B&B · 006 FAQ
Answers
before
you
spend a penny.
These are the questions people ask me most before we start: what a website costs, whether Wix will do, why you're not showing up on Google, and what works for your line of work. I've answered them the way I would if we were sat having a coffee.
What it costs
Let's talk money.
// Real numbers, not a "get a quote" runaround.
It depends on what you need, but as a rough guide most small-business websites in Swindon come in between £450 and £3,500 as a one-off. With me, a simple site is £450–750, a full business site is around £1,200–1,800, and one with bookings or payments is £2,200–3,500. Because I'm just starting out, my first ten clients get a complete custom site from £500. Whatever it is, I'll give you one fixed price before I build anything, so there are no surprise invoices.
Mostly what it does, not how good it looks. For around £500 you get a small, tidy site: a few pages, a contact form, works nicely on phones, with the SEO basics in place. Nearer £5,000 you're adding lots of pages, bookings or payments, a shop, custom features and proper written content. Both should be fast and look sharp. If someone quotes you £5,000 for what's really a template with your logo dropped on top, walk away.
Wix, DIY & Facebook
Do you even need me?
// Sometimes the answer is "not yet", and I'll say so.
If you're happy to build and update it yourself, Wix or Squarespace can do the job, and I'll tell you if that's all you need. The catch is the monthly fees add up over the years, the templates make you look like everyone else using them, they can be slow (which Google doesn't love), and you never fully own it. A site I build is faster, properly yours, and a one-off cost. If you want something online this week and enjoy tinkering, a builder is fine. If you want the site to bring you work, a custom build usually pays for itself.
A Facebook page is worth having, but I wouldn't lean on it alone. You don't own it (Facebook can change the rules or pull your page overnight), not everyone's on there, and it barely shows up when someone Googles "electrician near me". A proper website also makes you look more established than a competitor who's only on social media. Think of Facebook as where you chat to people who already follow you, and your website as where new customers find you and decide whether to trust you.
Getting found on Google
Why nobody's finding you.
// The stuff a lot of designers quietly skip after launch.
Usually it's one of a handful of things: the site's brand new (Google takes a while to trust it), it hasn't been indexed, it doesn't use the words people type when they search, there's no Google Business Profile, it's slow or fiddly on a phone, or bigger local competitors are simply ahead of you. The good news is every one of those is fixable. I get new sites into Google Search Console, set up a Google Business Profile, write in clear location and service wording, and help you pick up a few local links and reviews.
For the competitive local searches, give it 3–6 months to start showing up properly, and a bit longer for the really busy terms. You'll appear much sooner for your own business name, and in the Google Maps results, often within a week or two once your Google Business Profile is live and a few reviews come in. Ranking builds up over time; it isn't a switch that flips the day you launch.
For your trade
Built for what you do.
// A sparky's site and a holiday let's site want different things.
If you're an electrician, plumber or builder, keep it simple: the areas you cover, what you do, proof you're qualified (NICEIC, Gas Safe, a trade body logo), real photos of your own jobs, a few reviews, and a dead-easy way to call you or ask for a quote from a phone. Nearly all your enquiries come in on mobile, so a fast, tap-to-call layout matters far more than anything flashy.
They can, yes. Your own booking site lets you keep the commission (often 15% or more) that Airbnb and Booking.com take, own the relationship with your guests, and turn up on Google for searches like "Cotswolds lodge with a hot tub". Most owners use the big platforms for reach and their own site for repeat and direct bookings. When I rebuilt Cotswold Lake Lodges' site, the new direct-booking version converts better than the old template it replaced.
I'm based in Swindon, Wiltshire, so I can meet you in person, and I work with businesses across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds: Cirencester, Marlborough, Chippenham, Cricklade, Royal Wootton Bassett, Highworth and the villages around them. If you're further afield, that's no problem, we can do the whole thing over a call.
Still wondering?
Ask me anything
about your website.
The chat's free and there's no hard sell, just a proper answer about what a website could do for yours.