IN THIS ARTICLE · 10 PARTS
Most visitors decide within a few seconds whether a website is worth their time. For a small business, the website does not need to be clever or complicated. It needs to answer a few questions quickly and make it easy to get in touch.
These are the eight basics we check on every site we build.
1. A headline that says what you do and where
The first thing people see should tell them what you do and where you do it. "Bathroom renovations in Sofia" is better than "Welcome to our website". If a visitor has to scroll to find out what you offer, many will leave before they do.
2. It works well on phones
Most people will find you on their phone, often in a hurry. Text should be readable without zooming, buttons should be big enough to tap, and nothing should spill off the side of the screen. Always look at your own website on your phone, not just on a computer. The W3C's accessibility guidelines even set a minimum size for buttons and other touch targets [1].
3. An obvious way to contact you
Make contacting you the easiest thing on the page. A call button that is always visible on phones, a short contact form and, if your customers use them, WhatsApp or Viber links. Put your phone number at the top, not only at the bottom.
4. It loads fast
A slow website loses visitors before they see anything. Large photos are the usual reason. Images should be resized and compressed, and the site should load in a couple of seconds even on mobile data. Speed also helps you rank better on Google. Google's guide to images on the web [2] explains how to serve each photo in the right size and format.
5. Real photos and real proof
Show your actual work, your premises and your team, ideally with a page for each project. Add reviews from real customers and examples of finished projects. People buy from people they trust, and proof builds trust faster than any sales text. Research by Nielsen Norman Group shows that people ignore generic stock photos but study real ones closely [3].
6. Your services, and prices if you can
List what you offer, with a short explanation of each service. If you can show prices, or at least "from" prices, do it. People who already know your prices and still contact you are much more likely to become customers.
7. Easy for Google to understand
Google's SEO Starter Guide explains these basics in more detail [4].
A website only brings customers if people can find it. The basics:
- every page has a clear title and description
- your town or area is mentioned where it matters
- each main service has its own page or section
- your site is linked from your Google Business Profile
- the site has a security certificate (the padlock in the browser)
This is what we mean by an "SEO-ready setup": nothing magic, just doing the basics properly from day one. More in SEO for a business website: where to start.
8. Someone keeps it up to date
Outdated opening hours, old prices or a "latest news" section from three years ago quietly tell visitors that nobody is home. A website needs small updates, security fixes and someone to call when something changes. Decide who that is before you launch.
A quick self-check
Open your website on your phone and ask yourself:
- Can I tell what this business does in five seconds?
- Can I call or message them in one tap?
- Does it load quickly?
- Would I trust this business with my money?
If any answer is "not really", that is where to start. Also check the 10 mistakes that are killing your business online. And if you would rather have someone handle all eight for you, that is exactly what our monthly plan is for.
References
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. "Understanding Success Criterion 2.5.8: Target Size (Minimum)" w3.org
- web.dev (Google). "Learn Images." web.dev
- Nielsen Norman Group. "Photos as Web Content." nngroup.com
- Google Search Central. "SEO Starter Guide." developers.google.com
