[ Guide ]
What a business website needs before it launches
A business website has one job: turn the right visitors into enquiries. This checklist covers what needs to be in place before launch so it can do that job from day one.
A clear message above the fold
Within a few seconds a visitor should know what you do, who it is for and what to do next.
- A headline that says what you offer in plain words
- One primary call to action, repeated through the page
- Where you work, if you serve a local area
Pages that answer buying questions
Think about what a serious buyer needs to know before they get in touch, and give each a home:
- A page per main service, each with its own title and description
- How you work, step by step
- Answers to common questions
- Real work and real reviews, once you have them (never invented ones)
Fast on a phone
Most visitors arrive on mobile, and Google ranks on the mobile version of your site. Check it with Google’s Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights before launch, and fix slow images, heavy scripts and layout shift.
Our free website grader runs the same test and lists the top fixes.
Ready for search and AI assistants
Search engines and AI assistants both need to understand the site, not just see it.
- A unique title and meta description on every page
- Structured data (schema.org) for your business, services and FAQs
- A sitemap and robots.txt, submitted in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
- A Google Business Profile that matches your name, address and phone exactly
Forms that reach a person
Test every form end to end before launch, including the email that arrives. Keep forms short, say when you will reply, and add spam protection that doesn’t punish real visitors.
Tracking from the first visit
Set up privacy-friendly analytics and make sure each enquiry records where it came from (search, social, a campaign). That is how you will know which marketing is working.
Ownership and access
Before you sign off, make sure the business, not the agency, owns:
- The domain and DNS
- The hosting account
- The code repository
- Analytics and search console access
Common questions
- How many pages does a business website need?
- Enough to answer a buyer’s questions: usually a home page, a page per main service, how you work, FAQs, contact and a privacy policy. Add more as you have real content for them.
- Do I need a blog?
- Not to launch. Useful guides that answer your customers’ questions help with search over time, but they are worth more than a blog posted to on a schedule.
- How do I check if my current website is fast?
- Run it through Google PageSpeed Insights, or use the free Zecro website grader, which runs the same Lighthouse test and lists the top things to fix.
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