What goes into a good business website? A checklist before you hire anyone

Before you ask for a quote, it helps to know what you are asking for. Use this checklist to brief any agency, including us, and to compare proposals fairly.

1. Decide the goal of the site

Is the site meant to bring enquiries, sell products, book appointments, or build credibility? One main goal shapes everything: the pages, the layout and the call-to-action. A site that tries to do everything usually does nothing well.

2. Plan the structure

• Home: who you are and what you do in one screen.
• Service pages: one page per main service, with real detail.
• Proof: case studies, photos, results you can stand behind.
• About and contact: who is behind the business and how to reach you.
• FAQ: the questions customers actually ask.

3. Make it fast on a phone

Most visitors arrive on a phone. Pages should load quickly on an average connection, text should be readable without zooming, and buttons should be easy to tap. Heavy images and animations are the usual causes of slow pages, so they should be compressed and used with purpose.

4. Write for customers, not for the company

Say what you do, who it is for and what happens next, in plain words. Answer the questions people search for. Clear, honest text helps customers decide and helps search engines and AI assistants understand and quote you.

5. Build in search visibility

• A clear title and description for every page.
• One main heading per page and a logical heading structure.
• Descriptive alt text on images.
• A sitemap and a robots file.
• Structured data that tells search engines who you are and what you offer.

6. Make it easy to enquire

Put a visible call-to-action on every page. Keep the form short, confirm that it worked, and make sure the enquiry reaches a real person quickly. Add click-to-call and click-to-email on mobile.

7. Plan for security and upkeep

A site needs hosting, a secure connection, backups and updates. Ask who handles these after launch, and what happens if something breaks.

What affects the cost

• Number of pages and how much content needs writing.
• Custom design versus a template.
• Features: online payments, bookings, user accounts, integrations.
• Animation, 3D or interactive elements.
• Ongoing support, updates and marketing after launch.

If you want a website built around these points, see our web development service, or tell us your goal at contact@unfamouslabs.com and we will suggest a scope.