Start with WordPress.org if you want full control and SEO flexibility, or use Shopify if you're selling products online. Wix and Squarespace work for service businesses that need something live quickly, but you'll hit customization limits fast. Expect $15-30/month for hosting with a Canadian provider like SiteGround or WP Engine, plus $15-20/year for your domain. Essential pages are Home, About Us, Services (or Products), and Contact. Add a Blog if you plan to do content marketing, which matters for ranking in competitive markets like Ottawa or Toronto. Use a mobile-responsive theme — 60-70% of small business traffic comes from phones. Install an SSL certificate (usually free with hosting) so your site shows HTTPS, which Google requires for ranking. For local businesses, put your exact business name, address, and phone number (NAP) in the footer of every page. Match this exactly to your Google Business Profile. Add a contact form using WPForms or Contact Form 7, and embed a Google Map on your Contact page. Install Yoast SEO or Rank Math to handle basic on-page optimization like title tags and meta descriptions. Key mistakes to avoid: picking a theme because it looks impressive with fifty animations and sliders. Those kill load speed. Aim for under 3 seconds on mobile using Google PageSpeed Insights. Also, don't launch without setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console — you need baseline traffic data from day one. At Ottawa SEO, we see clients waste weeks customizing fonts and colors before they have content written. Get your service descriptions and contact info live first, make sure the site loads fast and works on iPhone, then refine design. A plain WordPress site with solid content and proper local SEO beats a beautiful slow site every time. Budget 8-15 hours if you're doing it yourself, or $2,000-5,000 CAD for a local agency to handle strategy, design, and setup.