You built a website to help customers find you. Then a new requirement arrives, along with terms like CSV and XML, and you wonder who will deal with it. If you have thought “it would be easier to close the website”, it is understandable how you reached that point.
Before doing that, pause and look at what actually needs to change. Maintaining a short service price list is different from running a large online shop. Between unclear rules and closing your website, there may be a practical, proportionate adjustment.
Status checked on 21 October 2026. The published decisions now take effect on 17 November. Further simplifications reported by HOK are still drafts. Below, we distinguish published decisions, official guidance and proposals.
Why would anyone close their own website?
If you run a trade business yourself, you know the end of the working day. Customer work is finished, but messages, quotes, orders and invoices remain. What looks like “just one more file” to someone else joins an already full list.
Considering closure does not necessarily mean an owner fails to see the website's value. They may not know who will prepare the price list, what maintenance will cost or whether every change will require the original developer. Keeping Google and Instagram while removing the website can seem easier.
This concern goes beyond online comments. On 15 October, HOK highlighted the burden on trades with presentation websites and explicitly mentioned closures. However, the sources reviewed do not support a claim of widespread shutdowns. There is real concern; they do not establish how many websites have actually closed.
Closing these websites cannot be our solution to avoiding additional administrative obligations.
HOK, 15 October 2026.
What is actually required of businesses with websites?
There are two separate issues: displaying an additional or anchor price alongside the current price, and publishing a machine-readable digital price list. Newly covered products and services use 10 September 2026 as the reference date; previously covered categories retain their prescribed earlier date.
The published price-list decision requires a CSV or XML file, rather than only a PDF or photo. It applies to retailers and service providers with established websites. The Ministry clarified that this includes information-only websites, while a social media profile does not count as an owned website for this purpose.
Amendments postponed the start from 1 October to 17 November 2026. Draft regulations have also been published. HOK reports proposed simplifications, including some exceptions and updating goods price lists after actual changes. At this article's review date, these remain proposals under consideration. Do not treat them as adopted exemptions.
How much extra work is it for a small business?
A short service list differs from hundreds of products. It also matters where prices are stored: one organised spreadsheet, business software or several places. These are workload examples, not measured costs for particular industries.
A short service list that rarely changes
First, collect and check the data, prepare publication and decide who makes changes. Under the published decision, a service list is updated when prices change, within that day's deadline. Maintaining this list differs from daily processing for a large shop.
A shop with many items and frequent changes
The published goods decision requires daily updates by 8 am on working days and 30-day access to previous lists. Check existing system exports and publication archives. Drafts propose changes, so the technical setup needs to follow the final rules.
Work priced only after a quote
A bespoke kitchen or renovation cannot fairly be reduced to an invented fixed amount. September Ministry guidance addresses calculation components, without publishing individual calculations. In October, HOK also reports proposed exceptions for personalised prices. First, clarify how the rules apply to the service.
The cost is more than preparing a file
Someone must collect accurate names and prices, find reference data, check publication and take responsibility for the next update. When the owner does everything, the cost includes time away from customers or family.
There is no fair universal update price. A short service list on a simple site and a large shop catalogue require different work. Before accepting a quote, clarify what is prepared once, what is maintained and what data you still need to provide.
Ask specifically how the next price change will work. Agreeing who edits the data, who checks the result and what maintenance covers leaves less room for surprise costs or unclear responsibilities.
Does closing the website remove the obligations?
A publication requirement tied to having a website is not official confirmation that closing an existing site removes every obligation. We found no specific temporary-closure exemption in the decision and guidance reviewed. Request an official interpretation for your circumstances before taking that step.
Separate the digital price-list requirement from other pricing rules. Turning off a site does not itself remove obligations for premises or advertising. Simply removing visible prices from an information website is not a confirmed way to avoid a digital price list either.
Before closing your website or cancelling the domain, check what actually applies and how much an update would cost. You can then compare real options instead of deciding from a worst-case assumption.
