Do you still need a website if you have a Google Business Profile?

Your Google Business Profile is the single most important thing for a local business online. It puts you on the map, shows your reviews and lets people call you straight from the search results. So it's fair to ask whether a website adds anything.

For most service businesses it does. The two do different jobs.

What your profile does well

• Shows up in the map results when someone searches for your trade nearby.
• Displays your rating and reviews, which is often what decides who gets the call.
• Gives people your phone number, hours and directions in one tap.

Where a profile stops

It can't explain your work properly

People rarely search for just your trade. They search for the job: a water heater replacement, a balayage, a brake job, a roof inspection after a storm. A profile lists a few services; a website can explain each one, show your work and answer the questions people have before they call.

It's rented space

Google decides how your profile looks, what's shown and what competitors appear next to it. Your website is the one place online that's entirely yours, and the address you can put on your truck, your invoices and your business cards.

It helps the profile rank

Google looks at more than your profile when deciding which businesses to show. A website that clearly states your services, city and contact details, and matches your profile, gives it more to go on. Many profiles have a website field left empty, which is a missed signal.

People check

Before they let someone into their house or hand over their car, many people look for a website. A business without one can look temporary, even when it isn't.

What a good small-business website needs

• Your services, each in plain words, with the area you cover.
• A phone number that's always visible, and a call button on mobile.
• Your hours and address, exactly the same as on your profile.
• Real reviews and a few real photos.
• Fast loading on a phone, because that's where most local searches happen.

That's a short list, and you can have it without building anything yourself. Windowsites builds it straight from your profile, so the two always match. See yours for free, or open one of the live demo sites first.