Running on word of mouth? Do you need a website?
Your customers, your referral share, your average job. See what a referral slowdown would cost, what referrals find when they search your name, and a straight answer, even if it's that you're fine.
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The numbers in the boxes are an example. Swap in yours.
Your customers
A typical month, not your best one.
What a job brings in, before your costs.
Not sure? Count how your last 10 new customers found you.
Your what-if
Your what-if, not my forecast: nobody can know if your referrals will slow. I start at 25%, one customer in four, as a round number to test. Drag it anywhere.
The phone check
Search the name the way a customer would say it.
Work to replace if referrals slow by 25%
$0/yr
The slowdown is your what-if. A website doesn't create referrals. It catches the ones already looking you up.
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Send your business name and town. I'll reply with the outline I'd build: headline, sections, and how people book. One email, no drip campaign.
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Why referrals still look you up
Think about the last time a friend recommended someone to you. You probably searched the name before you called. When your referrals do the same, they're checking three things: that you're real, that you do the job they need, and how to reach you.
If the search turns up an old Facebook page, a wrong number, or a competitor with a similar name, they have to work to reach you. Anyone who gives up there is a referral you never hear about.
Reviews can be part of that check. BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 found 47% of consumers won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews.
What one page needs to catch a referral
A referral already trusts you a little. The page only has to confirm they found the right business and make the next step easy:
- Your name, the way people say it. So "call Rivera Painting" lands on you.
- What you do. The work people refer you for, in plain words.
- Where you work. Your town and service area.
- Proof. A few real reviews and photos of finished jobs.
- One way to reach you. One button to call, text, or book.
The Launch Page is built around those five. More in what a $500 website buys.
How the math works
Referral customers a year = customers a month × 12 × referral share
To replace = referral customers a year × your slowdown
Work to replace = to replace × average job
Launch Page jobs = $500 ÷ average job, rounded up
- Slowdown: 25%. Your what-if, not a forecast. Try 10% and 50% too.
- 12 customers, 70% referrals, $850 a job. Example numbers. Put in yours.
- Before your costs. The average job is revenue, so the Launch Page line counts jobs, not profit.
- Left out: repeat work, seasons, and any customers a website might bring. The math never assumes a page brings you anyone.
A worked example
A house painter gets 10 new customers a month, and 8 of every 10 come through referrals. Her average job is $1,000.
- Referral customers a year: 10 × 12 × 80% = 96.
- If referrals slowed by 25%: 96 × 25% = 24 to find elsewhere.
- Work to replace: 24 × $1,000 = $24,000 a year.
- Launch Page: $500 ÷ $1,000 = 0.5, so 1 job covers it, before costs.
She searches her business name, and the first result is a Facebook page she last posted on two years ago. With open days on her calendar, that's the gap a one-page site fills. If she were booked out, she'd be fine for now.
How to read your number
The dollar figure is the size of your what-if, not a prediction. The verdict comes from what a referral finds:
You're fine on this front
Check that it loads fast on a phone and shows how to reach you. The free Website Leak Scanner checks it for you.
A good start
Keep the profile complete. A page of your own adds your words, your service area, and a way to book that you control.
The gap this check is for
Whether it's Facebook, a directory, or a site you'd rather hide, referrals have to dig for what you do and how to book. One clean page you own fixes that.
The most urgent case
A referral is trying to reach you and can't. Set up a free Google Business Profile first, then a page of your own.
You're fine for now
Whatever the search shows. Come back when you have room for more work, or referrals slow.
Questions people ask
Do I need a website if all my customers come from referrals? +
Not always. If your own site comes up first when people search your name, or you're turning work away, you can skip it for now. If the search shows only Facebook, a directory, or nothing useful, one simple page gives your referrals something to find.
Isn't a Facebook page enough for a word-of-mouth business? +
It can be, if it's current and shows how to reach you. But you don't own it: Facebook decides how it looks and what people see first. A one-page site is yours, and it shows what you do, where, and how to book on one screen.
Will a website bring me more referrals? +
No. People refer you because of your work. A page gives the referrals already looking you up something of yours to find, and one channel you own if referrals slow down.
What does a one-page website cost to build and run? +
My Launch Page is $500 flat, live in 7 days, with booking or contact wired. There are no hosting fees after launch, so your only ongoing bill is the domain renewal. If you outgrow it, every dollar credits toward a full build for 6 months.
Give your referrals a page to find
The Launch Page is one hand-built page with what you do, where you work, your proof, and booking or contact wired. $500 flat, live in 7 days, no hosting fees, and it credits toward a full build for 6 months. I take on a limited number of builds each month. If you don't need a site yet, I'll tell you.
Keep measuring
Read the guide