STEP 1 · NO WEBSITE YET
Every week someone asks how to create a website in Jamaica and gets an answer written for Americans — Squarespace, Stripe, "just use Shopify". Half of it does not fit here: card payments work differently, customers pay by bank transfer and WhatsApp, and the business is often one person. This is the Jamaican version.
Step 1: The domain
Buy the .com if you can; .com.jm is fine but costs more and some registrars make it harder. Keep it short and spellable over the phone. Buy it in your own name and your own account, whoever builds the site — never let a developer own your domain.
Step 2: DIY builder or done-for-you?
DIY (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com, Shopify): you pay monthly, you build it yourself on weekends, and you get what the template allows. Works for a simple brochure site if you have the time and the eye. Done-for-you: a Jamaican developer builds it, connects local payments and WhatsApp, and keeps it running. Works when you want bookings, orders or payments taken for you, or you simply do not have the weekends.
The honest test: if you have not built it after a month of "I will do it this weekend", stop and have it built.
Step 3: Hosting
DIY builders include hosting. For a developer-built site, hosting should be included in the plan — ask. A site hosted on a server in the US or Europe with a content network loads fine in Jamaica; what makes sites slow here is heavy images and bloated themes, not distance.
Step 4: The five pages that matter
- Home — what you do, for whom, where, one photo of real work, one button.
- Services or products with prices — Jamaican customers leave when there is no price.
- About — one paragraph and your face. People buy from people.
- Contact — WhatsApp button, phone, parish, hours. Not just a form.
- Book or order — the page that makes money. A booking calendar with a deposit, or an order form with your payment options.
Step 5: Getting paid (the Jamaican part)
Bank transfer with proof, Lynk for small amounts, cash on pickup, and cards through a Jamaican gateway when the amounts justify it. PayPal is limited here. Our payments guide covers every option with fees. Whatever you choose, the site should confirm the order and tell the customer exactly how to pay.
Step 6: Connect it to Google and the directory
Put the site in the website field of your Google Business Profile, add it to your free directory listing, and submit the sitemap in Google Search Console. A site nobody links to is a brochure in a drawer.
Step 7: Launch and test on a phone
Open it on your own phone on mobile data. Tap every button. Fill the form. Try to pay. Run the free mobile check and fix what it flags. Then tell fifty people.
What it really costs
- DIY: domain J$3,000–6,000 a year; builder subscription J$1,500–5,000 a month (more for a store); templates and plugins extra; your time.
- Freelancer: J$40,000–150,000 one-off, hosting and updates on you afterwards.
- Turnkey from Ezy Web Pro: J$35,000 to build, live in about a week, with the booking or ordering software, hosting, email and support on a plan from J$4,500 a month (Bookings or Store plan J$9,500). Custom builds from J$85,000.
- A logo before a page.
- Five pages of text and no prices.
- A contact form and no WhatsApp button.
- Paying for a store before you have ten customers.
- Letting the developer own the domain or the hosting account.
Not sure which step you're on? Book a growth call — fifteen minutes with Lee, no pressure, no obligation. You leave with the step, the first fix and the price.
Frequently asked
How much does it cost to create a website in Jamaica?
DIY from about J$20,000 a year in subscriptions plus your time; a freelancer J$40,000–150,000; a turnkey site from Ezy Web Pro J$35,000 with software, hosting and support on a plan from J$4,500 a month.
Can I create a website for free in Jamaica?
You can start on a free builder plan, but you get their ads, their address and no payments. For a real business, a paid plan or a built site pays for itself quickly.
How long does it take?
DIY: as long as your weekends allow — usually a month or more. A turnkey site: about a week once you send the content.
Do I need a website if I have Instagram?
Instagram does not rank on Google, does not take bookings and does not show prices well. Start with a free Google profile and directory listing; get the site when customers ask for it.