How to get a website for your small business in India

Why a website still matters when you have WhatsApp

Most Indian customers now search for a business on Google before they call, visit or message. If all they find is a phone number on another website, many of them move on to a competitor that looks more established.

A website is the one place online that you control. It shows your services, photos and prices the way you want, and it gives Google something to show when people search for your name or for what you sell in your city. WhatsApp is how customers talk to you. The website is how they find you and decide to trust you.

Option 1: Hire a web designer or agency

A freelancer or agency builds a custom site for you. You get something made to your brief, but it is the most expensive option and takes the longest.

• Typical cost: a one-time design fee, plus yearly domain, hosting and maintenance charges.
• Time: usually a few weeks.
• Watch out for: who owns the domain, who updates the site later, and what happens if the designer stops replying.

Option 2: Build it yourself on a website builder

Website builders let you drag and drop a site together. This works if you have the time and some design sense, but many owners start, get busy and leave it half-finished.

• Typical cost: a monthly or yearly plan, often priced in dollars, plus a domain.
• Time: a few evenings to a few weekends.
• Watch out for: slow mobile pages, missing contact buttons, and no SEO set-up unless you do it yourself.

Option 3: Free listings only

Google Business Profile and directory listings are free and well worth having (see our Google Business Profile guide). But a listing is not a website: you share the page with ads and competitors, and you cannot show your full range of services, products and photos.

Option 4: A ready-made business page on Indiexis

On Indiexis every business gets a complete one-page website at indiexis.com/yourbusiness, in one of our professional designs. You fill in your details, photos, services and products from your dashboard, our team checks the page and publishes it, and it is listed in the Indiexis directory too.

• Cost: Right now registration is waived and your first month is free; after that it is ₹999 a month to keep your page live. There are no separate hosting or design fees.
• Time: usually live within a working day of submitting.
• Includes: WhatsApp and call buttons, an enquiry form, Google Maps, opening hours, a photo gallery, customer reviews and search-engine set-up.

List your business or see the designs first.

What every small business website must have

Whichever option you choose, check that the site has these. Each one directly affects whether a visitor becomes a customer.

• A WhatsApp button and a tap-to-call button that work on mobile. Most of your visitors are on phones.
• Your city and area in the text, so Google knows where you serve.
• Real photos of your shop, team, work or products. Stock photos make customers trust you less.
• A clear list of services or products, with prices or a price range where you can.
• Opening hours and your address, with a map link for directions.
• Reviews from real customers, with their names.
• Fast loading. A page that takes more than a few seconds on mobile data loses visitors.

After it is live: get visitors to it

A website nobody visits does nothing. Put the link in your WhatsApp Business profile, your Instagram and Facebook bio, your Google Business Profile, your visiting card and your shop counter. Our checklist for getting found online goes through every step.