The small business website checklist: what your site needs
By Harry Norris, Aucta AI · Updated 26 October 2026
A small business website needs five things done well: it can be found (a page for each service and area), it builds trust (real photos, reviews, who you are), it makes getting in touch easy, it works quickly on a phone, and it is yours. Limited companies must also show their company details. Tick off your own site below.
On this page
This checklist covers the things we look at when we review a small business website, written so you can run it on your own site in about ten minutes. It works whoever built your site and whatever it runs on. If you are starting from scratch, it doubles as a brief for whoever builds it, including our £97 a month website plan, which covers every item on it.
The small business website checklist
Open your website in another tab and tick everything it already does.
Your site is missing most of the basics. It is probably losing you work.
- Each main service has its own page
- The areas you cover are clear, with a useful page for the main ones
- Page titles say what you do and where
If you only fix three things
- Give each main service its own page. In our experience it makes more difference to being found than anything else on this list. A page called "Services" listing ten things cannot rank for any of them.
- Make getting in touch effortless. Phone number at the top, a short form that you have tested, and a clear next step at the end of every page.
- Make sure Google and AI tools can read it. If your words are not in the page when it arrives, or your site blocks AI crawlers, none of the rest matters to them. Our guide on whether AI tools can read your website has a two-minute test for both.
On an independent garage's existing website, most of what we changed is on this list: proper page titles, a page for every service, and guides grouped around them. In the three months since we started, clicks from Google went from 753 to 2,410 compared with the three months before, and the site's average position moved from 17.1 to 8.7. The site itself was not rebuilt.
The UK legal must-haves
Most website checklists skip these, but they are not optional.
- Company details, if you are a limited company. Your registered name, company number, registered office address and the part of the UK you are registered in, such as England and Wales. The footer is the usual place. Sole traders do not need a company number.
- A privacy notice, if your site collects personal details. A contact form counts. It tells people what you collect, why, and how long you keep it.
- Cookie consent, if you use tracking. Analytics and advertising cookies need people's consent before they are set. Cookies the site needs to work do not.
General information, not legal advice. The links at the bottom go to the official guidance.
What you can skip
- Sliders and auto-playing videos. They slow the page and push your message down.
- A blog you will not keep up. Answered questions on your service pages do more.
- Near-identical town pages. A page for each area only helps if it says something genuinely useful about working there. Copies with the town name swapped can count against you.
- Stock photos of smiling strangers. A slightly imperfect photo of your real van, team or work beats them.
Wondering what it costs to get all of this done properly? See what a small business website costs in the UK.
A custom website from £97 a month, yours to keep.
Every website we build ticks every item on this checklist from day one, for £97 a month with nothing upfront. Hosting and small updates included, and yours to keep after 12 months.
Common questions
What should a small business website have?
At minimum: a clear page for each main service, the areas you cover, real photos and reviews, your phone number at the top, a short tested contact form, and a clear next step on every page. It should load quickly on a phone, show the padlock, and be registered in your business's name. Limited companies must also show their company details.
How many pages does a small business website need?
Enough to give each main service, and each area you regularly cover, a useful page of its own, plus about, contact and your common questions. For most local businesses that is somewhere between a handful and a few dozen pages. What matters is that every page is genuinely useful, not padded out.
Does a limited company have to show its company number on its website?
Yes. UK limited companies must show their registered name, company number, registered office address and the part of the UK they are registered in, such as England and Wales. The footer or contact page is the usual place.
Do I need a privacy policy on my website?
If your website collects personal details, for example through a contact form, you need to tell people how you use them, usually in a privacy notice. If you use analytics or advertising cookies, you also need people's consent first, which is what cookie banners are for.
Do I need a blog?
Not necessarily. Answering the questions your customers ask is valuable, and guides can help you get found, but a blog you never update looks worse than none. Service pages and a good set of answered questions come first.