What Should a Business Website Include?

Quick answer: A business website needs a homepage, one page per service or product, an about page, contact details visible on every page, social proof, and a clear next step. Australian businesses also need to consider privacy policy obligations, Australian Consumer Law compliance, and Spam Act requirements if collecting email addresses.

Most articles answering this question are written for the American market. They cover the pages well and skip the part that actually creates risk for an Australian business: privacy obligations, consumer law, and Spam Act requirements. Both halves are below.

This is an inventory, not a strategy guide. If you want to know how to judge whether a site is any good once it exists, that is a separate question covered in what makes a website good. Here we are listing what actually has to be on it.

The pages

Page	Required?	What it does
Home	Essential	Orients the visitor and routes them onward
Service or product pages, one per offering	Essential	The pages that rank and convert
About	Essential	Establishes who you are and why you can be trusted
Contact	Essential	Capture, plus the details people look for
Pricing or how we quote	Strongly recommended	Filters unqualified enquiries
Case studies or portfolio	Strongly recommended	Proof you have done this before
Testimonials or reviews	Recommended	Third party validation
FAQ	Recommended	Handles objections and captures search traffic
Team	Situational	Matters most in professional services
Blog or resources	Later	Long term search traffic
Privacy policy	See legal section	Legal and trust
Terms and conditions	Situational	Necessary for ecommerce and paid services

The mistake almost everyone makes is building one “Services” page listing eight offerings in a paragraph each. That page ranks for none of them and converts poorly for all of them. Split it, one page per service you actually want more of.

What belongs on every page

These appear site wide, not just on the contact page:

• Business name and logo, linking back to the homepage
• Phone number as a tap-to-call link on mobile, not plain text
• Email address or enquiry link
• Primary call to action, visible without scrolling
• Navigation that does not change between pages
• Footer with contact details, ABN, key links and copyright
• Search, once you pass roughly 30 pages

What belongs on the homepage

Above the fold, a visitor should be able to answer four questions without scrolling:

1. What do you do?
2. Do you serve my area or my situation?
3. Why you rather than someone else?
4. What do I do next?

Then below that:

• Services summary, each linking to its own page
• Proof: logos, review rating, project count, years operating
• A short explanation of how working with you goes
• Recent work or case study
• Final call to action

What belongs on a service page

Section	Purpose
H1 naming the service and location	Ranking and orientation
Call to action above the fold	Capture the ready buyer
The problem in the customer’s words	Recognition
What the service involves	Reduces uncertainty
Pricing guidance or how you quote	Filters and converts
Proof specific to this service	Credibility
Process and timeline	Sets expectations
FAQ	Objection handling
Closing call to action	Capture the persuaded

Trust elements Australian buyers look for

• ABN. Put it in the footer. It is a low effort credibility signal and buyers do check
• Licence or registration numbers where your trade or profession requires them. In some states, contractors are legally required to display licence numbers on advertising
• Public liability insurance, where relevant
• Industry association membership with logos
• Real photos of real people. Stock photography of models in an office reads as generic
• Physical address or at least a suburb. Total anonymity is a red flag
• Google reviews embedded live, not typed out as text
• Years in business and a specific volume figure. “Over 1,200 installs across Melbourne since 2014” beats “many satisfied customers”

Note one exception. If you are a registered health practitioner, testimonials in advertising are restricted under the National Law, and you cannot embed patient reviews on your own site. That rule catches a lot of businesses out.

The legal and compliance side

This is where Australian business websites most often fall short. None of the following is legal advice, and you should confirm your obligations with a qualified adviser.

Privacy policy. The Privacy Act 1988 has historically exempted most businesses with annual turnover under $3 million. That exemption is being removed through the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, with commencement reported for December 2026, which would bring an estimated 2.5 million additional Australian businesses under the full Australian Privacy Principles. Timing and detail have moved during the reform process, so verify the current position on the OAIC website. The practical advice regardless of your turnover: if you collect names, emails, phone numbers or use analytics and tracking, publish a privacy policy now. It costs little and it is becoming mandatory.

