The short answer
A website is not compulsory. But it is the only place on the internet that is entirely yours and it works for you 24 hours a day, even while you sleep or have your hands full. No algorithm limits its reach and nobody shows your competitors next to it. For the vast majority of sole traders it is worth having. Where the line is, the next few paragraphs will show.
A website is the only place on the internet that is entirely yours, and it works for you 24/7, even while you sleep.
When you (almost certainly) need a website
The more of these fit you, the clearer it is:
- People google you before they call. Before someone hands money to a tradesman or books into a salon, they check them out. If they find nothing, they go to the person they can find.
- Your customers come from the local area. People search for “hairdresser Brno” or “plumber near me”. Without a website and a Google Business Profile you simply are not in those results.
- Your competition has a website and you do not. Then you look like the cheaper, less serious option, even when you do better work.
- You want to charge more. A professional website raises your perceived value, you can ask a fair price and you do not come across as someone doing odd jobs in the evenings.
- You want to take bookings outside working hours. Bookings, enquiries, prices: the website handles the customer at 10pm too, when you will not be picking up the phone.
When you (for now) do not need one
To be fair, there are situations where a website can wait:
- You are full of work from referrals and deliberately do not want more jobs.
- Your business is purely local and offline, and the whole neighbourhood knows you.
- You are just starting out and have neither the time nor the money for a website yet.
Even then, do at least one thing for free: set up a Google Business Profile (the one that pops up on Maps). It costs nothing, takes an evening and thanks to it people nearby can find you at all. You can add a full website later, when you want to grow.
“But I have Facebook and Instagram”
A great addition. Not a replacement for a website, though. And here is why:
- You do not own it. An algorithm controls your reach and your account can be limited or blocked overnight. A website is yours for good.
- Not everyone is there. Some customers do not search on Instagram, but almost everyone types something into Google.
- Distraction. On social media you are surrounded by competitors and kittens. On your website you are the one in charge of the first impression.
- A professional looks different. Your own website on your own domain (yourbusiness.cz) inspires more trust than a profile on a network.
The ideal? The website as your base, social media as the road you use to bring people to it.
What a website actually brings a sole trader
- Trust. A professional website says “I take this seriously” before you even pick up the phone.
- New customers from Google, including the ones who do not know you yet.
- Saved time. The website answers questions about prices, opening hours and the usual queries for you.
- Peace of mind. It works around the clock, never gets ill and never takes a holiday.
“I have no time and no materials for a website”
That is the most common thing holding people back, and it is easy to solve. I prepare the copy and the structure for you, we sort the photos out along the way and I handle the whole launch (domain, hosting, connecting it to Google) so that you never have to touch anything technical. Your job is to answer a few questions about your business.
What kind of website is enough to start with
You do not need a big website straight away. For most sole traders a simple one-page site is plenty to get going: one page that shows what you do, what it costs and how to reach you. You can extend it any time later. I go through the numbers in the article How much does a website cost for a sole trader, and you will find the individual packages in the pricing.