Fair questions, straight answers.

They find you on Google Maps first, then they check you out. 54% of US consumers check a business's website after reading its positive reviews, up from 32% in 2019. If there's nothing there, or it looks old, they call the next business on the list.

See how this works for your trade.

Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (1,002 US adults)

Word of mouth gets you the name. Your website gets you the call. People who were recommended to you still look you up before they ring. Make sure they find a business that looks as good as the recommendation.

Keep them, and we'll link to them. But you don't own those pages, and the platform decides who sees your posts. Your website is the one place online that's 100% yours, and it's what shows up when people search for what you do.

Your profile gets you seen. Your website gets you chosen. It's where people check your services, prices and photos before they call. Google turned off websites made with Business Profiles in March 2024, so your “Website” button needs somewhere real to go.

Source: Search Engine Journal, 29 Feb 2024

You can, and for some businesses that's the right call. The difference:

• we write the words that get calls
• we set up your Google profile and the details AI assistants read
• we make it load fast
• we make every change for you
• you own a site you can take anywhere (many builders don't let you export a working copy)

See what that looks like in our example sites.

Source: Studio Slate, AI website builders review

He might. Ask who owns the domain, who makes changes in a year's time, and how fast the site loads on a phone. Then compare. Our answers are all written down in our promises.

One extra job a month usually covers the care plan. Try the calculator with your own numbers. Every price is on the pricing page, the preview is free, and if you prefer monthly payments, there's a no-build-fee option from £89 a month.

No. The build price, the monthly plan, and what is and isn't included are all on the pricing page. If something's extra, we quote it and you approve it before we start.

The build is paid in instalments: 50% when you sign and 50% before your site goes live. For Local Plus it's 40% when you sign, 30% when you approve the design and 30% before go-live.

Your care plan starts on launch day. You pay it monthly, or yearly with 2 months free, by card or Bacs Direct Debit (UK bank account) through Stripe. Invoices are due within 7 days. On the one-off build route, your site goes live once the build is paid in full.

Northpin Studio is not VAT-registered, so no VAT is added. All our prices are in pounds (GBP). We work with businesses and the self-employed, and you don’t need a company number or a VAT number to order.

After the first 3 months, cancel any time with 30 days' notice. There's no exit fee. Your domain is in your name from day one, and once your build is paid we send you your full site files within 5 working days. Read the contract.

That's exactly why we work this way: a fixed price in writing, the domain in your name, a public contract, and a free handover if you leave. You deal with the person who built your site, not a call centre.

You do. We register your domain in your name from day one, with Northpin as the technical contact, and renew it while your plan is active. Want to move it? We send the transfer code within 5 working days.

The design, code and words made for you are yours once the build is paid in full, or after payment 12 on the no-build-fee option.

If a care payment is late, we pause your site after 14 days. Nothing is deleted. If it’s still unpaid after 60 days we may end the plan, and we delete the files 30 days after that. Pay before then and we restore the site or send you the files. Your domain stays in your name throughout.

We hand everything over to every active client: your full site files, the licence list and your domain transfer code. Your domain is already in your name, so you don't lose it.

You don't need to be. Answer a 15-minute questionnaire and send a few photos. We write the words and build everything. After launch, just send changes by WhatsApp or email. See how it works.

Your free preview arrives within 2 working days. Once you've signed, sent your content and paid the first instalment, your site goes live in 5 working days (Launch), 10 (Local Pro) or 20 (Local Plus). If we're waiting on you, the date moves day for day.

Send them by WhatsApp or email, in your own words. We make them from your plan's monthly time: 30 minutes on Essential, 60 minutes on Growth or 3 hours on Partner. A small edit, like new opening hours or a new photo, takes about 10 minutes. Unused time rolls over for one month. Anything bigger, we quote first at £60 an hour. Compare the plans.

Fair question. That's why you see your homepage before you pay anything, the prices and contract are public, your domain is in your name, and you deal directly with the person who builds your site. Here's who we are.

Yes, for speed on drafts. A human writes, checks and is responsible for everything we deliver, and we never put your customers' personal data into AI tools.

Yes. We reply in your language by email, WhatsApp or Telegram. We work in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, always in writing.

Yes. Every translation is reviewed by a native speaker, and the site is set up so Google shows the right language to the right people. Local Plus includes 2 languages; on other packages an extra language is an add-on on the pricing page.

No, and nobody honestly can. Google itself says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking. We promise what we control: a free preview, a fixed price, a launch date, a fast site, quick replies and a fair exit. On Growth and Partner, we send you a monthly report of your visits and form enquiries, plus calls and WhatsApp taps if your site has click tracking. Read our promises.

Source: Google Search Central, “Do you need an SEO?”

Yes. Your homepage scores 90+ on Google PageSpeed Insights (mobile, performance) at launch, or we keep working at no cost until it does. Third-party tools you ask us to add, such as booking widgets and chat, are excluded. See the speed scores on our example sites.

On Cloudflare's global network, so your site loads quickly wherever your customers are. Every care plan includes hosting, SSL (the padlock in the address bar), daily backups kept for 30 days, and uptime and security monitoring.