A Website That Actually Sells
The six pages every small business website needs, and what to put on them.
Notes from Randall Harper. Thirty years working alongside owner-operators, executives and boards — companies of all types and sizes — across entertainment & media, hospitality, service based business, lifestyle businesses, financial services, retail and not-for-profit, in Australia, Asia, the United Kingdom and the United States. What follows is the thinking I keep returning to.
Most small business websites do not sell
They describe. They list services. They look reasonably professional. And they convert almost no visitors into enquiries. The reason is almost always the same — the website was built to tell people about the business rather than to help them make a decision. A site that sells is structured around the customer's questions, in the customer's order, with the customer's language.
The six pages, in priority order
- Home — one sentence on what you do, who you do it for, and why someone should choose you. A clear call to action above the fold.
- Services — what you offer, the outcome each produces, and rough price guidance.
- About — who you are, why this business exists, and the human face behind it.
- Proof — reviews, photos of work, case studies, recognisable customers.
- Contact — phone, email, form, hours, address or service area. No friction.
- FAQs — the questions you actually get asked, answered honestly.
The job of the home page
Within three seconds, a visitor must understand what you do, who you do it for, where you do it, and what to do next. Most home pages bury all four behind a slideshow of stock photos. Replace the slideshow with one clear sentence, one real photo, and one obvious button. The rest of the page can elaborate, but those four answers must be unmissable.
Mobile is the website
For most local businesses, more than 70% of website visits are from a phone. Design for the phone first; the desktop version is the bonus. Buttons large enough to thumb. Phone number clickable. Forms short. Loading fast. Anything that makes a mobile visitor wait or squint is costing you enquiries you will never know about.
Iterate, do not perfect
A website is never finished. Launch a version you are slightly embarrassed by, then improve one thing a month — clearer headline, better photos, a new testimonial, a shorter form. A site that improves continuously, even slowly, eventually outperforms a site that was perfect on launch and untouched since.
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The contents of this paper are the opinion of Clear Point Advisory only. Readers should rely on their own judgement and obtain professional advice appropriate to their circumstances.