settings, email records and logins. A plain checklist that takes an afternoon.
- What to look for in a website rebuild previewHow to review a website preview before you approve it: check the facts, use it on your phone, click every link, test the form, and write changes clearly.
Websites by trade
What customers look for on the website of a plumber, a salon, a bakery and many more.
- Yoga studio websites: schedules, beginners and membershipsHow to show a yoga class schedule people can read on a phone, explain styles to beginners, and describe memberships and class packs in plain words.
- What a yoga studio website needs: pages, words and photosThe pages a yoga studio website needs, what newcomers check first, which photos help, what to leave off, and how to make calling or emailing easy.
- Window cleaning websites: residential, storefront and high-riseHow a window cleaning website can serve homeowners, shop owners and building managers at once: screens and tracks, storefront routes and insurance.
- What a window cleaner website needs: pages, words and photosThe pages a window cleaning business site needs, what homeowners ask before booking, how to show clean glass in photos and keep the quote quick.
- What electricians should show about licenses and insurance onlineWhere to put your electrical license number, how to word insurance and bonding, how to talk about permits, and what homeowners do with that information.
- What a welding shop website needs: pages, words and photosThe pages a welding shop website needs, what customers check before they call, what to cut, and a contact path that takes photos of the broken part.
Pages that bring enquiries
Home page, services, about, contact, photos and the words on them.
- Writing your business description in two sentencesA simple formula and real examples for a two-sentence business description that says who you are, what you do and where, ready to reuse everywhere.
- Writing town pages without copying the same pageHow to write location pages for the towns you serve with real local detail, when a town page is worth having, and how to avoid near-identical copies.
- Writing for your website when you're not a writerHow to write website content when you are not a writer - talk it through like a phone call, write it down, cut it short - with a simple method for any page.
- Writing alt text for your website photosHow to write alt text for images on a small business website in plain words, which photos need it, which do not, and where to type it in your editor.
- Writing a services list that doesn't overwhelm visitorsHow to turn a long services list on your website into something people can scan: group it, put the common jobs first, name things plainly and link each one.
- Writing a page for financing or payment optionsWhat to put on a financing or payment options page, from accepted payment methods to financing partners, and how to word it carefully and honestly.
Getting found on Google
Plain answers about Google for business owners, with no ranking promises.
- Your website on Bing and other search enginesHow to claim Bing Places for Business, add your site to Bing Webmaster Tools, and which other search engines and maps a local business should check.
- Why your website isn't showing up on GoogleThe usual reasons a site is missing from Google: too new, hidden by a setting, blocked, too thin, or showing but not for your search. How to fix each.
- Why your competitor shows up above you on GoogleThe real reasons another business appears above yours, from distance and reviews to categories and service pages, and the parts you can actually change.
- What is local SEO? A plain explanation for ownersLocal SEO helps Google show your business to nearby people searching for what you do. What it involves, what you can do, and what nobody can promise.
- What is E-E-A-T? A plain explanation for local businessesE-E-A-T means experience, expertise, authority and trust. What Google means by it, what it is not, and how a local business shows it on its own site.
- What is a sitemap and does a small business need one?A sitemap is a file listing your site's pages for search engines. Most builders make one for you. How to find yours, check it and submit it to Google.
Domains, hosting and email
Your web address, where the site lives and a business email, explained.
- Why your business emails go to spamThe usual reasons a small business's quotes and replies land in spam, how to find out which one is yours, and the fixes in the order worth trying.
- Who owns my domain? How to checkHow to look up your domain on ICANN's free lookup tool, read the registrar, registrant and expiry date, and confirm the account is in your name.
- What is WHOIS and why your details might be publicWHOIS (now RDAP) is the public record of who holds a domain. What a lookup shows, why your name or address might appear, and how to check and hide it.
- What is web hosting? Plainly explainedWeb hosting is renting space on an always-on computer where your website lives. How it fits with your domain, the main kinds, and what a small business needs.
- What is an EPP or authorization code for a domain?An EPP code is the password that lets a domain move to a new registrar. What it looks like, where to find it at common registrars, and why yours may not show.
- What is a domain name? A plain guide for business ownersA domain name is your business's address online. How it differs from a website and hosting, who you rent it from, and what you need to keep it safe.
Website basics for owners
Costs, builders, phones, speed, safety and the choices before you start.
- Your website's contact form and email: making sure nothing gets lostWhy website form emails go missing or land in spam, how to test your contact form properly, and the settings that make sure every enquiry reaches you.
- Your website on business cards, trucks and signsHow to print your web address so people read it and type it right, on cards, vehicles and signs, and the checks to run before a print run you cannot undo.
- Your first business website: a step-by-step planA plain, ordered plan for a first business website, from picking the name and email to writing pages, testing on your phone and telling customers it is live.
- WordPress for small businesses: pros, cons and upkeepWhat WordPress does well for a small business, what it asks of you in updates, plugins and security, and a realistic monthly upkeep routine.
- Wix vs Squarespace vs a done-for-you siteHow Wix, Squarespace and a done-for-you website compare on your time, the yearly bill and control, and which kind of small-business owner each one suits.
- Who should update your website: you or someone else?Owner, staff member, freelance designer or a service: who should update a small business website, what each costs in time and money, and how to decide.