What a small-business website needs
A small-business website has one job: the person who opens it should call or write to you. That takes eight things - what you do in plain words, a phone number in plain sight, services and prices (or "from …"), opening hours, where you work, photographs of your own work, two or three reviews, and an enquiry form. Everything else is optional. A site without a phone number near the top loses calls every day.
The eight essentials
- One sentence saying what you do and for whom - above the fold, before the photos.
- A phone number that dials with one tap.
- The list of services, each with a short description.
- Prices, or at least "from …". A missing price is the first reason people do not call.
- Opening hours, weekends included.
- An address and map, or a clear "we come to you".
- Photographs of your own work, not stock images.
- An enquiry form that reaches your inbox.
What is almost never needed
A rotating banner on the home page, the company's history before its services, a chatbot that knows nothing, and text written to sound solid rather than to say something. Each takes attention away from the phone number.
Regulated professions
Doctors, dentists, lawyers and notaries cannot advertise like everyone else. Their site says what is done, where, and on what terms, without promising outcomes or comparing with colleagues. The enquiry form should not collect health information.
A two-minute check
- Open the site on a phone, not a computer.
- Start a timer: how many seconds to find the phone number?
- Show it to someone who does not know your business - can they say what you do in five seconds?
- Check the form actually reaches you.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a blog?
- Not at once. A blog earns its place when it answers questions customers actually ask; then it brings people from Google.
- Do I need an online shop?
- Only if you sell goods. For services, the phone number and enquiry form do more.
- How many pages are enough?
- For most services: home, services, contact. Separate service pages help when people search for them separately.
- Is my Facebook page enough?
- Not for Google, and not for trust. See the separate comparison page.