Small business website checklist: 12 things every site needs

Updated October 23, 2026 · For owners of small local businesses, and the people who build their sites

Whether you run a cleaning company, a repair shop or a studio, the same handful of things decide whether a visitor gets in touch or goes back to the search results. Use these twelve points to plan a new small business website or check the one you have. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

1. Say what you do and where, at the top

The first screen should answer three questions in plain words: what the business does, which area it serves, and how to get in touch. A visitor on a phone should not have to scroll to find out whether you're the right kind of business.

2. Make contacting you one tap away

Put a phone link, an email address or a short contact form in the header or near the top of every page. On phones, a tap-to-call link (tel:) is often the quickest way for someone to reach you.

3. Give each main service its own page

One page per service, with what's included, who it's for and what happens next, helps people find the right thing and gives search engines a clear page to show for that search. A single page listing everything rarely does either well.

4. Show your own work

Use photos of your own jobs, products, premises or team rather than stock pictures. Real photos, even simple ones taken on a phone, tell people more than polished images they've seen on other sites.

5. Use real reviews only

Quote customer reviews word for word, with their permission, and link to where they were posted. Don't write reviews yourself or reward people for them; misleading reviews can break consumer protection rules and the review sites' own policies.

6. Be clear about prices or how quotes work

If you can list prices or starting prices, do. If every job is different, explain how a quote works, how long it takes to get one and whether it's free. Uncertainty about cost is a common reason people leave without getting in touch.

7. Keep business details the same everywhere

Your business name, address or service area, phone number and hours should match on every page, on your Google Business Profile and in online directories. Small differences can confuse customers and search engines.

8. Make it fast and easy to read on a phone

Most local searches happen on phones. Keep image files small, use readable text sizes and buttons big enough to tap, and test the site on a real phone over mobile data, not only on office Wi-Fi.

9. Cover the search basics

Each page needs its own title and description, headings that describe the page, local business structured data, a sitemap and a robots.txt file. Then add the site to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, both free, and submit the sitemap.

10. Make it accessible

Use real text rather than text inside images, describe images with alt text, keep enough contrast between text and background, and make sure forms have labels and can be used with a keyboard. It helps every visitor, not only people using screen readers.

11. Add the pages people expect

An about page, a contact page, and a privacy page that says what the contact form collects and what you do with it. Many businesses also add a short FAQ answering the questions customers ask most.

12. Plan who keeps it up to date

Decide who changes hours, prices, photos and seasonal notices, and how. Check the contact form every few months by sending yourself a test message. An out-of-date site or a broken form quietly costs enquiries.

Using the checklist

Go through it once on a phone, as if you were a new customer, and note anything that took more than a few seconds to find. For trade-specific points, see the electrical contractor checklist and website builder or HTML template?, and for getting the site online, how to put an HTML website online for free. All guides are on the free guides page.