What Your business website should actually do (besides look pretty)
Most small business websites are built with one primary goal:
To look professional.
Good photos with a sleek design, and you know… fun transitional animations.
That’s understandable. Your website is often the first impression people have of your business, and looking good is important. But the thing is, a high-performing website isn’t just a digital business card or a well-executed design project.
A business website should be a functional business system.
It should attract the right people, answer their questions, and guide them toward meaningful action. If your website isn’t doing those things, it’s likely costing you more to host the thing than it’s worth.
Let’s break down what a website should actually do—and why aesthetics are only a small part of the equation.
#1: Your business website should be Visible to Google
I’ll go ahead and say it: A beautiful website that no one can find might as well not exist. It’s sad, and we’re all sad about it, but don’t go delete your beautiful, invisible website just yet.
“Visible to Google” means:
People can discover your site through a Google search because relevant pages are indexed by Google.
Your business shows up in relevant local searches (Ex.: “lawn care companies in South Denver”).
Your pages align with what people are actually searching for (keywords and their intent).
Many websites fail here because they were built around branding language rather than search intent. For example, your homepage says “Innovative solutions for modern businesses,” but your potential client is searching “small business bookkeeper in Grand Junction.” Those two things never cross paths in Google.
What You Can Do To Improve Your Website’s Google Visibility:
Hook up Google Search Console and make sure your website’s pages are indexed.
Make sure your site’s headings and subheadings are used in hierarchy order. Learn more on our blog post about using header tags for SEO.
Add your Name, Address (if applicable), and Phone number (NAP) to the footer of your website. Use exactly the same NAP as what appears on your Google Business Profile.
Clearly state your core services and any service locations in your page titles, headings, and URL slugs.
Answer real search questions, and questions your clients ask you, on your website.
We put Google visibility as #1 for a reason:
If people can’t find your website, nothing else matters.
#2: Your website should be instantly understandable
Have you ever been halfway through a business website’s homepage when you realize you have no idea what this business sells? It happens more than you think, and you can bet that makes people abandon ship.
Websites have about 5 seconds to give a clear value proposition.
If a user doesn’t see their next step — or doesn’t understand why they should take the next step — they’ll typically leave in 20 seconds or less, especially on mobile devices.
When someone lands on your site, they should be able to answer three questions within five seconds:
What do you do?
Do I belong here?
What should I do next?
Common issues:
The next step is buried at the bottom of the homepage
Vague headlines (“We help businesses grow” | “Creating unique business solutions since 2001”)
Missing Calls-to-Action
Multiple competing messages on the homepage
Hidden or unclear services
Clarity is not boring. Clarity is conversion.
A good website prioritizes comprehension over cleverness. Don’t be mysterious when writing your website copy! Nobody will stick around long enough to solve your “unique business solutions” mystery.
#3: Your Website Should Reduce Friction
Think about how people actually behave online: They skim, compare, hesitate. They put down the phone to let the dog out or make a pot of coffee. They close your website so they can open Instagram and flip through cookie decorating reels (oh wait, that’s me).
It’s more true today than ever before: People are distractable.
Your website’s job is to make the decision easier, not harder.
Every extra step, confusing sentence, or missing detail is a reason for someone to leave.
By “Friction,” We Mean:
Contact forms that ask for too much information
No explanation of what happens after someone reaches out (even adding a “We’ll get back to you soon!” helps)
Service pages with novels of text
About pages that tell us your personal origin story, your dog’s name, and your favorite kind of pie
No proof that you’re credible or trustworthy
Examples of how a website can reduce friction:
Anticipates common questions
Explains your process, services, and story in a simple and clear way
Makes it easy to understand (and find!) pricing, timelines, or next steps
Removes unnecessary obstacles (extra clicks, for example) to contacting you
people are distractable. Make your website easy.
#4: Your website should guide action
A surprising number of websites have no clear direction. They say, “Learn,” “Explore,” or something like that. And while I’m pretty interested when I see “Learn,” most people aren’t nerds like me.
Most people want a website to get to the point, which is:
“What do I do next?”
A high-performing website is intentional about action.
Every key page should answer:
What is the next logical step? (Book a call, Get a quote, Contact us, Buy our thing)
Why should I take it? (Because we have 394 five-star Google reviews, because you need our services for x-y-z)
How hard is it to do? (It’s as easy as these 3 steps, Just contact us and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours, etc.)
That step might be:
Booking a consultation
Buying a product
Contacting you via email or phone
Downloading a resource
Reading a specific guide
Requesting a quote
If a page on your website doesn’t serve any actionable purpose — in other words, if you can’t think of a logical next step for a certain page — then it’s worth considering why it exists. Perhaps you don’t need it.
If your website doesn’t guide behavior, it’s a trifold brochure.
We all know what happens to trifold brochures.
#5: Your Website Should support your long-term growth
A website built for your business’s needs today might work just fine for you, but three years from now, your business will likely need different things. If your website can’t scale with your business, it will eventually become a bottleneck instead of a growth engine.
Like a garden, a little work on your website here and there will increase your yield. Similarly, it does not need to be 100% totally perfect immediately at launch time. Build what you absolutely need, and build new wings as needed.
Over time, your business website should:
Accumulate search visibility, bringing in more and more visitors
Build authority in your niche
Serve as a library of answers to common questions you get from customers (and what folks are asking Google in order to find you, which you can find in your Google Search Console data)
Reduce your business’s reliance on referrals and paid ads for new customers
don’t make the mistake of thinking your website is done after launch.
The Hard Truth
Most small business websites are designed to impress, not to perform, and without actual impressions, you won’t be impressing many people. If your website looks good but doesn’t convert customers, the issue isn’t necessarily your industry, your market, or your pricing.
If you suspect your website might just be a digital placeholder, don’t worry. we got you.
We built a Free Online Business Basics Mini-Course to help business owners navigate the basics, like:
Setting up a Google Business Profile with all the bells and whistles
The basics of structuring a website, and SEO tips to consider when writing copy
Getting reviews, the best places for them to end up, and social media expectations
Just hit this button.
Need more help with your business website?
Shoot us an email today!
