What Should a Small Business Website Contain?

Pull up your own website on your phone, hand it to a friend who has never heard of you, and start a timer. Can they tell you what you do, where you do it, and how to reach you in ten seconds? If not, the site is missing something, no matter how good it looks.

That test is the best short answer to what should a small business website contain. Everything below is the long answer, page by page.

Key Takeaways

• The first screen on a phone should show what you do, where, and a way to call or book.
• Five pages cover most local businesses: home, services, proof, about, contact.
• Real photos, real prices or ranges, and real reviews do more than any design trick.
• Leave off anything that slows the page down or makes people hunt for your number.

The Page-by-Page Checklist

Page	Must have	Nice to have
Home	What you do, towns served, phone or “Book now,” 2 to 3 reviews	Short intro video, featured job
Services	One section or page per service, what is included, price or range	FAQs per service
Proof	Real photos of your work, reviews with names (with permission)	Before and after, case notes
About	Owner’s name, years in business, license or insurance if your trade needs it	Team photos, why you started
Contact	Phone, short form, hours, address or service area, map	Booking link, text number

Two things belong on every page: your phone number (as a tap-to-call link) and your main action, like “Get a quote” or “Book now.”

The first screen

This is the part people see before they scroll on a phone. It should hold:

• Your business name and what you do in plain words (“Emergency plumbing in Mesa and Gilbert”).
• One button: call, quote, or book.
• One line of proof, like your Google rating and review count.

Services and prices

Most owners skip prices out of fear of scaring people off. In practice, a range like “Drain cleaning usually $150 to $300” filters out tire-kickers and makes serious buyers more comfortable. Use your real numbers.

Proof

Reviews matter to almost everyone. BrightLocal’s 2025 survey of 1,026 US adults found just 4% say they never read online business reviews. Pull your best Google reviews onto the site, near the services they mention.

Contact details that match Google

Your name, address and phone should match your Google Business Profile exactly. Google’s local ranking guidance says complete and accurate info makes you more likely to show up in local results. And Google’s profile guidelines recommend a local number you control over a call center line.

What to Leave Off

• Autoplay video or sliders on the home page. They slow the page and push your phone number down. Google research reported by Marketing Dive found that 53% of mobile visitors leave if a page does not load within three seconds (a 2016 study, but still a useful warning).
• Stock photos of people. Customers can tell.
• Long forms. Name, phone, and what you need is plenty to start.
• “Coming soon” pages. Remove empty pages until you can fill them.
• Vague claims. “Quality service you can trust” says nothing. “Licensed since 2011, 300+ Google reviews” says something, if true.

A short note on legal pages: many sites include a privacy policy, especially if they use contact forms or analytics. What you need depends on your state and what data you collect, so treat this as general information and check with a professional if you are unsure.

A Concrete Example

Say a landscaping company’s current site has a slider on top, no prices, a stock photo of a lawn, and the phone number in the footer. Here is what changes:

• Top of home page: “Lawn care and landscaping in Plano and Frisco,” a “Get a free quote” button, and “4.8 stars, 112 Google reviews.”
• Services: mowing plans “from $45 per visit for most yards,” cleanups, mulch, sod, each with a short description and their own photos.
• Proof: eight before-and-after photos from real jobs, five reviews.
• Contact: phone, four-field form, service area map.

If the owner rebuilt this on a builder like Squarespace, plans start at $10 a month billed annually, plus his time. With us, it is $199 setup and $79 a month, and he sees the new version built with his own photos and prices before paying. If one new weekly mowing customer at $45 a visit stays for a season of about 30 visits, that is $1,350, which covers most of the first year either way.

The Honest Counterpoint

You do not need every item on this list on day one. A single page with your services, a few photos, your phone number and your hours beats a ten-page site you never finish. Start there and add pages when you have something real to put on them.

And if you sell mostly through Instagram, like a home bakery taking orders by DM, a simple link page with your menu and order instructions may be all you need for now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a small business website contain at minimum?

What you do, where you do it, how to contact you, and some proof you are good at it. In practice: home, services, photos or reviews, and contact, with your phone number on every page.

How many pages should a small business website have?

Five is a solid starting point for most local businesses. Trades with many services or towns often grow to 8 to 15. Only add a page if you can write something specific for it.

Should I put prices on my small business website?

Usually yes, at least ranges. Prices answer the first question most people have and save you from calls that go nowhere. If your work varies a lot, explain what changes the price.

The Bottom Line

A small business website should answer what, where, how much, and how to reach you, fast, on a phone. Use your own photos, show your reviews, and remove anything that gets in the way. If you are still deciding whether you need one at all, read do I need a website for my small business.

Brilla Studio builds websites for local businesses, and we build yours before you pay anything. Ask for your free preview.