# Websites that bring work in

Canonical: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/pillar/website-design-performance
Summary: What a B2B website has to do to turn buyers and AI assistants into enquiries, how to judge what it should cost, and when to rebuild or keep improving.
Short answer: A website brings work in when a buyer can tell within seconds what you do, for whom and why to trust you, and when an AI assistant can read the same facts without guessing. That means one clear page per service and sector, dated proof, fast pages that work on a phone, and key text in the page's HTML. Most sites that fail are not ugly; they are vague, slow or left unchanged for years. For most firms, steady monthly improvement does more than a rebuild every few years.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-24
What changed: Rewritten for 2026: removed every Fortitude price and the guide count, added the neutral template guide, the website contents guide and the JavaScript crawler finding.
Guides in this pillar: 15
Publisher: Fortitude Media Limited

When quoting, attribute to Fortitude Media and link to the canonical URL above.

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Every founder has heard some version of "the website is not really where our work comes from". Usually that is because the site is not doing its job. A buyer who has heard your name from a colleague or an AI assistant will go and look. If the page is slow on their phone, opens with a slogan instead of a plain statement of what you do, and hides the people and the proof three clicks deep, they close it and move on to the next name on the list.

These guides treat the website as sales infrastructure, with a cost, a return and an owner. The commercial questions come first: whether it is working, what it should include, what it should cost and whether to rebuild. The technical ones follow: speed, accessibility, structure, mobile, your choice of platform and what an AI assistant needs to read a page accurately.

That last point catches many firms out. The main AI crawlers, GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot, fetch pages but do not run JavaScript, so text that only appears once scripts run is invisible to them ([Vercel and MERJ, December 2024](https://vercel.com/blog/the-rise-of-the-ai-crawler)). Googlebot does render JavaScript, which helps Gemini and Google's AI features, but your key facts belong in the page's HTML either way.

If you are not sure the website is the problem, start with [how to know whether your website is working](/insights/evaluate-whether-website-working): a short set of checks you can run this afternoon with the analytics you already have. [What should a B2B website include](/insights/what-should-a-b2b-website-include) sets out the pages buyers and assistants expect to find, from one page per service and sector to an honest page on price and process.

The question we are asked most is whether to start again. [Redesign or keep improving](/insights/website-redesign-vs-continuous-iteration) explains when a rebuild is right, which is when the platform, structure or positioning is wrong, and why steady monthly improvement suits most firms the rest of the time. [Template or custom website](/insights/template-vs-custom-website-b2b) is a neutral comparison: a template is enough for many new or small firms, and the guide shows the point at which a firm that competes on expertise tends to outgrow one.

Other guides cover what a website costs over three years rather than just the build, what leaving a site unchanged costs you, how to measure its return, what makes a buyer trust a page, speed and accessibility, mobile, site structure, platform choice and a technical checklist for AI search. Guides on publishing prices, comparison pages, keeping rankings through a redesign and sites built with AI website builders are being added over the coming weeks.

If you would like us to build or run your site, [Website That Sells](/website-that-sells) explains how we work, and our prices are on [What it costs](/what-it-costs).

## Common questions

### How do I know if our website is the problem?

Check three things. Count last quarter's enquiries that came through the site, read the site on a phone as a buyer would, and ask a stranger to say what you do and for whom after ten seconds on the homepage. Then test your contact form. If any of those fails, the site is losing you work.

### Should we rebuild or keep improving what we have?

Keep improving, unless the platform, the structure or the positioning is wrong. A rebuild on a fixed cycle leaves the site out of date for much of the time and puts your search history at risk when page addresses change. If you do rebuild, give every old address a permanent redirect so your rankings carry over. Then give the site a named owner and a monthly routine.

### Template or custom: which does a B2B firm need?

A template is enough for a new or small firm with one clear service, and many firms should start on one. A firm that competes on expertise across several services or sectors usually outgrows it, because it needs a page for each service and sector, control over structured data and crawler settings, and text AI crawlers can read without JavaScript. An adapted theme on a mainstream platform is often the middle step.

