A small business website built to sell what you do

What goes into a small business website

A good small business website isn't a big one. It's a handful of pages that each do one job well, written in the words your customers actually use. Here's the structure I'd start from, adjusted to what you sell and how people buy it. A plumber and a photographer need different things, and the site should reflect that.

Not every business needs all six. A new business with one service might start smaller and grow, and a single offer may suit a landing page better. We decide that together in the first conversation, based on how your customers find you and what they need to know before they get in touch.

• Home: what you do, who it's for and the one action you want people to take
• Services: each service explained plainly, with what's included and how pricing works
• Work or gallery: real photos of real jobs, which say more than any slogan
• About: who's behind the business and why people can trust you
• FAQs: the questions customers ask you every week, answered before they ask
• Contact: WhatsApp, phone, email, a short enquiry form and the area you serve

What makes it an advertising website

A small business site is an advertising website: its whole job is to sell what you do, and that changes the decisions. Every page ends with a clear next step. Your WhatsApp and phone number are never more than a tap away. The questions that make people hesitate are answered on the page, so nobody has to message you just to find out the basics.

It's also about trust. Plenty of people check a business out before they contact it, and a site that looks careless makes them wonder about the work too. The goal is a site that makes a stranger trust you before you've said a word to them, and one you're genuinely proud to send people to.

Simple, professional and built around your business

A lot of owners ask for a simple website, and simple is usually right. Simple doesn't mean plain, though. It means nothing on the page that doesn't need to be there. The hard part is the feel: the right spacing, colours that suit what you sell, the moment a page stops looking homemade and starts looking professional.

That's why I don't start from a template. Everything is built from scratch, so there's no bloated theme to fight and no monthly fee for a page builder you never wanted. It's quick, works properly on a phone, and is written so that Google can find you. If you're weighing this against Wix or WordPress, here are the honest trade-offs.

What I'll need from you

You don't need a polished brief. The first step is a conversation about what the business is, who you're trying to reach, and what you want someone to do the moment they land on the page. From there, a few things make the build quicker and the finished site stronger, and most owners have them already.

Then I show you a direction, with layout, colour and type, before anything is built, and you see the site as it comes together rather than only at the end. The step-by-step process explains what happens at each stage, from that first conversation to launch day.

• Photos of your actual work, premises or products, even good phone photos
• A list of your services and what people usually ask about each one
• Reviews or messages from happy customers that you're allowed to share
• Your business name, number and area exactly as they appear elsewhere
• Your domain name, if you already have one

A website for a new business, or one that's been running for years

If you're just starting, a website gives you somewhere to send people from day one: a link for your WhatsApp status, your Instagram bio and your business card. It doesn't need to be big. It needs to say clearly what you do and make it easy to get in touch, then grow as the business does.

If you've been trading for years on referrals and word of mouth, the site's job is different. People who hear about you often look you up before they call. A site that shows your work, explains your services and answers the usual questions backs up what they've already heard, instead of leaving them with an outdated Facebook page.

After launch: yours to keep

When the site goes live, the domain is connected, everything is checked, and I walk you through exactly what you have and how it works. You own the site and the domain. I hand over the files, so you're never locked in to me or to a platform you can't leave.

Businesses change. Prices go up, services get added, new photos come in. I stay reachable if you want changes later, and because the site is built from scratch, a change is a direct edit rather than a fight with a template. Every site still needs a domain and hosting to stay online, so ask about those running costs upfront.

Who builds it

I'm Jorryn Panjasuran, a freelance web designer in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and a second-year IIE Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences (Application Development) student. Before that I graduated top of a class of 200+ in the IIE Higher Certificate in Mobile Application and Web Development. Because I work alone, the person you brief is the person who builds it.

Two of the modules I studied matter most for a business site. Systems Analysis and Design is about sitting with a client and pulling out what they actually need before a single line is written. Information Systems is about how a business runs day to day, so the site fits the business instead of the business bending around the site.