Comparison · Marketing & digital presence
The answer
Start with the Google Business Profile: it is free1, shows on Maps and Search, and already carries your hours, phone number, photos, reviews and booking links. For many businesses with a simple offer, it is enough. A website becomes useful when your offer needs explaining, when your image matters, or when clients do not look for you on a map; building it yourself costs little money, having it built costs a few thousand francs up front.
Facts checked on · Updated · Market Switzerland
This analysis is available in French and English.
You have a Google Business Profile (or not), and you wonder whether a website would bring you clients — or whether the profile is enough.
The comparison
Ratings from 0 to 4, from the point of view of someone in your situation — higher is better. The reasoning behind each rating is in the analysis.
| Criterion | Nothing more | Google profile | Profile + builder | Profile + pro site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up-front costWhat you pay or invest before it works (money and time). | A few thousand francs before going live. | |||
| Monthly costWhat recurs every month: subscriptions, hosting, time. | ||||
| Effort for youThe time and skills you will need to keep it running. | You build and maintain it. | |||
| Local visibilityBeing found by someone searching near you, on Maps or in Search. | Depends on the current state of your profile and site. | |||
| Room to explainServices, prices, references, frequent questions: what you can show. | A profile shows the essentials, not a detailed offer. | |||
| ImageHow much of your presentation you control: design, tone, photos. | ||||
| OwnershipWhat belongs to you: your domain, your content, your rules. | Google decides the profile’s presentation and rules. |
Keep your current Google profile and website as they are, kept up to date.
For
Against
A complete, maintained business profile: hours, phone, address, photos, reviews, booking links.
For
Against
Your profile, plus a site you make yourself on Jimdo, Squarespace or Wix, on your own domain.
For
Against
Your profile, plus a site designed by a professional, on your own domain and hosting.
For
Against
The analysis
A Google Business Profile is free1. It appears on Google Maps and in Search, with your hours, website, phone number and location; you can post photos and videos, collect and respond to reviews, and send people to your website, social media or booking links.
That is why it is the base of every option on this page: there is no situation in which a local business gains from not having one. The question is never “profile or website”, but “the profile alone, or the profile and a website”.
A profile can also carry your booking links, up to ten per category, to the tool of your choice. Booking directly from Google, on the other hand, goes through a partner provider that may charge for it.
A profile shows who you are and where to find you. It shows poorly what you do in detail. A website becomes useful when clients need explanations before calling you: services to compare, prices, references, a method, recurring questions.
It also becomes useful when your image is part of what you sell, or when clients do not look for you on a map — because you work remotely, or because they compare several providers before choosing. In those cases the profile stays the front door, and the website does the rest.
If your offer is simple and clients come because they find you nearby, a website often adds only a storefront few people visit. Better then to improve your photos and answer your reviews.
Built yourself on a builder, a website costs little money: Jimdo Start at CHF 24/month2 incl. VAT with a domain included, Squarespace Basic at CHF 180/year3 excl. VAT (with a free first year of domain when paid annually), Wix Light at EUR 14/month4 excl. tax, shown in euros in Switzerland. It mostly costs your time: building, writing, photographing, updating.
Built by a professional, it costs a few thousand francs up front, then hosting and a domain (CHF 15/year5 at Hostpoint, VAT included). The calculation below starts from assumptions you replace with your quotes: there is no verifiable public price for “a professional website”.
Your recommendation
Three questions are enough for a first answer; the rest refine it. Every rule applied is shown under the result.
Recommendation
Answer 3 more key questions: without them, a recommendation would be a guess.
Missing
Decision rules v1.0.0
The costs
Verified prices are pre-filled with their date; assumptions are flagged. Your time counts too: replace everything with your own figures.
Cheapest over 36 months Google profile alone
No crossover within 5 years.
Google profile alone
Profile + builder
Profile + pro site
What this calculation shows
What it does not prove
Neighbourhood bakery
No online presence, an offer everyone understands, no time for a website, a small budget.
The Google profile alone. It is free and it is where people nearby will look for you; take care of photos and hours.
Why →Plumber
A Google profile, works at clients’ homes, a simple offer, comfortable with online tools.
