Your website looks good. Can customers find what they need?
A simple homepage check for business owners who want to make the next call, booking or visit easier.
The short version
A useful homepage answers three questions fast: What do you do? Are you right for me? What should I do next? Put those answers on the first screen, show the business as it really is, and test the whole route to a call or booking on a phone. Visitors often decide within seconds whether to stay.
You know your business inside out. You know which jobs you take on, when the shop opens and how a new customer should get in touch. Someone arriving at your website knows none of that yet.
Visitors do not give a homepage long to explain itself. Nielsen Norman Group, which studies how people use websites, found that people often leave a page within 10 to 20 seconds. To hold them, a page has to make its value clear in about 10 seconds (Nielsen Norman Group, 2011).
So look at your homepage as if you have never heard of the business. Put the colours and photographs to one side for a moment. Can you work out what is on offer and how to take the next step? The five checks below take about half an hour.
Say what you do on the first screen.
The first screen of a homepage should say what you do, who you help and where you work. It is where visitors look most. In a Nielsen Norman Group eyetracking study, 57% of viewing time went on the part of the page seen before scrolling. 74% went on the first two screens (Nielsen Norman Group, 2018).
Use the words you would use when introducing your business to a neighbour. For a plumber, that might mean naming the repairs you handle and the towns you cover. For a café, it could be your street, opening hours and a link to the menu.
“Quality solutions for all your needs.”
“Boiler repairs and bathroom fitting in Northgate and Hill End.”
“Your trusted local partner since day one.”
“Open 7am–3pm, Tuesday to Sunday, on Castle Street.”
The examples are deliberately simple, and the places are made up. Replace the service and location with your own, then check that the sentence is accurate.
A plain first line helps more than people. Search engines and AI tools also look for a clear statement of what a business does and where. The article on AI answers explains why that sentence gets quoted.
Make the next step obvious.
Every homepage needs one main action, placed where a visitor will see it without hunting. Choose the action that matches how you work. If you arrange jobs by phone, make calling easy. If appointments go into a booking system, send people straight to it.
Give the button a useful label. “Book an appointment,” “Request a quote” and “Call the shop” tell someone what will happen when they tap. “Submit” and “Learn more” do not.
A good website should feel like a helpful person at your front desk.
You can still include a menu, directions and more detail about your services. Keep the main action easy to spot among those other choices. If bookings are the main action, the bookings article covers the route from button to confirmed time.
Try this now
Ask someone who does not know your website to book, call or request a quote. Watch where they hesitate. That is a useful place to start your next edit.
Show the business they will meet.
Photographs on a homepage should show the real business, because they answer “is this the right place?” faster than words. A photograph of your shopfront helps a first-time visitor recognise the door. A picture of your team puts a face to a phone call. A finished job shows the work you do.
Choose images that explain something about the business. Check that you have permission to use them and that what they show is still current.
Let the small details do their job.
Opening hours, service area and contact details need to be right, and the same as on your Google listing. A customer who turns up to a locked door because the website was out of date has wasted a trip, and you have lost some goodwill. The Business Profile article covers keeping the two in step.
If you include a customer review, use their actual words, with permission where needed, and keep the name or initials beside it. Asking for reviews is easier than most owners expect.
There is no need to fill every space. A few relevant details give a reader something concrete to work with.
Try the whole journey on your phone.
Test your homepage on a phone, because that is the version Google reads and the one many customers use. Google uses the mobile version of a site’s content for indexing and ranking, and only content on the mobile site counts (Google Search Central, 2026).
Open the site on your phone and complete the action you want customers to take. Tap the number. Follow the booking link. Fill in the enquiry form and check that the message reaches the right person.
Read the page without pinching to zoom. Check whether a banner covers a button, or whether a form asks for details you do not need. Make a note of anything that feels awkward.
If you use an outside booking or ordering service, follow the journey into that service too. The handover is part of the customer’s experience.
Your homepage checklist.
Keep your website open and tick these off as you go. Each one takes a few minutes to check.
- My main service and location are clear on the first screen.
- The main button says exactly what happens next.
- My phone number, opening hours and address are correct, and match my Google listing.
- The photographs show the business as it is today.
- I have tested the full contact or booking journey on my phone.
0 of 5 checked
Anything left unticked is your next task. Make those changes, then ask someone new to try the page again.
A few common questions.
Do I need to redesign the whole website?
Start with the specific problem. You may only need to clarify the headline, update the contact details or fix a booking link. If the current setup makes those changes difficult, discuss a larger rebuild.
What should go on the first screen of a homepage?
What you do, who it is for, where you work, and one clear button for the next step. Opening hours and a phone number help too. Leave the history and the long descriptions for further down.
What if customers contact me in different ways?
Choose a main action for the page and keep the alternatives available. For example, lead with online booking and offer a phone number for anyone who needs help choosing a service.
How often should I check the details?
Check whenever something changes: opening hours, prices, services, staff or booking tools. It also helps to make a quick website review part of your regular business admin.
