40.9% of households in Chatham live in terraced houses, against 23.0% across England. That says a lot about what a website for a Chatham business should show first. Our £69 plan covers the website or online shop, your domain, email and hosting, ready within 3 working days on a temporary link.
No setup fee: you only pay the £69 monthly fee once you have approved your website.
The local picture in Chatham
The Medway local authority area grew by 4.2% between mid-2021 and mid-2024, to 291,691 people. New residents have no favourite plumber, café or hairdresser yet, so they search; a clear website is how a Chatham business gets onto that first list.
With 34.0% of households raising dependent children, a lot of local spending is decided by parents comparing options on their phones in the evening. Clear prices and an easy contact form suit that.
Where 8.0% of residents have a main language other than English, clear and simple wording goes a long way: short sentences, photos that show the service and prices that need no explanation.
Around Chatham
Nearby towns and villages include Gillingham, Medway (2.1 miles, pop. 108,485), Rochester (2.9 miles, pop. 67,279), Burham (3.2 miles, pop. 1,293), Cuxton (3.7 miles, pop. 3,039) and Eccles, Tonbridge and Malling (3.8 miles, pop. 1,706). The nearest large city, Southend-on-Sea, is roughly 15 miles away to the north-east. For local government, Chatham is part of the Medway local authority area. A website can name each place you serve, from Rochester to Gillingham, Medway.
In Gillingham, Medway, 27.0% of workers were based mainly at home in 2021; in Chatham, 23.6%. Gillingham, Medway has 108,485 residents, 17.3% of them aged 65 or over, against 14.6% in Chatham.
Chatham in numbers
Census 2021 counted 30,680 households in Chatham, with an average of 2.5 people each. 14.6% of residents are 65 or over and 20.5% are under 15. 21.2% of households have no car or van, and 38.5% have two or more.
Chatham: more from the census
- Children under 5: 6.7%
- Born in the UK: 84.3%
- Average household size: 2.5 people
- Commute by train: 3.5%
- Workers commuting by bicycle: 0.6%
- Bus commuters: 3.0%
Side by side with the Medway local authority area
On degree-level qualifications, Chatham (24.3%) compares with 25.6% for the Medway local authority area as a whole and 33.9% nationally. On home working, Chatham (23.6%) compares with 26.0% for the Medway local authority area as a whole and 31.5% nationally.
Who is searching in Chatham
54.8% of workers drive to work. Parking details and a map answer the first question many drivers have.
Who is in business in Medway
The Medway local authority area had 10,850 local business units in 2026. The sectors below are more common here than across England, with what each one’s website should show:
- Trades such as electricians, plumbers and roofers (1,685): emergency contact details and hours and before-and-after photos.
- Restaurants, cafés and pubs (710): how to book a table or a private event by email and opening hours and a map.
- Haulage and delivery firms (315): safety and licence details and fleet and capacity.
- Car dealers and motor trade businesses (350): directions and opening hours and service and repair hours.
- Tutors, driving schools and training providers (295): instructor qualifications and fees.
The local count includes 20 hotels, 65 landscape service firms and 110 estate agencies. Most are small: 85.3% employ fewer than ten people.
How the £69 plan works
Since 2008, Aria has been setting up websites, domains and business email for small companies. Wherever in the South East you are, the plan is identical: £69 a month, and email is how we talk.
- Start with the online sign-up (about 5 minutes) and tell us what the business does.
- Within 3 working days, a temporary link shows you the full website, built on a proven template with your brand.
- Approve the site and pay the first month: only then does it go live on your domain.
Hosting, the SSL certificate, daily backups and security updates stay with us, and content changes you email in are included.
- A business website or an online shop, for the same monthly fee
- Your own domain: bring the one you have, or we help you choose one
- Email on your domain: unlimited accounts, 5 GB in total, webmail and spam filtering
- Hosting, an SSL certificate and daily backups
- Changes to text, photos and prices, requested by email
- Ready within 3 working days on a temporary link
What England asks of a business online
Some homework for Chatham businesses before the website goes live:
- A limited company has to be registered with Companies House before it starts trading; registering online costs £100. GOV.UK: register a limited company
- You must not send marketing emails or texts to individuals without specific consent; there is a limited exception for your own previous customers, often called the soft opt-in. ICO: email marketing
- Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, whose rules on this came into force on 6 April 2025, you must not commission fake reviews or pretend to be a consumer leaving one, and if you publish consumer reviews you have to take appropriate steps to make sure they are genuine. GOV.UK: unfair commercial practices
Details vary by business, so treat this as general information, not legal advice, and check the official pages linked above.
Questions about a website for your Chatham business
Which platform do you use?
Your website runs on the Aria Platform, built on WordPress and looked after by our team: hosting, SSL, daily backups and security updates included.
Who keeps the website up to date?
Email us the change (a new price, a photo, a new service) and the team updates the site. Content changes are part of the monthly fee.
Who writes the text and picks the photos?
Your logo, a few photos of your work or premises and a short description of what you offer, all by email. We build the pages and you approve every one.
When does the site go live?
The first version is ready within 3 working days, on a temporary link. Going live on your domain comes after your approval and the first payment.
I also work in Gillingham, Medway. Can the website show that?
Yes. Email us the towns you serve (say Gillingham, Medway, Rochester and Burham) and they go on a service area page.
What about my domain name?
If you have one, keep it: we point it to the website. If not, mention it when you sign up and we sort out the options with you by email.
Do I pay anything to get started?
No. No setup fee: you only pay the £69 monthly fee once you have approved your website. No lock-in contract. You can stop the service whenever you need to.
Web design near Chatham
Start your Chatham website today
Send your logo and photos once you have signed up; the temporary link follows within 3 working days.
- Census figures: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021 tables by output area, added up for the Chatham built-up area as defined in 2022. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.
- Population of the Medway local authority area: Office for National Statistics, mid-year estimates for 2021 and 2024.
- Businesses: ONS, UK Business Counts 2026 (local units), Medway local authority.
- Distances to nearby places are straight-line, between ONS built-up area points (Open Geography Portal); contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2023.
- Numbers come from the official sources above and are updated when new releases come out; distances are measured in a straight line.