Website Man journal
Most small business homepages fail for the same reason: they answer questions nobody has asked yet. Here are the eight blocks that do the work, the order to put them in, and the three that quietly cost you enquiries. Landing pages start from R4,000. Last updated: October 2026 · by the Website Man team
The eight blocks
Every block either helps a stranger decide to message you, or it gets in the way.
A small business homepage needs eight things: what you do, where you do it, proof, prices, a face, real photos, answers to common questions, and one clear way to reach you. In that order. Anything else competes for attention and slows the page down. Here is each block, what belongs in it, and what to cut.
| Block | What goes in it | Why it earns its place |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Header | Business name, logo, a one line description of what you do, your WhatsApp number, and a menu of four to six links | A visitor who lands on the wrong page still needs one tap to the right one, and your number should be visible before they scroll |
| 2. Hero | A headline with who you serve, what you sell, and where. One photo of real work. One button | Every visitor reads this block, and most decide here whether to keep going |
| 3. Proof strip | Your Google rating and a real review, the towns you serve, how long you have traded, a photo of the actual team | Strangers decide whether to trust you before they read a single service |
| 4. Services and prices | Three to six things you do, each in one plain sentence, each with a from price | Buyers compare on price, and hiding it sends them to whoever shows it |
| 5. Story | Two short paragraphs: who you are, why you started, one face | For a small business the owner is the differentiator, and a face is the fastest proof of one |
| 6. Recent work | Six to eight photos of finished jobs, shot on your own phone in good light | Proof of work is what a buyer looks for straight after the price |
| 7. FAQ | Four to six questions customers already ask you on the phone, answered in two or three lines | The answers remove the last objections before a stranger has to ask |
| 8. Contact | WhatsApp button, trading hours, service area, and a map only if you have a door people visit | The page has one job, which is to start a conversation. This is where it happens |
The headline in block two deserves its own post, and it has one: what your homepage must say in five seconds. If you are still deciding how much to put on the site at all, read how many pages a small business needs.
What to cut
Each one feels professional. Each one gives a visitor a reason to leave.
Slides two and three are seen by almost nobody, every extra image slows the first load on a phone, and the arrows ask a visitor to make a decision they did not come for. One strong photo of your own work beats five they have to click through. If you have a second photo worth showing, it belongs in recent work.
"Established in 1998" answers a question nobody has asked yet. Put the founding year in the story block, where a reader who already wants you will find it. The top of the page belongs to the customer's problem, not your timeline. Same rule for a mission statement: it can live in the story, it cannot open the page.
A form asks a stranger to type their details and then wait. A WhatsApp button opens a conversation they already know how to have, on an app already on their phone. Keep a form if you like, but never as the only way in. Put your real hours beside it too, because a reply that arrives at midnight sets an expectation you have to keep.
Questions
Eight is enough for most small businesses: header, hero, proof, services, story, recent work, FAQ and contact. Each block should help a stranger decide to message you. If a section does none of that, it is costing attention and page weight, and it should go.
Yes, at least a starting price for each service. South African buyers compare on price, and a page that hides it sends them to a competitor who shows it. An honest from price also filters out enquiries that were never going to close.
Name the action: WhatsApp us, get a quote, book a table. One button, repeated down the page, pointing at one destination. Two competing buttons split the decision and often produce neither.
A one page site built around these blocks is a landing page, from R4,000 once-off, with one revision round, a preview before you pay, and domain and hosting paid directly to the provider with no markup. If you need separate service and about pages as well, a full website starts from R10,000 with two revision rounds.
Keep reading: The 5 second homepage test · How many pages you need · Landing page prices · Full pricing · All posts
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