The Google profile alone, complete and maintained. Your area, reviews and phone number do most of the first contact.
Why →Independent therapist
A Google profile, a method to explain, a small budget, time to look after it.
The profile plus a site built yourself on a builder. You need room to explain your approach; a builder is enough for that.
Why →Architecture practice
An old website and no Google profile, references to show, an image to look after, someone to manage a provider.
The profile plus a professional website. Your image is part of the offer; also create the free Google profile you are missing.
Why →Established shop
A profile and a website that work, no new goal.
Change nothing. Keep the profile up to date and answer reviews; redoing the website would have no purpose.
Why →What we do not know
The most uncertain part: how many clients a website adds to a well-kept profile. No reliable public source puts a number on it for Swiss businesses; the tool below helps you decide without pretending to predict it.
Often, yes, when the offer is simple and clients look for you nearby. It is free and shows the essentials: hours, address, phone, photos, reviews and booking links.
Yes: Google states that creating a business profile and being listed is free. Only booking directly from Google goes through a partner provider, which may charge for it.
Jimdo Start costs CHF 24/month2 incl. VAT with a domain, Squarespace Basic CHF 180/year3 excl. VAT. Add your build and upkeep time, which the calculator puts a figure on.
Yes. It is free, it appears on Maps, and it can link to your site: the two complement each other rather than compete.
Every fact on this page points to a source read on the date shown. Prices and availability are re-checked at least every 90 and 120 days.
Creating and managing a Google Business Profile is free.
verified · read on
Yes, creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free.Jimdo Start (own domain included) costs CHF 24 per month including VAT, on a 12-month term.
verified · read on
Start | CHF 24 | per month | For your personal website | Free domain … Prices apply for a 12-month contract term. … All prices include VAT.Squarespace Basic costs CHF 180 per year excluding VAT when paid annually (CHF 21 per month when billed monthly).
verified · read on
"Basic — Annually","priceCurrency":"CHF","price":"180.00" / "Basic — Monthly" … "21.00" — Prices listed on our website don’t include VAT.Wix shows Swiss visitors its Light plan at EUR 14 per month excluding tax, paid 12 months upfront; no CHF price is shown.
verified · read on
Light | Mit den Basics starten | 14,00 € /Monat … Die dargestellten Preise gelten pro Monat bei einer jährlichen Laufzeit, die beim Kauf komplett bezahlt werden. Die Preise sind exklusive anwendbarer SteuernAt Hostpoint, a .ch domain costs CHF 5 in the first year, then CHF 15 per year, VAT included.
verified · read on
Im ersten Jahr betragen die Kosten für eine .ch-Domain CHF 5.– inkl. MWST. Ab dem zweiten Jahr kostet die Domain CHF 15.– inkl. MWST.A Google Business Profile shows your hours, website, phone number and location on Maps and Search; you can post photos and videos, collect and respond to reviews, and send people to your website, social media or booking links.
verified · read on
Provide your business hours, website, phone number, and location so they’re visible to customers on Google. Post photos and videos of your business and the products and services it offers. Collect and respond to reviews from customers. Direct customers to your website, social media, booking links, and more.A Google Business Profile can show booking links (up to 10 per category) to the tool of your choice.
verified · read on
You can also add up to 10 links per category. Links can help customers: Book an appointment.Booking directly from Google goes through a partner provider (Reserve with Google), which may charge for it.
verified · read on
When you book through Google, your provider might charge you. […] find providers available in your country through Reserve with Google. You can also add your own linkJimdo’s booking tool is free with unlimited appointments; automatic reminders need a paid plan.
verified · read on
Bookings are free, with unlimited appointments. If you want more, a paid plan unlocks additional features: … reduce no-shows with automatic reminders.Annual Squarespace plans include one year of free domain registration; an existing domain can be attached to any plan.
verified · read on
All Squarespace website plans purchased for an annual term include one (1) year of free domain registration… you can attach unlimited domains to any website planNo vendor mentioned pays to appear here, and no link on this page is an affiliate link. What Bynilson sells is labelled as such and plays no part in the recommendation rules.
Research and writing assisted by AI tools; every fact was read on its source on the date shown, and the decision rules are written and tested by hand.
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