The pages every business website needs: a checklist
The core pages of a business website are a home page, an about page, a separate page for each service, a team page, case studies or references, frequently asked questions, articles, a contact page, the legal pages and a 404 page. Depending on the sector, booking, menu, listings or project pages are added. Each page should have one job, and lead the visitor to the next sensible step. Below we explain what each page is for and what it should contain.
How to use this list
This article is a checklist. Whether you are planning a new site or reviewing your current one, you can tick off each page in turn. Questions to ask when getting quotes — speed, technical SEO, source code and the like — are gathered in what to check before commissioning a business website. Here we focus on the pages alone.
One thing to say at the outset: the number of pages is not a measure of success. A tidy ten-page site works better than a scattered thirty-page one. What matters is that each page answers a question, and that the visitor asking it can find that page.
The core pages at a glance
| Page | What it is for | What it should contain |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Tells visitors where they are and where to go | A one-sentence description, the main services, selected work, a call to get in touch |
| About | Shows whom they will be working with | How you began, how you work, your values, real photographs |
| Service pages | Meets each service’s own search intent | Whom it is for, the process, the scope, common questions, a call to get in touch |
| Team | Shows the faces and the expertise | Name, role, short biography, areas of expertise, a real portrait |
| Case studies / references | Offers proof of what you claim | Project summary, context, the work done, measured results (with permission) |
| FAQ | Answers recurring questions in one place | Real client questions, short and clear answers |
| Articles | Shows expertise, helps you be found in search | Careful answers to the questions clients actually ask |
| Contact | Clears the way for a visitor who has decided | Form, email, phone, address, opening hours, reply time |
| Legal pages | Informs visitors, meets your obligations | Privacy notice, privacy and cookie policies, terms of use |
| 404 page | Wins back a visitor who has got lost | A short explanation, search or the main links |
Page-by-page checklist
Home page
The home page should not try to say everything. Its job is to tell visitors, within a few seconds, where they are and where to go next.
- One clear sentence saying what you do
- Links to the main services or products
- A piece of proof: selected work, a real client or a measured result
- A visible but calm call to get in touch
- A layout that loads quickly on a phone and does not lean on heavy animation
About
Visitors want to know whom they will be working with. An about page is not a corporate presentation; it is an introduction.
- How you began, and why you do this work
- How you work: the process, how you communicate, remotely or in person
- Real photographs: the team, the workplace, the work itself
- Verifiable facts rather than inflated adjectives
Service pages
These are usually the most valuable pages on a business website. Every main service should have its own page; a single long “Our services” page squeezes visitors who arrive with different questions into the same place.
- Whom the service is for, and which problem it addresses
- The steps of the process, and what is expected of the client
- What is in scope and what is not
- Frequently asked questions specific to this service
- Links to related case studies and articles
- A next step at the end of the page: get in touch or ask for a proposal
Team
People work with people, not with companies. In fields such as consultancy, healthcare and law in particular, the team page is the foundation of trust.
- Each person’s name, role and areas of expertise
- A short, plain biography
- A current, real portrait — never a stock photograph
- A page of their own for each person, where it makes sense
Case studies or references
This page is the proof of what the other pages say. A handful of projects told as case studies says far more than a wall of logos.
- For each project: the context, the work done and the result
- Permission obtained for the client’s name and images
- Measured results, where there are any, together with how they were measured
- Rules for some professions: in law and healthcare, for instance, describing clients or patients is restricted, so this page is built differently in those sectors
An example from our own work: for the site we built for the psychologist Gülşah Yalçın, we share the context, approach and measurements in our case study. The 85-page site scored 100 for accessibility, best practices and SEO in Lighthouse.
Frequently asked questions
An FAQ page answers, in one place, the questions that keep coming by phone and email. It saves time for visitors and for your team alike.
- Questions from real clients — not invented “why choose us?” questions
- Short, direct answers
- Grouping by topic: process, booking, delivery, cancellation and so on
- Where a fuller answer is needed, a link to the relevant service page or article
Articles
A journal is not compulsory, but it is often the part of the site that gets it found in search. People search for their questions before they search for a service.
- Careful answers to the questions clients genuinely ask
- Each article linked to the relevant service page
- Author and date shown
- A regular but unforced rhythm — a neglected journal looks worse than none at all
Contact
Nothing should stand in the way of a visitor who has made up their mind.
- A short form, with only the necessary fields
- Email, phone and, if you use one, a messaging link
- Address and opening hours; a map if you meet in person
- What happens after the form is sent, and how soon you will reply
- A link from the form to the privacy notice on personal data
Legal pages
Every site that processes personal data — which means nearly every site with a contact form — has a duty to inform its visitors. These texts are not a footnote to add later; they are part of the plan.
- A privacy notice explaining how personal data is processed
- A privacy policy and a cookie policy
- If cookies are used, a clear and accessible consent mechanism
- Where required, terms of use and company details
Which texts you need, and what they must say, depend on your business and on the data protection law that applies to you — the GDPR in Europe, KVKK in Türkiye. We recommend confirming your current obligations with your legal adviser.
404 page
A broken link or a mistyped address brings visitors to the 404 page. This page makes the difference between losing a visitor and winning them back.
- A short message explaining, in plain words, what happened
- Links to the home page, the services and contact
- The same design and menu as the rest of the site
- The server returning this page with the correct status code, so that search engines do not index a page that does not exist
Pages added by sector
The core pages are common to every business website. In some sectors, though, the visitor’s real business happens on another page:
| Sector | Added pages | What they are for |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | Booking, specialism pages | Patients find the right specialist and leave a request |
| Law | Practice areas, informative articles | An informative presentation within professional rules |
| Food and drink | Menu, reservations, events | Guests look at the menu and book a table |
| Property and construction | Listings, project pages | Buyers explore the flat and the project, and ask to visit the office |
| Architecture | Project pages, gallery | Clients get to know the practice’s approach through its projects |
We write about several of these sectors separately:
- Websites for psychologists and doctors: booking flows and the rules on promoting health services
- Restaurant website or QR menu?: menus, reservations and event pages
- Websites for housing projects: listings and residential project pages
- Architecture practice websites: telling the story of projects, and the portfolio
If your sector is not on this list, the same question applies: what job does your visitor come to your site to do? The page for that job belongs at the centre of the site.
Links between pages
How pages link to one another matters as much as whether they exist. In a good structure:
- The home page links to the main services and to contact.
- Each service page links to related case studies, articles and contact.
- Each article links to the relevant service page.
- The menu stays simple; not every page has to be in it.
- The footer holds the legal pages, contact details and the main sections.
These links help visitors find what they are looking for in a few clicks, and help search engines understand how the pages relate. We build this structure — the site map — with you, and have it approved before design begins. We describe our general approach on our web design and development page.
Frequently asked questions
Does a small business need every one of these pages?
Not every page needs to be long, but most belong on the site in some form. A small business might combine the team into the about page, or start without articles. Contact, the legal pages and a 404 page, however, are not optional.
Is one “Our services” page enough?
Usually not. Each main service has its own questions and its own search intent. A separate page per service lets each one answer those questions properly, and gives visitors a clear next step.
Do I need a journal?
It is not compulsory. But articles are often what brings a site its search visitors, because people search for their questions before they search for a supplier. If you start one, keep a rhythm you can sustain.
If you would like to work out which pages your own site needs, write to us with your sector and the pages and functions you have in mind. We reply within two working days.
