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.
• What to ask a website company before you payFourteen questions to ask a website company before paying - ownership, changes, yearly costs and leaving - and what good and worrying answers sound like.
• What makes a website look trustworthyThe details that make a small business website trustworthy to a first-time customer: real people and photos, full contact details, the padlock, honest reviews.
• What is a CMS? Plainly explainedWhat a CMS (content management system) is, how WordPress, website builders and simple editing panels differ, and how to tell which one your site uses.
• What a website panel or editor should let you changeWhat a good small business website editor lets you change safely, what it should protect from accidents, and the questions to ask before choosing one.
• Websites for restaurants: ordering, reservations and menusHow a restaurant website should handle online ordering, reservations and the menu: linking Toast, Square or OpenTable, and what diners look for first.
• Website warranties and support after launchWhat support after a website launch should cover - faults, small changes, uptime, backups and email - and how to tell a fair promise from an empty one.
• Website text written by AI: checking it before it goes liveHow to check AI-written website text before it goes live - facts, promises, prices, your area and your voice - with a routine any owner can follow.
• Website terms owners should know: a plain glossaryPlain definitions of the website words owners hear most: domain, hosting, DNS, nameservers, SSL, CMS, redirects, MX records and more, grouped by topic.
• Website speed: why slow sites lose customersWhy a slow small business website costs you calls, the usual culprits (huge photos, plugins, cheap hosting) and how to find and fix yours.
• Website security basics for small business ownersThe few habits that protect a small business website: updates, strong logins with two-step codes, backups you have tested, HTTPS and knowing who has access.
• Website planning worksheet for small business ownersA fill-in worksheet of the questions to answer before you get a website - customers, services, area, proof, contact and upkeep - with examples for each.
• Website photos: permission and using pictures you find onlineWhy you can't just use pictures from Google on your business website, which photos you may use, how to get permission, and what to do if you used one already.
• Website maintenance: what needs doing and how oftenA plain monthly, quarterly and yearly website maintenance checklist for small business owners, with what each job takes and when to hand it to someone.
• Website help for older business ownersWhere older business owners can get patient, plain website help, how to set things up so you stay in control, and how to spot the calls and emails to ignore.
• Website for a side business: what you really needA side business needs less website than you think. The minimum that works, how to keep cost and time low, and what to protect while you keep a day job.
• Website for a business with no photos yetNo photos yet? You can still launch a good business website. What to use instead, a simple shot list for your first photos, and how to add them later.
• Website for a business moving to a new townMoving your business to a new town? What to change on your website and Google listing, how to handle the old area, and the order to do it all in.
• Website design for local businesses: what matters mostFor a local business, good design means three things a visitor finds fast on a phone - how to reach you, where you work, and proof you do good work.
• Website deals for small businesses: how to judge themA cheap website can be a smart buy or a costly mistake. How to tell good-cheap from costly-cheap, and what a low price may and may not leave out.
• Website copyright year in the footer: does it matter?Whether an old copyright year in your website footer matters, what to write there, how to keep it current, and the other dates that make a site look abandoned.
• Website contracts: clauses to read before signingThe clauses in a web design contract that decide who owns the site, how long you are tied in, what changes cost and how you leave, in plain words.
• Website builder or web designer: which is right for you?Should you build your business website yourself or hire a designer? A plain way to decide from your time, budget and comfort with computers, plus a middle path.
• Website basics for shops, studios and salonsWhat a salon, studio or shop website needs - hours people can trust, a booking button that works, a clear menu of services and prices, and how to find you.
• Website basics for professional servicesWhat a website for an accountant, attorney, planner, therapist or consultant needs - credentials, a clear process, how fees work and an easy first call.
• Website basics for home service businessesWhat a home service business website needs - the towns you cover, a phone that dials, proof you can be trusted inside someone's house, and photos of real jobs.
• Website and CRM: do you need customer software?Whether a small business needs a CRM for its website enquiries, simpler ways to track leads, and how to tell when proper customer software is worth it.
• Website analytics without spying on visitorsHow a small business can count visits, see which pages work and where visitors come from, without cookies, banners or tracking people across the web.
• Website accessibility for small businesses: where to startWhere a small business should start with website accessibility, the fixes that help most visitors, how to test them yourself, and where ADA fits in.
• Updating your website yourself: what should be easyThe everyday website changes an owner should manage alone in minutes, from hours and prices to photos and text, and what it means when they are hard.
