What should a small business website include?
The five pages every small business website needs, what to put on each one and how to turn visitors into enquiries — a plain-English guide.
A good small business website doesn't need to be big. It needs to be clear. When someone lands on your site, they want to know three things quickly: what you do, whether you can help them and how to get in touch.
For most small businesses, five well-planned pages are enough to do exactly that. Here's what we recommend including — and why.
1. Home page
Your home page is often the first impression of your business, so it needs to work hard in a few seconds.
- A clear headline that says what you do and who you do it for. Avoid vague slogans — "Family-run plumbing across Leeds" is more useful than "Quality you can trust".
- A short summary of your main services.
- Reasons to choose you, such as experience, qualifications, guarantees or what makes your approach different.
- A clear call to action, like "Get a quote" or "Book a call", that's easy to spot on a phone.
2. About page
People buy from people. Your about page is where you build trust by explaining who you are, how the business started and what you care about. A friendly photo of you or your team goes a long way.
3. Services page
Describe what you offer in the words your customers use. For each service, explain the problem it solves, what's included and who it's for. If you have lots of services, a short section for each is better than one long paragraph.
This page also matters for search. Clear, specific descriptions of your services help search engines — and AI-powered search tools — understand exactly what you do and when to recommend you.
4. Proof page: reviews, case studies or examples
Visitors want reassurance that you've done this before. Depending on your business, that could be customer reviews, before-and-after photos, a portfolio or short case studies. Real examples are far more convincing than claims.
5. Contact page
Make getting in touch effortless. Include a short enquiry form, your phone number and email address, your opening hours and the areas you cover. Keep the form brief — the more fields you ask people to fill in, the fewer will finish it.
The things you can't see (but matter just as much)
A website that looks good but can't be found, or is frustrating to use on a phone, won't generate enquiries. Behind the scenes, every small business website should be:
- Mobile-friendly — most people will visit your site on their phone.
- Fast — slow pages lose visitors before they've read a word.
- Secure — with an SSL certificate (the padlock in the browser).
- SEO-ready — with clear page titles, descriptions and a sensible structure, so search engines can understand each page.
- Easy to act on — with calls to action on every page, not just the contact page.
Do you need more than five pages?
Not always. Five focused pages will cover what most small businesses need to launch. As you grow, you might add individual service pages, location pages or a blog to help you reach more people in search. It's easier — and more affordable — to start with a strong foundation and build on it.
Getting it done without the headache
At 4orty Digital, our starter package is a bespoke five-page website designed around exactly this structure, with mobile-responsive design, an SEO-ready build and two rounds of revisions. It starts from £500 and can be live in as little as a week. See how it works.