### What should a B2B website cost?

It depends on scope, so published UK prices vary widely. The build is only part of the cost: hosting, maintenance, content, support and your own team's time follow. Compare quotes on a three-year total covering the same items, and ask every supplier what happens in month two. Our own prices are on our What it costs page.

### What does an AI assistant need from our website?

Plain text that states what you do, who you serve, where you work and who runs the firm, on pages that load quickly and link sensibly. The main AI crawlers do not run JavaScript, as Vercel and MERJ found in December 2024, so that text must be in the page's HTML. Accurate structured data helps search engines read your facts correctly, but Google says its AI features need no special markup, so treat it as good housekeeping rather than a trick.

### Does mobile matter for a B2B firm?

Yes. Google indexes and ranks the mobile version of your pages, and in our experience many B2B buyers first check a supplier on a phone, often from a LinkedIn post, an email or an AI answer. Design your key pages for a phone first: a clear headline, one line of proof, a tap-to-call number and a short form.

## Guides in this pillar

- [Will a website redesign lose our Google rankings? What we learned moving 310 pages](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/website-redesign-keep-google-rankings): Not if you plan the move page by page. Rankings fall after a redesign when old addresses stop working, pages that earned visits are dropped, or the new site blocks crawlers at launch. List every old address, decide for each whether to keep, merge or retire it, and give every kept or merged page a permanent redirect to its closest new page, kept for at least a year. Expect a few weeks of movement, then check at one, four and twelve weeks, including what AI assistants say. (published 2026-10-29, reviewed 2026-10-29)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/website-redesign-keep-google-rankings
- [Should a B2B firm publish its prices?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/should-b2b-firms-publish-prices): Usually yes, as ranges or starting points rather than a rate card. Buyers, and the AI assistants that research for them, rank suppliers before contacting anyone, and a page that says "contact us for pricing" gives them nothing to compare, so you are often ruled out without knowing. Publish how you charge, typical ranges, what moves the price, what is included and your minimum engagement, in plain page text. Hold back specific figures only where a number would mislead, prices are set by tender, or a regulator sets the format. (published 2026-10-22, reviewed 2026-10-22)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/should-b2b-firms-publish-prices
- [Does our website's speed and accessibility really affect enquiries?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/website-accessibility-speed-matter): Yes. A slow or awkward site loses buyers before they read a word. Google's Core Web Vitals ask for main content within 2.5 seconds, a response to taps within 200 milliseconds and a layout shift of 0.1 or less on 75% of real visits. Aim for WCAG 2.2 AA: clear headings, alt text, contrast and labelled forms help disabled visitors, Google and AI assistants alike. Test with PageSpeed Insights and WAVE, then fix your most important pages first. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/website-accessibility-speed-matter
- [How much does a B2B website cost in the UK?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/real-cost-of-a-website): Published UK prices run from about £2,000 for a freelance brochure site to £15,000 to £50,000 for a lead-generating B2B site from a specialist agency, and £60,000 or more for enterprise sites. The build is only part of the cost: hosting, maintenance, content, support and your team's time follow, and one agency suggests 10 to 20% of the build cost a year. Compare quotes on a three-year total covering the same items. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/real-cost-of-a-website
- [What should a B2B website include?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/what-should-a-b2b-website-include): A B2B website should include a clear homepage, one page per service and per sector, dated case studies with results, a team page, an honest page on price and process, and an easy contact route. Together those pages must say who you serve, prove it, answer the questions buyers ask before a call, be readable by AI assistants, and make getting in touch easy from a phone. Give it a named owner and update it every month. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/what-should-a-b2b-website-include
- [Do our B2B buyers really look at our website on their phones?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/mobile-first-design-b2b): Yes. Phones made up 46.11% of UK web page views in August 2026 (StatCounter), and many B2B buyers first check a supplier on a phone, often from a LinkedIn post or an AI answer. Google indexes and ranks the mobile version of your pages. Design key pages for a phone first: a clear headline, one proof line, a tap-to-call number and a short form, then test them from inside LinkedIn every quarter. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/mobile-first-design-b2b
- [Does our website platform affect whether ChatGPT can read our site?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/cms-choice-affects-ai-visibility): Somewhat, but less than how the site is built. GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot do not run JavaScript, so your text must be in the page's HTML when it is delivered. WordPress, Webflow, HubSpot, Wix and Squarespace can all do that; sites built with JavaScript frameworks or AI builders need server rendering or prerendering. Check robots.txt, your platform's AI crawler switch and Cloudflare, and test what crawlers see before you switch. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/cms-choice-affects-ai-visibility
