Small Business Website Checklist: Complete 2025 Guide

31% of U.S. shoppers refuse to shop at businesses without a website. If you don't have one, you're losing customers to competitors who do.

I've built hundreds of small business websites. Most owners either overspend on features they don't need or launch with critical elements missing. This guide gives you exactly what you need—no fluff.

Bookmark this. You'll reference these checklists throughout your project.

Why You Need a Website (The Data)

73% of small businesses now have websites—you're behind if you don't
51% of all U.S. business is conducted online
74% of users return to mobile-friendly sites, won't come back if mobile experience is poor
A 1-second delay in page load can increase bounce rates by 123%

Bottom line: No website = lost customers. Slow website = lost customers.

Pre-Launch Planning Checklist

Most problems start before you build. Nail these first:

Define Your Goals

Primary purpose? (Leads, sales, bookings, information?)
Target audience? (Demographics, tech level, pain points)
What action should visitors take? (Call, email, buy, book?)
How will you measure success? (Leads/month, revenue, bookings?)

Set Realistic Budget

2025 Costs:

DIY builder: $120-360/year (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress)
Freelancer: $1,500-4,000 (5-10 page site)
Agency: $5,000-20,000 (custom professional site)
Ongoing: $500-1,500/year (hosting, maintenance, security)

Timeline:

DIY: 2-4 weeks
Freelancer: 3-6 weeks
Agency: 8-12 weeks

The 7 Essential Pages

1. Homepage

Must-haves:

Clear headline (what you do + who you serve)
Primary call-to-action button
Hero image/video
Trust signals (awards, certifications, "as seen in")
3+ customer testimonials
Brief service overview

Bad: "Welcome to Our Website" Good: "24/7 Emergency Plumbing in Austin, TX | 60-Minute Response"

2. About Page

Pro tip: About pages are the 2nd-3rd most visited. Don't use generic corporate speak.

3. Services/Products

Note: 67% of customers want pricing on websites. Show ranges if you can't list exact prices.

4. Contact

5. Privacy Policy

Legally required. Use my free privacy policy generator to create one in 10 minutes.

What data you collect
How you use it
GDPR/CCPA compliance

6. Testimonials/Reviews

10-15 testimonials minimum
Customer names + photos
Specific results ("Increased sales by 40%")
Video testimonials (even better)

7. Blog (Optional but Recommended)

Blogs generate 55% more visitors. Post once/month on:

FAQs
How-to guides
Industry insights
Customer success stories

Technical Requirements (Simplified)

Mobile Responsiveness

Critical: 60-70% of traffic is mobile.

Test on real devices (iPhone, Android, tablet)
Buttons easy to tap (44x44 pixels minimum)
Text readable without zooming (16px minimum)
No horizontal scrolling
Forms work smoothly

Test: Google Mobile-Friendly Test

Page Speed (Core Web Vitals)

Google ranking factors:

LCP: Under 2.5 seconds (page loads fast)
INP: Under 200ms (responds instantly to clicks)
CLS: Under 0.1 (doesn't jump while loading)

How to achieve:

Compress images (use WebP)
Use CDN (Cloudflare free tier)
Enable browser caching
Remove unused plugins

Test: PageSpeed Insights

Security Essentials

Accessibility

Legal requirement (ADA in U.S.):

Alt text for all images
Proper heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
Sufficient color contrast
Keyboard navigation works

Test: WAVE Tool

SEO Essentials (The Basics)

On-Page SEO

Unique page titles (50-60 characters)
Meta descriptions (150-160 characters)
H1 heading per page (includes main keyword)
Keywords naturally in content
Clean URLs (yoursite.com/services not yoursite.com/p=123)
Internal linking between pages

Technical SEO

XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
Google Analytics installed
Robots.txt configured
Schema markup for location/services
No broken links

Local SEO (If You Serve Local Area)

Google Business Profile claimed
NAP consistent (Name, Address, Phone across all platforms)
Location keywords in content
Customer reviews on Google/Yelp

Impact: 46% of Google searches are local. Get this right.

Conversion Optimization (Quick Wins)

CTAs That Convert

Primary CTA above the fold
Action words ("Get My Free Quote" not "Submit")
Contrasting colors
Clear value proposition

Forms

Minimum fields (each field reduces completion by 10%)
Clear labels
Helpful error messages
Mobile-friendly

Example: Reducing form from 11 to 4 fields = 120% conversion increase.

Trust Elements

Testimonials with photos
Trust badges (SSL, payment logos)
Money-back guarantee
Phone number in header (not hidden)

Ongoing Maintenance

Monthly (30 min)

Update software/plugins
Check for broken links
Review analytics
Publish 1 blog post

Quarterly

Audit SEO performance
Update outdated content
A/B test key pages

Yearly

Renew domain (set auto-renew)
Full SEO audit
Security audit
Refresh design elements

Budget: $500-1,500/year for maintenance.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Building before planning → Define goals first
Prioritizing design over functionality → Speed and mobile matter more
Writing about yourself, not customer benefits → Focus on "What's in it for them?"
No clear CTA → Tell people exactly what to do next
Not testing on mobile → 60%+ of traffic is mobile
Hiring cheapest option → Quality costs appropriate rates

Real cost of cheap: Client paid $600 for broken site, spent $6,500 to rebuild = $7,100 total + 3 months lost.

Your 6-Week Launch Plan

Week 1: Planning

Define goals, audience, pages needed
Set budget
Choose: DIY, freelancer, or agency

Week 2-3: Content

Write copy for all pages
Gather images
Collect testimonials

Week 3-5: Build

Build pages
Configure mobile responsiveness
Set up forms and analytics

Week 5-6: Technical & SEO

Optimize speed
Complete SEO checklist
Test all devices/browsers

Week 6: Launch

Final QA
Go live
Announce on social/email
Set up monitoring

What If You're Overwhelmed?

Start small: Launch with 5 essential pages (Home, About, Services, Contact, Privacy). Add more later.

Hire strategically:

You: Write content (you know your business)
Hire: Design, development, technical SEO

My recommendation: Use Squarespace/Wix for v1, hire professional once generating revenue.

Need help? I build websites for small business owners who don't have time for technical complexity. See my work.

Key Takeaways

Mobile-first is non-negotiable (60%+ traffic is mobile)
Speed kills conversions (under 2.5 seconds)
Content = customer benefits (not features)
Security and SEO = foundational (not afterthoughts)
Launch, then iterate (don't wait for perfection)
Budget for maintenance ($500-1,500/year)

Ready to Build?

73% of small businesses have websites. Your competitors do. The question isn't whether you need one—it's whether yours will actually convert visitors into customers.

Next steps:

Complete planning checklist
Set realistic budget
Bookmark this guide
Start building

Need help building a website that converts? Let's talk.

About: I'm a senior developer who's built hundreds of small business websites. My goal is to help business owners launch sites that generate ROI, not just look pretty.

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