Paid $3,000 for a bakery website. It's gorgeous. 12 visits last month. All were me checking if it's still up.

🛒 E-commerceby bakery_goes_web · 4w ago

▸ What I did

I own a small bakery. Business is fine in-person — regulars, word of mouth, good location. But I wanted to expand: online ordering, delivery, maybe shipping cupcakes nationwide. Hired a web designer, spent $3,000 on a beautiful Squarespace site with online ordering, a blog, and an Instagram feed integration.

▸ What I expected

Local customers would start ordering online for pickup. New customers would find me through Google. Maybe even get some delivery orders from neighboring towns.

▸ What actually happened

Website has been live for 3 months. Google Analytics says 47 total visits, and I'm pretty sure 35 of those are me. Zero online orders. Not a single one. My regulars still walk in and order in person. When I tell them about the website they say "oh cool" and never visit it. Google "bakery near me" in my area — I'm not even on the first 5 pages. The $3,000 website is basically a very expensive digital business card that nobody sees.

▸ What I've tried so far

Posted the website link on my personal Facebook (got 12 likes from friends, no orders). Put a QR code on my physical receipts pointing to the website. Started a blog about baking tips (3 posts, 4 total views). Tried Google Ads with $200 — got clicks but no orders because apparently people who Google "cupcakes delivery" want it NOW, not "order today, pick up tomorrow."

Progress Updates (0)

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2 Replies

ecom_realist · 4w ago✓ the fix

$3,000 on a Squarespace site is a LOT for a local bakery. Here's the uncomfortable truth: for local businesses, Google Business Profile is 10x more important than your website. When people search "bakery near me," Google shows the map pack first — your website doesn't matter if your GBP isn't optimized. Step 1: claim your Google Business Profile. Step 2: add photos WEEKLY. Step 3: ask every regular customer for a Google review. Step 4: your website becomes the backup, not the main thing.

ads_burned · 4w ago

The Google Ads failure makes total sense. "Cupcakes delivery" is a high-intent, right-now search. If you can't deliver within 2 hours, you lose to DoorDash and Uber Eats. For a local bakery, the winning play is catering and events: "birthday cake order [your city]," "cupcakes for office party," "wedding dessert table." Those are planned purchases where "order today, pick up Friday" is perfectly fine.

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✗ stuck

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