Small Business Website Content Strategy: What Pages to Create (And What to Put on Each)

You know you need a website. But when you sit down to plan it, the blank page stares back at you.

"How many pages do I need? What goes on each one? Do I really need a blog? What about an About page — does anyone even read those?"

These aren't designer questions. They're business questions. And the answers determine whether your site generates leads or collects dust.

Here's the no-nonsense content strategy for a small business website: the exact pages you need, what to put on each, and what you can skip.

The Minimum Viable Pages (You Must Have These)

A small business website that converts visitors into customers needs 5 core pages. Not 15. Not 50. Five.

1. Homepage

Your homepage has one job: get the visitor to take the next step within 3-5 seconds.

What to include:

• A clear headline that states exactly what you do and who you do it for. Example: "Landscape Design for Chicago Homeowners" — not "Welcome to Our Site."
• A subheadline that adds one specific benefit or differentiator.
• One primary call-to-action button — Book a Call, Get a Quote, Shop Now. Not three buttons fighting for attention.
• 3-5 trust signals visible without scrolling: logos of brands you've worked with, star ratings, a certification badge, or a short testimonial.
• A brief summary of your services or products (3 bullet points max).
• A footer with your phone number, email, and physical address (Google uses this for local SEO).

What to leave off: carousels, auto-playing video, a "Welcome" paragraph, your life story.

2. About Page

The About page isn't for your biography. It's for answering "why should I trust you?"

What to include:

• Your origin story in 3-4 sentences. Not your childhood — why you started the business and what problem you solve.
• A photo of you or your team. Real faces build trust. A generic stock photo of someone fake-smiling at a laptop does the opposite.
• Your credentials or relevant experience. One or two lines, not a résumé.
• Your values or approach. One sentence about how you work differently.
• A CTA that leads to your services page or a consultation booking.

Pro tip: Most About pages are boring because they talk about "we" nonstop. Flip it. Talk about the customer's problem first, then how you help.

3. Services (or Products) Page

This is your money page. Be specific.

What to include:

• Each service or product listed separately with a clear name and a 1-2 sentence description.
• Pricing or price ranges. Yes, really. "Call for pricing" makes people leave. Even a starting price ("Roof repairs from $450") is better than nothing. If you can't list exact prices, explain why honestly.
• What happens after the customer buys or books. Set expectations: "You'll receive a confirmation email within 2 hours."
• A CTA for each service — not just one at the bottom of the page.

Don't write vague descriptions like "We offer quality service." Describe the outcome: "You get a clean, leak-free roof in 48 hours or less."

4. Contact Page

This page has one metric: how many people fill out the form or call.

What to include:

• A simple contact form. Name, email, phone, message. That's it. Every extra field reduces submissions by 10-15%.
• Your phone number in big, clickable text (tap-to-call on mobile).
• Your physical address (if you have a storefront or office).
• Your business hours in plain language.
• A map embed if location matters.
• Social proof near the form — a testimonial or a "Join 500+ happy customers" line.

What to leave off: a separate "Email Us" page, a newsletter signup competing with the main form, or a CAPTCHA that makes people solve a puzzle to reach you.

5. FAQ Page

This is your most underrated sales page.

What to include:

• Real questions you actually get asked — not questions you wish people would ask. Look at your email inbox, your DMs, and what customers say before they buy.
• Short, direct answers. No paragraphs. Two to three sentences max.
• Pricing questions (if you didn't list prices on the Services page, put them here).
• Logistics questions: turnaround time, service areas, payment methods, guarantees.
• A CTA after every 3-4 answers — "Ready to get started? Book a free consultation."

A good FAQ page catches people who are on the fence and gives them the final push. Don't bury it.

Optional Pages (Add These When You Have Time)

Once the 5 core pages are live and working, consider these:

Portfolio or Case Studies

If your work is visual (photography, construction, design, hair styling), a portfolio page is almost mandatory. If you sell a service with results (marketing, coaching, consulting), write 2-3 short case studies instead.

Each case study should follow this structure:

• The problem the client had
• What you did (2-3 bullet points)
• The result (specific numbers: "Increased revenue by 40% in 3 months")

Blog

A blog isn't for everyone. If you can publish one useful article per month that answers a question your customers actually Google, start one. If you won't keep it up, skip it.

One blog post that ranks for a high-intent search term ("plumber in Austin TX" or "best coffee beans for espresso") can bring in leads for years. A blog with three posts from 2019 and nothing since hurts your credibility.

Testimonials / Reviews Page

If you have 5+ strong testimonials, dedicate a page to them. Otherwise, sprinkle them across your Homepage, Services, and Contact pages instead.

Pricing Page

If you have fixed-price services or products, a dedicated Pricing page can increase conversions. If everything is custom-quoted, keep pricing on your Services page or FAQ.

What to Absolutely Skip

• A "News" page — unless you publish news weekly, it looks abandoned.
• A separate "Team" page — put team info on the About page.
• A "Gallery" page that duplicates your portfolio — pick one.
• "Coming Soon" pages — either launch the page or don't link to it.
• A "Links" or "Resources" page — nobody clicks these.

How to Structure Your Navigation

Your navigation should reflect what visitors actually want, not your internal org chart.

For a 5-page site, this works:

Home | Services | About | FAQ | Contact

For a site with a blog and portfolio:

Home | Services | Portfolio | Blog | Contact

Don't hide your Services page in a dropdown. Don't call it "What We Do." Call it "Services" or "Pricing." Be obvious.

For a deeper dive on navigation structure, see our guide on Small Business Website Navigation: 8 Menu Structures That Don't Confuse Your Customers.

Content Length: How Much Do You Really Need?

Here's a rough guide per page:

• Homepage: 200-400 words
• About: 300-500 words
• Services: 200-400 words per service
• FAQ: 50-100 words per answer
• Contact: 50-100 words

Total: roughly 1,500-2,500 words for the entire 5-page site. That's doable in an afternoon.

Don't write more. Visitors don't read. They scan. Short pages with clear headings, bullet points, and one CTA per page outperform long, rambling ones every time.

The Content Creation Workflow (For Non-Writers)

1. Open a Google Doc (or a Notes app).
2. Copy the page structure above for each page.
3. Fill in the blanks with your own information. Don't try to sound fancy. Write the way you talk.
4. Read it out loud. If a sentence feels awkward when spoken, rewrite it.
5. Cut 30% of the words. Most first drafts are bloated.
6. Add your CTA on every page.
7. Run it through a free grammar checker like Hemingway App.

That's it. You don't need a copywriter. You need to answer your customer's questions clearly and then ask for the sale.

What About SEO?

You don't need to be an SEO expert. You do need to do three things:

1. Put one primary keyword in the page title and one H2 heading. Don't stuff keywords everywhere.
2. Write a meta description (the short blurb under the search result link) for each page.
3. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are identical on your website and your Google Business Profile.

For a complete checklist, read Small Business Website SEO Checklist: 11 Things to Do Before You Publish (No Developer Needed).

The Fastest Way to Get This Done

You now know exactly what pages you need and what to put on each. The next step is building the site.

Most business owners spend weeks (or months) wrestling with WordPress templates, Squarespace blocks, or freelancers who miss deadlines. That's time you could spend actually running your business.

Spruce builds your entire multi-page website while you describe your business. You answer a few questions about what you do, who you serve, and what you want visitors to do — and Spruce generates a complete, fast, conversion-focused site with all the pages above, ready to publish.

No templates. No coding. No back-and-forth with a designer.

Build your site with Spruce — and have a real, working website before the end of the day.