Many owners measure a showcase site by its number of pages. What counts is the number of questions it answers before the visitor closes the tab. Four pages are enough.
The home page: tell who you are in five seconds
This is the most viewed and most poorly written page. The classic mistake is to open on “Welcome to our site”. A visitor who has just arrived is looking for three pieces of information, in this order:
- What are you doing? Write it in one sentence, without metaphor. “Plumbing and breakdown assistance in Namur, 7 days a week” is better than “Your comfort partner”.
- Is it for me? The location, the clientele, the specialty. A poorly targeted visitor who leaves straight away is good news: it won't make you waste an hour on the phone.
- What do I do now? A visible button, a clickable number, a form short.
If you stumble on the wording, take the problem from the other end: our sheet on writing the texts starts from what you answer the phone already.
What we put next, below
Under this hook, four blocks are enough: your three or four flagship performances, two or three customer reviews, a few photos of your achievements, then a reminder of the expected action. Nothing else. Each additional block dilutes the previous one.
The services page: answer the “how much” and the “how”
A list of services without explanation convinces no one. For each service, write four lines:
- what this resolves, from the customer's point of view;
- how it happens in practice, step by step;
- how long does it take;
- how much does it cost, or from how much.
If you have several distinct professions, give each one a page rather than one long page tote. It also brings you up in specific searches, as our guide explains on local referencing.
Once you publish these pages, check that crawlers reach them and that each targets one precise search, with our guide to do an SEO audit of your site.
The contact page: removing obstacles
This is the easiest page to get right and the most often botched. It must contain:
- a short form, four fields maximum. Each extra field costs you enquiries;
- your phone, clickable, because half of visitors are on mobile;
- your actual hours, including Saturday closing;
- your address, or failing that your area of intervention;
- a sentence on the response time: “We respond within 24 working hours” reassures more than a long speech.
Never require a mandatory telephone number in a first contact form. Many visitors prefer to write before speaking, and will refuse to give it.
Legal notices: obligatory, and not just for form
Any professional activity presenting its offer online must identify itself: name, legal form, head office address, company number, VAT number if applicable if necessary, means of direct contact. It’s an obligation, and it’s also a signal of seriousness: a wary visitor will check it out.
Add, if you collect messages via a form, a short page on processing personal data: what you collect, why, how long you keep it and how to request deletion.
What can wait
These pages are useful, but none justify delaying putting them online:
| Page | When to add it |
|---|---|
| About | As soon as confidence weighs in the decision |
| Achievements, gallery | When you have ten quality photos |
| Frequently asked questions | After noting what we are really asking of you |
| News, advice | When you maintain a realistic writing pace |
| Recruitment | The day you hire |
The “News” page deserves a warning: an abandoned blog, whose last article dates of two years, sends a message worse than the absence of a blog. Only open it if you are standing one article per quarter.
Three mistakes that cost customers
- The image carousel at the top of the page. It pushes the useful text to the bottom and no one Don't wait for the second slide.
- The ten-field form. Each question asked before having gained trust is from visitors.
- Contact details only at the bottom of the page. They must be reachable from any location. which page, in one click.
When these four pages are online and readable on the phone, you have a showcase site that works for you. The rest is continuous improvement, which our editor lets you handle yourself.
To go further: the full procedure appears in create a website for your business, and if you sell products, in sell online when you already have a store.
Frequently asked questions
How many pages do you need for a showcase site?
Four cover it: home, services, contact and legal notices. Then add one page per important service, because it is these specific pages that come up in searches. A site with thirty empty pages is worth less than a site with six useful pages.
Is there a need for an “About” page?
It is useful as soon as trust counts in the decision, which is the case for most service professions. Tell your story in a few lines and show your face: in a local profession, we choose a person as much as a company.
Should you display your prices?
Yes, at least in the form of a range or starting price. A visitor who doesn't find any prices often assumes the worst and closes the page. An honest range rules out out-of-budget requests and saves you time.
