A practical guide for small business owners - homepage, services and about page copy that turns browsers into enquiries.
Suzanne Wootton
Good website copy starts with your customer's problem, not your business's credentials. Write in plain language, be specific rather than vague, and make it obvious what you want the reader to do next. The biggest mistake small business owners make is writing about themselves instead of writing for the person reading.
You could have a beautifully designed website and still have it do almost nothing for your business. Design gets people to stay for a few seconds. Words are what make them stay, trust you, and take the next step.
The good news is that you don't need to be a professional copywriter to write website copy that works. You need to understand your customers, be honest about what you offer, and follow a clear structure. This guide walks through each of the main pages on a small business website and what good copy actually looks like.
Before you write a single word, answer three questions:
Who am I writing for? Not “small business owners” or “women aged 30–50” - but something specific. “Boutique hotel owners who want their website to reflect the quality of the experience they offer, not look like it was built in 2017.”
What problem am I solving? What frustration, desire, or goal brings them to your site? What are they worried about? What do they hope for?
What do I want them to do? Every page needs a single clear answer to this question. Book a call. Fill in a form. Read this next. When pages try to do too many things, they end up doing none of them effectively.
Everything you write should trace back to these three answers.
Your homepage has one job: tell visitors they're in the right place and point them to the next step.
Most small business homepages fail because they lead with the business rather than the customer. Compare these two openings:
Welcome to Smith & Co. We are a full-service accounting firm established in 2009 with a team of dedicated professionals committed to your financial success.
Tired of doing your own books and still not knowing whether your business is actually profitable? We help small business owners understand their numbers and sleep at night.
The second version names the customer's real frustration and promises a concrete outcome. That's what a homepage headline should do - within the first screen, before anyone scrolls.
From there, your homepage needs a clear subheading that clarifies who you help and how, one prominent call to action (not five competing ones), some form of social proof - a testimonial, a recognisable client name, or a number like “over 80 businesses helped” - a brief overview of what you offer, and another CTA at the bottom for people who've read through.
That's it. Not complicated. Just rarely done.
Most services pages are lists. The best ones are arguments for why you're the right choice.
The most important shift: lead with what the client gets, not what you do. “Brand strategy and website design” tells someone what you offer. “Walk away with a brand and website that finally look like the business you've built” tells them what they'll experience. Both can appear on the page, but the outcome comes first.
Describe who each service is for. “This works best for…” or “This is for business owners who…” are some of the most effective phrases you can put on a services page. They help the right people self-identify and reduce the friction of enquiry, because the client doesn't have to wonder whether they qualify.
Answer the questions they're already thinking. How long does this take? What does it cost, or at least what's the ballpark? What will I need to provide? If you don't answer these, your visitor has to ask - and many won't. They'll just leave.
Include a testimonial near each service description. A review from someone who used that specific service is more powerful than a generic testimonial at the bottom of the page.
Here's the thing most business owners get wrong: the About page isn't really about you. It's about the client finding a reason to trust you.
Your story matters - but only the parts of it that are relevant to them. Not “I've been a photographer for 12 years” but “I've spent 12 years photographing small business owners who were ready to stop hiding behind stock photos and show the world who they actually are.”
The second version tells the same fact while speaking directly to what the client cares about.
Include your relevant experience and credentials briefly, what drives you to do this work, who you love working with - and ideally who you don't, because specificity builds trust - and a real photo of you. Not a stock image. Not a forced studio headshot if that doesn't reflect you. Something that looks like the person a client is about to email.
What to leave out: your entire career history, generic claims like “passionate” and “dedicated to excellence”, and walls of unbroken text that nobody reads.
Finish with a clear call to action. The About page is often where someone decides whether to get in touch. Don't make them go hunting for the next step.
Being vague instead of specific. “High-quality service” means nothing. “Response within 24 hours and a clear quote with no hidden costs” means something concrete. Whenever you write a claim, ask yourself: can I make this more specific?
Writing for everyone. When you try to appeal to everyone, the copy connects with no one. Write for the people you do your best work with. It might feel like narrowing your appeal. It's actually sharpening it.
Burying the call to action. If a visitor has to scroll to the footer of every page to find out how to contact you, you're losing enquiries. Put a CTA near the top and bottom of every main page.
Starting every paragraph with “We”. Every sentence that begins with “We” is a sentence about you rather than your client. Try switching to “You” and notice how differently it reads.
Using industry language without explaining it. Write like you'd explain it to a friend at dinner, not like you're submitting a report. If a technical term is necessary, explain it immediately.
Good website copy doesn't require a marketing degree. It requires knowing your customer well enough to describe their situation back to them, being honest about what you offer and what it isn't, and making it as easy as possible for the right person to take the next step.
Start with their problem. Describe the outcome you deliver. Be specific. Make the next step obvious. That's most of it.
If you've written your own website copy and you're not sure whether it's doing its job, get in touch. I can review what you have, tell you what's working and what isn't, and give you specific changes to make.
Long enough to answer the questions your visitor is asking, short enough to keep them reading. Homepage copy tends to be concise. Services and About pages can go longer when the detail adds genuine value. The rule is simple: every sentence should earn its place. If a paragraph isn't doing something useful, cut it.
If you're a solo operator, “I” is more authentic and builds personal connection. “We” works fine for teams. What matters more than either is how often you use them - the focus should be on “you” (the customer) as much as possible, not on you or we.
You can absolutely write your own copy if you understand your customers well and can write clearly and plainly. A professional copywriter is worth considering when you're too close to the business to write about it objectively, or when you've rewritten the homepage three times and it still doesn't feel right.
Look at your enquiry rate and where enquiries come from. If people are landing on your site but not getting in touch, the copy - or the call to action - is likely the problem. Google Analytics can show you which pages have high exit rates, which tells you where people are giving up.
Copy first, always. Design should support your message, not the other way around. When designers work without copy, they use placeholder text and build layouts that often don't suit the actual content. When copy comes first, the design can be built around what the words actually need to do.
Suzanne is a digital marketing specialist with 9 years of experience helping businesses build online presences that actually convert. A former Digital Marketing Manager at a national law firm and 2023 Lawyers Weekly Women in Law finalist, she has led projects ranging from website builds to AI innovation strategy. She now works with boutique and accessible-luxury small businesses ready to grow beyond their DIY roots.
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