The small-business website checklist: 10 things yours needs to convert

Most website advice is either too vague to act on ("make it engaging!") or too technical to care about. This is neither. It's the ten things I check first when a business owner asks me why their website isn't producing — and every one of them is something you can verify yourself in about half a minute.

Open your site in another tab and keep score.

1. A headline that says what you do

The first words on your homepage should tell a stranger what you do, who you do it for, and where. "Welcome to our website" fails all three. So does a rotating slider of stock photos. The 30-second check: show your homepage to someone who doesn't know your business and ask them what you sell. If they hesitate, the headline isn't doing its job.

2. A phone number and a next step, visible without scrolling

When someone's ready to act, the site's only job is to not get in the way. Your phone number and a clear button — "Call now," "Get a quote," "Book an appointment" — belong at the top of every page. Check: load your site and don't scroll. Can you contact the business from what you see?

3. It works on a phone — actually works

Most local searches happen on phones, often in a parking lot or on a couch. "Technically loads on mobile" is not the same as works: text you can read without zooming, buttons you can tap with a thumb, a number that dials when you tap it. Check: pull out your phone and try to contact yourself.

4. It loads before people give up

Slow sites bleed visitors — people bounce back to Google and tap the next result, and they don't leave a note explaining why. Check: open your site on your phone using cell data, not your office Wi-Fi. Count the seconds honestly.

5. Proof that you're real and good

Reviews, photos of actual work, real customer names, years in business, licenses — anything a skeptical stranger can hold onto. Stock photos of smiling models do the opposite. Check: does your site contain a single photo you took or a single sentence a customer actually said?

6. A page for each thing you sell

One "Services" page with six bullet points can't rank on Google for six different searches, and it can't answer anyone's real questions. Each major service deserves its own page with its own details and its own reason to call. Check: count your services, then count your service pages.

7. Local signals Google can read

Your city and area should appear in real sentences on the page — not just in the footer. If you serve Valdosta, Hinesville, or Savannah, the site should say so where both humans and search engines can see it. Check: search your homepage (Ctrl+F) for your own city's name.

8. A contact page that's actually easy

A short form — name, contact, what do you need — plus the phone number, plus what happens after they submit. A ten-field form is a filter that filters out customers. Check: fill out your own form. Did it work? Did anyone reply? You'd be surprised how many forms email nobody.

9. The padlock and the basics

HTTPS (the padlock in the browser bar), no "not secure" warnings, no broken links, a favicon so your tab doesn't look abandoned. None of this wins customers by itself — but missing it quietly loses them. Check: look at your address bar and click your own menu links.

10. A way to know any of this is working

Analytics — even the simplest kind — tells you whether people visit, where they come from, and what they do. Without it, every website decision is a guess. Check: can you say, roughly, how many people visited your site last month? If the answer is "no idea," that's the finding.

Scoring it

Eight or better: your website is pulling its weight — keep it maintained. Five to seven: it's presentable but leaking opportunities, and a focused revision would likely pay for itself. Under five: your site is costing you customers today, and a rebuild is worth a serious look — a custom site that covers this entire checklist starts at $600.

Not sure how yours scores? Send me your website address — I'll take a look and give you an honest read within 24 hours, including "your site is fine" if it is.