Small Business Website Content — Sheffield No-Faff
A straight-talking guide to Sheffield small business website content — page-by-page writing tips, local SEO actions and a short checklist so local customers can find you.
How to prepare content for your new website (without the faff)
Simple, practical steps to prepare content for your small business website without any agency waffle. Page-by-page advice, SEO tips and a checklist.
Right, you’ve decided to get a new website. Nice. Before anyone asks you for 'brand assets' or 'synergy' (~~synergy~~ — there, I said it), sort your content out first. This is the bit that actually helps customers buy stuff and find you on Google. Not the bit that fills three slide decks.
Below is a proper, practical plan for writing website content — aimed at people who run shops, salons, trades, cafes and other small businesses. No fluff. No baffling agency-speak. Just useful stuff.
What you should prepare, page by page
- Homepage — The one-paragraph opener, the main offer, and your best two reasons someone should pick you.
- About — Who you are, how long you’ve been doing it, what you care about, and a short photo of you or the team.
- Services / Products — Clear names, short benefit-driven descriptions, prices if possible, and a 'what's included' list.
- Contact — Phone, email, opening hours, address (with a map), and a simple contact form sentence.
- FAQs — The common questions people ask, answered plainly.
- Testimonials / Trust — Short quotes, who said them (name + town if possible), and any trade accreditations.
- Blog / News — One or two ideas for posts to start with (see local SEO tip below).
If you’ve got lots of products, start with a small, curated range for the site launch. You can add more later.
How much to write
- Homepage: 200–400 words. Short headline, short supporting paragraph, and 3–6 bullet points of benefits.
- Service page: 300–600 words each for main services. Make them skimmable with sub-headings.
- Product descriptions: 50–150 words per item. Lead with the main benefit.
- About: 200–400 words. Personal, not corporate.
These are ballpark figures. Stuff that’s too short looks thin. Stuff that’s too long loses people. Keep sentences short. Use subheadings and bullets.
Practical tips for writing that actually works
- Lead with benefits, not geeky features. Tell people what problem you solve early.
- Use your keywords naturally — e.g. 'website content', 'small business website', 'content for website', and 'local SEO' — but don’t cram them in unnaturally.
- Use plain English. If a sentence needs a thesaurus, bin it.
- Add a call to action on every page: 'Call us', 'Book a slot', 'Get a quote'. Make it specific.
- Use real photos. Customers buy from people. Show faces and your shop or van.
- Add prices where you can. Nothing kills enquiries faster than hidden prices.
SEO basics you can do before launch
- Pick one short phrase for each page (page topic). Put it in the page title and first paragraph.
- Use simple URLs: /plumbing, /mens-haircut, /wedding-cakes — not /services/our-expertise.
- Write alt text for images: short, descriptive, include your location if relevant for local searches.
- Add your full business name, address and phone (NAP) on a Contact page and in the footer.
- Start with 2–4 blog ideas aimed at local problems — these help local SEO and give you content to point customers to.
You don’t need to be an SEO nerd to do these. Just be clear and consistent.
Images, files and boring technical bits (do them right)
- Image size: export web images at 1200px wide for hero images; thumbnails 300–600px. Keep files under 300KB where possible.
- File names: use dashes, not spaces — e.g. sheffield-bakery-window.jpg.
- File types: JPG for photos, PNG for graphics with text, SVG for simple logos.
- PDF price lists are fine, but also give a short HTML summary on the page.
If you hand these over to your web developer (ahem, Just Get Online), they’ll thank you.
What customers actually want to see
- Clarity: what you do, who you do it for, and how to take the next step.
- Proof: photos, testimonials, trust badges, any press or awards.
- Accessibility: simple language, readable fonts, and clear contrast.
Quick checklist before you send content to your developer
- [ ] Headline for each page
- [ ] 1–3 short paragraphs or bullets per section
- [ ] Contact details checked and correct
- [ ] 3–5 images named and sized correctly
- [ ] 3 customer testimonials with names
- [ ] Pricing or 'starting from' info where possible
- [ ] 2–4 blog post ideas for local SEO
Stick this list in a Google Doc or email. Label your files sensibly: homepage.txt, service-plumbing.docx, testimonial-anna.jpg, etc.
Timings and how to work together
Get content done first, design second. A developer or designer can’t finish a site without actual words and images. Agree deadlines for each page and stick to them. If you’re working with people (like Just Get Online) who build the site, they’ll need that content to test layouts and mobile screens.
If writing isn’t your thing, ask someone who knows your business to write first drafts and then edit them yourself. Even rough notes are better than nothing.
Final words (short and useful)
Treat your website content like a shop window. Clear signs, neat prices, and friendly staff make people come in. Over-polished corporate waffle doesn’t.
If you want a quick sanity check on what you’ve written, or someone to take the files and make them live, Just Get Online can tidy things up and get the site running — no ~brand magic~ required. Drop us a message if you’d like a hand getting your content live and sensible.
Take our 60-second website quiz or contact us to discuss your website.