Australian Consumer Law. Your site must not mislead or deceive. That covers pricing claims, comparative statements, fake urgency, and testimonials. Consumer guarantees cannot be excluded, so avoid terms claiming otherwise.

Spam Act 2003. If you collect email addresses for marketing you need consent, accurate sender identification, and a working unsubscribe in every message. A newsletter signup box with no consent wording and no privacy link is a common gap.

Pricing display. Prices shown to consumers must include GST and be a single total figure where a total can be calculated. Component pricing rules apply.

Cookies and tracking. Australia has no standalone cookie law equivalent to the EU, but if you use analytics or advertising pixels, disclose it in the privacy policy. If you have EU or UK visitors, their rules may apply to you.

Accessibility. Not universally mandated for private business, but the Disability Discrimination Act has been applied to websites, and WCAG 2.1 AA is the practical benchmark. It is also good design.

Technical elements that are easy to miss

• SSL certificate. A site served over plain HTTP is flagged as not secure and loses visitors instantly
• Mobile responsive layout. Not optional. Most traffic is mobile
• Fast load on mobile data, not just office wifi. See our explainer on Core Web Vitals
• Custom domain and business email. A Gmail address on a business site undercuts everything else
• Analytics installed and conversions configured, or you are guessing
• Google Business Profile linked and consistent with the site
• XML sitemap and sensible URLs
• Favicon and social share images, so links do not look broken when shared
• A real 404 page that routes people back
• Backups and updates. Covered in our website maintenance service
• Reliable hosting. See what web hosting is

Conversion elements

Having the pages is not the same as getting enquiries:

• One clear primary action per page. Competing calls to action cancel each other out
• A short form. Four fields converts better than ten. Ask only what you need to make the first call
• Multiple contact routes. Phone, form, email. Roughly a third of people cannot call right now
• A useful thank you page. Tell them when you will respond, give the phone number for urgent matters
• Response time stated. “We reply within one business day” reduces hesitation

Our guides to calls to action and the conversion rate optimisation checklist cover this in depth.

If you sell online

Ecommerce adds requirements:

• Product pages with multiple images, specifications and stock status
• A secure payment gateway with recognised methods
• Shipping costs and delivery timeframes stated before checkout
• Returns and refunds policy consistent with consumer guarantees
• Order confirmation and tracking
• GST inclusive pricing
• Guest checkout, because forced account creation costs sales

Our ecommerce website launch checklist covers the full pre launch list, and how to start an ecommerce business in Singapore covers the wider setup for that market.

The minimum viable business website

If you are starting with nothing and need to launch quickly, this is the smallest set that still works:

1. Home page answering the four questions
2. One page per main service
3. About page with real photos and real history
4. Contact page with phone, email, form and location
5. Privacy policy
6. Tap-to-call in the header on mobile
7. SSL, mobile responsive, analytics installed
8. Google Business Profile claimed and linked

That is roughly six to eight pages and it beats a twenty page site with no clear action on any of them.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most important pages on a business website?

Home, individual service pages, about and contact. Service pages do most of the ranking and converting work, which is why splitting them out matters.

Does an Australian business website need a privacy policy?

If you collect personal information, publish one. The small business exemption under the Privacy Act is being removed through reform legislation, so businesses previously exempt are coming into scope. Check the current position with the OAIC.

Do I need to show my ABN on my website?

There is no general requirement to display it on a website, though it is required on tax invoices. Putting it in the footer is a simple credibility signal and most established Australian businesses do.

How many pages should a small business website have?

Usually six to fifteen. One per service you want more of, plus the core pages. Quality per page matters more than count.

What makes a business website look professional?

Consistency, real photography, clear structure, fast loading, and visible contact details. Most of what reads as unprofessional is inconsistency and stock imagery rather than budget.

Where to start

Work through the minimum viable list above and check what is missing. For most Australian businesses the gaps are the same: no individual service pages, no privacy policy, no visible phone number on mobile, and no clear next step.

If you would rather have it built properly the first time, our web design and development team works with Australian businesses. Get in touch and we will audit what you have against this list.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Privacy, consumer and spam law obligations change. Confirm your position with a qualified adviser and check the OAIC and ACCC websites for current requirements.