You’re running your candle business from your spare room, tutoring clients after your day job, or building your consulting practice evenings and weekends. You finally invested in a website. Traffic is coming in. But here’s the truth: visitors are leaving without booking, buying or even getting in touch.
If your website isn’t converting visitors into enquiries, you’re essentially paying for hosting and getting nothing back. This guide shows you exactly what makes a small business website convert visitors into enquiries so your side hustle or small business website actually earns its keep.
What Makes a Small Business Website Convert Visitors Into Enquiries
When someone lands on your website, you’ve got three seconds before they decide you’re worth their time or click away to a competitor. Most side hustlers think conversion means fancy design or expensive features. It doesn’t. Conversion comes down to three things; speaking directly to your ideal client, proving you’re legitimate and making it ridiculously easy to take the next step.
I build websites for Birmingham and UK wide side hustles and small business owners who need results, not corporate fluff. These are the exact elements that separate websites that convert from websites that just sit looking pretty.
Clear Messaging That Speaks to Side Hustlers, Not Corporate Clients
So what’s the biggest conversion killer I see? Vague messaging that tries to appeal to everyone and messaging that is just fluff. Your homepage needs to say exactly who you help within three seconds. Not “Welcome to my business” or “Quality services since 2020”. That tells visitors nothing.
Try this instead: “Budget Bookkeeping for UK Side Hustlers Making Under £50k” or “Knitting Tutoring for Pensioners”. Instantly, the right people know they’re in the right place. Research from Nielsen Norman Group shows users decide within 10-20 seconds whether to stay or leave, so clarity beats cleverness every time.
Your headline should answer: What do you do? Who do you help? Why choose you over competitors? When I build websites for side hustles, this messaging sits above the fold because scrolling loses people. If you’re a Birmingham tutor competing with agencies, your headline might be: “One to One Maths Tutoring in Great Barr. No Agency Markup, No Contracts”.
Budget-Appropriate Design That Doesn’t Scream “Cheap”
Here’s the reality for side hustles: you’re making £500 to £3,000 a month. You cannot justify a £10,000 agency website. But you also can’t show up with a site that looks like 2010 because outdated design kills trust before anyone reads your services.
Professional design doesn’t require corporate budgets. Clean layouts, proper spacing and mobile responsive templates give you 90% of what expensive custom design does. I use the best themes and customise them for each client because side hustles need credibility without the agency price tag.
Mobile matters more for side hustle clients than corporate ones. Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, and your clients are researching you on the bus, during lunch breaks or whilst watching TV. If your site looks broken on phones, you’ve lost them. Every website I build works great on mobile from day one because that’s where your clients actually are.
Transparent Pricing That Filters Out Tyre Kickers
This is where most web designers and side hustlers disagree with me, but I’m going to tell you the truth anyway. Hiding your pricing costs you conversions. When visitors can’t find prices, they assume you’re expensive and leave. Or worse, they book calls expecting to pay £200 when your actual price is £2,000.
I show my pricing openly on my services page: £1,500 to £4,750 depending on complexity, with payment plans available. This does two things. First, it filters out people who can’t afford professional web design. Second, it builds trust with people who can because there are no surprises.
For side hustlers making £300/month, £1,500 upfront sounds impossible. That’s exactly why I offer payment plans. Once paid in full, you own it. No monthly subscriptions bleeding your profits like Wix or Squarespace. You pay once, own forever and keep 100% of what your website earns you.
If you offer services with variable pricing, show ranges. “Wedding photography packages from £800” or “Coaching sessions starting at £75” gives visitors enough information to self-qualify. Transparency converts because people hate wasting time on discovery calls for services they can’t afford.
Simple Navigation That Doesn’t Confuse Your Visitors
Overcomplicated navigation is how agencies justify their prices. They add dropdown menus, hidden subpages and complex structures that confuse visitors. Your side hustle website needs five pages: Home, About, Services, Portfolio or Testimonials and Contact. That’s it.
Every additional menu item reduces conversions because choice paralyses people. They came to your site looking for specific information. Make it obvious where to find it. If you’re torn between a one page site and multiple pages, this guide on one page vs multi page websites walks through the decision for different business types.
