Farm Website Essentials

What does a farm website need?

At minimum, a site should say who you are, what you sell, where and when people can find you, and how to contact you. If a visitor cannot find your hours and location in a few seconds, they will probably go elsewhere.

Add a short story about the farm and a few clear photos. Keep the writing plain and the pages few, so that you can keep everything current.

A contact page that includes a form, a phone number and an email gives visitors a choice. Check that messages sent through the form reach you, and answer them within a day or two where you can.

• Name, location in general terms, and how to reach you.
• Products, seasons and how to buy them.
• Market days, pickup times and any changes for weather.

How do you keep the site up to date?

Out of date information is worse than none. A site that still lists last summer's hours sends people to a closed gate and teaches them not to trust you.

Pick one person and one day a week or month to review the site. Put a date on seasonal announcements and remove them when they expire.

How do you handle selling and payments online?

If you take orders or payments online, choose a service recognized for security and follow its instructions carefully. Fees, tax handling and refund rules vary, so read the terms and compare options for yourself.

Do not collect more personal information than you need. For many farms, a simple order form that asks for a name, phone number and what the customer wants is enough, with payment at pickup.

What about privacy and safety?

Think about what you put online. Your exact address, daily routines, photos of children, or notices that the farm is empty can create risk. Share general location and set pickup instructions that fit your comfort.

If you collect names, emails or phone numbers, keep them private, store them securely and use them only for the purpose you told people. Never ask children for personal information. Ask your state attorney general's office or a lawyer about privacy rules that may apply to you.

Include a short plain statement about how you handle information people share, even if it is only two sentences, and avoid copying legal language you do not understand.

• Use a business email address, not your personal one.
• Keep logins strong and different for each service.
• Review who has access to the site when helpers come and go.

How do people find your site?

Most visitors arrive from a search, a social post, a printed sign or word of mouth. Make sure your site name appears on your signs, labels and receipts so that people can look you up.

Write page titles and descriptions the way a customer would search, such as eggs for sale and your general area. Claim your free business listing on maps and local directories, and keep the information consistent.

What if your internet connection is slow?

Many rural places have slow or unreliable service, both for you and for your customers. Keep pages light, compress photos and avoid large video files that take a long time to load on a weak connection.

Check what services are available at your address through the FCC broadband resources and your county, and ask your county extension office about local broadband programs. Many farms also use a simple page builder or a social page for updates when a full website is too much.

How much should you spend on a site?

Many farms do well with a free or low cost page builder and their own photos. Before paying for a custom design, ask whether it will bring more customers than it costs to build and maintain.

Be cautious with offers that arrive by email or phone promising to rank your farm first in search results or to fix a problem with your site for a fee. Check with a trusted local business, your extension office or your small business development center before paying anyone you did not seek out.

Keep the log in details, the domain registration and the billing account in your own name, not only in a helper's name, so that you can always reach your site.

• Write down who owns the domain and when it renews.
• Keep a backup of your text and photos.
• Compare at least two options before paying.

Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Rural Farm Life Editorial Team. See our editorial policy.