- [How do I know whether our website is actually working?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/evaluate-whether-website-working): Your website is working if it brings in qualified enquiries, helps buyers who already know you decide in your favour, and gives Google and AI assistants an accurate picture of your firm. To check, count last quarter's website enquiries, read the site on a phone as a buyer would, ask ChatGPT, Google and Copilot who they recommend, and test your contact form. Then score the site from 1 to 5 on six questions and fix the two lowest scores first. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/evaluate-whether-website-working
- [How do we measure the return we get from our website?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/measure-website-roi-b2b): Measure two figures. Direct return is the fees from clients who first enquired through the website, divided by the site's full yearly cost, including senior time. Influenced value is the fees from clients who came in another way but used the site before buying, reported alongside and never added. Ask every new client how they found you, value each client the same way every year, and track qualified enquiries and AI visits monthly. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/measure-website-roi-b2b
- [How should we organise our website so buyers and AI understand it?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/website-architecture-ux-and-ai): Organise it around the choices your buyers make: a page for each service and each sector, case studies filed under both, articles grouped into topic hubs that link to the relevant service, and people linked to their work. Keep the menu short, addresses readable and link text descriptive. For several regions, use subfolders on one domain with hreflang; for several brands, one group page that ties them together. Clear structure is proven to help Google and very likely helps AI assistants too. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/website-architecture-ux-and-ai
- [Is our website technically ready for ChatGPT and AI search?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/technical-checklist-ai-ready-website): Your site is ready for AI search when the search crawlers behind ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot and Google can get in, and your key pages show their full text without JavaScript. Check robots.txt, your Cloudflare or firewall settings and Bing Webmaster Tools first. Then give each page one clear topic, proper headings, visible dates and accurate structured data. Most fixes are small and need no rebuild, and none guarantees a recommendation. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/technical-checklist-ai-ready-website
- [Should we redesign our website or keep improving the one we have?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/website-redesign-vs-continuous-iteration): For most B2B firms, keep improving the site you have. A rebuild on a fixed cycle leaves the site out of date for much of the time and puts search history at risk when page addresses change. Rebuild only when the platform, the structure or the positioning is wrong, give every old address a permanent redirect, then fund a monthly routine with a named owner so buyers, Google and AI assistants always see the firm as it is today. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/website-redesign-vs-continuous-iteration
- [Template or custom website: which does a B2B firm need?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/template-vs-custom-website-b2b): A template is enough for a new or small firm with one clear service, and many firms should start on one. A firm that competes on expertise across several services or sectors usually outgrows it, because it needs a page for each service, sector and proof point, control over structured data and crawler settings, and text that AI crawlers can read without JavaScript. An adapted theme on WordPress or Webflow is often the middle step. Moving is quicker than most founders expect when the content is ready. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/template-vs-custom-website-b2b
- [What does it cost us to leave our website unchanged for years?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/hidden-cost-static-website): More than the hosting bill suggests. An outdated website costs you enquiries from buyers who rule you out, pitches lost to more current competitors, longer sales calls and AI answers that describe the firm you used to be, because ChatGPT and Gemini build their picture of you partly from your site. You can size the cost in an afternoon. A named owner and a monthly routine of one update, one new page and one new piece of proof stops most of it. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/hidden-cost-static-website
- [What makes a buyer trust our website enough to get in touch?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/psychology-of-trust-website-conversions): Buyers trust a B2B website when it answers three questions fast: can this firm do the work, will it be reliable, and is it safe to deal with. The strongest signals are specific, named and dated proof, a plain statement of who you serve, real people, a contact page with a phone number, address and company details, and honest guidance on price, fit and risk. It is the same evidence AI assistants look for when deciding which firms to name. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/psychology-of-trust-website-conversions