[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":152},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-a-small-business-website-needs":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":138,"description":139,"extension":140,"image":141,"imageAlt":142,"meta":143,"navigation":144,"path":145,"seo":146,"stem":147,"tags":148,"__hash__":151},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-a-small-business-website-needs.md","What a small business website actually needs",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":129},"minimark",[9,13,16,21,28,34,40,46,52,58,62,81,85,88,91,95,98,110,113,117,120],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Plenty of small business websites try to say everything and end up saying nothing. Others are so thin that a customer can't tell what you do or how to reach you. The right answer sits in the middle, and it's shorter than most people expect.",[10,14,15],{},"Here's what I'd put on a local business website, and what I'd leave off.",[17,18,20],"h2",{"id":19},"the-essentials","The essentials",[10,22,23,27],{},[24,25,26],"strong",{},"What you do, in one sentence."," Someone should know within a few seconds whether you can help them. \"Family-run plumbing and heating in Leigh\" beats \"Welcome to our website\".",[10,29,30,33],{},[24,31,32],{},"Where you work."," If you cover Leigh and the towns around it, say so. It helps customers and it helps search engines understand who your site is for.",[10,35,36,39],{},[24,37,38],{},"How to get in touch."," A phone number that can be tapped on a mobile, an email address and a simple enquiry form. Put them at the top and again at the bottom, so nobody has to hunt.",[10,41,42,45],{},[24,43,44],{},"Proof that you're good."," A few real reviews, photos of your work, or the names of customers who are happy for you to mention them. This does more than any amount of clever wording.",[10,47,48,51],{},[24,49,50],{},"Opening hours and address."," If customers visit you, this is often the first thing they look for. Make it easy to find.",[10,53,54,57],{},[24,55,56],{},"A clear next step."," Every page should lead somewhere: call, book, request a quote. If a visitor finishes reading and has nothing to click, you've lost them.",[17,59,61],{"id":60},"things-you-can-leave-off","Things you can leave off",[63,64,65,69,72,75,78],"ul",{},[66,67,68],"li",{},"A long \"about us\" history that nobody asked for. Two or three friendly sentences about who you are is plenty.",[66,70,71],{},"A page for every tiny service. Group them sensibly.",[66,73,74],{},"Stock photos of handshakes. Real photos of you, your team and your work are better, even if they're taken on a phone.",[66,76,77],{},"A news section you'll never update. An old date at the top of your latest news makes a business look closed.",[66,79,80],{},"Music, pop-ups and sliders that move on their own. They slow the site down and annoy people.",[17,82,84],{"id":83},"how-many-pages-do-you-need","How many pages do you need?",[10,86,87],{},"It depends on the business. A single well-designed page can be enough for a business that just needs to be found and contacted. A builder or tradesperson with project work to show usually benefits from a few pages: home, about, services, projects and contact. Something more complex, like an estate agent with property listings, needs a custom build.",[10,89,90],{},"Start with what your customers need to know, then pick the number of pages that fits. Not the other way round.",[17,92,94],{"id":93},"a-quick-self-check","A quick self-check",[10,96,97],{},"Ask someone who doesn't know your business to look at your site for ten seconds on their phone, then tell you:",[99,100,101,104,107],"ol",{},[66,102,103],{},"What do we do?",[66,105,106],{},"Where do we work?",[66,108,109],{},"How would they get in touch?",[10,111,112],{},"If they can't answer all three, that's the first thing to fix.",[17,114,116],{"id":115},"keep-it-easy-to-update","Keep it easy to update",[10,118,119],{},"A site is only useful if it's accurate. Opening hours change, prices go up, you finish a new project. That's why I build every site on WordPress with custom fields, so you can update the important bits yourself without waiting for a developer.",[10,121,122,123,128],{},"If you'd like a second opinion on your current site, or you're starting from scratch, ",[124,125,127],"a",{"href":126},"#contact","get in touch"," and I'll give you honest, friendly advice.",{"title":130,"searchDepth":131,"depth":131,"links":132},"",2,[133,134,135,136,137],{"id":19,"depth":131,"text":20},{"id":60,"depth":131,"text":61},{"id":83,"depth":131,"text":84},{"id":93,"depth":131,"text":94},{"id":115,"depth":131,"text":116},"2026-08-19","A simple checklist of what to put on your website, what to leave off, and how to tell whether it's doing its job.","md","\u002Fblog\u002Fsmall-business-website.jpg","A notebook with a website layout sketched next to a checklist of pages",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-a-small-business-website-needs",{"title":5,"description":139},"blog\u002Fwhat-a-small-business-website-needs",[149,150],"Websites","Small business","xD7Uy6UbOyiCcDB2WeMUdvfytTKJ7ogXlX9OlIIZTlc",1792019792083]