The showcase site: everything to understand before you start
What a showcase site is, what it must contain, what it costs and the pitfalls to avoid — for a craftsperson, a shop, a guesthouse or a nonprofit.
In short
A showcase site is a simple website that presents your activity without selling online: who you are, what you offer, where to find you and how to reach you. For most small organisations, it is the starting brick — and often the only one needed for years.
It differs from an e-commerce site (which takes online payments) and from a blog or media site (updated very frequently). A showcase site can borrow a little from both, but its primary role is credibility and contact.
What it is actually for
- Existing on Google when a customer searches “plumber + your town” or “guesthouse + your region”.
- Reassuring: opening hours, address, real photos, reviews, legal notices. A polished site builds trust before the first call.
- Centralising: a single link to put on Google Business, Facebook, your business cards and your email signature.
- Capturing contact: form, clickable phone number, directions. The goal is not to “have a site” — it is to generate calls and visits.
What a good showcase site must contain
| Element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Clear home page | Say in 5 seconds what you do and for whom |
| Services page | Detail the offer, with concrete examples |
| Contact details + map | Clickable phone, address, hours, directions |
| Proof of credibility | Real photos, customer reviews, past work, certifications |
| Contact form | Without asking for 10 fields: name, email, message is enough |
| Legal notices + GDPR | Mandatory in France, even for a nonprofit |
What it costs
Three main routes, from cheapest to most supported:
- Do it yourself, on a builder (no-code such as Wix, WordPress.com): €0 to €150/year. Time needed: one to several weekends. Good to start, limited for advanced SEO.
- Light custom site (web freelancer): €800 to €2,500 once, plus hosting. Best performance/SEO trade-off for a serious activity.
- Full agency: €2,500 to €8,000+. Justified for specific needs (multilingual, booking, full visual identity).
On top of that come recurring costs: domain name (~€12/year), hosting (€3 to €15/month depending on the route) and possibly maintenance.
Common pitfalls
- The frozen “brochure” site that never appears on Google for lack of content and local SEO.
- No proper mobile version: more than half of visits happen on a phone.
- Slowness: uncompressed images, low-end hosting — Google and visitors penalise slow sites.
- Hidden contact details or a broken form: a visitor ready to reach you gives up.
- Forgetting legal notices and GDPR: it is an obligation, not an option.
Where to start
- Register your domain name (ideally
youractivity-town.com). - List your 3 essential pages: Home, Services, Contact.
- Gather real photos and reviews before even choosing the tool.
- Choose the route (yourself / freelancer / agency) based on your time and budget.
- Think local SEO from the start: it is what brings customers in.
The best showcase site is not the prettiest: it is the one found on Google and from which people call you. Then follow our step-by-step guide to build it.