Small Business Website Checklist: 10 Must-Haves
A small business website has one job: turn a stranger into an enquiry. Most sites that fail at it are missing a few basics, not a big budget. Here are the ten things we check on every site we build, in order of how much they matter.
In short: say what you do in one line, make contacting you one tap away, load fast on a phone, show proof, and set up the basics so Google can find you.
1. A headline that says what you do, for whom, and where
Visitors decide in seconds whether they are in the right place. "Welcome to our website" wastes that moment. "Emergency plumbing in North London, 7 days a week" does not. Put your service, your customer and your area in the first line people see.
2. One obvious way to contact you, on every page
Pick the channel your customers actually use, whether that's a phone call, WhatsApp or a short form, and make it a button that is always visible, especially on phones. Every extra step between "I want this" and "I've asked" loses people.
3. Pages that load fast
Slow pages lose visitors before they see anything. Google's own targets, called Core Web Vitals, are a good benchmark: the main content should appear within 2.5 seconds, the page should respond to a tap within 200 milliseconds, and the layout shouldn't jump around while it loads. Oversized photos are the most common culprit, so compress them before you upload them.
4. Built for phones first
Most local searches happen on a phone, and Google uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking. Check your site on your own phone: text readable without zooming, buttons big enough to tap, nothing cut off at the sides.
5. Your services, spelled out
List what you offer in plain words, ideally with a page for each main service. If you can, show prices or at least a starting price. People who can't find a rough price often assume it's too expensive and leave without asking.
6. Proof that you're real and good
Real reviews with names, photos of your actual work, premises or team, and logos of clients you've worked with (with their permission). Stock photos of smiling strangers do the opposite of what you want.
7. Where you work and when you're open
Your address or service area, your opening hours and your phone number, written the same way everywhere they appear online, including your Google Business Profile. Mismatched details confuse customers and search engines alike.
8. Basic SEO on every page
Each page needs its own title and description that say what is on that page, a clear main heading, and text that uses the words your customers search for. "Website design" means nothing to Google if your pages only say "creative digital solutions".
9. Trust basics
A secure connection (the padlock and https), a privacy policy, a real email address and an About page with a real person behind the business. These are small things, but their absence is exactly what makes a site feel like a scam.
10. A way to see what's working
Set up Google Search Console to see which searches show your site, and simple analytics to see which pages people visit and where they leave. Without numbers, every change to your website is a guess.
What to fix first
If you can only do three things this week, make your headline specific (1), add a visible contact button (2) and test the site on your phone (4). They cost little and fix the most common reasons visitors leave without getting in touch.
If you're comparing options for getting this done, our guides on what a website costs and custom site vs Wix vs a freelancer lay out the trade-offs. Every GoWebRise site is built around this checklist, and you see a free demo before you pay anything. See plans.