Should I have more then one website?
Many small business owners and entrepreneurs are running multiple businesses at once. Sometimes it makes sense to have a second website. However, unless you are building a business or side hustle that serves an entirely different audience, you’ll want to keep your small business on one website.
In this article I will provide a live case-study and example from my own business, as well breaking down the pros and cons of consolidating multiple offers into one website, or hiring a website designer to build you a new small business website.
Table of Contents
Can a business have two websites?
Yes, a business can have two websites, but you may not need two websites.
In general, if you are serving two different audiences, you’ll need to create a second website.
If there is a cross-over between your two audiences, you can combine your micro-businesses and/or different services into one website. One website can have multiple touch points.
Should you create multiple websites for your business?
Let’s asses your current website. Ask yourself the following questions:
Is my current audience going to be interested in the new service/product I’m launching?
Can I use the same messaging, or am I going to need new copy/messaging to speak on behalf of my new business/service/product?
Are these businesses/services/products related?
If you have a blog, would you be posting completely different topics?
Some live case-study examples
Two business with one website example
Sarah is a freelance musician. She needs a website to promote herself as a performing artist, but she also teaches music lessons and sells some sheet music. She’s wondering if she needs a separate website for her performing arts and teaching studio.
The answer is no. Her audience is the same. Some of her students may want to hear her perform. People that book her for gigs may trust her more knowing she’s a professional educator.
Two businesses with two website example
Myself! In 2023 I launched Websites by Khara (this website), a boutique Squarespace website agency for creatives. I already had a website for Khara Wolf Design, a marketing agency for small businesses in Durango, Colorado. I could have rebuilt my agency website, but instead I chose to build a new website on Squarespace, and here is why: I was going to be serving a different audience with a different message and a different SEO strategy.
While my agency would also serve some of the same services (there is a cross-over), I wanted to use sell a completely different product to a new audience. Targeting general “small business websites” online was way too competitive—I needed to niche down. That included my services, messaging, and resources (blog).
The downside of this approach is it would take some time for my new website to rank (my old website already had good standing on Google). However, in the long run, I’d be able to reach a much more specific audience with a higher conversion rate.
Should I have more than one website? Pros and Cons
Pros: What are the advantages of multiple websites?
Reach a new audience: This is an opportunity to reach a new audience.
Target your audience better: With a new website, you can change your messaging, your branding, and your products or services you offer.
Niche down: This is an opportunity to niche down and target a specific audience. In general, this will lead to higher conversions and more sales.
Cons: Having multiple websites for same business
New websites take 3-6 months to rank on Google: If you are launching a new website on a new domain, it can take some time to build up authority on search engines.
Double the maintenance and hosting fees: Two websites means paying for two monthly hosting fees, upkeeping two websites, and creating content for two websites.
Issues with digital presence and profiles: If you are trying to reach a new audience with a new website, you’ll also want to sync that website to new social media profiles, a new Google My Business profile, and more. This is a ton of work and isn’t worth it unless you really need to target different people.
Frequently asked questions
Does having multiple websites hurt SEO?
As long as you aren’t posting dupclicate content on both websites, having multiple websites will not hurt SEO. Google looks for topic clusters and wants to know you are an expert in your field. If each website is addressing a different audience with different topics, advice, and services, it won’t hurt your SEO. In fact, having two websites will help your SEO if they are serving two different audiences. Learn more about how to get your website to show up on Google search ⟶
Can I have 2 websites for one business?
Yes a business can have 2 websites. However, unless you are trying to reach two different audiences, I recommend having one website with several services or landing pages.
Can I have 2 websites with the same domain?
Yes you can have multiple websites on one domain. Sometimes a business will use a “sub-domain” to launch a secondary website that is part of the current website. For example, if your main website didn’t support e-commerce, you could add something such as shop.myurl.com and have that subdomain point to a Shopify store.
How many websites should I have?
In general, one website per business is best. The more websites you have, the more you have to maintain those websites and grow your SEO. Unless you need too serve multiple audiences, it is best to focus on one website and one SEO strategy.
Should I use GoDaddy for my domains?
There are many domain registrars out there. GoDaddy is a common one. However, their customer service receives some complaints. I’ve used them for many years, but currently recommend Squarespace domains (previously Google Domains), or Namecheap.
Final Thoughts
Due to the technical and SEO implementations, it is best to use one website for your business, unless you are starting a brand-new business with a new audience. If you are thinking about a new website, check out my affordable small business website packages to get your second website live without breaking the bank!
