Business Website Examples: Pages That Earn Enquiries
A good business website states what you do, for whom, and how to enquire, then proves you can deliver. The examples worth studying share that skeleton, whether you sell to local customers or to other companies. Here is the page list, layout pattern and proof I look for, so you can copy the structure without cloning someone else's design.
What a useful example actually shows
When you look at examples of a business website, ignore the palette first. Check whether a stranger could answer four questions without hunting: what you sell, who it is for, where you work or which sectors you serve, and what to do next. If any of those are vague, the design is decoration.
I judge a site in that order because that is how a busy buyer scans. They are not scoring your taste. They are deciding whether you look like a safe yes, then whether contacting you will be quick.
The pages that show up again and again
Strong sites are not huge. A credible small firm site is usually 6 to 12 pages, not 40. Extra pages only help when each one targets a real service or audience. This is the set I see on sites that earn enquiries:
| Page | Must include | Skip this |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Specific offer, service list, proof, primary action above the fold | Slogan sliders and stock skylines |
| Services | One page per main service, who it suits, what you deliver, timescale | One dump titled Our Services |
| About | Named people, method, insurance, years, accreditations | A mission paragraph with no facts |
| Work | Problem, action, result, ideally a number | Unnamed project galleries |
| Contact | Phone, email, form, hours, area, map if you have premises | Form only, no phone |
| Legal | Privacy and cookies; VAT or company number on B2B sites | A US policy citing the wrong law |
Add a FAQ or fees page if buyers stall on the same questions. Skip a blog until you will write every month. Two abandoned posts hurt more than they help.
Home page: the first screen
On a laptop the first screen is roughly the top 700 to 900 pixels. Put the offer in a short heading a buyer would type, not a metaphor. Commercial refrigeration repair across Kent and East Sussex beats Keeping your world running. Under it, one sentence of proof and one button. Repeat the phone number in the header as a tap target on mobile.
Then 3 to 6 services, each linking to its own page. Then proof: three review snippets or three result figures. Then a short about block with a real photo. Then a final call to action. That pattern is boring on purpose. It is also what converts.
Local service businesses
If you serve a town or a county, treat location as part of the offer. Headings should name the service and the area. List the towns you actually cover, not the whole country when you drive a van from one county.
Use photos of your jobs, vehicle and team. State response times only if you keep them. Put reviews near the offer, with a first name, town and job type. Unnamed five-star badges with no quotes do little.
Business-to-business sites
A business-to-business website has a slower job. The buyer may need to justify you internally. Name the sector and the role on the homepage, not vague lines about organisations.
Case studies beat short reviews. Three write-ups with the problem, what you did, timescale and a result outperform a logo row with no story. If you cannot name the client, give sector and size, such as a 40-person manufacturing firm in the Midlands.
Spell out the process from enquiry to start date, a typical project size if you have a floor, company number, VAT number, and who they will speak to. Do not email-gate the same facts. Keep navigation short: Home, What we do, Sectors, Work, About, Contact.
Professional services
Accountants, consultants and surveyors win on clarity. State whether you are regulated and by whom. Put a starting price if you can. If fees vary, say what drives the quote.
Named people beat a grid of job titles. If you are a sole trader, say so. Pretending to be a large firm on a one-person diary backfires on the first call.
What to copy, and what to leave
Copy the information order, specific headings, proof density, and contact details on every page. Use one primary action per screen.
Do not copy wording, photos, testimonials or unique graphics. Skip full-screen video heroes, auto-playing sliders, and pale text on busy photos. Those fail on phones. Eight tight pages beat 25 overlapping blurbs.
Judge any example in five minutes
- Read the header and first heading. Could you explain the offer?
- Is the phone number visible and tappable on a small screen?
- Open one service page. Does it say who it is for, what you get, and next steps?
- Count proof types: named reviews, case figures, accreditations, real photos. You want more than one.
- Is there a form and a second option for people who would rather call?
- Does the footer have a privacy notice and who owns the firm?
- Read a paragraph as if you were in a noisy car park. If it needs a quiet room, rewrite it.
What those polished examples usually cost
The site you admire was paid for somehow. In the UK a DIY builder plan is often £10 to £30 a month plus your time. A straightforward small business site from a freelancer commonly lands between £800 and £3,000 one-off, then hosting at about £10 to £25 a month. A more considered build with several service pages and case studies is often £2,000 to £6,000. Agency brochure sites frequently start around £5,000 to £15,000. Separate maintenance is commonly £25 to £100 a month.
I build both ways: a one-off website, or a pay-monthly plan with a setup fee then a monthly price that covers hosting, updates and ongoing management so you are not left with the admin. Pay monthly suits small businesses that do not have a lump sum. For current figures, see arlowebstudio.com. Either route still needs you to supply services, photos and the facts above. A pretty shell with vague copy will not earn the enquiries you saw on someone else's site.
Turn examples into a brief
Pick three sites you respect, including at least one in your trade and one outside it. For each, write down the heading, the first call to action, the proof used, and the pages in the menu. That list is a better brief than a pile of screenshots. It tells a designer what the site must say, not which shade of blue to copy.
Frequently asked questions
How many pages does a small business website need?
Most small firms do well with 6 to 12 pages: home, a page per main service, about, work or case studies, contact, and a privacy notice. Add extra location or sector pages only when the content is genuinely different, not copied with the town name swapped.
Should a business-to-business site look different from a local one?
The skeleton is the same: offer, proof, next step. A B2B site should name the sector and role, show process and case studies with numbers, and display company and VAT details. A local site should lead with area, a tappable phone number and reviews tied to real jobs.
Can I copy another firm's layout?
Use examples for structure: heading specificity, page list, where proof sits, how contact works. Do not copy text, photos, testimonials or distinctive graphics. Identical wording also makes you look interchangeable, which is the opposite of why you looked at examples.
Do I need a blog?
Only if you will publish useful pages on a steady schedule. A blog with two old posts looks abandoned. Detailed service pages usually do more for enquiries than a news feed you cannot maintain.
What proof works if I have almost no reviews yet?
Use facts you can stand behind: years trading, insurance, accreditations, a clear process, photos of your own work, and named people. Ask a handful of recent customers for two sentences you can quote. Do not invent testimonials or borrow someone else's.
What if I cannot pay for a site in one go?
You can pay a designer for a one-off build and then handle hosting yourself, or use a pay-monthly plan with a setup fee and a monthly price that includes hosting, updates and ongoing management. The monthly route suits firms without an upfront budget. You still need to supply the offer, photos and proof; the payment model does not fix vague copy.