Nobody has ever hired a plumber because he had a beautiful website. People hire a plumber because the basement is wet and someone they trust gave them a number. So the honest answer to "do I need a website" starts with a different question: what happens when somebody looks you up?

The look-up moment

Here's the situation that repeats all day, every day, for local businesses. Someone gets your name from a neighbor, or from a card on a bulletin board at the hardware store. Then they do what people do now: they type your business name into their phone.

Three things can happen.

• They find a page that tells them what you do, where you work, and how to call you. They call.
• They find nothing at all, or a Facebook page last updated three years ago, with the comments turned into an argument. They either call anyway or they move on to the next name on the list.
• They find a competitor's page, because the search engine put it there instead.

You can't tell which one happened. That's the awkward part. A customer who doesn't call doesn't leave a note explaining why.

When you don't need one yet

Being straight with you: there are businesses where a website is genuinely optional.

• You're booked solid and turning work away. A website's job is to bring you inquiries. You have enough. Spend the hour on invoicing instead.
• Every job comes from one general contractor who calls you. Your customer is a builder, not the public. He has your number.
• You're still deciding whether the business is real. Don't build a website for an idea. Plow three driveways first.
• You work in a trade where nobody looks anyone up. They exist, though they're rarer every year.

Even in those cases, though, notice what a website does that a phone number can't: it answers questions while you're up a ladder. It says what you do, the towns you cover, whether you take cards, whether you're taking new customers. That's ten minutes of phone calls you don't have to make.

When it starts to matter

A website starts paying for itself when any of these becomes true:

• People ask you the same four questions before booking. What do you charge, do you come to my town, are you insured, how soon can you come. A page answers all four before the phone rings.
• You're handing out cards and hoping. A card is a promise to look you up later. Later is when cards get lost.
• You're competing for work you can't see. If you quote against two other outfits, the customer is comparing you online whether or not you're there.
• You want to look established. Fair or not, "no website" reads as "maybe not a real business" to a certain kind of customer — often the ones with the bigger jobs.
• You're paying for leads. If you're buying names from a lead service at $40 a pop, a page of your own is cheaper within a month.

What "a website" actually has to be

This is where most people get talked into something they don't need. For a one-person trade business, a website is one page. Name, trade, towns, phone number, maybe hours and a sentence about how you work. That's it.

Dave, the snowplow operator, doesn't need a booking system, a blog, a photo gallery of 60 driveways, or a "meet the team" section for a team of one. He needs a page that loads fast on a phone, says he plows driveways in three towns, and shows a number you can tap to call.

A page like that can cost nothing, or a few dollars a month, and take an afternoon if you're doing it yourself. It does not require a designer, a monthly contract, or a call with a "digital agency."

What a website won't do

It won't bring you customers by itself. It won't put you at the top of Google for "plumber Buffalo" — that fight is expensive and mostly not worth having when you're one person with a truck. It won't replace word of mouth, which will still be where most of your work comes from.

What it does is catch the people word of mouth sends your way. That's a modest job, and a modest page does it fine.

The practical answer

If you have a phone number and no page, and you're taking on new customers at all, put up one page. Not a project — an afternoon. Write down what you do, the towns you serve, your number and your hours, and put it somewhere that loads on a phone.

If you want to know what goes on that page, read what a small business website should include. If the cost is what's stopping you, read how much a small business website costs — the number is smaller than you think.