Do you need one?
Does a farm shop need a website?
A fair question for a spot people already know. But the honest answer turns on the trip: people decide if you're worth it before they set off.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Does a farm shop need a website?
The honest answer
Does a farm shop need a website? If you are always busy from the few who pass and never want the visitors who plan a day out, then perhaps not. But the honest answer turns on how a farm shop is chosen, which is as a destination, decided before people set off. You do not win on convenience, the supermarket is nearer and easier, so people choose to make a trip out to you for the produce, the seasonal range and the experience, and they decide whether you are worth that journey before they leave home. They make that call by looking, at what you stock, what the shop and the day are like, where you are and when you’re open. A farm shop that shows nothing of the produce or the visit gives someone no reason to pass the supermarket and drive out, so they don’t, before you ever knew they were weighing it up. The real question, then, is whether you want the visitors who decide before they set off, because a website is how a farm shop shows it’s worth the trip.
People decide if you’re worth the trip before they set off
The defining fact about farm shop trade is that it’s a chosen journey, not a convenient stop, and that decision is made in advance. Someone deciding where to go is weighing whether you’re worth the drive against the ease of the supermarket, so the choice turns on how worth-it you look, and they judge that from what they can see. So before they set off, they want to see the produce, the range, the shop, whatever else there is to do, and to know where you are and when you’re open, and they find it, or don’t, online. A farm shop that looks worth the trip and is easy to reach wins them; one that shows nothing, or gets its hours wrong, loses the trip before it starts. These visitors are not reached by passing trade, because a farm shop is usually out of the way and few pass by. So a site that shows the visit is how a farm shop draws the people deciding whether to come, which a bare listing never does, because people only make the trip to somewhere they can see is worth it.
A website draws the visitors passing trade and reputation miss
The strongest objection is that a farm shop is found by passing trade and its reputation, and both help, but a website draws the visitors they cannot rather than duplicating them. Passing trade is thin when you’re off the beaten track, so relying on it caps you at the few who happen by, and reputation, real as it is, still gets checked online before someone commits to the drive. A site draws people who’d never pass your door, by showing you’re worth the trip, and confirms it for those who’ve heard of you, and it keeps regulars coming back with what’s in season and what’s on, turning a one-off day out into repeat trips. So a website does not replace your passing trade and reputation, it draws the visitors they miss and brings people back, turning searchers into a full car park. Far from being unnecessary, a good site is how a farm shop off the beaten track gets found and chosen.
So the real answer to does a farm shop need a website is: yes, if you want the visitors who decide before they set off, because they drive to the farm shop that looks worth the trip, so being absent means being passed over for the supermarket. And finding out costs just £99 up front: I build the site on spec, from £297, and you see it finished before you pay the rest, so you can look at your actual site, ready to show you’re worth the trip, and decide from there, knowing the visitors it draws cover the cost many times over.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a farm shop site from me includes.
-
Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
-
Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
-
On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
-
Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
-
Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
-
Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
Does a farm shop really need a website?
If you want the visitors who decide before they set off, yes, because they drive to the farm shop that looks worth the trip. Since you win on being a destination, not on being nearest, people weigh whether you're worth the journey, and they judge that by looking. A farm shop that shows nothing of the produce or the visit gives them no reason to pass the supermarket, so they don't come.
Isn't a farm shop found by passing trade and its reputation?
Both help, but a farm shop is usually out of the way, so passing trade is thin, and reputation still gets checked online before someone makes the drive. A site draws people who'd never pass by and confirms you're worth the trip for those who've heard of you, while having none leaves you reliant on the few who happen past. Being off the beaten track is exactly why you need to be findable.
Why do people look at a farm shop online before visiting?
Because visiting means a special trip, so before setting off they want to see you're worth it, what you stock, what the shop and the day are like, and where you are and when you're open. They judge it online, and a farm shop that looks worth the drive and is easy to find wins them, while one that shows nothing, or gets the hours wrong, loses the trip before it starts.
We get plenty of regulars already. Do we still need a site?
Yes, because regulars alone don't grow you, seasonal draws and events bring people back, and new visitors decide whether to make the trip online. A site draws fresh visitors, keeps regulars posted on what's in season, and turns a one-off day out into repeat trips, while relying on today's regulars caps your trade. Even a well-loved farm shop has visitors it isn't reaching.
When could a farm shop skip a website?
Realistically, only if you're always busy from the few who pass and never want the visitors who research a day out. Because people decide whether you're worth the trip before they set off, a farm shop that shows nothing misses them. For any farm shop wanting to grow or draw people for the seasons and events, the case for a site is strong.
Is a website worth it for a small family farm shop?
Often especially so, because the character of a small family farm shop, the produce, the welcome, the setting, is exactly what makes it worth a trip, and a good site lets you convey all of it and be found. An appealing, findable site can draw a small farm shop the visitors who'd never have known it was there. A steady flow of trips covers the cost easily.
How much does it cost to find out if a website is worth it?
Just £99 to start with me, and it comes off your quote. I build the whole site first and you see the finished thing before you pay the rest, from £297. So you are not gambling on a maybe, you are looking at the actual site for your farm shop and deciding then. Given the visitors an appealing site draws, the risk of finding out is very low.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a farm shop site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read A Checkatrade alternative, see the full pricing, or get in touch.