RisenA small business website needs to work well on a phone, load quickly (Google's targets are LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds and CLS under 0.1), use HTTPS, be usable by people with disabilities, show the same name, address and phone number as your Google Business Profile, and clearly answer what you do, where, and how to reach you.
Key points
- Google indexes and ranks the mobile version of your site, so design for phones first.
- Core Web Vitals are part of Google's ranking systems, but good scores alone don't guarantee rankings.
- Browsers label sites without HTTPS as "Not secure".
- The Department of Justice says businesses open to the public should make their websites accessible. WCAG 2.2 is the current standard.
- Use the same business name, address and phone number everywhere Google sees them.
Most small businesses already have a website: one 2025 survey of 406 U.S. owners put it at 83%, up from 64% in 2018.[13] Having a site is no longer the hard part. What matters is whether it works when a customer pulls it up on a phone in their driveway. Here's what to check.
1. Built for phones first
Google "uses the mobile version of a site's content, crawled with the smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking."[1] If something is missing or broken on your mobile site, as far as Google is concerned it doesn't exist. Check that:
- Your phone number is a tap-to-call link, visible without scrolling.
- Text is readable without zooming, and buttons are big enough to tap.
- The mobile version has the same content as the desktop version.
2. Fast, measured by Core Web Vitals
Google measures real visitors' experience with three Core Web Vitals. To pass, at least 75% of page visits need to hit "good":[2]
| Metric | What it measures | Good |
|---|---|---|
| Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | How fast the main content appears | 2.5 seconds or less |
| Interaction to Next Paint (INP) | How quickly the page responds to taps and clicks | 200 milliseconds or less |
| Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | How much the page jumps around while loading | 0.1 or less |
INP replaced the older First Input Delay metric in March 2024.[3] Google says Core Web Vitals "are used by our ranking systems," but also that good scores don't guarantee top rankings. Relevant, helpful content still comes first.[4] The usual culprits on slow small-business sites are oversized photos, heavy page builders and too many plugins.
3. HTTPS everywhere
HTTPS encrypts the connection between your visitor and your site. Google announced it as a lightweight ranking signal back in 2014.[5] The bigger reason is customers: since Chrome 68 in 2018, Chrome marks every plain-HTTP site as "Not secure."[6] Certificates are free from most modern hosts, so there's no reason to go without.
4. Accessible to everyone
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the recognized standard. WCAG 2.2 is current, with three conformance levels (A, AA, AAA). AA is the usual target.[7]
The Department of Justice says businesses open to the public need to make their websites accessible to people with disabilities. It names common barriers: poor color contrast, information shown only by color, images without alt text, videos without captions, unlabeled form fields, and pages that can't be used with a keyboard.[8] The DOJ points to WCAG as helpful guidance for private businesses rather than mandating one standard. Its 2024 rule requiring WCAG 2.1 AA covers state and local governments.[9] Fixing the barriers above covers most of what matters for a small business site.
5. Accurate, consistent business details
Your name, address, phone number and hours should match your Google Business Profile exactly. Google asks businesses to represent themselves as they're consistently known in the real world, and service-area businesses should list a service area instead of showing a home address.[10]
Your developer can also add LocalBusiness structured data, a small block of code that states your name, address, phone, hours and business type in a machine-readable way. Google's documentation recommends using the most specific type available, such as Plumber or HVACBusiness.[11]
6. Content that answers real questions
Google's guidance is to write for people, not search engines, and of all the quality signals it describes, "trust is most important."[12] For a local business, that means:
- A page for each main service, saying clearly what you do and where.
- Real photos of your work and your team, not stock photos.
- Who's behind the business, licenses and insurance, and how long you've been doing it.
- Answers to the questions customers actually ask on the phone.
- Reviews from real customers. See getting Google reviews the right way.
7. Things you should own
Your domain, your Google Business Profile and a copy of your website's content should all be in your business's name. See Domain names explained for why this matters.
Common questions
Do I need a website if I have a Google Business Profile or Facebook page?
Those help, but you don't control them, and they can't hold full service pages, photos of your work, or answers to common questions. A website is the one place you fully own, and your Google profile can link to it.
How fast does my website need to be?
Google's "good" thresholds are Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint within 200 milliseconds, and Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1, measured on real visits at the 75th percentile.
Does my small business website have to be ADA accessible?
The Department of Justice says businesses open to the public must provide equal access, including online, and points to WCAG as helpful guidance. The 2024 rule requiring WCAG 2.1 AA applies to state and local governments rather than private businesses. Building to WCAG is the practical way to stay on the right side of both.
Does HTTPS affect my Google ranking?
Google announced HTTPS as a lightweight ranking signal in 2014. More importantly, Chrome has marked every non-HTTPS site as "Not secure" since 2018, which turns customers away.
Sources
- Google Search Central. Mobile-first indexing best practices
- web.dev (Google). Web Vitals
- web.dev (Google). Interaction to Next Paint becomes a Core Web Vital. March 12, 2024
- Google Search Central. Understanding page experience in Google Search results
- Google Search Central Blog. HTTPS as a ranking signal. August 6, 2014
- Chromium Blog. A secure web is here to stay. February 8, 2018
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. WCAG 2 overview
- U.S. Department of Justice (ADA.gov). Guidance on web accessibility and the ADA. March 18, 2022
- U.S. Department of Justice (ADA.gov). Fact sheet: new rule on the accessibility of web content and mobile apps
- Google Business Profile Help. Guidelines for representing your business on Google
- Google Search Central. Local business (LocalBusiness) structured data
- Google Search Central. Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
- Clutch. The state of small business websites in 2025. Survey of 406 U.S. small business owners, August 2025
This guide is general information for small business owners, not legal advice. We check it against the sources above and update it when they change. Spot something out of date? Email hello@risendesign.app.