Research
How many local businesses have their own website? We checked 79.
In August 2026 we checked 79 North West businesses listed in online directories, among them plumbers, electricians, guesthouses and contractors. 12 had a website on their own domain. 55 had no website we could find. This page shows exactly what we did and what the numbers can and cannot tell you.
The numbers
What we found.
Checked on 20 Aug 2026. Counts are of businesses, not websites.
| Website status | Businesses | Share of 79 |
|---|---|---|
| A website on their own domain | 12 | 15% |
| A free-subdomain site (for example Wix or Google Sites) | 4 | 5% |
| A directory, booking-platform or social profile only | 8 | 10% |
| No website found by our search | 55 | 70% |
By sector
| Sector | Businesses | Own domain | Free subdomain | Platform only | None found |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and civils | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Accommodation, events and catering | 16 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Plumbing and drainage | 15 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Electrical, solar and refrigeration | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Legal and accounting | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Automotive | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Mixed (priority list) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Download the aggregate counts: register-aggregate.csv. No business names are published.
Method
How we checked.
- We started from a prospect list of 79 businesses taken from online business directories across North West towns, including Rustenburg, Brits, Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp.
- For each business we searched the web on 20 Aug 2026 for a website, then recorded what we found: a site on the business's own domain, a free subdomain, a directory or social profile only, or nothing.
- We counted a site as belonging to the business only if it was on a domain the business appears to own. A Wix or Google Sites address was counted separately.
- The raw list contains names and phone numbers, so we publish only the counts.
Limits
What this does not tell you.
- It is not a random sample. These are directory-listed businesses we chose to check, so the shares describe this list, not every business in the province.
- "None found" means we did not find one. A business may have a site that our search missed, especially a small contractor trading under a name that differs from its registered one. All 19 firms in our largest sector (construction and civils) returned no site, which says as much about how hard small contractors are to find online as about whether they have one.
- It is one snapshot. Businesses launch and lose sites. Treat the counts as a picture of 20 Aug 2026.
- It is not a ranking study. Having a website says nothing about whether it brings customers.
For your own business
A five-minute check you can do yourself.
- Search for your business name and town as a customer would.
- Note which result is first. Is it a page you control, or a directory page?
- Open it on your phone. Can a stranger find your number and your opening hours in a few seconds?
- If only a directory shows, remember that you do not control what it says, whether it is current, or what sits beside it.
Related: websites for plumbers · websites for guesthouses · free visibility check · website design