What a Small Business Website Actually Needs (And What It Doesn't)

If you're running a small business — a café, a trade, a local shop — it's tempting to think a website needs to do everything: a blog, an online shop, a booking system, a members' area. In our experience, that's usually the opposite of what actually helps.

Here's what a small business website genuinely needs.

Clear information about what you do. Your services or products, in plain language, without having to dig through several pages to find them.

A way to get in touch that actually works. A contact form that goes somewhere, a phone number that's clickable on mobile, or a booking link that's easy to find — not buried in a menu.

Something that works properly on a phone. Most people looking for a local business are doing it from their phone, often while they're out. If your site is slow or awkward to use on a small screen, you're losing people before they've even read what you offer.

A handful of real photos. Actual pictures of your work, your shop, or your team do more for trust than any amount of stock photography.

And here's what it usually doesn't need, at least not to start with: a blog you won't have time to keep updating, an online shop if you're not actually selling products online, five different fonts and colours, or ten pages of content nobody will read past the first two.

The businesses we see struggling online aren't struggling because their website is too simple — they're struggling because it's trying to do too much, and doing none of it well.

If you're not sure whether your current site falls into that trap, we're happy to have a quick look and tell you honestly what we'd change first.

Book a free consultation