Each page needs a clear next step. “Book Your Free Consultation”, “Get a Quote” or “See Packages” tells visitors exactly what to do. Don’t make them hunt for your WhatsApp or email. Birmingham side hustles especially appreciate WhatsApp contact because it’s quick, personal and doesn’t require formal emails.
Strategic Calls to Action for Side Hustle Buyers
Corporate websites can afford long sales cycles. Side hustlers can’t. Your website needs clear, visible calls to action that move people from interested to enquiring – fast. These buttons should stand out visually and use action language specific to your audience.
“Book Your Free Discovery Call” works better for coaches. “Get a Custom Quote” suits trades. “Start Your Order” fits product based side hustles. Test different wording to see what your audience responds to. I usually place at least three calls to action on a homepage: above the fold, mid-page after services and at the bottom before the footer.
Button colour matters more than you think. It should contrast sharply with your site colours so it’s impossible to miss. Small changes to button text and placement can double your conversion rate, which for a side hustle making £2,000/month could mean an extra £2,000 in revenue.
A Contact Page That Actually Makes It Easy to Hire You
Your contact page is where interested visitors become paying clients. Yet I see side hustle websites with forms that don’t work, missing phone numbers or vague “get in touch” messages that don’t explain what happens next.
Keep contact forms brutally short. Name, email, brief message. That’s it. Every field you add kills conversions. Make absolutely certain your form sends you notifications when someone submits it. You’d be shocked how many websites have broken contact forms and the owner never knows they’re losing enquiries.
Offer multiple contact methods because different people have different preferences. Some want forms, others email directly and many UK side hustlers prefer WhatsApp for speed. I always include WhatsApp because it suits how real people communicate. If you’re not sure what information to collect, read what happens in a website design consultation to understand how proper discovery improves your strategy.
Tell people what happens after they contact you. “I’ll reply within 24 hours to book a quick chat” or “Expect a quote within 2 working days” manages expectations and reduces anxiety about reaching out.
Social Proof From Real Clients, Not Stock Photos
Testimonials build trust faster than anything you say about yourself. When Birmingham side hustlers tell me they don’t have testimonials yet, I tell them to start with their first three clients and ask for honest feedback.
Real testimonials with names and faces work infinitely better than anonymous quotes or stock photos. If you’ve got Google reviews, display them on your homepage. Even a simple “Trusted by 30+ Birmingham side hustlers” adds credibility when you’re competing against established agencies.
Case studies prove results in ways testimonials can’t. For service based side hustles, one solid case study showing exactly how you solved a client’s problem converts better than ten vague “great service” reviews. Show the before, the process and the result with real numbers where possible.
Fast Loading Speed Because Side Hustle Clients Are Impatient
Slow websites kill conversions. Google research shows that 53% of mobile users abandon sites taking longer than three seconds to load. For side hustles where every enquiry counts, slow loading means lost revenue.
The main culprit? Massive unoptimised images. Compress every image before uploading and resize to exact dimensions needed. I see this constantly when taking over websites from other designers: a homepage with 5MB images that should be 200KB. It destroys performance.
Reliable hosting matters more than saving £5/month. Cheap hosting crashes, loads slowly and damages your credibility when potential clients can’t even access your site. I recommend fast, secure hosting with SSL certificates included because security builds trust too.
An About Page That Sells Your Solo Advantage
Your About page isn’t corporate biography time. It’s where you explain why someone should choose you over competitors. For side hustles, this is your chance to position your solo status as an advantage, not a limitation.
I’m direct about being a solo web designer who specialises in affordable websites for Birmingham small businesses and side hustles. This appeals to my ideal clients who want personal service, fast turnaround and transparent pricing without agency bureaucracy. They don’t want account managers and project coordinators. They want to work directly with the person building their site. They want to know who that person is.
Include a real photo of yourself. People want to know who they’re hiring, especially for services requiring trust. Your About page should feel like a conversation with a real person, not a faceless company. Share why you started your business, who you love working with and what makes your approach different.
Content That Answers Questions Before Clients Ask
Every unanswered question is a barrier between visitors and enquiries. The more you answer on your website, the easier you make it for people to hire you. This is where FAQs, blog posts and detailed service descriptions earn their keep.
Think about questions Birmingham side hustlers ask you repeatedly. “Do you offer payment plans?” “How long does it take?” “What if I don’t have my content ready?” Those should all have clear answers on your website. Blog content helps with SEO too, bringing in people actively searching for what you offer.
