A customer looking for a local service usually opens three or four websites in a row. On each, they look for a few simple things: what the business does, whether it covers their area, what it roughly costs and how to book. If they cannot find these in a few seconds, they close the tab. The business never knows they visited.
This checklist covers the questions every small business website should answer, and why each one matters.
1. What do you do, in plain words
The first line of the home page should say what the business does and who it serves, in the words customers use. "Family dental practice in Leeds" is clearer than "Excellence in oral healthcare."
2. Where are you, and where do you cover
Customers need to know whether you can help them. Show your address if people visit, and list the areas you cover if you travel to them.
3. When are you open
Opening hours, including weekends and holidays, answer one of the most common questions. Keep them up to date, especially around bank holidays.
4. What does it cost
Even a starting price or range helps customers decide whether to contact you. Businesses that hide all prices lose customers who assume they cannot afford them.
5. How do I book or order
Explain exactly how to book, order or request a quote. If there are steps, list them.
6. What happens next
After a customer gets in touch, what should they expect? A reply within a day? A call back? A quote by email? Setting expectations reduces follow-up messages.
7. What do I need to prepare
Many services need something from the customer, such as photos, measurements or documents. Saying so upfront speeds everything up.
8. Can I trust you
Reviews, photos of real work, qualifications you genuinely hold and how long you have been trading build trust. Honest information beats big claims.
9. How do I get in touch
List every way to reach you, and say which is fastest.
10. The questions you answer every week
Every business has its own repeated questions. Writing them down and answering them on the site saves hours. Education providers do this well, as described in scripts for admissions questions asked every day. The AI FAQ generator can help you draft answers quickly.
11. What if something goes wrong
Customers want to know what happens if they need to cancel, if a product is faulty or if a job is not right. A short, fair explanation of cancellations, refunds or guarantees removes a worry that stops some people from booking. Businesses that explain this plainly tend to receive fewer complaints, because expectations were clear from the start.
12. Is there parking or access
For any business customers visit, parking, public transport and step-free access are practical questions that decide whether someone comes. A single sentence answers them.
Why this matters beyond the website
Clear answers help search engines understand the business, and they give an assistant something accurate to answer from. An assistant can only be as good as the pages it reads. Good practice for any site owner is covered in chatbot best practices every website owner should know.
When the owner is busy
Once the answers are published, an assistant can give them at any hour. That matters for owners who otherwise answer messages late into the evening, as described in small business owners answering messages after hours. Whether it is worth it is covered in is an AI chatbot worth it for a small business.
Setting it up
SpideyChat for small businesses reads your site and answers from it. Work through this checklist, then follow the guides to installing the widget and training your bot.