The state of Yorkshire's small business websites
We ran the Webmins check on 3628 independent business websites across West, South, North and East Yorkshire, from cafés and shops to builders, clinics and charities. Here is what we found, sector by sector, and what to fix first.
Minshall Group research · October 2026 · 3628 websites
Four findings
of sites score below 70, the point where we would recommend a refresh.
have no enquiry form on the homepage, so visitors who will not phone simply leave.
give Google and AI assistants no structured information about the business.
have no visitor analytics, so the owner cannot see what is or is not working.
The spread
Most sites are not broken. They have just stopped keeping up.
The median site scores 66. Only 8% reach Excellent (85 or more), while 25% are falling behind (under 50). The typical gap is not a missing website but missing basics: a way to enquire, a clear description for Google, and any idea of who visits.
- Excellent 85+ 8%
- Good 70–84 33%
- Needs work 50–69 34%
- Falling behind <50 25%
Number of sites by Webmins Score
Sector by sector
Health, beauty and wellbeing lead. Cafés, pubs and restaurants have furthest to go.
01Health, beauty and wellbeing305 sites65
What customers expect, and how many sites have it
Pillars
16% falling behind · 10% excellent
02Charities and community48 sites65
What customers expect, and how many sites have it
Pillars
17% falling behind · 8% excellent
03Professional services218 sites64
What customers expect, and how many sites have it
Pillars
23% falling behind · 15% excellent
04Independent shops1237 sites62
What customers expect, and how many sites have it
Pillars
24% falling behind · 8% excellent
05Trades and construction237 sites62
What customers expect, and how many sites have it
Pillars
22% falling behind · 7% excellent
06Gyms and fitness136 sites61
What customers expect, and how many sites have it
Pillars
24% falling behind · 7% excellent
07Hotels and places to stay299 sites59
What customers expect, and how many sites have it
Pillars
26% falling behind · 6% excellent
08Cafés, pubs and restaurants1148 sites58
What customers expect, and how many sites have it
Pillars
31% falling behind · 5% excellent
Average Webmins Score by sector. Tap a sector for the detail.
The basics
The fixes that cost least are the ones most often missing.
58% have no preview image when shared, 56% have no enquiry form, 55% have no visitor analytics. None of these needs a new website. Most take an afternoon.
Share of sites with each basic in place
What 2026 expects
The modern extras are still rare.
Customers now expect to book, see reviews and get an answer without phoning. Search is changing too: AI assistants rely on structured data to describe a business accurately, and most sites give them nothing to work with.
Share of sites with each feature
Across the county
Town by town
Leeds and Wakefield come out on top. Halifax has the most to gain.
Average Webmins Score by postcode area.
What to do about it
Five fixes, in order.
- Add a short enquiry form. Many people will not phone or email, but they will fill in three fields.
- Write your search description. Two lines that say what you do and where. It is the advert under your link.
- Install free analytics. Microsoft Clarity or Google Analytics shows where visitors give up.
- Add structured data. It tells Google and AI assistants your opening hours, location and services accurately.
- Show your reviews and keep the page current. An old copyright year quietly says nobody is looking after the site.
How does yours compare?
Get your own Webmins Score in 20 seconds.
Free, with the same check we used for this research, compared with your sector.
Method
We drew the sample from OpenStreetMap, the open map of the world, taking places in West, South, North and East Yorkshire (including York and Hull) that list their own website. We excluded chains (a website shared by three or more places), public bodies and social media pages, leaving 4,184 independent businesses. We checked every one of them. Town results group sites by postcode area and are shown only where at least 40 sites were scored.
Each homepage was checked once in October 2026 by the Webmins Score, which looks at experience, findability, trust, conversion and how current a site is, plus what customers expect in that sector. 13% of listed websites did not load and are not scored. We checked the homepage only and did not run Google’s speed test, so results reflect what a visitor sees first rather than a full audit. No business is named.
Use this research
You are welcome to quote and share these findings with a link to this page. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence.
Questions about the data, or want it for your area? Get in touch.