Website grants in Jersey: 6 checks before you apply

The 6 checks in the video

The video opens with a question: could a grant pay for your Jersey website? Its answer is to check the scheme before you budget for it. That matters this year, because the main scheme’s productivity funding is fully allocated for 2026.

1. 1

   Step 1: Check current status

   0:18

   Funding rounds can open or close.

   The main scheme is Jersey Business’s Better Business Grant (opens in a new tab). The Government of Jersey put £5.3 million into it for 2025 and again for 2026, to help employers through the move to a living wage. When we checked on 2 October 2026, Jersey Business said the Productivity, Skills and Visitor Economy elements were closed, with their funding fully allocated. Only Apprenticeship Grants, at £2,000 per apprentice, were still open.

   The government’s page on the support package (opens in a new tab) mentions funding for 2025 and 2026 only, and we found no announcement of a 2027 round. Searches still turn up pages for older schemes, such as the Productivity Support Scheme, which is closed. Check the date on any page before you plan around it.

2. 2

   Step 2: Check eligibility

   0:30

   Your business type and history may matter.

   The scheme’s FAQs (opens in a new tab) set four tests. The business must be registered in Jersey and hold a business licence, have traded for at least six months, have employed at least one person besides the owners for at least three months at £128 a week or more, and be up to date with government contributions or on a repayment plan.

   That rules out single-person businesses: Jersey Business says the grants are for employers paying at least one employee a regular wage. Trading history also sets the size. Minor grants of £1,000 to £5,000 are for businesses trading between six and 18 months, and major grants of £5,001 to £75,000 are for those trading longer.

3. 3

   Step 3: Check the project

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   Digital work may need a clear business benefit.

   The Productivity Grant pays towards equipment, tools or technology that help a business run more efficiently. Jersey Business looks for projects that improve how work gets done, cut running costs or increase sales. Websites aren’t named as eligible or excluded, so the question is what the site would change.

   Online booking that replaces phone calls, or a shop that takes orders you couldn’t take before, fits that purpose. A new look for a brochure site is a harder case. The Productivity Grant guidance (opens in a new tab) asks how you’ll measure the result, for example by timing a task now and again afterwards, and it caps marketing costs at 20% of the project.

4. 4

   Step 4: Check your share

   0:54

   Some grants need match funding.

   Productivity and Visitor Economy Development grants are matched 50/50. On a £10,000 project you pay £5,000 and the grant pays £5,000. Skills grants work on an 80/20 basis instead.

   Get proper quotes before you apply. Jersey Business says costs you leave off the application can’t be added later, and it checks your receipts against the approved items before the final payment. Spend less than planned and the grant is worked out on what you actually spent.

5. 5

   Step 5: Wait for approval

   1:06

   Confirm the rules before spending.

   This is the rule that catches people. Projects must not begin before the grant is approved, and starting early makes the application invalid. Jersey Business counts a project as started once a contract is signed or a payment is made for any key part of it.

   Approval can take up to two months, so the start date on the form has to be at least two months after you apply, and an approved project should begin within three months. If a designer asks for a deposit, wait until you have the approval in writing before you pay it or sign anything.

6. 6

   Step 6: Plan without a grant

   1:18

   A small first site may suit your budget.

   For most small businesses in 2026 the plan has to work without a grant: the productivity money is spent, and sole traders could never apply. A first website doesn’t need to be a large project. A few essential pages, a clear quote in writing and room to add later is a sensible start.

   Our builds start from £100, with the quote depending on the job, and hosting is from £20 a month. Our guide to what a website costs in Jersey compares that with agencies, freelancers and DIY builders.

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