01
Decide what the site is for
Most small business websites try to do five things and end up doing none of them well. Pick the main one: getting bookings, getting enquiries, selling products, or simply looking credible when someone looks you up. Everything else follows from that.
- Finish this sentence: "The site's main job is to get ___ to ___."
- Name the one thing you want a visitor to do before they leave.
- Decide what a good month looks like. Ten enquiries? Fifty bookings? It tells you whether the site is working.
02
Write down what customers ask you
Your customers have already told you what your website needs to say. They ask the same questions on the phone, in your DMs and at the counter.
- List the ten questions you're asked most often.
- Star the ones that put people off if they can't find the answer: price, how long it takes, where you cover.
- Jot down how you answer them out loud. That's usually better website copy than anything that sounds like marketing.
03
Gather your words (rough is fine)
You don't need polished copy. You need the facts, in whatever state they're in.
- What you offer, in plain words.
- Prices, or at least "from" prices.
- Where you're based or the areas you cover.
- Opening hours or how far ahead people can book.
- A few lines about you and why you started.
Content holds up more website projects than design or code ever does. Starting it early is the single best way to launch on time.
04
Get some real photos
Stock photos of smiling strangers make a small business look like every other small business. Real photos of you, your work and your space do the opposite.
- A friendly photo of you, and your team if you have one. People buy from people.
- Your work: finished jobs, products, before-and-afters.
- Your premises, workspace or van, if customers will see it.
- Phone photos are fine. Daylight, a tidy background and a steady hand go a long way.
05
Collect your proof
A stranger needs a reason to trust you, and other customers are the best one.
- Your best reviews, wherever they live: Google, Facebook, Trustpilot, Checkatrade.
- Ask a few happy customers if you can quote them, with their first name and town.
- Examples of your work you're proud of.
- Any qualifications, memberships or insurance your customers care about.
06
Sort out your domain and email
Your domain is your address online. It should belong to you, not to whoever set it up for you years ago.
- If you have a domain, find out where it's registered and check you can log in to that account yourself, in your own name.
- If you don't, shortlist a few: short, easy to spell and say, ideally .co.uk or .com.
- Set up email at your own domain, like hello@yourbusiness.co.uk. A Gmail or Hotmail address makes a good business look smaller than it is.
Losing access to a domain is surprisingly common, and it's a pain to untangle mid-project. Ten minutes checking now saves weeks later.
07
List your logins and tools
Most businesses already have more online than they realise. Write it all down in one place.
- Your current website, and who hosts it.
- Booking and payment tools: Fresha, Square, Stripe, Calendly and the like.
- Google Business Profile, Google Analytics and Search Console.
- Your social media accounts.
- Anything you pay for monthly that's connected to your site.
Note who owns each one. If the answer is "my nephew" or "the last web designer", that's the first thing to sort.
08
Know the legal basics
Nothing exotic, but every UK business website needs a few things, and they're easier to plan in than to bolt on afterwards.
- A privacy policy, if your site collects names, emails or bookings (UK GDPR).
- A cookie banner, if you use analytics or advertising tracking (the PECR rules).
- Your company number and registered office, if you're a limited company.
- Terms and a returns policy, if you sell online, including the 14-day right to cancel.
09
Set a budget you're comfortable with
A website has two costs: building it, and running it. It's worth knowing both before you start.
- The build: the design and development, paid upfront or spread over monthly payments.
- The running costs: domain, hosting, email, and any booking or shop tools you pay for.
- Your time: writing, photos and feedback. It's the cost people most often underestimate.
How my pricing works10
Work back from a real date
"As soon as possible" isn't a deadline. A launch, a new season, a lease starting or an event you're advertising is.
- Pick the date the site needs to be live, and why.
- Allow time for your part: content, photos and reviewing designs.
- Leave a buffer before anything you're paying to promote.
11
If you already have a website
Your old site still has things worth keeping, even if you can't wait to see the back of it.
- Run the free website check to see what's working and what isn't.
- Note what you like and dislike about it, and about a few competitors' sites.
- Find out which pages people reach you through on Google. They'll need redirecting so you don't lose that traffic.
- Save the words, photos and reviews you want to keep.
Run the free website check12
If you've built something with AI
Lovable, Bolt, Replit and ChatGPT get you a working preview fast. Launching it properly is a different job.
- Your own domain, and hosting that won't fall over.
- Security, especially who can see whose data.
- Payments switched from test to live.
- The legal pages above.
What an AI-built app needs before launch