The 5 Things I Wish Every Small Business Owner Knew Before Buying a Website

As a marketing consultant for small businesses, I've watched too many owners get trapped by website companies that promise the world and deliver a prison.

Recently, a client came to me after nine months of development and $18,000 invested into her "custom website solution."

She wasn't even able to update the phone number on her site without paying $150 per hour.

Her content was locked in a proprietary system she couldn't export, and she was completely at the company's mercy.

When she asked about switching providers, they told her she could take her domain name and... nothing else. The design, the content layout, the blog posts she'd written, the contact forms, all of it belonged to them. Starting over would mean rebuilding from scratch.

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated incident. After hearing similar stories from multiple clients over the years, I felt compelled to write this post.

No small business owner should ever feel that trapped. You don't need to spend a fortune for a website to be effective and competitive, you just need to know the right questions to ask:

1. Start With Your Goals (Not Their Features)

Before you talk to a single web designer or platform, pause and ask: What is the goal of my website? 

Do you need to collect leads? Showcase your work? Sell products? Schedule appointments? Getting crystal clear on your goals will keep you from paying thousands for flashy animations, complex features, and "premium packages" you'll never actually use.

The fanciest website in your industry is worthless if you can't update it yourself or if it doesn't convert visitors into customers.

2. Understand What "Proprietary System" Really Means

This is where most small business owners get burned.

Many web design companies build your site on their own custom platform or use page builders with proprietary code. It sounds impressive during the sales pitch, but here's what it really means: you can never leave without losing everything.

Before signing with ANY website provider, get clear answers:

• Do I own my website, files, and content?

• How will my site get updated?

• Who controls my domain name and hosting?

• How will plugins and other updates get completed?

If the answer isn’t clear, keep looking.

3. Start Simple, Then Grow

The most successful small businesses I've worked with didn't start with expensive, complicated custom websites. They began with what they needed today:

• A clean 5-7 page website on an open platform

• The ability to make basic updates themselves

• Clear ownership of all their content and files

• Basic e-commerce that gives their clients a good experience 

  
  

Once those basics worked smoothly and they understood what they actually needed (not what a salesperson told them they needed), they added features piece by piece.

4. Know Who's Really Doing the Work

Here's a reality most web companies won't share: that "$10,000 custom website" is often built using the exact same templates and page builders everyone else uses. You're just paying premium prices for it.

I've seen companies charge $15,000 for 7-page websites that are essentially $1,200 worth of template customization. They dress it up with terms like "custom-coded" or "proprietary framework," but you're often getting the same Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress theme anyone could buy.

Ask directly:

• Are you building this from scratch or using a template/theme?

• What platform is this built on?

• Can I see examples of sites you've built on this platform?

There's nothing wrong with templates - we recommend them often for clients on a budget and they can be great. But you shouldn't pay custom prices for template work, and you deserve to know what you're actually buying.

5. Ask About the REAL Costs Upfront

That $29/month plan that sounds so good? It becomes $89 for storage, $149 to remove branding, and $299 for e-commerce.

Ask upfront:

• What’s included and what’s extra?

• Are there cancellation or export fees?

• How will pricing change after the first year?

• What kind of training and support will I get? TIP: The right tool is only valuable if you feel confident using it.

• Please: Get everything in writing. Verbal promises don't hold up when billing problems start.

Small Businesses Deserve Better

This is why I've made it my mission to help owners protect themselves - and their work - before they sign on the dotted line.

The small businesses I work with today run powerful websites they actually control. They own their content, they own their design files, they aren't locked into predatory contracts, and they can make simple updates in minutes instead of paying hundreds for basic changes.

My clients have the same professional web presence that large companies have, without the price tag or the panic.

That's what every small business deserves: a website you fully own and control. A website you can update, modify, move, or rebuild whenever you need to. 

A website that's truly yours.

Marigold Consulting helps small business owners make smart technology decisions that grow their businesses without breaking budgets. If you're evaluating websites, CRMs, or marketing technology, feel free to reach out. Sometimes a quick conversation can save you thousands.