Educational content positions you as an expert. When you help people understand their options, they trust you to deliver the service. For side hustles where word of mouth drives most business, helpful content gets shared and builds your reputation faster than paid advertising ever could.
Budget-Specific Guidance for Different Side Hustle Stages
Here’s what no other web designer will tell you clearly. If you’re making £300/month from your side hustle, a £5,000 website makes no financial sense. If you’re making £4,000/month and growing, that investment pays for itself in weeks.
Low monthly revenue? Maybe start with a website for around £1,500. Get your offer, testimonials and contact information online professionally. Focus your budget on driving traffic and converting those visitors. As revenue grows, expand your site.
£1,000 to £3,000/month? Invest in a full five page website with blog capability, clear service pages and conversion focused design. Budget £1,750 to £4,750. This pays for itself within a few months if it converts even three clients.
Above £3,000/month? You need the full package: custom elements, ecommerce if relevant, professional copywriting and ongoing SEO. Budget £4,750 upwards because at this revenue level, your website should be working hard to bring in clients while you sleep.
The Solo Designer Advantage Agencies Won’t Mention
Agencies charge £8,000 to £15,000 for websites that take 8 to 12 weeks to deliver. They’re not ripping you off. They have overhead, project managers, multiple rounds of revisions and corporate processes that justify those prices for corporate clients.
But you’re not a corporate client. You’re running a side hustle that needs a professional website without corporate timeline or budget. That’s exactly where solo designers like me fit. I can build most websites in 2 to 4 weeks because there’s no bureaucracy. You work directly with me. Changes happen in hours, not days. Prices stay transparent because I don’t have agency overhead to hide.
The trade-off? I can’t take 20 projects simultaneously like agencies. I work with a limited number of clients at a time to maintain quality and speed. For Birmingham side hustles who value personal service, direct communication and fast delivery, that’s a feature, not a limitation.
Why UK Side Hustlers Need Different Websites Than US Businesses
Most web design advice comes from American agencies talking to American audiences. But UK side hustles operate differently. You’re navigating HMRC self-assessment, VAT thresholds and UK specific payment preferences that American content ignores completely.
UK clients expect different contact methods. WhatsApp matters here in ways it doesn’t in the US. Bank transfers are standard. Nobody’s asking for Venmo. Your website should reflect UK business culture: professional but not corporate, direct without being pushy.
Local SEO works differently too. Ranking for “web designer Birmingham” requires different strategy than competing nationally. For Great Barr based businesses, hyper-local targeting brings better results than trying to compete across the entire West Midlands. Your website should be optimised for the clients you can actually serve.
So…What Actually Makes Your Website Convert?
Converting visitors into enquiries isn’t about copying corporates. It’s clarity, trust and making it extremely easy for the right people to contact you. Your website needs messaging that speaks directly to your audience, transparent pricing that filters out tyre kickers and clear calls to action throughout.
Most Birmingham side hustles and small businesses overcomplicate their websites because they’re copying what agencies do. They add features nobody uses and hide the important information visitors actually need. Websites that convert focus on basics like clear value proposition, simple navigation, fast loading and multiple ways to get in touch.
If your website isn’t converting visitors into enquiries right now, it’s failing on one or more of these elements. The good news? These are fixable problems. You don’t need to start from scratch or spend thousands. You need focused improvements that match your budget and business stage.
Next Steps: Get Your Side Hustle Website Converting
Review your current website honestly. If you have one. Is your messaging clear? Do you show pricing or payment options? Is your contact form actually working? These quick fixes can double your conversion rate without spending a penny.
If you’re starting from scratch or need a complete rebuild, you want a designer who understands side hustle budgets and timelines. I build conversion focused websites for Birmingham and UK wides side hustles and small businesses with transparent pricing from £1,500 to £4,750, payment plans available and 2 to 4 week delivery.
The difference between a website that sits there looking pretty and one that brings in enquiries while you sleep, is conversion focused design. Every element should guide visitors towards contacting you. That’s how I approach every website I build for side hustles who need results, not corporate fluff.
Your website is an investment that should pay for itself through new client enquiries. If it’s not doing that, it’s time to fix it. You can see my full range of website design services here or contact me directly to discuss your specific situation.
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- If it’s a fit, I’ll build your site in 2 – 4 weeks
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