Think about the last time you tried a new restaurant or booked a class somewhere new. Before you ever walked in, you probably looked them up.
You checked the hours, scrolled the menu, looked at a few photos and decided whether it felt like your kind of place. That first look happens online now, every day, for your business too. Here are five things your website needs to get right.
1. Your hours, address and phone, right where people look
The most common reason someone visits a local business website is simple: are you open, where are you, and how do I reach you? If they have to hunt for it, many of them will not. Put it near the top of your home page and in your footer, and make your phone number tap-to-call.
2. One easy way to say yes
Whatever you want people to do, make it obvious and make it quick. Book a table. Reserve a class. Request a quote. Call. Pick the one that matters most and give it a clear button on every page. If saying yes takes five steps, people tend to leave at step three.
3. Photos that look like you
Stock photos fill space, but they do not build trust. Your real dining room, your real treatment room, your real team and your real food tell people what it actually feels like to walk in. They do not need to be perfect. Good light and a phone camera go a long way.
“Your website is the front door before the front door.”
4. Words that sound like you
Write the way you talk to a regular. Skip phrases like “elevated experiences” and “innovative solutions.” Say what you do, who it is for and why people come back. One short, honest sentence about your place will do more than a paragraph of marketing language.
5. It works beautifully on a phone
Most people will meet you on a phone, often standing on a sidewalk or sitting in a parked car. Open your own site on your phone right now. Can you read it without pinching? Do the buttons work with a thumb? Does it load before you lose patience? If not, start there.
Bonus: your Google profile matches
Your Google Business Profile is often the very first thing people see, before your website. Make sure your hours, phone number and photos there match your site. When they disagree, people are not sure which to trust, and neither is Google.
A five-minute check you can do today
- Open your website on your phone.
- Can you find your hours in five seconds?
- Does tapping your phone number start a call?
- Can someone book, order or reach you in two taps?
- Is there at least one real photo of your place?
- Do your Google hours match your website?
If you answered no to a couple of these, you are not behind. Most small businesses are in the same spot, and each one is a practical, fixable step.
If you would like a hand, start a conversation with us. We will look at your site with you, in plain language, and tell you honestly what would help most.
In this piece
Written by
Crystal Jones, ASBC
Founder, Bloom X Build
Navy veteran and accredited small business consultant. Has spent years helping service businesses get found online and turn first visits into regulars.