Web design · Pre-launch

15 things a small business website needs before launch day

Most launches fail on basics, not brilliance: no proof, no contact path, 8-second loads, titles nobody searches. Run this list and launch with all fifteen.

By PakWebDev·Oct 2, 2026·8 min read

Trust (1–5)

1. Services a stranger understands in 10 seconds. No jargon, no "solutions". Name what you do and for whom.
2. Proof above the fold. Reviews, job photos, areas served, years in business — at least two visible without scrolling.
3. Real contact details. Phone number, service area, hours. A form alone converts worse than form + phone + chat.
4. About page with a face. Owner name, photo, story in three lines. People hire people.
5. Consistent business name + phone everywhere — site, footer, Google profile, socials. Mismatches kill local rankings.

Conversion (6–9)

6. One primary action per page. Call, message, or book — repeated in header, mid-page and footer.
7. Quote/enquiry path under 60 seconds. Test it on a phone: name, need, contact, done. Every extra field costs leads.
8. After-hours answer. An AI auto-reply or at minimum an instant acknowledgment with a promised response time.
9. Follow-up capture. Missed-call text-back, chat transcripts to the owner, morning queue — something so no enquiry dies quietly.

Speed + SEO (10–15)

10. Mobile LCP under 2.5s on key pages — compress images, cut font weights, defer third parties. (See the teardown.)
11. One H1 per page matching what customers search, H2s as the outline.
12. Titles under ~60 characters: service + area + brand — see title examples.
13. Analytics + Search Console connected on day one. You cannot improve what you never measured.
14. Favicon, OG image, sitemap, robots — the unglamorous files that decide how links and shares render.
15. Backup + update plan. Who updates what, monthly. An unmaintained site rots in six months.