A small business website doesn't need to be fancy. It needs to be effective. Here are the five things every small business website absolutely must have.
1. Clear contact information
This sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many business websites make it hard to find a phone number or address. Your contact information should be visible on every page — ideally in the header or footer.
Include your: - Phone number (make it clickable on mobile) - Email address - Physical address (if applicable) - Business hours
2. Mobile-friendly design
Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website doesn't work well on a phone, you're losing more than half your potential visitors. A mobile-friendly site isn't optional anymore — it's the default.
This means: - Text that's readable without zooming - Buttons big enough to tap - Fast load times on cellular connections - No horizontal scrolling
3. Fast load times
People are impatient. If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, a significant percentage of visitors will leave before it even finishes. Google also uses page speed as a ranking factor, so slow sites get penalized twice — once by visitors and once by search results.
Keep your site fast by: - Using optimized images - Choosing quality hosting - Avoiding unnecessary plugins and scripts - Keeping the design clean and purposeful
4. A clear description of what you do
When someone lands on your website, they should understand what you do and who you serve within seconds. Don't make them guess. Use clear, plain language that speaks to your customers — not industry jargon.
A good test: could someone who knows nothing about your industry understand your homepage? If not, simplify.
5. A call to action
Every page on your website should guide visitors toward a next step. That might be calling you, filling out a form, booking an appointment, or visiting your location. Don't just present information — tell people what to do next.
A clear call to action turns a website visitor into a customer.
Keep it simple
You might notice a theme here: simplicity. The best small business websites are focused, clear, and fast. They don't try to do everything — they do the important things well.
That's the approach we take at Coda. Every website we build is designed around these fundamentals, because they're what actually drives results for local businesses.
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