Website Essentials: What Your Business Website Must Do

Your Website Has One Job

Your business website exists to turn visitors into customers. Everything on it should serve that goal. If a page, section, or feature does not help someone decide to hire you or buy from you, it is clutter.

Too many small business websites try to be impressive when they should be useful. A clean, fast site that clearly explains what you do, where you do it, and how to contact you will outperform a flashy site with confusing navigation every single time.

The Must-Have Pages

Homepage

Your homepage needs to answer three questions within five seconds of someone landing on it:

1. What do you do?
2. Who do you do it for?
3. How do they take the next step?

Include a clear headline, a brief description of your services, and a prominent call to action (phone number, contact form, or booking button). Add a few trust signals: years in business, number of projects completed, or key certifications.

Services Page

List every service you offer with enough detail that a potential customer understands what is included. Do not make people call to find out what you do. If you offer different service tiers or packages, lay them out clearly.

About Page

People hire people they trust. Your about page should include who owns the company, how long you have been in business, what your qualifications are, and why you do this work. A real photo of you and your team matters more than stock photography.

Contact Page

Make it absurdly easy to reach you. Include your phone number, email, physical address (if applicable), service area, and business hours. Add a simple contact form. Put your phone number in a clickable format so mobile users can tap to call.

Reviews and Testimonials

Social proof sells. Display real reviews from real customers. Link to your Google Business profile. If you have before-and-after photos, use them. Case studies showing the problem, your solution, and the result are even better.

Technical Requirements That Matter

Mobile Responsiveness

Over 60% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. If your site does not work perfectly on a phone, you are losing customers. Test every page on your own phone. Make sure buttons are large enough to tap, text is readable without zooming, and forms are easy to fill out.

Page Speed

A site that takes more than three seconds to load will lose roughly half its visitors. Compress your images, minimize unnecessary scripts, and choose a hosting provider with good performance. Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool that shows you exactly what to fix.

SSL Certificate (HTTPS)

Your site must have an SSL certificate. This is the padlock icon in the browser address bar. Without it, browsers will warn visitors that your site is "not secure." Most hosting providers include SSL for free. There is no excuse for not having it.

Local SEO Basics

For service businesses, showing up in local search results is critical. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are consistent across your website, Google Business profile, and all directory listings. Include your city and service area on key pages.

What You Can Skip

Complicated animations and sliders. They slow down your site and distract from your message. A static hero image with a clear headline works better.

Blog posts you will never update. A blog with three posts from 2022 looks worse than no blog at all. Only start a blog if you commit to posting at least twice a month.

Social media feeds on your homepage. They pull attention away from your site and toward platforms you do not control.

Music or auto-playing video. Just do not.

DIY vs. Professional

For most small businesses, a DIY website builder like Squarespace or Wix is sufficient to start. These platforms handle hosting, SSL, and mobile responsiveness automatically. Budget $20-50/month.

Hire a professional if you need custom functionality, e-commerce with complex inventory, or if your business depends heavily on online lead generation and you need conversion optimization.

Either way, you should be able to update your own content (hours, services, pricing) without calling a developer every time.

Compliance and Accessibility

The FCC and other agencies have pushed for better digital accessibility. Make sure your website works with screen readers, has adequate color contrast, includes alt text on images, and can be navigated with a keyboard. This is not just good practice, it reduces legal risk.

If you collect any customer information through your website, you need a privacy policy. If you use cookies for analytics or marketing, disclose that too.

Bottom Line

A great small business website is fast, clear, and makes it easy for customers to take the next step. It does not need to be fancy. It needs to work. Invest in good photos, write clear copy, and make your contact information impossible to miss.