The most effective small business website layouts are often the most simple. Here are all of the most important sections you should be adding to your small business website, what you should include in them and resources to help you do it quickly, easily and cheaply!
Outline the most important sections of your website
Having analyzed over 20,000 small business websites, we have found that there are a few must-have sections that create the most impact for your business or service.
Logo and branding
Your logo is a recognizable mark that can be shown in a small size on your website as well as next to the URL of your website in search engines (also called a Favicon). The branding refers to the style, font choice, unique graphical elements and color schemes that are associated with your company or service. Having a well-designed logo and consistent branding on your website is important because it helps visitors recognize and recall your brand anytime they see it. The quality and repetition of the look and feel of your site is what builds awareness, memory and positive associations when done right!
🧰Resources to help you create better branding:
Canva - Canva is a great tool for creating all sorts of things including logos, website graphics and social media content. Best of all you can create a free account here.
Namelix - Namelix is a cool site that uses AI to help you generate a business name or website name. It's also great for showing you branding and logo inspiration based on the names that it generates.
Siimple Color Palettes - Our Siimple website color palette generator is amazing because it allows you to try out multiple color schemes and accent colors on your actual website content and change them whenever you like non-destructively! Our color palettes are hand-chosen by design professionals and already perfectly matched, paired and balanced to meet current design trends and the highest accessibility standards.
The Hero section
This is the topmost section of your website that often includes a large image, headline, tagline and call-to-action. The purpose of this section is to ensure that visitors understand exactly what you offer, to whom and what action you would like them to take. Having a high-quality image here that visually illustrates your product, service or personality is important. Always aim for a high-resolution image that has a balanced composition and main focal point and follow best practices for website images.
🧰 Resources to help you create a better hero section:
Fotor image editor - Fotor is a great, easy-to-use photo editing application that you can use to improve the quality and look of your existing images. It even offers AI tools to help you generate unique one-of-a-kind images. Here's a great tutorial on how you can use Fotor to create better hero images for your website.
AI Content writing - Need a little help writing a hero description for your website? Siimple AI assistant can help you do that. It's as easy as clicking into the text field and hitting the Generate icon! Siimple automatically takes the context from your Site Name and Description and the rest of your site's content and helps you write and expand your copy.
ChatGPT - You can also use ChatGPT to write your website context . The way to get the best response is to provide ChatGPT enough context about your site or business, the information you provide it, and the questions that you ask are referred to as 'prompts'. Here is a prompt that you can copy and paste into ChatGPT to help it provide you with some well-written and specific copy for your hero section.
Copy and Paste this Prompt 👇🏼
About Section
The About section is your chance to tell your story and connect with your customers on a personal level. This is the area where you can focus on telling a bit of the story, background or person behind the product or service. This narrative can be important to connect to your visitors on a personal level and let them know about the person/people behind the website.
Siimple makes it easy to create an About page that reflects your business's unique personality. Whether you want to keep it short and to the point or dive deeper into your background, they offer different layouts that give you the flexibility to decide how much or how little to share. You can add photos, bios and social media links. With Siimple’s straightforward tools, you don’t need technical expertise to craft an About section that’s both inviting and informative, helping visitors get a real sense of who you are and what your business is all about.
Features / Benefits Section
You don't need to write a novel or write a lot of copy on your website or landing page. The important thing is that you keep is scannable and clear and add in keywords that might help the right visitors find you when they search for you online.
A features/benefits section is great for highlighting your main differentiators and why your product or service is useful is the way to go. Having icons or images that visually illustrate the benefits of what you provide are also helpful for communicating non-verbally. This can also be a great place to highlight frustrations or pain points that your target audience might be feeling and then explain or show how you can address them with your solution or service.
Resources to help you create a better Features / Benefits section:
Iconify - Iconify is a collection of over 200,000 beautifully designed, free icons in many different styles. You can copy and paste icons or download these icons for use on your website for free.
Siimple Icon Sets - All of our website themes have built-in icon sets so you never have to download or leave your website builder to add and customize beautiful icons. It's also tied to our custom color palettes so you can be sure that they will always match perfectly.
Siimple High Quality Stock images - You can search royalty-free, high resolution and quality stock images right from within our website
Services Section
The Services section is is where you will want to clearly describe each service, item or product that you offer with as much detail as possible. This is one of the best places to add keywords that your ideal customer may be searching for on Google. Adding icons or images here again is a great way to add visual interest and to your services or products.
Siimple makes it easy for small businesses to showcase their services in a way that fits their style. Whether you prefer a simple list, a grid layout, or a more visual approach with images, they offer flexible templates that let you experiment until you find what works best for your brand. You can also add icons or images next to each service to keep things visually engaging while still clear and straightforward. Even if you're not very tech-savvy, Siimple’s platform is straightforward, allowing you to create a user-friendly and search engine-friendly services section, so potential customers can easily find and understand what you offer.
A good Services section can significantly boost your website’s SEO, helping your business get discovered by more potential clients.
Location Section
If you are a local small business or have a brick-and-mortar location let your visitors know how they can visit you, what your hours are, and anything else they need to know or be prepared with before they come in to see you.
A clear, well-organized locations section in the website layout makes it easy for potential customers to find your physical store or service areas, enhancing their confidence in your business. The best website templates often include interactive maps, directions, and details about each location, ensuring a seamless user experience. Integrating a Locations section with contact information, operating hours, and service coverage also boosts local SEO, helping your business rank higher in location-based searches. A well-designed Locations section not only improves customer convenience but also strengthens your local presence, making your business feel more approachable and trustworthy to nearby clients.
Testimonials Section
Don't underestimate the power of social proof and the genuine positive reviews of your business, service or product.
Including a testimonials section and leveraging social proof within your website design is crucial for the success of local small businesses. When potential customers visit your site, they want to see real, relatable experiences from others who have used your services or products. A dedicated testimonials section, designed thoughtfully into the website layout, provides a strong trust signal, showing that your business delivers consistent value. Siimple website templates for small businesses prioritize testimonials. By doing this, your website design not only helps engage visitors but also boosts conversions. When potential customers see others endorsing your products or services, they are more likely to make a purchase, book an appointment, or fill out a contact form.
