What to put on a small business website: a checklist

Visitors decide in seconds whether you are the right business. They look for a few specific things. Use this list before you launch, and again whenever something changes.

Home page

• One sentence that says what you do, for whom and where.
• A real photo: your work, your place or your team.
• Your main services, each in a line or two.
• One clear button for the action you want (call, book, ask for a quote, order).
• Phone number visible on mobile without scrolling.

About page

• Who runs the business, in a few honest sentences.
• How long you have done this, if it helps, and only if it is true.
• Qualifications, licences or memberships you can show if asked.
• A photo of you or your team, if you are comfortable with it.

Services, menu or products

• What each service includes, in plain words.
• Prices, or how pricing works if it varies.
• Who it is for and what the customer gets at the end.
• Answers to the three questions you hear most.

Contact page

• Phone, email and a contact form that you have tested.
• Address and a map if customers visit you; the area you cover if you go to them.
• Opening hours, including holidays.
• How quickly you usually reply, if you can keep that promise.

Trust signals that work

• Real photos instead of stock photos of smiling strangers.
• Real reviews, with permission. Never write your own or buy them.
• Consistent name, address and phone across your site and Google profile.
• A privacy page that says what you do with form messages.

Before you launch

• Open every page on your phone.
• Send yourself a message through the contact form.
• Click every button and link.
• Read the text out loud; fix anything you would not say to a customer.