Is a Website Worth It? Calculating the ROI for Your Local Business

The Basic ROI Formula for a Business Website

Return on investment is straightforward to calculate once you have the right inputs. The formula is simple: ROI equals the revenue generated by the website minus the cost of the website, divided by the cost of the website. If a website costs you 1,000 euros per year and generates 6,000 euros in additional revenue, your ROI is 500%. You made five euros for every euro invested.

The challenge is that most business owners underestimate the revenue side and overestimate the cost side. They see the cost as a line item on their budget but struggle to attribute specific revenue to their website. This leads to the perception that a website is an expense rather than an investment. But the data tells a very different story.

According to a Clutch survey of small businesses, companies with a website grow their revenue 15-50% faster than those without one. The Google Economic Impact Report found that businesses using Google Search and Google Ads receive an average of 8 dollars in revenue for every 1 dollar spent on their digital presence. These are averages. The actual return depends on your industry, location, and how well your website is built. Let us break down both sides of the equation.

The Revenue Side: How a Website Generates Clients

A website generates revenue through a predictable funnel. People search on Google for a service you offer. Your website appears in the results. A percentage of those people click through to your site. A percentage of those visitors take action: they book an appointment, submit an inquiry, or call your business. A percentage of those inquiries become paying clients. Each client generates revenue.

Let us work through a realistic example. A local business with a properly optimized website typically receives 300 to 800 organic visitors per month from Google, depending on the industry and location. Take a conservative number of 500 monthly visitors. With a well-built website with clear calls-to-action and online booking, the conversion rate for local businesses typically ranges from 2% to 5%. Using a modest 3% conversion rate, that is 15 inquiries or bookings per month.

Not every inquiry converts to a paying client, but for service businesses, the close rate on inbound website leads is typically 50-80% because these are high-intent prospects who actively searched for your service. At a 60% close rate, 15 inquiries becomes 9 new clients per month. If your average service value is 100 euros, that is 900 euros in monthly revenue directly attributable to your website. At 150 euros average service value, it is 1,350 euros per month.

Over a year, those numbers compound to 10,800 euros at the lower estimate and 16,200 euros at the higher one. And this only accounts for first-time clients. Many of these clients return for repeat services, recommend you to others, and leave Google reviews that bring in even more clients. The lifetime value of a client acquired through your website is typically three to five times their first transaction.

The Cost Side: What You Actually Pay

The cost of a website varies dramatically depending on how you build it. There are three main approaches, each with very different price points and outcomes. Understanding these differences is critical to making an informed decision.

The first option is DIY. Platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.com let you build a basic website for 0 to 300 euros per year. The upfront cost is low, but there are hidden costs. You will spend 40 to 100 hours learning the platform and building the site. The result is often mediocre: slow load times, generic templates, limited SEO capabilities, and no booking integration unless you pay extra. If your time is worth 30 euros per hour, those 40-100 hours represent 1,200 to 3,000 euros in opportunity cost. For a detailed comparison of what different options cost, see our guide to small business website costs.

The second option is a subscription website service. Services like Belvair build a custom, professional website with booking integration for a one-time setup fee of 150 euros and a monthly fee of 69 euros. That works out to 978 euros for the first year and 828 euros per year thereafter. The website is built by professionals in 24 hours, includes hosting, maintenance, updates, and support. You invest zero hours of your own time and get a site that is optimized for speed, mobile, and local SEO from day one.

The third option is a traditional web agency. Agencies typically charge 5,000 to 15,000 euros for a custom website, plus 1,000 to 3,000 euros per year for hosting and maintenance. The build takes four to twelve weeks. The result is usually high quality, but the cost is prohibitive for many local businesses, and you are locked into ongoing maintenance contracts. For a business generating 50,000 to 100,000 euros in annual revenue, spending 10,000 euros on a website is a significant risk, especially if the return is uncertain.

Real Case Studies by Industry

The ROI of a website varies by industry because average service values, search volumes, and conversion rates differ. Here are four realistic scenarios based on BIA/Kelsey local business data and industry benchmarks.

Consider a dental practice. The average value of a new dental patient is significant because dental clients return regularly. The lifetime value of a dental patient is estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 euros over five to seven years of routine care. A dental website receiving 600 monthly visitors with a 3% conversion rate generates 18 inquiries per month. With a 50% booking rate, that is 9 new patients monthly. Even counting only the first-visit value of 150 euros, that is 1,350 euros per month in direct revenue. Against a website cost of 978 euros per year using a service like Belvair, the first-year ROI exceeds 1,500%. Factor in lifetime patient value, and the numbers become extraordinary.

A hair salon presents a different picture. Average service values are lower, typically 50 to 80 euros, but visit frequency is higher. A salon website with 400 monthly visitors and a 4% conversion rate, boosted by easy online booking, generates 16 new clients per month. At an average of 65 euros per visit, that is 1,040 euros per month. The real value is in repeat visits. A satisfied salon client returns six to eight times per year, making their annual value 390 to 520 euros. Sixteen new clients per month, each returning regularly, creates a compounding revenue stream that far exceeds the website cost.

For a restaurant, the calculation shifts toward online reservations and visibility. A restaurant website optimized for local search with an integrated reservation system typically sees 800 to 1,500 monthly visitors. Even with a modest 2% conversion to reservations, that is 16 to 30 additional reservations per month. At an average table value of 80 euros, the website generates 1,280 to 2,400 euros in monthly revenue. Restaurants also benefit significantly from being visible in Google's local pack, which drives foot traffic that is harder to measure but equally valuable.

