The five sections every small-business homepage needs
A homepage that works for a salon, café or studio comes down to five sections, each answering one question your visitor is already asking. Here is what goes in each one, with real examples.
Deniz Aral
Designer at webMake · 17 June 2026 · 7 min read
When someone lands on your website, they are usually deciding one thing: is this the right place for me, and can I trust it? You have about ten seconds to help them answer that. The good news is you do not need a clever or complicated site to do it. You need five clear sections, in the right order, each doing one job. Think of your homepage as a short conversation with someone who has just walked through your door.
1. The hero: what you do and who it is for
The hero is the first thing people see, right at the top, before they scroll. Its only job is to tell a stranger, in plain words, what you offer and where you are. Skip the slogans. A line like Stay Beautiful or Where Moments Happen tells a visitor nothing. A line like Family-run Italian café in the centre of Leeds, open seven days tells them everything they need in one breath. Keep the hero to three things: a clear headline, one short sentence underneath, and one button such as Book a table or See our prices. Behind it, use one good photo of your actual place or work, not a stock image of a city you are not in.
- Headline: what you do and where, in eight to twelve words
- One supporting line: who it is for or what makes it worth the trip
- One button: the next step you most want people to take
- One real photo of your space, your food, or your work
2. Services: what people can actually book or buy
Once someone knows they are in the right place, they want the details. The services section lists what you offer, in language a customer would use. A salon might list Cut and finish, Colour, Balayage, and Children's cuts. A café might list its menu highlights. A studio might list class types and times. Include prices, or at least a starting price, wherever you can. People are far more likely to get in touch when they are not worried about an awkward how much is it conversation. From £45 removes that worry. And keep it scannable: three to six clear items beat a long unbroken paragraph every time.
3. Proof: why people can trust you
This is the section most small businesses skip, and it is often the one that wins the booking. Proof is anything that shows real people have used you and were glad they did. The most powerful kind is a genuine customer review, quoted in their own words, with a first name and ideally a town.
Booked for my mum's 70th. The staff could not have been kinder and the cake was the best we have ever had. We will be back. — Sarah, Harrogate
- Two or three short customer quotes with a first name and town
- Your Google or Facebook star rating, if you have one
- A few real photos of your work or your customers enjoying it
- Any award, qualification, or local mention worth a single line
4. About: who you are
People like to buy from people, especially in a small town. The about section is your chance to be human. You do not need a company history. A short, warm paragraph about who runs the place and why you started is enough. Something like: I'm Maria. I opened the café in 2019 after years of cooking for my own family, and I still bake the focaccia myself every morning. Include a real photo of yourself or your team. A friendly face does more to build trust than a polished logo.
5. Contact: how to reach you
Finally, make it effortless to take the next step. Every detail a customer might need should be easy to find: your address, opening hours kept up to date including bank holidays, a phone number written out so it can be tapped, and a button to book or email. If you have a physical place, a small map helps people find you and quietly confirms you are real and local. Repeat the most important detail rather than hiding it once at the very bottom. If most of your business comes by phone, show the number more than once.
Hero, services, proof, about, contact. That order matches the questions a visitor asks as they scroll, and it works for almost any small business. You do not need extra pages, pop-ups, or anything fancy to start. Get these five sections right, keep the words plain and the photos real, and you will have a homepage that earns trust and brings people through the door. You can always add more later, but you may find you never need to.