Somebody finds you on Google, taps your website, and looks at whatever fits on their phone screen. They don't scroll first. They decide first. If that top part answers their questions, they keep going or they call. If it doesn't, they go back and tap the next business.
That first screen is the most valuable spot on your whole website. Here's what belongs there.
1. What you do, and where
In plain words, not a slogan. “Floor stripping and waxing in Danville” tells a customer they're in the right place. “Excellence in every detail” could be anybody. If someone can't tell what you do in about five seconds, the rest of the page doesn't matter.
2. A way to reach you with one tap
Most of your visitors are on a phone. Your phone number should be right there, and tapping it should dial you. Most sites get this right, but not all. One shop we looked at recently had its number and address only inside a picture. It looked fine, but nobody could tap it, and Google couldn't read it either.
3. One clear next step
Pick the one thing you most want a visitor to do: call, book, order, or ask for an estimate. Make that the big button. When the top of a page has five buttons fighting for attention, people often pick none of them.
4. A reason to trust you
A stranger is deciding whether to let you into their home or business. Give them a reason up front: your Google stars, how long you've been at it, or a real photo of your work. Real photos beat stock photos every time. People can spot a stock photo from across the room.
5. Hours and location, if people come to you
For a shop, restaurant or anywhere with a front door, “Are they open right now?” is usually the first question. Don't make people dig for it, and make sure it matches what Google says. Nothing loses a customer faster than showing up to a locked door.
And none of it counts if the page is slow
All of this only works if the page actually shows up. On a phone signal, a lot of small business sites take 10 seconds or more, and most people won't wait that long. We wrote more about that in why your website might be slow on phones.
Harder than it looks
Getting all five right, on a phone, without making the page slow, is harder than it looks. That's what we do.
Our free website check looks at a lot of this for you, including speed on a phone and whether your number can be tapped, and explains what it finds in plain words.