Guides
Plain answers about websites and Google
Short, sourced guides to the questions small-business owners ask us most: how to show up on Google Maps, how to get more reviews without breaking Google's rules, which pages a website needs, what it costs to keep online, what to ask before hiring anyone, and local notes for South Florida. Each one starts with the answer and links to a free tool so you can check your own business.
Updated
All guides
Every guide opens with the short answer, cites Google's own documentation or another named source, and never tells you where you'll appear in search, because nobody honest can.
- How to show up on Google MapsGoogle says local results depend on relevance, distance and prominence. What you can actually control, step by step.
- How to get more Google reviewsAsk every customer, at the right moment, with a direct link, and never pay for reviews. The rules from Google and the FTC.
- Do I need a website if I have a Google profile?A Google Business Profile or a Facebook page is a good start. What a website adds, and when you can wait.
- What pages a small business website needsThe five pages almost every business needs, the ones that depend on your trade, and when one long page is enough.
- 12 questions to ask before you pay for a websiteWho owns the domain, what changes cost, what happens if you leave: the questions that prevent most website regrets.
- What a domain, hosting and business email cost each yearThe running costs after a website is built: domain renewal, hosting, SSL and email at your own address, with sources.
- How long it takes to build a small business websiteDays, weeks or months: what actually sets the timeline, where projects stall, and how long Google takes to notice a new site.
- When to redesign your website, and what to keepThe signs an old small-business site needs replacing, what a redesign costs, and how to keep what already works in Google.
- What to put on a contractor websiteA 15-item checklist for builders, remodelers and trades: what homeowners look for before they call, in order of importance.
- Service area pages that aren't spamHow trades that travel to customers should describe where they work, on the website and on Google, without doorway pages.
- Website accessibility for small businessesWhat the Justice Department's ADA guidance asks of business websites, the common barriers, and the fixes an owner can check.
- What AI search means for local businessesAI answers in Google and chat assistants quote websites. What helps them read yours, and what nobody can promise.
- Florida contractor license numbers on websites and adsWhat Florida's contractor law says about showing your license number, how county certificates fit in, and where to put it on your site.
- Small business websites in West Palm BeachLocal notes for West Palm Beach owners: who your customers are, the city and county business tax receipts, contractor licensing, and naming your service area.
- Small business websites in Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale notes: Broward's hurricane-zone building rules, county licensing after House Bill 735, the city-then-county tax receipts, and mobile businesses.
- Small business websites in Boca RatonBoca Raton notes: an older customer base that rewards readable sites, the West Boca city-limits question, the city's receipt and certificate of use, and the Broward county line.
- Small business websites in MiamiMiami notes: why Spanish is part of the site from day one, the certificate of use before the city receipt, Miami-Dade's 34 cities, and the county's trade licensing.
How these guides are written
Each guide follows the same rules, so you can trust the answer without reading the whole page.
- The first paragraph answers the question; the rest is detail for people who want it.
- Every outside fact links to its source, with the date we read it.
- Google's own help pages come first when the question is about Google.
- Each guide ends with a free tool, so you can check your own business right away.
Local guides for South Florida
Our local guides collect the facts that change from city to city: who the customers are, which tax receipts and licenses apply, and how to name the area you serve.
- West Palm Beach: city and Palm Beach County receipts, county contractor certification.
- Fort Lauderdale: the hurricane-zone building rules and Broward licensing after House Bill 735.
- Boca Raton: readable design for older customers, West Boca and the Broward county line.
- Miami: English and Spanish from day one, the certificate of use, and Miami-Dade's 34 cities.
- Florida contractor license numbers: what the state law says about advertising.
Free tools and the cost guide
Check your own business in a few seconds, no sign-up needed.
- What a small-business website costs (2026)Builders, freelancers, agencies and us, priced with sources.
- Free Website CheckHTTPS, speed basics, mobile, title, contrast, schema and contact info in about ten seconds.
- Google Business Profile checkerSee what your Google listing shows and what's missing.
- AI visibility checkerSee whether AI assistants can read the basic facts about your business.
See your site before you pay for it
Tell us about your business. The crew builds a free, watermarked preview, and you pay the one-time price only if you want it.