What Pages Should a Small Business Website Have?

04 November, 2026
by John Williams

Updated: 04 November, 2026

Ask ten business owners which small business website pages they need and you will get ten different lists. The honest answer is that it depends on what your business does and what a visitor needs to decide. But most good small business sites share a core set of pages, and knowing them before you speak to a designer saves time and money. If you are a business owner in Liverpool or Merseyside planning a new site, this guide sets out what to include, what can wait, and what to check before you launch.

Start with what your visitors need to do

Before listing pages, list actions. Do you want people to phone you, fill in a quote form, book a slot or buy something? Every page should help a visitor take a step towards one of those actions. If you have already written a brief, our guide to writing a website brief shows how to capture this. If a page does not help a customer decide or act, it probably does not need to exist yet.

The core pages almost every small business needs

1. Homepage

Your homepage has one job: to tell a new visitor, within a few seconds, what you do, who it is for and where you work. Add a clear button for the main action, such as "Get a quote" or "Book now", and short links to your most important pages. Resist the urge to put everything on it.

2. Services or products

List what you sell in plain language. If you offer several services, give each important one its own page rather than squeezing them all onto one. That makes each page easier to read, and easier for a search engine to understand. Google's SEO Starter Guide says content should be helpful, reliable and written for people first, and a page that answers one question properly is usually more useful than a page that tries to answer ten.

If you sell goods online, you will also need product pages, a basket and a checkout. That is a bigger project, and our e-commerce website package is built for it.

3. About page

People buy from people, particularly when choosing a local trade or professional service. Say who you are, how long you have been going if you want to, where you are based and what you care about. Add a real photo of you or your team if you can. Only include claims you can back up; vague boasts do not build trust.

4. Contact page

Make it easy to get in touch. Include your address and map if customers visit you, a phone number, an email address or form, and your opening hours. Put your phone number and a contact link in the header or footer too, so visitors do not have to hunt for them. If you are a local business, a clear address and a mention of the areas you cover, such as Liverpool, the Wirral or Sefton, helps people see you are nearby.

Pages that are often worth adding

Frequently asked questions

If you answer the same questions by phone or email every week, put the answers on a page. It saves you time, and visitors get what they need straight away. Keep the answers short and honest.

Reviews or case studies

Real feedback from real customers helps new visitors decide. Only publish comments and examples you have permission to use, and never invent them.

Pricing, or a "how it works" page

You do not have to publish exact prices, but visitors do like to know roughly what to expect and what happens after they get in touch. A short "how it works" page describing your steps can remove a lot of hesitation.

Blog or news

A blog is useful if you will keep it up to date and write about topics your customers ask about. It is not a requirement on day one. A blog that has not been touched for two years does your business no favours, so start only when you have the time to maintain it.

Pages that depend on your business

Booking or appointments: if customers book time with you, a booking page that works without a phone call saves effort on both sides. Our booking system website package covers this.
Location pages: if you serve several areas, a page for each can be useful, as long as each says something genuinely different about that area.
Careers: only if you are hiring.
Portfolio or gallery: for trades, creative work and anything where seeing the result matters.

Legal and housekeeping pages

These are easy to forget until the end, so plan them from the start.

Company details. GOV.UK states that a limited company's website must show its registered company number, its registered office address, and the part of the UK where it is registered, and must make clear that it is a limited company, usually by including "Limited" or "Ltd" in the company name. You can read the details on GOV.UK's page on signs, stationery and promotional material. Many owners put this in the footer or on the contact page.

Privacy and cookies. If your site collects personal details, for example through a contact form, or uses analytics and similar tools, you will normally need to tell visitors how their information is used. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the place to start for the official guidance at ico.org.uk. The rules depend on your situation, so check with the ICO or a solicitor rather than relying on a general article like this one. This post is not legal advice.

Accessibility. GOV.UK's guidance says public sector websites must meet the WCAG 2.2 AA standard and publish an accessibility statement, which you can read at GOV.UK's accessibility guidance. That requirement is aimed at public bodies, but the same standard is a good target for any site, because it helps every visitor. Our post on accessible web design has practical tips.

A helpful error page. When someone types a wrong address, a friendly "page not found" page with links back to your main pages keeps them on your site.

How many pages is enough?

There is no magic number. A tradesperson might need five clear pages: home, services, about, contact and a gallery. A shop or a business with many services will need more. What matters is that every page has a purpose and is easy to find.

Keep your navigation short. A simple menu with five to seven main items is easier to use on a phone than a long list. Group related pages together and use descriptive page titles. The SEO Starter Guide also suggests organising your site logically and using clear words in your web addresses, and it describes internal links as a good way to connect users and search engines to other parts of your site. A sitemap is optional, but our guide to sitemaps explains how one helps.

Nobody can guarantee where a page will appear in Google. What you can do is build pages that are clear, honest and useful, and let people find them.

What this means for budget

The more pages you need, the more work there is to design, write and test. Outible's Simple website is £1,500 for up to 10 pages, which suits many small businesses with a focused set of pages. If you want to edit pages yourself, the CMS website is £2,000. Hosting is £25 a month for those two packages. If you need booking or e-commerce, see the booking system website at £2,500 or the e-commerce website at £4,000, with hosting at £30 a month for those. Bespoke websites start from £4,500. For more on what drives the price, read how much a website costs.

Next steps

Write down your pages in two columns, "must have for launch" and "can wait". Share the list with your designer, along with who will write the text and supply the photos. If you would like to talk it through, our web design Liverpool page explains what we offer, or you can get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

How many pages should a small business website have?

There is no set number. Many small businesses start with four to eight pages: home, services, about, contact and a few extras such as FAQs or a gallery. Add pages when you have something useful to say on them, not to make the site look bigger.

Do I need a blog on my business website?

Not at launch. A blog can help you answer customer questions in more depth, but only if you will keep adding to it. It is better to have no blog than one that was last updated years ago.

Do I need a privacy policy page?

If your site collects personal information, for example through a contact form, or uses analytics or similar tools, you will normally need to explain how that information is used. The ICO publishes the official guidance, and a solicitor can advise on your own situation. This article is not legal advice.

Should every service have its own page?

For your main services, usually yes. A page for each makes it easier for visitors to find what they need, and gives you room to explain the service properly. Minor extras can share a page.

Can I add pages later?

Yes. A good website grows with your business. Launching with the pages that matter most and adding more later is a sensible approach, especially if you are working to a budget.