What a Small Business Website Needs, and What It Doesn't

A small business website has one job: to answer a customer's questions fast, on a phone. What do you do? Where? When are you open? Roughly how much? How do I reach you? If those five answers are on the first screen, the site is doing most of its work.

Everything else is extra. Some of it helps. Some of it gets in the way.

Who is looking, and on what

Most people will open your site on their phone. Often they are in the car, at the rink or standing in their kitchen. They are not reading. They are looking for one thing, and if they do not find it in a few seconds, they go back and tap the next business.

So build for the phone first. Then check it on a computer.

The eight things every small business website needs

1. What you do, and where, in the first line. "Roofing in Bridgewater and Lunenburg County." Not "Welcome to our website."
2. A phone number you can tap. One tap to call. If you take texts, say so.
3. Your hours. Including the season. If you close in January, say it.
4. Where you are. Your address and a map, or the towns you serve if you go to customers.
5. Real photos. Your work, your place, and you. People want to see who they are calling.
6. Prices, or a starting price. "Most kitchens start at $15,000." Even a rough number saves you calls from people who were never going to buy.
7. A short form that emails you. Name, phone, what they need. Nothing more.
8. Proof. A few reviews, years in business, any licences or certificates.

Under the hood, it should also load fast, work on any phone, use your own domain, and have a secure address that starts with https.

These are the things every small site I build starts with. My South Shore offer has the details.

What you can skip

• A blog you will not write. An empty blog with one post from 2023 looks worse than no blog.
• Ten pages when one will do. One long page is easier to read on a phone.
• A chatbot. On a small site, a phone number works better.
• Sliders and video backgrounds. They slow the site down, and almost nobody waits for them.
• Stock photos of smiling strangers. Customers can tell, and it makes you look like everyone else.
• Your mission statement at the top. Put what you do there instead.

What makes people trust it

Small things decide whether a stranger calls. Hours that are right this week. A local phone number. Your real name. Photos of jobs in towns they know. Last summer's special taken down.

The credibility details covers the rest.

A ten second test

Hand your phone to a friend who does not know your business well. Open your site. Ask them four things:

• What do I do?
• Where?
• When am I open?
• How do they get in touch?

If they can answer all four in ten seconds without scrolling far, your site works. If not, you know what to fix first.

Questions owners ask about what a website needs

How many pages does a small business website need? Often just one long page: what you do, your work, prices, reviews, where and when, and how to reach you. Add pages when you have more to say.

Do I need to show prices? If you can, yes, even a starting price. People who see a number and still call are ready to buy.

Does my website need a blog to show up on Google? No. For a local business, a complete Google Business Profile, reviews and a clear website matter far more.

Should my website take bookings? If people book appointments with you, it helps, and it can be added later. Start with a phone number and a form.