Before you hire a developer, settle the goal, the pages and the content. A short planning checklist for a website that actually works.
Start with one clear goal
A website that tries to do everything usually does nothing well. Decide the main action you want visitors to take: call you, fill a form, order a product or book a visit. Every page should support that goal.
Write the goal in one sentence and share it with anyone working on the site. It becomes the test for every design and content decision.
List the pages you actually need
Most small business sites need only a handful of pages, and each one should answer a question a customer really asks.
- Home: who you are, what you do and the next step
- Services or products: one page per major service works best for search
- About: the people and the story behind the business
- Projects or clients: proof that you deliver
- Contact: phone, email, address, map and a simple form
Prepare content before design begins
Design goes faster and looks better when real text and images exist. Gather your service descriptions, photos, logos, testimonials and contact details early. Real photographs of your work and team build more trust than generic stock images.
If writing is a struggle, list the questions customers ask you most often and answer them plainly. Those answers make excellent page content and FAQ sections.
Make it fast and easy on mobile
Most visitors will open your site on a phone. Check that text is readable without zooming, buttons are easy to tap and pages load quickly on an average connection. Compress images and avoid heavy effects that do not help visitors.
Plan for search from the start
Use one clear H1 per page, descriptive page titles and short meta descriptions. Give each service its own page instead of squeezing everything onto one. Our web development team builds this structure in from the beginning, and digital marketing can take it further once the site is live.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pages should a small business website have?
Most small business websites work well with five to ten pages: home, about, individual service pages, projects or testimonials, and contact.
What should I prepare before starting a website?
Prepare your logo, service descriptions, photos, contact details, testimonials and a clear goal for the website.