What Should a Small Business Website Include?
By the GrowthBellows team · Published · 5 min read
Short answer
At minimum: a clear statement of what you do and where, a phone number people can tap, a short contact form, a page for each main service, proof you're real (photos, licenses, past work), and fast loading on phones. Everything else is optional.
The must-haves
- A headline that says what you do and where. "Licensed electrician in Syracuse" beats "Powering your future."
- Click-to-call on every page, especially on phones.
- A short contact form. Name, phone, what you need. That's it.
- Your service area, so people know you'll come to them.
- Real photos of your work and team where possible.
- Licenses, insurance or certifications if your trade requires them.
One page per main service
A single "Services" page listing everything makes it hard to show up on Google for any one thing. A page for "water heater repair" and another for "drain cleaning" gives each service a chance to rank and lets you answer specific questions.
This is the main difference between our Starter and Growth websites. See small business web design for details.
What you can skip
- Sliders and autoplay video. They slow the page and rarely get watched.
- A blog, unless someone will actually write for it.
- Long "About our values" pages. A short paragraph and a photo is enough.
What should happen after someone contacts you
The website's job ends when the form is submitted. Yours begins. If replies take a day, many of those leads will have called someone else. Consider automatic lead follow-up so every inquiry gets a response within minutes.
About GrowthBellows: we build small business websites, improve local Google visibility, and automate repetitive work. Plain pricing, no long contracts. More about us.