You can get a website in an afternoon now. Pick a template, or type a sentence into an AI site builder, and a finished-looking page appears. For some businesses that's enough. For a business that depends on being found by strangers on Google, the part that matters most is the part you can't see, and that's where cheap sites usually cut corners.

What's the difference between a template site and a real website?

The difference is mostly invisible. Two sites can look equally polished while one tells Google exactly who you are, where you are and what you do, and the other says "Home" and nothing else. A real website pairs the design with writing made for your business and the behind-the-scenes information search engines read: page titles, descriptions, structured data and a sitemap. A quick template usually ships the design and leaves the rest at its defaults.

What is "backend metadata," and why does it matter?

Metadata is the information on each page that visitors don't see but Google and AI assistants do. It decides how you show up in search results and whether a machine can understand your business. The main pieces:

  • Page title. The blue headline in Google's results. "Home" or "Welcome" wastes it. "Pediatric Dentist in Boca Raton | Your Practice" uses it.
  • Meta description. The two lines under that headline. Left empty, Google picks a random sentence from the page.
  • Structured data (schema). A labeled summary of your business: name, address, phone, hours, services. It's how a search engine or an AI assistant confirms the facts without guessing. More on it in Schema Markup Explained.
  • Headings, image descriptions and a sitemap. They tell Google what each page is about, what's in each photo, and which pages exist.

None of this changes how the site looks. All of it changes how the site gets found.

Does Google penalize template or AI-written websites?

Not directly. Google has said it judges content on whether it's useful, not on how it was made. The problem is sameness. When a template's stock paragraph or an AI builder's generic intro appears on hundreds of other sites, Google has no reason to show yours instead of theirs. It doesn't punish the copied text. It just picks another version and leaves yours out.

You can test this in a minute. Copy a sentence from your homepage, put it in quotation marks, and search for it on Google. If other businesses come up with the same sentence, your site is competing with copies of itself.

Why isn't the cheapest website the best deal?

Because the price of the site is rarely the real cost. The real cost is the customers who never find it. A website that looks fine but sends no calls is not a cheap website. It's an expensive brochure nobody reads.

The quick math is simple. Think about what one new customer is worth to you over a year. If a better site brings in even one or two more a month, it usually pays for the difference in price long before the cheaper option would. The other hidden cost is the rebuild. A site set up without proper titles, structure and redirects often has to be redone a year or two later, and you pay twice.

Is a template ever the right choice?

Yes. A template is a design, and a good design is a perfectly sound place to start. What makes a template site weak is skipping the work that comes after the design: writing that belongs only to your business, metadata set up page by page, and your own photos instead of stock.

That's the middle ground I offer: pick one of my template designs and I build your version of it, up to three pages, written fresh for your business, with your photos and a full search setup, for $1,800. If you need more pages or a fully custom build, the prices are on the pricing page.

How can I check my own website in five minutes?

Search Google for your business name and read the result. If the headline says "Home" or the description is cut off mid-sentence, the metadata was never set. Then run the quotation-mark test above on two sentences from your homepage. Finally, paste your web address into Google's free Rich Results Test. If it finds no business information, search engines and AI assistants are guessing about you.

FAQ

Are website builders like Wix or Squarespace bad for SEO?

No. Most of them let you set titles, descriptions and some structured data. The trouble is that many sites built on them never fill those in, and many use the same template text as thousands of others. The platform isn't the problem. Skipping the setup is.

Can an AI-written website rank on Google?

It can, if the content is accurate, specific and useful. Generic text that could describe any business in your industry rarely does, whoever or whatever wrote it. Specific details about your services, your area and your customers are what set a page apart.

What should a basic website include for SEO?

A unique title and description on every page, one clear main heading, structured data for your business, a sitemap submitted to Google, image descriptions, and a fast mobile experience. Writing that belongs to your business ties it all together.

How much should a small business website cost?

It depends on how many pages you need and how much custom work goes in. My prices are published: template sites start at $1,800 for up to three pages, and custom builds start at $2,500.

Not sure what's under your current site? Send me the address and I'll tell you what Google sees.