The Small Business Website Checklist
Everything to check on a small business website, grouped so you can work through it in an evening.
Whether you're building a new site or auditing the one you've got, this is the list I work through. Nothing here needs a developer — most of it you can check yourself in an hour.
1. Contact and conversion
- Phone number in the header of every page, tappable on mobile
- One dominant call to action per page
- Enquiry form kept short and tested this month
- Enquiries reach an inbox you actually check
- Business hours and response times stated
- Suburbs you cover, named
2. Content
- Home page says what you do, who for and where, within one screen
- A page for each service you want more of
- Pricing information, or an honest explanation of what drives cost
- An about page with a real name and face
- A gallery of your own work
- Nothing on the site that a competitor could copy word for word
3. Trust
- Licence numbers and insurance where relevant
- Years in business
- Genuine reviews, recent ones included
- Warranty or guarantee terms
- ABN and business details in the footer
- Privacy statement if you collect enquiries
4. Mobile and speed
- Text readable without pinching
- Buttons big enough to tap accurately
- No horizontal scrolling
- Images compressed and sized properly
- Loads quickly on mobile data, not just wi-fi
- No popup covering the phone number
5. Search basics
- Unique title and description on every page
- One clear main heading per page
- Descriptive alt text on images
- A sitemap, submitted in Google Search Console
- SSL certificate active
- Google Business Profile complete and matching your site
6. Housekeeping
- Current year in the footer
- Current phone number and email
- No services listed that you no longer offer
- Platform and plugins up to date
- A backup you could actually restore
If most of the list fails, patching gets expensive. Every site I build launches with all of this in place — see what's included, or read how to choose a web designer.
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Common questions
- How often should I go through this?
- Once or twice a year is plenty for most small businesses, plus a quick test of your enquiry form every month.
- What if I can only fix a few things?
- Start with the contact and conversion section. A visible phone number and a working enquiry form are worth more than everything below them combined.
Written by Mike — Web Guy Mike
I build and look after websites for Australian tradies and small service businesses. Every site is built by me — no outsourcing, no account managers. More about Mike.