7 pages to plan for your business website

Start with one customer and one next step

Imagine an independent design studio whose next customer needs a brand identity and a small website. The website should answer that customer’s questions in a sensible order: what the studio does, what its work looks like, how a project runs, and how to enquire. The page plan follows those questions.

These are seven content jobs, not a rule that every business needs seven URLs on day one. If you have one service and two examples, combine related sections. Split a page when the visitor needs a fuller explanation that would interrupt the main story.

1. Home: explain the offer immediately

Say what you do, who you help, and what someone can do next. “Brand identity and websites for independent hospitality businesses” tells a visitor more than a broad promise about transformation. Add a short introduction to the services, one or two genuine examples, and a clear contact link.

Read the opening screen without the rest of the page. A visitor should understand the business without deciphering an animation or waiting for a slideshow. Use real business details and replace placeholder logos, metrics, and testimonials before sharing the site.

2. Services: help visitors find the right offer

List the services in words your customer would use. For each one, explain the problem it addresses, the main deliverables, and the next step. If prices depend on scope, explain what you need to prepare a quote rather than inventing a starting price.

Keep the distinctions useful. A small studio may have separate offers for brand identity, website design, and ongoing design support. If every card says the same thing with a different heading, simplify the offers before adding more pages.

3. Service detail: answer the questions before an enquiry

Give an important service its own page when there is enough to explain: who it suits, what is included, what the customer supplies, how the work proceeds, and what is outside scope. Add a relevant example and a contact action that refers to that service.

An example website-design page might ask the customer to bring their approved copy, logo, and photography. State timelines only when your business can deliver them. Avoid creating near-identical pages for every town or audience just to increase the page count.

4. About: show who is responsible for the work

Introduce the real people behind the business and their relevant experience. Explain your approach with concrete choices: how you review work, who answers questions, or how a client gives feedback. A brief, accurate story is enough; a new business does not need to manufacture a long history.

Use photographs and credentials you can substantiate. If you work alone, say so. If specialists join particular projects, describe that arrangement clearly rather than presenting an imaginary permanent team.

5. Selected work: make your claims inspectable

For each example, describe the starting problem, your contribution, and what was delivered. Include images you have permission to use. Results should come from records you can explain; a screenshot alone does not prove that a project increased revenue or enquiries.

Early in the business, a clearly labelled concept project can demonstrate your approach. Keep it separate from client work and do not invent a customer quote. For a site built around your work, explore the portfolio website use case.

For project images in First.new, Built-in Media Cloud provides uploads, a media library, optimization, and CDN delivery. Ordinary uploads and delivery do not use credits under the current policy. Use Design Mode to select a supported image and replace it from your library; AI edits and generated images use credits. Keep real work distinguishable from illustrative generated images.

6. Contact: make the next step dependable

Choose a primary contact route and explain what happens after someone uses it. Ask only for details you need to respond. Name, email, and a short description may be enough for an initial conversation. Add a response-time promise only if someone will maintain it.

If you use a form, send a test from the published website and check where the answer arrives. Test required fields, the confirmation message, and the mobile layout. A working email link can be a useful secondary route; verify the destination address as carefully as the form.

In First.new, the Forms inbox can collect submissions and export CSV where enabled. Preview and live submissions are separate, and live intake needs to be available for your project. Confirm a real published-site submission before relying on the form; email notifications need their own setup and check.

7. FAQs: remove the remaining uncertainty

Use questions customers actually ask: what you need to begin, whether you work remotely, how revisions work, or whether ongoing support is available. Put answers next to the relevant service when that is more helpful. Use a separate FAQ page only when there is enough useful material to justify it.

Each answer should stand on its own and reflect how the business operates today. Link to the detailed service or contact page when needed. Avoid filling the page with repeated keywords or a series of questions that all lead to the same vague sales message.

After launch, First.new’s website analytics can show visits, page loads, top pages, countries, and devices when configured. Use those observations alongside actual customer questions to decide which page needs clearer information. Traffic alone does not establish enquiries, sales, or a successful experiment.

Turn the plan into a first version

Start with Home, Services, About, and Contact, with selected work and a few questions included as sections. Write the facts before choosing images and layouts. Then review the site as a visitor: follow the navigation, open each page on a phone, and complete the contact journey.

To turn this plan into a website brief, use our small business website guide.

A campaign with one offer and one action may need a focused page instead of the whole structure. See the marketing campaign landing page guide.

If you prefer a starting layout, browse the available First.new templates.