What should the homepage say?
What you do, who for, where, and what to do next, all before anyone scrolls. A Leicester customer comparing three businesses will give each one a few seconds.
Below that: your main services, some proof such as reviews or named clients, and your contact details. A clever headline that doesn't say what you do costs more enquiries than it wins.
What does a small business website in Leicester need?
Work through this list with whoever builds your site, or check your current one against it.
- A domain registered in your business's name, with logins you hold.
- A design that works on a phone first, with tappable phone numbers and buttons.
- Fast pages. Test them in Google's PageSpeed Insights.
- HTTPS on every page.
- A separate page for each main service, saying what it is, who it's for and where you work.
- Contact details on every page, matching your Google Business Profile exactly.
- A short contact form that sends enquiries somewhere someone checks.
- Real photos of your team, premises or work.
- A privacy notice, and cookie consent where the rules require it.
- Basic accessibility: readable text, good contrast, image descriptions, forms that work with a keyboard.
- Page titles, descriptions and structured data, so search engines and AI assistants can read the site.
- Google Search Console and analytics, with enquiries tracked from launch.
Do you need a cookie banner?
Probably, if you use advertising or tracking cookies. Under PECR you generally need consent before setting cookies that aren't essential, and the rules on analytics cookies have been changing. Check the ICO's current guidance on cookies before launch, and make sure your banner actually blocks the cookies until people agree.
You also need a privacy notice explaining what happens to the details people send through your contact form.
Template or custom website?
A template can work for a very simple site. The trade-offs are speed, since many themes load a lot of code you don't use, and fit, since your content gets bent to someone else's layout.
A custom site is built around what you sell and how customers buy, and usually loads faster. What matters most either way is the copy, the structure and the basics in the checklist above.
What should you ask a web designer before you pay?
Get these answered in writing:
- Who owns the domain, the code and the content when it's finished?
- Is the price fixed, and what's included? Does it include writing the copy?
- How long will it take, from kick-off to live?
- What SEO setup is included: titles, structured data, sitemap, redirects from the old site?
- Where is it hosted, and who makes changes after launch?
- Can I update it myself?