What do customers lose when a website disappears?
They may have found you through a recommendation, but want to see work, understand the service or check coverage before calling. When an existing link stops working, they must look elsewhere. Not every customer will leave, but the enquiry journey becomes harder.
Google profiles and social media can bring enquiries. That may be enough for a business mainly taking bookings by phone. Websites matter more when customers need explanations, compare providers or want to send a detailed enquiry with clear expectations.
You do not need to keep a website at any cost. First, establish whether it serves the business and whether the problem can be solved proportionately. If price-list uncertainty is the only reason for closure, clarify that first.
How can Local Craft Media make this easier?
We would start with your existing website and price list. We need to review the data, how the site is maintained and what the current system can support. We agree on scope and price after that review.
- Review current price displays. Identify pages, documents and offers that need to agree.
- Help organise a clear data source. Use your confirmed details to prepare the agreed format and distinguish current and reference values.
- Agree on technical publication. Arrange price lists, files and previous versions according to the final applicable rules. Assess complex exports and integrations separately first.
- Keep the website clear for customers. Machine-readable lists and visitor-facing prices serve different purposes; people still need to find services and contact easily.
- Agree on manageable maintenance. Who supplies changes, who publishes them, when they are checked and what the scope includes.
You do not need to understand every technical abbreviation to begin. What matters is having confirmed business details, clear tasks and maintenance that fits how you work. Rely on the relevant authorities or a professional adviser for legal interpretation; we handle the technical and content side of your website.
What should you prepare before deciding to close your website?
- Prepare your website link and the current price list you actually use.
- Find pricing data from the relevant reference date.
- Note how often prices change and how many items you have.
- Separate fixed prices from work assessed by quotation.
- Check your website access and contact with its maintainer.
- Clarify applicable obligations and the status of new regulations before final updates.
- Compare an update quote with the value your existing website provides.
You can also read our overview of anchor prices and digital price lists and our guide to what a local business website needs to generate better enquiries.
A few more practical questions
Do I have to close my website because of anchor prices?
These rules do not require closure. Check which obligations apply and what technical changes are needed before deciding. There is no basis for assuming every small business needs a completely new website.
Can I just remove prices from the website?
September guidance also covers presentation websites. Removing visible prices is therefore not a confirmed general exemption from a digital price list. Check current rules and request an authoritative interpretation for your case.
Should I buy an app or website plugin immediately?
First, check final requirements, item volume, update frequency and your existing system. Only then assess whether you need another tool, an export or simpler publication with agreed maintenance.
Can Local Craft Media guarantee my price list is legally compliant?
We can agree on technical preparation, publication and maintenance using confirmed data and requirements. Clarify legal scope and the accuracy of your prices with the relevant authority or qualified adviser. Technical publication alone is not a legal guarantee.
Before closing your website, let's look at what is causing the problem.
Send Local Craft Media a link to your website and tell us how you manage your price list today. We will agree on what we can review, what needs preparing and what an update could involve. A quote is useful when you know what you are getting and who will maintain it afterwards.
Get in touch about your existing websiteMore about website design and maintenance.
Sources and review date
The legal overview draws on published decisions and Ministry guidance. The status of October proposals follows HOK's reporting; a draft is not final legislation. Workload estimates and website organisation suggestions are our practical recommendations, without universal cost or savings claims.
- NN 101/2026, 1212: displaying an additional price
- NN 101/2026, 1213: publishing price lists, sections II, IV and V
- NN 110/2026, 1309: new start date for additional prices
- NN 110/2026, 1310: new start date for price-list publication
- Ministry of Economy: guidance of 22 September 2026
- HOK, 15 October: draft regulations and website closures
- e-Savjetovanja: draft price-list publication regulation
Informational article, checked on 21 October 2026. Before acting, check the rules in force and how they apply to your business. The photo is illustrative, used under the Unsplash licence and does not show a Local Craft Media client.