A plumber or trades business has higher service values but lower visit frequency. The average emergency plumbing call is 200 to 500 euros. A plumber's website with 300 monthly visitors and a 5% conversion rate, which is typical for emergency services where intent is very high, generates 15 leads per month. At an average job value of 300 euros and a 70% close rate, that is approximately 3,150 euros per month in revenue. Against a website cost of 82 euros per month, the ROI is roughly 3,700%. For trades businesses, a website is arguably the single highest-ROI investment they can make.

The Hidden ROI: Benefits You Cannot Easily Measure

The direct revenue from website-generated clients is only part of the picture. A website provides several forms of value that are harder to quantify but equally important to your business.

Brand credibility is perhaps the most significant hidden benefit. A Clutch survey found that 56% of consumers do not trust a business without a website. When a potential client receives a word-of-mouth recommendation, the first thing they do is search for your business online. If they find a professional website, the recommendation is reinforced. If they find nothing, or find a dated, broken site, the recommendation loses its power. Your website amplifies every other marketing channel you use, from referrals to social media to print advertising.

Reduced phone time is another hidden savings. A website with comprehensive service descriptions, pricing, hours, location, and FAQ sections answers the questions that currently eat up your phone time. Businesses that add detailed information to their website report a 30-50% reduction in routine phone inquiries, freeing staff to focus on serving existing clients. If a receptionist spends two hours per day on calls that a website could handle, that is 10 hours per week or 520 hours per year of reclaimed productivity.

Data insights represent long-term strategic value. With website analytics, you learn exactly which services people search for most, which pages they spend the most time on, where your visitors come from geographically, and what times of day they are most active. This data informs better business decisions about service offerings, pricing, marketing spend, and staffing. Without a website, you are making these decisions based on gut feeling. With one, you are making them based on evidence.

The Cost of Not Having a Website

Most business owners frame this as a question of cost: “Can I afford a website?” The more accurate question is: “Can I afford not to have one?” Because inaction has a very real cost, it is just harder to see because you never meet the clients you lose.

Every day that you do not have a website, potential clients are searching for services you offer and finding your competitors instead. According to BrightLocal, 98% of consumers used the internet to find information about local businesses in 2025. If you are not on the internet with a proper website, you are invisible to 98% of potential clients during their decision-making process.

Let us quantify the competitor capture effect. Suppose there are five businesses like yours in your area. If four of them have websites and you do not, those four are splitting the online search traffic among themselves. You get zero. If the total local search volume for your service is 2,000 searches per month, your four competitors are sharing those 2,000 potential clients. Your share is not one-fifth of the total. Your share is zero, because you do not appear in the results.

Now flip the scenario. If you are one of only two businesses in your area with a professional website, you are splitting a much larger share of the online traffic. The competitor capture calculation is simple: every client that finds your competitor online instead of you is revenue you permanently lost. Over months and years, this compounds into tens of thousands of euros in missed revenue. The cost of a website is a tiny fraction of the cost of not having one.

Break-Even Analysis: When Does Your Website Pay for Itself?

The break-even point is the moment when the revenue generated by your website exceeds the total cost. For most local businesses, this happens remarkably quickly.

Using the Belvair pricing model as an example: 150 euros setup plus 69 euros per month. Your total cost for the first month is 219 euros. If your average service value is 100 euros, you need just three website-generated clients in the first month to break even. Three clients. For most service businesses appearing in local search results, three clients from a well-built website is achievable within the first two to four weeks after launch.

After breaking even, every additional website-generated client is profit above your fixed monthly cost of 69 euros. If your website generates 9 clients per month at 100 euros each, your monthly revenue is 900 euros against a cost of 69 euros, giving you a net return of 831 euros per month or 9,972 euros per year. That is over a 1,000% annual ROI.

Even the most conservative scenario points to a fast payback. Say your website only generates 2 new clients per month at 80 euros each. That is 160 euros per month in revenue against 69 euros in cost, or 91 euros in net monthly profit. Your setup fee of 150 euros is recovered in under two months, and you are profitable every month thereafter. And remember, this does not account for repeat clients, referrals, or the credibility boost that drives conversions across all your marketing channels.

Compare this to the agency model: 8,000 euros upfront plus 1,500 euros per year in maintenance. At 9 clients per month generating 900 euros, it takes 9 months just to break even on the initial investment. And if the website needs a redesign in three years, the cycle starts again. The subscription model eliminates this risk entirely. You pay a predictable monthly amount, the website stays current, and you start seeing returns almost immediately.

The Verdict: A Website Is the Best Investment You Can Make

The question was “Is a website worth it?” The data makes the answer unambiguous. For virtually every local business, a professional website with booking integration delivers a return on investment that far exceeds any other marketing channel. The ROI typically ranges from 500% to 3,000%+, depending on industry and service values. Break-even happens within the first one to three months. The hidden benefits of credibility, reduced phone burden, and data insights compound the value further.

The businesses that delay getting a website are not saving money. They are losing it. Every month without a website is a month of clients going to competitors, a month of phone calls that could have been automated, a month of operating without data about what your customers actually want.

The barrier to entry has never been lower. You do not need 10,000 euros and three months of development time. You do not need to learn web development yourself. A professional, mobile-optimized website with booking integration, SEO, and hosting can be live within 24 hours for less than the cost of a single print advertisement. The only real risk is waiting.