Essential Pages Every Small Business Website Needs (And Why)

When launching a small business website, it’s tempting to create dozens of pages covering every aspect of your business. However, successful small business websites focus on essential pages that serve specific purposes in the customer journey. Each page should have a clear goal: building trust, providing information, or converting visitors into customers.

Here are the must-have pages that every small business website needs, along with the strategic reasons behind each one.

Homepage: Your Digital Front Door

Your homepage is often the first impression potential customers have of your business, making it the most important page on your site. It should immediately answer three questions: What do you do? Who do you serve? Why should visitors choose you?

Effective homepages include:

• A clear value proposition within the first few seconds of loading
• Your primary services or products prominently displayed
• Contact information that’s easy to find
• Social proof like testimonials or client logos
• A compelling call-to-action that guides visitors to the next step

Think of your homepage as a conversation starter, not a comprehensive business overview. Its job is to engage visitors and direct them to more specific pages where they can find detailed information or take action.

The most common homepage mistake is trying to say everything at once. This is why sliders came to be so popular for a while. Remember sliders? You get one hero image space, and then you make it slide and load up the slider with lots of different photos calls to action. People did this because they couldn’t decide on one focus, and that’s a mistake because most people who land on your site, if you’re lucky, are going do just one thing. That’s why it’s important to focus on clarity and navigation. Visitors should understand what you do and know where to click next within ten seconds of arriving.

About Us: Building Trust and Connection

The About Us page is consistently one of the most visited pages on small business websites, yet many businesses treat it as an afterthought. This page is your opportunity to build trust, establish credibility, and connect with potential customers on a human level.

Effective About Us pages should include:

• Your business story and mission
• Information about key team members
• Your experience and qualifications
• What makes your business unique
• Your values and approach to customer service
• Photos of your team and workspace

Local businesses especially benefit from showing their community connections, years in business, and personal stories behind the company. Customers want to know who they’re working with, particularly for service-based businesses where trust is important.

Avoid generic corporate speak. Instead, write in a conversational tone that reflects your actual personality and business culture. This page should make visitors feel like they know you before they even make contact.

Services or Products: Clearly Defining Your Offerings

Your services or products pages are where visitors learn exactly what you offer and decide whether you can solve their problems. These pages need to be informative, persuasive, and easy to navigate.

For service-based businesses:

• List each service with clear descriptions
• Explain the benefits, not just features
• Include pricing information when possible
• Show examples of your work
• Address common questions or concerns
• Provide clear next steps for getting started

For product-based businesses:

• High-quality product images from multiple angles
• Detailed specifications and descriptions
• Pricing and availability information
• Customer reviews and ratings
• Clear purchasing options
• Related product suggestions

The key is organizing information in a way that matches how customers think about their needs. Don’t organize pages based on your internal business structure; organize them based on customer problems and solutions.

Contact: Making It Easy to Reach You

Your contact page might seem straightforward, but it’s often where potential customers decide whether to reach out or go to a competitor. This page should eliminate any barriers to communication and provide multiple ways for customers to connect.

Essential contact page elements:

• Phone number prominently displayed
• Email address or contact form
• Physical address with embedded map if you have a retail location
• Business hours clearly stated
• Response time expectations
• Social media links if actively maintained

For local businesses, include detailed location information, parking instructions, and landmarks that help customers find you. Consider adding photos of your storefront or office to help visitors know they’re in the right place.

Always include a brief contact form on this page alongside your phone number and email. This gives customers options for reaching out in their preferred communication style. If you’ve been following along on this blog, I mentioned previously I’m shopping for a new roof. I reached out to four roofing companies, all through the contact form on their website. Of the four companies, one sent me a one sentence response that said I should call to schedule an estimate.

Why even have a contact form on your website if that isn’t a way you plan to communicate with your customers? Here’s something to keep in mind – you need to offer contact methods that your customers want to use, not pigeon-hole them into what you want to use. Your website is about you, but it’s for your customers. It could be that the roofing company prefers to talk on the phone to find a mutually agreeable time, but a better response would have been something like: “We’d love to get you a quote for a new website! It would probably be best if we could talk on the phone to find a good time, can you provide us your phone number and a good time to call so we can work that out?”

Testimonials or Reviews: Social Proof That Converts

Social proof is one of the most powerful tools for converting website visitors into customers. A dedicated testimonials page provides space to showcase customer success stories, detailed reviews, and case studies that demonstrate your value.

Effective testimonials include:

• Specific results and outcomes
• Customer names and businesses (with permission)
• Photos of customers or their projects
• Variety in customer types and project sizes
• Recent reviews that show ongoing customer satisfaction

For service businesses, before-and-after photos or detailed case studies work particularly well. For product businesses, customer photos using your products and specific benefit statements carry more weight than generic praise.

Don’t wait until you have dozens of testimonials to create this page. Start with a few strong examples and add to it regularly. Fresh testimonials signal that you’re actively serving customers and delivering results.

Frequently Asked Questions: Reducing Barriers to Purchase

An FAQ page addresses common concerns and questions before they become barriers to purchase. This page saves you time by answering routine questions automatically while helping potential customers feel more confident about choosing your business.

Effective FAQ pages address:

• Pricing and payment questions
• Process and timeline information
• Common concerns specific to your industry
• What to expect when working with you
• How to get started or make a purchase

Organize questions by category or customer journey stage. Monitor the questions you receive via phone and email to keep this page current and relevant. Not only will having this page build trust with your customers, but it’ll eliminate the number of times you have to answer the same questions.

Blog: Demonstrating Expertise and Improving SEO

While not every small business needs a blog, it can be valuable for demonstrating expertise, improving search engine rankings, and providing fresh content that brings visitors back to your site.

Successful small business blogs focus on:

• Answering customer questions
• Sharing industry insights and tips
• Showcasing recent projects or work
• Discussing local community involvement
• Providing valuable information that positions you as an expert

The key to successful blogging is consistency and relevance. It’s better to post one helpful article per month than to post daily content that doesn’t serve your audience.

Putting It All Together

These essential pages create a foundation that serves both search engines and human visitors. Each page should link logically to others, creating clear pathways for visitors to find information and take action.

Start with these core pages and expand based on your specific business needs and customer feedback. Remember, the goal isn’t to have the most pages—it’s to have the most effective pages for your business objectives.

Regular review and updates keep these pages performing at their best, ensuring your website continues to serve as an effective tool for growing your small business.