What makes a good homepage for a small business
Visitors decide in a few seconds whether to stay. The video runs through the six things your homepage needs, and the notes under it show how they look for a Jersey business.
1:47 · No narration: the video shows each step as text on screen, and every step is written out below, with buttons that jump the video to it.
Prefer YouTube? Watch this video on our YouTube channel (opens in a new tab).
The 6 essentials in the video
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Step 1: Say what you do, clearly
One plain sentence at the top: what you offer and where.
Write it the way a customer would say it. “Kitchen fitting and bathroom refits across Jersey” tells a visitor far more than “Quality you can trust”. If you cover the whole island, say so. If you mostly work in St Helier and the east, say that.
Google reads your page title and main heading to work out what the page is about, so the same sentence helps you in search too.
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Step 2: One clear next step
A single obvious button, like “Call us” or “Get a quote”.
Choose the action that brings you the most work. A plumber wants the phone to ring; a holiday let wants a booking request. Put that button near the top and repeat it further down.
Three equal buttons side by side make a visitor stop and choose. One main button, with a quieter text link for anything else, keeps the decision easy.
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Step 3: Show proof
A few real reviews and photos of your work.
Three short reviews and photos of jobs you did yourself carry more weight than anything you write about yourself. On an island this size, a visitor may even know the reviewer.
If your reviews are on Google, quote a few and link to your profile so people can read the rest.
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Step 4: List your main services
Short and easy to scan, with a link to each one.
Give each service one line and a link to its own page. Visitors find their job quickly, and each service page gives Google something specific to show for searches like “boiler service Jersey”.
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Step 5: Make contact easy
Phone, email and where you work, on every page.
Put your phone number in the header or footer of every page, as a tap-to-call link for phones. Add an email address and the area you cover, and your address and parish if customers come to you.
A Jersey business website also has a few details it must show by law. Our guide to what a Jersey business website has to show lists them.
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Step 6: Keep it uncluttered
Cut anything that doesn’t help a customer decide.
Sliders, long welcome messages, mission statements and rows of badges push the useful parts down the page. Go through each block and ask whether it helps someone decide to contact you. If it doesn’t, move it to another page or delete it.
A tidier page also loads faster on a phone, which our video on speeding up a slow website covers.
A five-second test for your own homepage
Open your homepage on a friend’s phone, let them look for five seconds, then take the phone back. Ask three questions: what do you do, where do you work, and how would they get in touch? If they can answer all three, the basics are in place. If they can’t, start again with the first sentence.
How the opening sentence might read
- A trade: “Electrician for homes and small businesses across Jersey. Call for a free quote.”
- A salon: “Nails, brows and lashes in St Aubin. Book online in a minute.”
- A holiday let: “A two-bedroom cottage near Grève de Lecq. Check dates and book direct.”
Common questions
What should go at the top of a small business homepage?
One plain sentence saying what you offer and where, in the words a customer would use, and one obvious button such as “Call us” or “Get a quote”. For example: “Kitchen fitting and bathroom refits across Jersey.”
How many buttons should a homepage have?
One main button for the action that brings you the most work, near the top and repeated further down, with a quieter text link for anything else. Three equal buttons side by side make a visitor stop and choose.
Should my phone number be on every page?
Yes. Put it in the header or footer of every page, as a tap-to-call link for phones, with an email address and the area you cover.
Should I list every service on my homepage?
List your main services, one line each, with a link to each service’s own page. Visitors find their job quickly, and each service page gives Google something specific to show for searches like “boiler service Jersey”.
How can I tell if my homepage works?
Try a five-second test. Let a friend look at your homepage on their phone for five seconds, then ask what you do, where you work and how they’d get in touch. If they can answer all three, the basics are in place.
What should I take off my homepage?
Anything that doesn’t help a customer decide: sliders, long welcome messages, mission statements and rows of badges. Move them to another page or delete them, and the page will load faster on a phone too.
Go further
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