What a local business website needs (with a checklist)

The first screen: what, where and how

What shows on a phone without scrolling is the only part everyone reads. It has to answer three questions: what is this, where is it and how do I get in touch. «Car repair garage in Usera · Servicing and MOT prep · Call» works. «Welcome to our website» says nothing and takes up the most valuable spot on the page.

You don't need an elaborate design. You need the business name, one sentence saying what you do and where, and a contact button to fit on the first screen of an ordinary phone, without a huge photo pushing them down.

How to structure the site for your type of business

A local business doesn't need twenty pages. A single well-organised page covers the basics; if you offer several distinct services, one page per service helps each one make sense and helps Google find it (the local SEO guide explains this). What changes from sector to sector is what customers look for first and which button they need within reach.

Contact: one tap, no more

Every extra step to get in touch loses customers. The goal is that from a phone people can call, message or open directions in a single tap, and that those details are real text, not inside an image or a logo.

Your business name, address and phone number must be written exactly the same on your website, your Google Business Profile and directories. Differences confuse both customers and search engines.

Opening hours and prices: what people look for most

Opening hours are one of the first things people check and one of the most neglected. List them in full, day by day, and keep them up to date: August closures, local public holidays, summer hours. If the website says you're open and the customer finds the shutter down, they won't come back. If your hours change often, link to your Google Business Profile as the up-to-date reference and update both at the same time.

Prices are what people look for most and what businesses hide most. You don't need to publish a fixed rate card if every job is different; «from» prices, ranges («Between €80 and €120 depending on length») or a typical job with its price all work. Showing prices filters out enquiries that go nowhere and signals there are no surprises. State whether VAT is included: if you sell to consumers, the price you show must be the final one, tax included.

Real photos, not stock images

People spot a stock photo immediately: spotless offices, perfect smiles, people who don't work there. It signals the opposite of what you want. Real photos, even simple ones, show that the business exists and what it's like.

• The front of the premises from the pavement, so people recognise it when they arrive.
• The interior, tidy and in natural light.
• The team at work, with their permission.
• Your work: dishes, haircuts, repairs, before and after where it makes sense and the customer agrees.
• A recent phone is enough: daylight, no digital zoom, no heavy filters and a clean lens.
• Resize photos before uploading them: a 5 MB photo straight off the phone slows the page down (the guide on fast mobile websites explains how).

Trust signals

People who don't know you are looking for reasons to trust you. You don't need to invent any; just show the ones you have.

• Who's behind it: a name, a face and two lines about you build more trust than a logo.
• Real reviews: a link to your Google reviews or a selection with the customer's first name. Never invented reviews: as well as misleading customers, they are prohibited under consumer protection law.
• Qualifications, professional registration, trade licences or authorisations your trade requires (authorised installer, for example), with their number where there is one.
• Checkable facts: the year the premises opened, guarantees you offer, how returns or exchanges work.
• Company details and the legal notice in the footer: business or trading name, tax ID (NIF) and address. A website without them looks temporary.

How to write the copy

Write the way you talk to a customer at the counter. Short sentences, concrete information first, no words that don't add anything. Every sentence should answer something someone asks. Some generic before-and-after examples:

• Before: «We are a leading company committed to excellence and customer satisfaction». After: «We repair gas boilers in Carabanchel and Latina. Same-day visits if you call before 12».
• Before: «We offer a wide range of beauty services». After: «Gel manicure €25, pedicure €30, waxing from €8».
• Before: «Contact us for more information». After: «Send us a photo on WhatsApp and we'll give you a price the same day».
• Before: «We have modern facilities». After: «Three private treatment rooms, a waiting area and step-free access from the street».
• Before: «Flexible hours». After: «Monday to Friday 9:00 to 20:00, Saturdays 10:00 to 14:00».

If a sentence would work just as well for any other business in your sector, it isn't saying anything. Replace it with a fact about you.

Accessibility basics

An accessible website can be used by someone with poor eyesight, someone using a screen reader or someone in the street with the sun on their screen. Most of it comes down to simple decisions, set out in the W3C's WCAG guidelines, the international reference:

• Enough contrast between text and background: WCAG asks for at least 4.5 to 1 for normal text. Light grey on white can't be read outdoors.
• Comfortable text size on mobile, which can be enlarged without breaking the page.
• Large buttons and links with space between them, so people don't tap the wrong one.
• Alternative text on images that carry information («Shop front, entrance next to the pharmacy»).
• Important information as text, not inside images: hours, prices, the menu.
• Links that say where they go («See the menu») instead of «Click here».
• Forms with a visible label on every field and error messages that explain what's missing.

What to leave out

Many business websites fail more because of what they have too much of than what they lack. Before adding anything, ask whether it helps the customer get in touch.

• Homepage sliders: they slow down loading, distract, and hardly anyone gets past the first image.
• Pop-ups on arrival, apart from the cookie notice if you need one.
• Music or video that plays automatically.
• «Welcome to our website» and other phrases that take up space without informing.
• Stock photos of people who don't work there.
• An abandoned blog whose last post is three years old: it suggests the business is the same.
• Empty «under construction» sections and links to social media you don't update.
• Visitor counters, scroll animations and effects that carry no information.

Pre-launch checklist

Go through this list with the website open on your phone, not on a computer:

• The first screen says what you do and where, and has a contact button.
• The phone number dials when tapped and the WhatsApp link opens a chat with your number.
• The address opens directions in the map, and how to get there is explained.
• Opening hours are complete and current, including public holidays and closures.
• There are prices or approximate prices, with VAT made clear.
• Photos are real and the page loads quickly on mobile data.
• Name, address and phone match your Google Business Profile.
• The form reaches your inbox; send a test one.
• Legal notice, privacy policy and, if you use non-essential cookies, a cookie notice.
• Each page has a title that says what it is and where («Hairdresser in Chamberí · Name»).
• No filler text, broken links or empty sections.

The final test

Ask someone who doesn't know your business to open the website on their phone and, without help, tell you what you do, how much what they want would cost and how they'd get in touch. If they hesitate on any of the three, that's what needs changing. Repeat the test whenever you make significant changes.

The AMG Design homepage has three sample websites —a fictional clinic, academy and garage— built following this list, if you want to see it applied.