Does my business actually need a website?

Plenty of businesses run happily on word of mouth and a Facebook page. So let's answer this honestly rather than the way someone selling websites would.

When you can probably skip it

If all your work comes through personal referrals, you're at capacity, and you don't want to grow, a website won't change your life. A tidy Google Business Profile and an up-to-date Facebook page may genuinely be enough.

When the answer is yes

• People search for what you do. "Electrician near me" gets typed thousands of times a day. If you're not somewhere in those results, the job goes to whoever is.
• You're being compared. Most customers check out two or three options before calling anyone. No website often reads as "not really in business".
• You rely on rented ground. A Facebook page lives on Facebook's rules. Reach drops, accounts get locked, platforms fade. Your own site is the one bit of the internet you control.
• You answer the same questions all day. Prices, opening hours, what areas you cover. A website answers them while you sleep.

The realistic middle ground

You don't need a big site. For most local businesses, a fast five-page site that says what you do, where you do it, what it roughly costs and how to reach you beats a sprawling one nobody maintains.

If you already have a site and you're wondering whether it's pulling its weight, that's measurable. Run it through the free SiteMOT check and you'll know in about a minute.