The $5 Website

Getting the most out of your page

Your page is one page. That's on purpose — it keeps it cheap. But there's a fair amount you can do around it that costs nothing, and most of it takes an afternoon. Here's the lot.

1

Put your link everywhere. That's the whole trick.

Your address is short on purpose, so it fits places a long one doesn't and people can remember it after hearing it once.

Say it out loud a few times. If it's awkward to say on the phone, tell us and we'll change it. That's what the address is for.

2

Photos: keep them where they already live.

Your page holds your logo and one photo. That isn't us being stingy — storing lots of images is the part that actually costs money, and we'd rather not charge you for something you can get free.

If you've got a lot of pictures, put them somewhere built for pictures and link to it from your page. It's free, it holds as many as you like, and people can follow you there.

Facebook

Best if your customers are local and already on it. Albums are easy and people share them.

Instagram

Best if the work is good-looking — food, before-and-afters, finished jobs, anything visual.

Pick the one photo for your page carefully. It should show the thing you actually do — the finished work, the truck, the shopfront, or you. A logo isn't a photo, and a stock picture of somebody else's business is worse than nothing.

3

Video: post it free, then point at it.

Video files are big and expensive to host. Video sites host them free, because that's their business. Use theirs.

Post it there, then send us the link and we'll put it on your page. It plays right on your page, and it doesn't cost either of us a penny.

Nobody needs a film crew. A phone, decent light and ninety seconds of you explaining what you're doing beats a polished video that never gets made. Talk the way you'd talk to a customer standing next to you.

4

Claim your Google Business Profile. It's free.

This is the single biggest thing you can do yourself, and it costs nothing. It's the box that appears on the right when somebody searches your business name.

If you get stuck on it, tell us. We do this as a paid service, but we'll happily point you at the right screen for free.

5

Keep your details right, and batch your changes.

Changes are $5 each, so it's worth sending several at once rather than one at a time.

6

Ask people to mention you.

Word of mouth still does most of the work for a small business. Your page just gives it somewhere to land.

7

What to say when somebody asks if you have a website.

"Yes — anniesactionai.com slash my business name."

That's it. It's short, you can say it on the phone without spelling anything twice, and it takes them to a page with your number on it. That was the whole point.

When one page isn't enough any more

Plenty of businesses never need more than this, and that's a fine place to stay. But if you get to a point where you want a proper gallery, more pages, a booking form, or your own domain name — we build those too, and you'd be starting from something that already works rather than from nothing.

No rush, and no pressure. Ask when you're ready.

Questions about any of this?

Email us and we'll answer — no charge, and no sales pitch attached.

hello@anniesactionai.com