Most advice about small business websites in NZ falls into one of two camps: agencies trying to sell you a $5,000 site, or DIY platform blogs telling you to sign up for their monthly subscription. Neither is going to give you a straight answer about what you actually need.
Here's the straight answer: a small business website needs to do three things. Tell people who you are. Tell them what you do. Make it easy to contact you. Everything else is optional.
The minimum viable website
Before worrying about anything else, a business website in NZ needs these five things to function:
- Your business name and what you do, visible within the first few seconds
- A phone number or email address — easy to find, tappable on mobile
- The area or areas you serve
- A clear description of your services or products
- Some signal that you're real — a photo, a few reviews, or a short "about" section
That's it. A site with those five things will outperform a fancier site that buries the contact details or doesn't load properly on a phone.
Pages that actually matter
You don't need 12 pages. Most small business websites in NZ do well with four:
- Home — who you are, what you do, where you are, how to contact you
- Services or Products — what you offer, with enough detail for someone to understand if you're the right fit
- About — a short paragraph about the business and the person behind it. People buy from people.
- Contact — your phone number, email, and a simple form
Some businesses add a gallery or portfolio page. That's worth doing if you have real photos of your work — it builds trust faster than any amount of copy. If you only have stock photos, skip it. Cafes and hospitality businesses have specific requirements around menus, ambience photos, and booking details — see our guide to cafe websites in NZ for what works in that sector. Salons and beauty businesses have their own priorities too — our salon website guide for NZ covers those.
Things that don't matter as much as you think
A blog — unless you will genuinely write it. An empty blog with two posts from 2023 looks worse than no blog at all. Google doesn't rank you higher for having a blog section. It ranks you for having useful content that people actually read.
Animations and fancy transitions. These slow your site down and don't convert any better than a fast, plain page. The research is consistent: page speed matters more than visual effects.
Stock photos of people smiling at laptops. No one believes them. A real photo of your shopfront, your team, or your work beats a stock image every time.
A chatbot. For most small NZ businesses, a chatbot adds friction without adding value. Put your phone number front and centre instead.
Mobile-first is not negotiable
Over 75% of searches in New Zealand happen on mobile. For local businesses — trades, hospitality, retail, services — that number is probably higher. People search for a plumber, a cafe, or a hairdresser while they're out, not sitting at a desk.
A site that looks fine on a desktop but is hard to use on a phone will cost you enquiries. The phone number needs to be tappable. The form needs to be short enough to fill out with thumbs. Text needs to be readable without zooming. Images need to load fast on a mobile connection.
When you're reviewing a website design, test it on your phone first, not your laptop.
How much should a small business website cost in NZ?
The range is wide. Here's a rough breakdown:
- Web design agency: $3,000–$10,000 upfront, often with ongoing retainer fees for maintenance and hosting
- DIY platforms (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify): $20–$50 per month ongoing. You build it yourself, which takes time, and you're renting — not owning.
- Site Sorted: $299 one-off payment. Built for you, hosted for you, no monthly fees.
The agency option makes sense if you have a complex product catalogue or specific requirements that need custom development. For most NZ small businesses — trades, services, hospitality, retail — a $299 site will do everything you need.
The ongoing fee question matters more than the upfront cost. A $299 one-off beats $40 per month after about 7 months. After a year, the DIY platform has cost you $480 and you still own nothing.
What about SEO?
Search engine optimisation gets sold as a black art by agencies charging $2,000 a month. For most small businesses, the basics cover most of what you need:
- Your business name, location, and service type on the homepage
- Page titles that describe what each page is about
- A Google Business Profile linked to your website
- A few genuine customer reviews on Google
That's the foundation. You don't need to pay for ongoing SEO until you've done those things first. Read our guide to online marketing for NZ small businesses for more on where to start.
Do you need a website if you're already on social media?
Social media and a website do different things. Social media builds awareness and lets people follow you. A website is what shows up when someone Googles your business name or service. If someone can't find you on Google, they can't hire you — even if they've seen your Instagram.
The other issue is ownership. Facebook can change its algorithm, restrict your reach, or suspend your account. Your website is yours. No one can take it away or bury it in a feed. See our full breakdown of website vs social media for NZ businesses.
Getting started
If you've been putting off getting a website because it felt expensive or complicated, the situation has changed. A professional website for a NZ small business now costs $299 and takes about 5 minutes to set up.
Build your free preview now — see what your site looks like before you pay anything.
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