What should a business website include?

A visitor should be able to tell what you do, who you help and how to take the next step without hunting. Put that answer near the top of the homepage in plain language. A striking visual can support it, but should not have to explain the business on its own.

If you work in a particular place, say so where it is genuinely relevant. If you serve people remotely, make that clear instead of filling pages with place names.

Explain each main service or product in enough detail for someone to decide whether it fits. Say what is included, how the work usually starts and what a customer needs to provide. A useful service page answers a question; it does not just repeat the homepage with a different heading.

An About page helps people understand who they would work with. A contact page should make it easy to reach a real person. Add further pages when they earn their place, rather than to reach an arbitrary page count.

Show relevant work and explain the brief, what was built and why. Publish client words only with permission. Do not present a design goal as a measured business result unless you have the evidence.

Clear contact information, a consistent business name and honest answers to common questions do quieter work too: they help a visitor feel they know who is behind the site.

Decide what a visitor should do on each page: call, book, buy or start a conversation. Make that action easy to find, and ensure the destination does what the link promises. If you use a form, ask only for what you need to respond.

A free audit can be useful for someone who is not ready to commission a rebuild; a project enquiry suits someone with a brief. Those are different intentions and should not be hidden behind the same button.

Read the site on a phone. Check that text is legible, controls are easy to use and key information is not buried. Test every form and link. Make the pages fast enough that visitors can actually reach the content.

Use descriptive page titles, a sensible page structure and meaningful image descriptions where images convey information. Provide an accurate privacy notice if the site collects personal details. Legal requirements depend on your business and how the site works, so get appropriate advice if you are unsure.

Give the site to someone unfamiliar with your business. Ask what you offer, why they would trust you and how they would get in touch. If they cannot answer quickly, make those answers easier to find before adding more pages.