Do I need a website for my Jersey business?

Plenty of Jersey businesses run on word of mouth and a social page, and for some that genuinely is enough. But the way islanders find and check out local businesses has changed. Before someone calls a tradesperson, books a table or picks a therapist, they look them up, and what they find (or do not find) decides whether they get in touch.

What a website does that a Facebook page cannot

• It shows up on Google. Social posts rarely rank for “[your service] Jersey” searches. A proper website can. See our local SEO guide.
• You own it. A platform can change its rules, throttle your reach or suspend your account overnight. Your website is yours.
• It is built to convert. Clear services, prices, opening hours and a one-tap way to contact you, not buried under an algorithm.
• It builds trust. A tidy, professional site signals you are established and serious in a way a personal profile does not.

When you might not need one (yet)

If you are fully booked from referrals, sell entirely through a marketplace, or are testing an idea before committing, you can wait. A single well-kept Google Business Profile can carry you for a while. But the moment you want to be found by people who do not already know you, a website stops being optional.

The real reason most Jersey businesses delay

It is rarely that they doubt the value: it is the cost and the hassle. That is exactly the barrier a cheap first business website is meant to remove: a professional, mobile-friendly site from £100, so the decision is about whether you want customers, not whether you can afford the setup.