• Template vs custom website designTemplate or custom website design for a small business: what each really costs, how long it takes, how well it fits, and the middle ground most owners choose.
• Taking payments on a website without an online storeHow a small business can take deposits, invoices, gift cards and simple orders on its website with Stripe, PayPal or Square payment links, no store needed.
• Square Online, Shopify or a simple website?Square Online vs Shopify vs a simple website for a small business: who each one suits, what running it involves, and how to combine a store with a main site.
• Simple website ideas for small businessesEight small, simple website shapes that work for real businesses, from a one-page site to a menu-and-hours site, with what to put on each and who it suits.
• Selling online: when a small business needs an online storeHow to tell whether your business needs a full online store, when a site built for calls and enquiries sells better, and the options in between.
• QR codes that point to your website: doing it rightWhere a QR code to your website helps, which page to send people to, how to make one that never expires, and how to test it before it goes to print.
• One-time website payment vs monthly subscriptionHow to compare a one-time website payment with a monthly plan by adding up three years of real costs, plus when each one is the better deal.
• My website was hacked: first stepsWhat to do in the first hours after your business website is hacked, in order: contain it, call your host, change passwords, restore cleanly and tell Google.
• Monthly website fees: what you're actually paying forThe usual lines on a small-business website bill, from builder plan and hosting to domain, email and care plans, what each one does, and which you can drop.
• Making images smaller so your website loads fasterHow to resize and compress photos for your website, which pixel sizes and formats (JPEG, WebP) to use, and free tools that do it in a minute.
• Keeping your website current: a once-a-season routineA 30-minute website check to do four times a year - hours, prices, photos, forms, links and logins - plus what to add each spring, summer, fall and winter.
• Is your website mobile-friendly? How to check in a minuteA one-minute phone test for your business website, what each failure means, and how to get a second opinion from Lighthouse in Chrome.
• Is Google Business Profile enough without a website?What a Google Business Profile does well, where it falls short on its own, and the jobs a small website does for the people who find you on Google.
• How to write down what you want before getting a websiteHow to write a one-page website brief as a business owner - must-haves, nice-to-haves, sites you like, what to avoid, deadline and budget - so quotes match.
• How to spot a bad website dealThe red flags of a bad website deal or an outright website scam aimed at small businesses - long contracts, a domain you don't own, upsells and pressure.
• How to make a website for your small business: the optionsThe real ways to make a business website, from doing it yourself to getting help or having it done for you, what each involves step by step, and who each suits.
• How much does a small business website cost?Rough price ranges for a first business website from a builder, a freelancer, an agency or a done-for-you service, plus the yearly costs that come after.
• Hidden website costs small business owners missThe website costs that are not on the price page, from renewal jumps and per-user email to change fees, licences, expired domains and the price of leaving.
• GoDaddy website builder: when it's time to move onSigns your GoDaddy-built site has reached its limits, what your alternatives are, and how to move the website while keeping your GoDaddy domain and email.
• Getting a website when you're not good with computersYou can have a good business website without learning any software. The done-for-you options, the few things only you can do, and the traps to avoid.
• Free website builders: what 'free' really costsWhat you get and give up on a free website builder plan, from the long borrowed address and the builder's ads to the limits, and when free is good enough.
• Do small businesses still need a website?An honest answer: which businesses can manage without a website, which really need one, and what a small site does that Facebook and Google listings cannot.
• Do customers really check your website before calling?Many do, even when a friend recommended you. What customers look for in the minute before they call, when they skip the site, and how to see it for yourself.
• Can I get a website without monthly fees?Yes, mostly. What you can pay once for, what always costs something each year, and the catches behind offers that say "no monthly fee".
• Booking tools for service businesses comparedCalendly, Square Appointments, Acuity and other booking tools compared for small service businesses, what to look for, and how to link booking from your site.
• AI images on a business website: when they're okayWhen AI-made pictures are fine on a small business website, when they mislead customers, how to check them for odd details, and when to label them.
• Adding a PayPal or Stripe button to your websiteStep by step, how to create a PayPal or Stripe payment link, put it behind a button on your website, set up receipts and test it before customers use it.
• ADA website lawsuits: what small businesses should knowA calm look at ADA website lawsuits and demand letters, why small businesses receive them, what to do if one arrives, and sensible ways to lower the risk.
• A website for a one-person businessWhat a site needs when you are the whole business: your face and name up front, honest availability, answers that save phone time, and a plan for days off.