Small business owner sitting at a desk with his laptop taking a phone call.

What’s the Best Website Format for Your Small Business?

September 10, 2025

Find out what type of website will work best for your small business: from single-page static sites to full website builds.

Building a website can seem like a necessary evil these days. Not only is it an additional business expense that didn’t exist just a few decades ago, but small business owners can often get overwhelmed when they learn just how many formats are available. “Can I get away with a simple one-page site? Do I need to hire someone for a custom-coded build? Or maybe an easy-to-use platform like Wix or Wordpress is the best alternative?”

In the end, the right choice depends on your business’ budget, goals, and how hands-on you want to be. Thankfully, this guide was made to help you figure out what’s best for you as smoothly as possible!

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1. Single-Page Static Sites

For some small businesses, less is more. If you know your business has little to no competition, if you don’t currently have the resources to keep up a consistent marketing campaign, or if you simply want to give your business a boost in professionalism, a single-page static site is a fast, affordable, and simple solution.

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Pros:

Quick to launch
Low maintenance
Very fast loading times
Extremely affordable hosting

Cons:

Limited space for SEO (search engine optimization)
Not ideal if you plan to grow content over time

A great choice for startups, freelancers, or businesses testing the waters, who just need a digital presence to show the world who you are, what you do, and how to get in contact with you..

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2. Custom-Coded Builds with Third-Party Hosting

If you’re looking for something powerful but cost-efficient, a custom-coded site can be paired with serverless computing and third-party hosting to keep costs low without sacrificing quality.

This setup gives you a highly flexible, scalable site that only charges you for what you use - no need to pay exorbitant amounts of money for features that only a handful of users will need to use. That means lower monthly costs and fewer wasted resources compared to traditional hosting.

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Pros:

Extremely cost-efficient (one of our clients cut hosting costs by over 90% with this method!)
Highly scalable and reliable
Flexible for unique features and integrations

Cons:

More technical to set up
Typically requires a web developer for even simple changes

This option is perfect for businesses that want long-term affordability and the power of a full website build without enterprise-level costs.

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3. Website Builders (Wix, Webflow, Squarespace)

For business owners who want ease of use and control, builders like Wix and Webflow are excellent options.

Wix: Great for beginners who want drag-and-drop simplicity. Best for very small businesses that value ease over flexibility.
Webflow: A more professional-grade builder that balances visual editing with powerful customization. It’s perfect if you want a polished, scalable site without going fully custom-coded - but the option remains if you want to incorporate advanced, custom functionality at a later date.
Wordpress: A middle ground, often used by creatives like photographers or designers, offering beautiful templates with ease of use and a huge pool of plugins to help with development.

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Pros:

Easier to understand and create by yourself
No coding required for most features
Plenty of templates and add-ons
Future-proof (if designed properly): allows for upgrades and additions without any technical experience.

Cons:

Monthly subscription costs are a bit higher on average
Less flexibility compared to fully custom builds (with some exceptions, like Webflow)
While easy to get something up and running on your own, it’s common for these DIY websites to lack staple yet not-so-obvious features if you’re not committed to learning.
Some SEO and performance limitations

Builders are a great choice for small business owners who want a bit more independence and don’t mind paying a bit more each month for convenience.

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So, Which Option Is Right for You?

Need something fast and lean? 👉 Go with a single-page static site
Want scalability and long-term savings? 👉 Choose a custom-coded AWS Lambda build
Prefer user-friendliness, reliability, and a future-proof site? 👉 Try a builder like Wix or Squarespace (Webflow is an even better choice if you want as much power as a custom site!)

At Maximum Website Solutions, we offer affordable custom web design and we’d be happy to help you pick the format that best fits your goals. Whether you want us to build and maintain it for you, or give you the keys to update it yourself, we’ll do everything we can to bring your dream website to life!