Web design for Inner West Sydney businesses

Realtiq designs websites for small businesses in Sydney's Inner West: cafés and venues, salons, clinics, studios, shops and trades. We are a small Sydney studio and we work by call and video, so there is no office for you to visit and no reason to close up for a meeting. This page covers what an Inner West website needs to do, what it costs and how the work runs.

The area this page covers

When we say Inner West here, we mean roughly the area run by Inner West Council, formed in 2016 from the former Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville councils. It runs from Balmain and Birchgrove in the north down to Tempe, and takes in Rozelle, Lilyfield, Leichhardt, Annandale, Stanmore, Petersham, Enmore, Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Lewisham, Summer Hill, Haberfield, Ashfield and part of Newtown, among others.

Council lines are not how customers think. Newtown is split between Inner West Council and the City of Sydney, and nobody looking for dinner on King Street checks which side they are on. People search by suburb and by street, which is why your suburb should be written on your site in plain words.

Much of the trade here happens on main streets rather than in big centres: King Street, Enmore Road, Marrickville Road, Norton Street and Darling Street are among the best known. That shapes what a website has to do, because many customers are nearby, on a phone, deciding where to go next.

If you run a café, restaurant, bar or venue

The questions are nearly always the same: are you open now, what is on the menu, can I book, and is anything on tonight.

• Hours that are right. Late nights, closed Mondays and public holidays, shown clearly and matching your Google Business Profile.
• A menu in real text. Not a photo of a paper menu, so it reads on a phone and search engines can see it. More in café website must-haves.
• A booking button that works. See link out or embed for the choice between the two.
• A simple what's-on page, if you host music, comedy or trivia, that you can update yourself.

This one is particular to the area. Inner West Council now has seven Special Entertainment Precincts: Enmore Road, which was the first in NSW, plus Balmain, Dulwich Hill, Leichhardt, Rozelle and two in Marrickville. The council says businesses inside a precinct may access the trading hours shown on its maps without further approval, with restrictions set out on its site. If that changes your hours or what you can host, your website and Profile should say so the same day. Check your own address on the council's maps, and ask your adviser if you are unsure how the rules apply to you.

If you run a salon, clinic, gym or studio

People want to know what you offer, what it costs and when they can come in. Online booking does a lot of the work here, because many of them are looking after hours. We link your site to the booking system you already use rather than asking you to change it.

There is more detail on our pages for hair, beauty and barbers, physios and clinics and gyms and studios.

If you run a shop

A small shop on a main street often does not need a full online store. It may need a clear page with what you stock, your hours and a map link, so someone can decide to walk in. If you do want to sell online, that is a bigger job with a different price. The trade-offs are in your own online shop or a marketplace, and there is more on our retail shops page.

If you are a tradie working the area

You need your services listed as real text, the suburbs you cover, your licence details and a quote form that can take photos. If you work from home, your address can stay private while your service area does the talking. Our page on websites for tradies goes through it.

Being found locally

Google names three main factors for local results: relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot change your distance from the person searching, and nobody can promise you a position. You can make sure your details are complete, correct and the same everywhere.

Every Realtiq website includes the local search basics: page titles with your suburb, real text search engines can read, structured data with your business details, a Google Maps link, and a sitemap submitted to Search Console. Your name, address and phone match your Google Business Profile.

We will not build you a stack of near-identical pages, one per suburb, with the name swapped. That is thin content, and Google's spam policies warn against doorway pages. One good page per real service or location does more.

What it costs

Websites, in Australian dollars:

For most main street businesses, a landing page or a business website is enough. Website care is optional and covers 30 minutes of small changes a month.

How it works

1. A 15 minute call. You tell us about the business and we work out which website fits.
2. A written proposal. The scope and price are confirmed in writing before we start.
3. Copy and design. We write the words with you and design around your brand, using your own photos. If you do not have many yet, see what to use when you have none.
4. Launch and walkthrough. The site goes live on a domain in your name, and we show you how to change text and photos yourself.

Common questions

Do you have an office in the Inner West?

No. Realtiq is a small Sydney studio without a shopfront, and we work by call and video. You send photos and details, and we show you the site as it takes shape.

What if I do not have good photos?

We build around photos you supply, and a phone in good daylight goes a long way. Our guide to website photos covers what works and what to avoid.

Do I need a page for every suburb I serve?

Usually not. List the suburbs you cover in plain words on a service area page. A separate page only makes sense when you have something different and true to say about that place.

Will my website rank first for web searches in Newtown or Marrickville?

Nobody can honestly promise that. We set up the basics properly and tell you what we can and cannot control.

Can you work with my existing booking system?

We link your site to the tools you already use, so you can usually keep your current system. Tell us which one you use on the first call and we will check.