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Simple Website for Small Businesses – What You Really Need (and What You Don't)

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How to Make a Simple Website for Your Small Business

Let me guess: you’ve been putting off creating a website for your business because it feels overwhelming. Maybe you think you need something elaborate with tons of pages, fancy features, online booking, e-commerce, a blog, and who knows what else.

I’m here to tell you something that might be a relief: for most small local businesses, you need way less than you think. In fact, a simple one-page website with just four sections can be all you need to get started and actually see results.

Let’s talk about what really matters for a small business website and cut out everything else.

The Truth About Small Business Websites

Here’s what happens when potential customers search for your type of business: they’re looking for basic information. Can you help them? Where are you? How do they contact you? That’s it.

They’re not looking for your company history going back to 1987. They don’t need to read your blog about industry trends. They don’t care about complicated service packages explained over five different pages.

They want to know:

If your website answers these four questions clearly, you’ve done your job. Everything else is optional.

The Four Essential Sections

Let’s break down the only four sections you really need on your small business website. This can all fit on one page, load quickly, and work perfectly on phones. No complexity required.

Section 1: Who You Are and What You Do

This goes at the very top. Think of it as your headline. Someone should land on your site and immediately know if they’re in the right place.

Bad example: “Welcome to Our Website” Good example: “Miller Plumbing – 24/7 Emergency Plumbing in Portland”

Or: “Green Valley Bakery – Fresh Bread Daily Since 2018”

Or: “Anderson Tax Services – Tax Preparation for Small Businesses”

Make it specific. Say exactly what you do and where you do it. This isn’t the place for clever wordplay or being vague. Clear beats clever every time.

Section 2: What You Offer

This section briefly describes your services or products. You don’t need exhaustive detail,just enough so people understand what you do.

For a plumber, this might be:

For a bakery:

For a tax service:

Short bullet points like these are perfect. You can add a sentence or two under each if you want, but don’t write paragraphs. Most people are skimming anyway.

Section 3: Where You Are

This matters more than you might think, especially for local businesses. People need to know if you serve their area.

Include:

If you’re mobile or serve a wider area, say that: “Serving Portland and surrounding areas” or “Mobile service throughout Orange County.”

Section 4: How to Contact You

This is the most important section. Make it incredibly obvious and easy.

Include:

Put your phone number in big, clear text. If you get most of your business from phone calls, that number should be impossible to miss.

What You DON’T Need (Really)

Let’s talk about all the things people think they need but actually don’t, at least not at first:

A blog - Unless you genuinely want to write regular posts and have time to maintain it, skip this. An abandoned blog with three posts from 2019 looks worse than no blog.

An About Us page with your complete history - A few sentences about your experience in the “Who You Are” section is enough. Save the detailed backstory for when someone asks in person.

Detailed pricing - For many service businesses, every job is different. It’s okay to say “Contact us for a quote” or give starting prices like “Basic service starting at $X.”

Client testimonials - Nice to have, but if you’re just getting started or don’t have them yet, your site works fine without them.

A newsletter signup - Only include this if you’re actually going to send newsletters. Most small businesses don’t.

Live chat - This adds complexity and requires someone to actually monitor it. A phone number works just fine.

An FAQ section - If you find yourself getting the same questions repeatedly, sure, add this. But don’t preemptively write 20 FAQs nobody’s asking.

All of these can be added later if you find you need them. Start simple.

Building Your Simple Site

The actual building process is straightforward. Here’s the approach I recommend:

1. Choose a website builder. Wix, Squarespace, or Weebly all work well for small businesses. They have templates designed specifically for local businesses.

2. Pick a simple template. Look for one-page templates or templates labeled for small businesses or local services. Avoid anything with too many pages or complicated layouts.

3. Replace the placeholder content. The template will have dummy text like “Your Business Name Here.” Replace it with your actual information following the four sections I outlined above.

4. Add photos if you have them. Pictures of your work, your location, or your products make things more real. Even decent phone photos are fine. No photos? That’s okay too,don’t use random stock photos of people in suits shaking hands.

5. Make sure it works on phones. The template should handle this automatically, but preview your site on your phone to make sure everything is readable and the phone number is clickable.

6. Set up your domain. Get yourbusinessname.com if available. This usually costs about $12-15 per year and makes you look professional.

You can do all of this in an afternoon. Seriously.

What About Photos?

Photos make your site feel more real and trustworthy, but they don’t have to be professional shots. Good options include:

These can all be taken with a phone. Just make sure they’re:

Avoid generic stock photos. A real, slightly imperfect photo of your actual business beats a perfect stock photo of random people every time.

Design Principles for Non-Designers

You don’t need to be a designer to have a professional-looking site. Follow these simple rules:

Keep it simple. More white space, fewer elements, clearer presentation.

Use readable fonts. The template’s default fonts are usually fine. Stick with them.

Stick to 2-3 colors. Your logo colors if you have them, or just keep the template’s color scheme.

Make important things big. Your business name, what you do, and your phone number should be the most prominent elements.

Check contrast. Make sure text is easy to read against its background. Dark text on light backgrounds or vice versa.

The “Just Enough” Philosophy

The best small business website has just enough information to answer basic questions and just enough design to look professional, without overwhelming visitors with options or information.

Think of your website like a better business card or a more detailed storefront sign. It’s not a comprehensive resource about your entire industry. It’s a simple tool that tells people who you are and how to contact you.

This “just enough” approach has several advantages:

Getting Found on Google

You might wonder, “Will a simple site still show up in Google?” The answer is yes, especially for local searches.

To help your site get found:

A simple, clear site actually does better with Google than a complicated one with confusing navigation and vague descriptions.

Maintaining Your Site

The beauty of a simple site is how little maintenance it needs. You might update it when:

That might be once or twice a year. Unlike social media that needs constant posting, your website is pretty much set-it-and-forget-it.

Starting Today

If you’re ready to finally get a website for your business, here’s your action plan:

  1. Write down your four sections (who/what, what you offer, where you are, how to contact you)
  2. Choose a website builder and sign up
  3. Pick the simplest template you can find
  4. Spend an afternoon filling it in with your information
  5. Get your domain and publish

That’s it. You don’t need months of planning, you don’t need to hire anyone, and you definitely don’t need to make it complicated.

Your small business deserves a web presence, but it doesn’t need a complicated website. A simple one-page site that clearly communicates the basics is not only enough,it’s often better than the complicated alternatives.

Stop overthinking it. Keep it simple. Answer the four basic questions. Make your phone number big and obvious. You’re done.

That’s the website your business actually needs.

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