Guides & blog

Small business website guides

Everything I've learned from 256 small business projects, written for owners rather than developers. No signup, no gated PDFs — read them and use them.

7 guides published 15 yrs doing only this Free no email required

Four series

Pick the problem you have

A small business website on a laptop reading a website that works — build trust, get found, grow your business — with be found, build trust and get results panels, beside a plan build grow checklist notebook and books on small business success, digital marketing and website strategy

Series 01

How to buy a small business website

What the site is for, fix or rebuild, what it should cost, and who should build it.

3 guides live · 5 coming

A laptop showing a simple Get in touch contact page with name, email, phone and message fields and reassurances reading we reply fast within 24 hours, no obligation and 100 percent secure, beside a get more enquiries notebook listing clear message, easy to contact, quick response, happy visitors

Series 02

Turning visitors into enquiries

The four questions every visitor asks, and where sites lose people before they ask.

2 guides live · 5 coming

Laptop showing an SEO results dashboard with organic traffic up 32.5 percent and top local keywords, beside an SEO checklist notebook

Series 03

Getting found locally

The map pack, your Google Business Profile, and the review habit that compounds.

2 guides live · 4 coming

Website maintenance desk setup — a laptop showing a 100 percent site health dashboard with uptime monitoring, updates, backups, security and performance all green, a Website Maintenance checklist reading monitor, secure, update, backup, optimize, a phone confirming a completed website backup, spanners and a maintenance today better site tomorrow card

Series 04

Keeping your website running

The monthly checks, what breaks and when, and what maintenance should cost.

2 guides live · 4 coming

Start here

The one most owners need first

Why your website isn't converting — and what to fix first

The seven causes I find most often in fifteen years of reviews, in the order they cost you money. Read this before you change anything.

Richerd Ho · 10 min read · Updated August 2026

Read the diagnosis →

A small business owner reviewing his homepage while six equally weighted navigation options compete with one clear Get Started call to action

All guides

Newest first

Facebook page versus website comparison — a phone showing a business Facebook page with its limitations beside a laptop showing a website homepage with its advantages

New · Getting found

Is a Facebook page enough, or do you need a website?

Where a page stops working, the six things only a website can do, and how to run both together.

8 min read · August 2026

Local SEO

Local SEO for small business: a Google Business Profile that actually ranks

What the map pack is really weighing, how to set the profile up properly, the review habit that compounds, and a 12-point checklist.

11 min read · August 2026

A laptop and phone showing a small business homepage wireframe beside a printed website audit sheet reading message, trust, action, foundation

Checklist

Small business website checklist: 14 things every site needs

Fourteen checks grouped by message, trust, action and foundations — with the three that matter most called out.

7 min read · August 2026

A meeting table with a design portfolio, project proposal, wireframes and a seven-point checklist under a print reading good design builds trust, clear communication builds business

Hiring

How to choose a web designer for your small business

Seven questions to ask before you hire, six red flags worth walking away from, and what a fair quote must name.

8 min read · August 2026

A split screen comparing a confusing homepage with four competing buttons against a clear homepage with one headline and a single call to action

Copywriting

How to write a homepage that converts

The five sections in order, what each one has to do, and the lines to swap out on yours this week.

9 min read · August 2026

A slow website cart loaded with 4MB images, old plugins, page builder and extra fonts trailing a light fast website cart carrying compressed images, essential plugins, clean code and cached pages

Technical

Website speed optimization for small business

The five real causes of a slow site, which fixes are free and safe to do yourself, and which are worth paying for.