1&1 My Business Site

There are lots of small businesses that are not online. For many people, the perceived hassle of setting one up might be what is stopping them getting their own websites.

The new My Business Site service from hosting company 1 &1 is tailored to just those people – sole traders and small businesses that have not yet taken the plunge.

The service offers a selection of pre-designed templates for dozens of sectors (florists, caterers and retirement homes are just three examples) with text and pictures that suit the site’s purpose.

Add your contact details and a logo and you are away. In practice, though, the text provided is not relevant enough so you will need to customise most of it.

Still, it provides a good starting point, and in our testing we found the site easy to edit, although we had to first get through the slightly confusing login screens.

It’s not for complicated sites. There is no online sales form, for instance, but if you need a simple online shop-window this is a good way to get it done cheaply.