What Should a Small Business Website Include? The 2026 Checklist

The checklist below gives each item a quick test you can do yourself, on your phone, today. You don’t need to be technical.

How to use this checklist

Open your website on your phone, not your laptop. Many of your customers will see it that way, and so does Google: it uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking [1].

Go through the five tables in order. Tick each item your site already does. Anything you can’t tick goes on your to-do list. At the end there’s a short list of the five fixes that usually matter most.

Items with a source number are backed by research or official guidance, listed at the bottom of the page. The rest is practical common sense.

1. Getting the call (7 items)

This is what turns a visitor into a phone call, a booking or a quote request.

Numbers 1 and 2 matter most. People decide very quickly whether to stay:

Visitors form a “stay or leave” gut feeling about a website in under 50 milliseconds.

For number 6, you don’t need a full price list. A call-out fee or a typical range for your most common jobs is enough to stop people assuming you’re too expensive. Our guide to website examples that get calls shows these patterns on real pages.

2. Trust (6 items)

Your website is often the second look, after your Google reviews. It has to prove you’re real.

54% of US consumers check a business’s website after reading its positive reviews, up from 32% in 2019.

Numbers 11 and 13 are easy to skip, but they matter. A well-known Stanford study found that showing an address, phone number and email were among the strongest trust signals on a website. It also found that typos hurt trust about as much as news that a company was in legal or financial trouble [2].

For number 9, only ever show real reviews. Fake reviews, and paid-for reviews that don’t say so, are banned in the UK [3]. For number 10, that means things like Gas Safe or NICEIC registration for trades, or a GDC number for a dentist.

3. Found on Google, Maps and AI (6 items)

These help Google, and the AI assistants people now ask for recommendations, understand what you do and where.

Number 15 is more important than it sounds. Google asks businesses to link a website that represents their business, and warns against links that just redirect elsewhere, including to social media pages [4]. And if your profile still points to an old Google-made site, it’s broken:

Google turned off websites made with Business Profiles in March 2024.

Number 18 is called structured data. It’s a short piece of code that states your business name, address, hours and type in a format Google can read. Google says to use the most specific business type that fits [5]. It helps Google read your details. Like everything else here, it can’t guarantee rankings. No one can honestly promise you a top spot on Google [6].

Number 14 is the one people regret most when they leave a web designer. If the domain is in someone else’s name, so is your address on the internet. Our guide to who owns your website explains what to check.

4. Speed and phones (4 items)

A slow site loses people before they see anything. Most sites still have work to do:

Only 48% of mobile websites pass Google’s Core Web Vitals.

Core Web Vitals are Google’s three measures of loading speed, responsiveness and visual stability. Google uses them in its ranking systems, though the most relevant page still comes first [7]. You can test any page for free at PageSpeed Insights [8]. Our website check runs the same test and explains the results in plain English.

A lead-generation site that loads in 1 second converts 3x better than one that loads in 5 seconds.

5. The legal basics for UK businesses (4 items)

This part isn’t exciting, but it’s the law. Here’s what applies to most small UK businesses. It’s a plain-English summary, not legal advice.

Number 24. UK law says a business website must show your business name, a geographic address and an email address, plus your VAT number if you’re registered [9]. A limited company must also show its registered name, company number, registered office and where it’s registered, for example England and Wales [10].

Number 25. People have the right to be told how you collect and use their personal data [11]. If your site has a contact form, you need a privacy notice.

Number 26. Cookies and similar tools that aren’t strictly necessary, such as advertising pixels, need consent first [12]. Since February 2026 some analytics can be used without consent, as long as you explain them clearly and make it easy to object [13]. The simplest route is not to use tracking cookies at all. For example, use a map image that links to Google Maps instead of an embedded map.

Number 27. The Equality Act 2010 asks service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people [14]. It doesn’t name a web standard, but the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) at level AA are the usual benchmark [15].

How many pages does a small business website need?

Fewer than most people think. Here’s a simple rule of thumb:

One warning about town pages. Copying the same page and swapping the town name is a known spam tactic. Google calls them doorway pages and can push them down in results [16]. Only add an area page if you have something real to say about that area: jobs you’ve done there, how quickly you get there, local details.

What to leave out

Some things make a small business site worse, not better:

• “Welcome to our website” as a headline. Say what you do and where instead.
• Sliders and carousels. They slow the page and hide your main message behind moving pictures.
• Stock photos of smiling strangers. Customers can tell, and it makes them wonder what else isn’t real.
• A menu or price list that’s only a PDF. It’s hard to read on a phone. Put it on the page.
• Embedded maps and social media feeds. They can slow the page down and may set cookies that need consent.
• Claims you can’t back up, like “trusted by thousands” or “the best in town”.
• “Under construction” pages. If it’s not ready, leave it out until it is.

Fix these five first

If the checklist gave you a long to-do list, start here. These usually make the biggest difference for the least work:

• Put a tap-to-call button at the top of every page (item 1).
• Rewrite your first line to say your trade, your area and one promise (item 2).
• Make your name, address and phone number match your Google profile exactly (item 16).
• Link your Google rating and reviews (item 9).
• Run PageSpeed Insights and fix the biggest problem it finds (item 21).

Rather have us do it?

Every site we build is planned around this checklist. Our one-page Launch site includes a tap-to-call bar, a WhatsApp button, a short enquiry form, your Google rating with a link to your reviews, a map link and your opening hours. It also includes page titles, local business data, a sitemap, Search Console and a check of your Google Business Profile. Your homepage scores 90+ on Google PageSpeed (mobile) at launch, and we design to WCAG 2.2 AA. We write the words from a 15-minute questionnaire. You send the photos, licence numbers and details only you have.

For the legal group, we use cookie-free analytics and give you privacy and cookie notice templates. They’re a starting point, not legal advice, so your legal details are yours to confirm.

Launch: £590 to build + £39 a month for hosting, your domain, security and 30 minutes of changes (3-month minimum). Minimum total £707 · First year £1,058. Bigger sites and every other price are on our pricing page.

We can’t promise more calls. No one honestly can. But you can see what your site could look like before you spend anything. Tell us your business and we’ll design your new homepage, free, within 2 working days. Get your free homepage preview, or see what a cleaning company’s website needs.