Small business website design: the 12-point launch checklist

The pages you actually need

Start with fewer, stronger pages. A home page that states your offer in one sentence, a services page per major service, proof (reviews or past work), and a contact page will outperform a twelve-page site with thin content.

• Home — offer, proof, pricing signal, one primary call to action
• Services — one page per service you want to rank for
• Work or reviews — real results with real names
• Contact — form, phone, and response-time promise

On-page SEO basics that move the needle

Give every page a unique title under 60 characters containing the phrase a customer would search, a description under 160 characters, exactly one H1, and descriptive alt text on every image.

Add structured data so search engines understand what you sell. A ProfessionalService or Product schema block takes minutes and makes your listing eligible for richer results.

Speed and mobile

More than half of visitors arrive on a phone and leave if the page takes more than three seconds. Compress images, lazy-load anything below the fold, and avoid heavy sliders and pop-ups on mobile.

Conversion elements

Put the same clear call to action in the hero, after your proof section, and at the foot of the page. Make the next step obvious and low-friction — a short form beats a long one every time.