Small business website checklist: what has to be on the site

You do not need a chatbot, a newsletter popup, and an AR product preview to compete with the shop down the street. You need a site that answers three questions before the visitor leaves: what you do, whether you cover their area, and how to reach you.

Here is the list we actually use when we review a small business site.

The page has to work

Loads on a phone without pinch-zooming the menu
HTTPS in the address bar (your host can do this)
A real domain, not yourbusiness.wixsite.com
Text that is actual text, not a giant image of a brochure

Google's mobile tests are useful. Your own phone is better. Open the site on cellular, not office Wi-Fi.

People have to be able to contact you

Phone number in the header, tappable (tel: link)
A short form: name, email or phone, what they need
The form actually arrives somewhere you check (we test this; a surprising number of "contact" pages go nowhere)
Hours and service area on the contact page

Skip the twelve-field "project brief" if you are a plumber. You can ask follow-up questions on the call.

Google and AI tools have to understand the business

A claimed, complete Google Business Profile
Name, address, and phone that match the site and the directories
A title and description on each page that say the service and the city
One H1 that matches what the page is about
Structured data that restates those facts

If you serve a geography, read the local SEO guide. That is most of the discoverability work.

Trust in the first screen

A headline that names the job, not "Welcome"
A photo from the actual business if you have one
A review snippet or a license number if those are how your trade is judged
No stock handshake as the only image

You have a few seconds. Use them on the offer, not a slider.

The boring legal and safety pieces

Privacy policy if you collect emails or use analytics
Cookie notice if your lawyer or your market requires it
Backups, and a login that is not admin / Password1
Alt text on images that matter (the truck, the shop front), not "image1"

Accessibility is both a courtesy and, in some places, a legal issue. Contrast and keyboard access are the two we fix first.

Things that can wait

Live chat. A blog you will not write. Instagram embeds that slow the homepage. Personalization. A "resources hub."

Add those when the basics convert. If you already have traffic and no leads, fix the offer on the page before you add more features.

How we use this list

When you ask for a review, we are checking this, not a 34-point score that marks you down for missing a Facebook pixel. If you want us to build or refresh the site so the list is covered, Website Refresh starts at $1,500 and a new site starts at $3,000.