Last updated: 22 October 2026 · By Maurice, freeehouse team · About 3 minutes to read
The home page in the first seconds
Visitors decide quickly whether to stay. Three things should be at the top of the home page: what you do, for whom and where. Plus a way to reach you.
An example: painting business in Kassel, interior and exterior, quote within two days, phone number right underneath. The first screen needs nothing more.
Content that belongs on every site
These are the points customers ask about most. If they are on the website, you save phone calls.
- Services with a short description, each with its own section or page.
- Service area or location with address.
- Opening hours or availability.
- Prices or a price range, as far as that is usual in your industry.
- Real photos of you, your team, your premises or your work.
- Process: what happens after an enquiry?
- Answers to the five most common customer questions.
Contact without hurdles
Every page should have a visible way to get in touch. Phone as a clickable number, email and a short form. In the form, ask only what you really need.
A field asking how the customer found you shows you later which channels work. That includes enquiries via ChatGPT and other chat searches, which are hard to spot in normal statistics.
Mobile view first
According to StatCounter, in September 2026 in Germany 59.85% of web traffic came from phones, 38.31% from desktop computers and 1.84% from tablets. So for most visitors the mobile view is the only one they see.
Check your site on your own phone: is the text readable without zooming, can you hit the buttons with your thumb, can you tap the phone number?
Loading time with clear benchmarks
Google measures user experience with three values, the Core Web Vitals. A page passes if 75% of visits reach the target values, measured separately for mobile and desktop.
| Metric | What it measures | Good is |
|---|---|---|
| LCP | how fast the largest visible content loads | 2.5 seconds or less |
| INP | how quickly the page responds to clicks | 200 milliseconds or less |
| CLS | how much content shifts while loading | 0.1 or less |
Legal basics
Anyone running a website as a business needs an Impressum under § 5 DDG (German Digital Services Act), easy to recognise, directly accessible and permanently available. You also need a privacy policy with the information required by Art. 13 GDPR as soon as you process personal data, for example through a contact form.
For cookies and similar technologies that are not strictly necessary, § 25 TDDDG (German telecommunications and digital services privacy act) requires consent. More on this in the guide on Impressum and privacy. This text is not legal advice.
Get found
For searches in your region, your Google Business Profile counts alongside the website. Google names three factors for local ranking: relevance, distance and prominence. According to Google, prominence also includes links and reviews.
Link the profile to your website and keep address, phone number and opening hours identical in both places.
Checklist
If you can tick every point, your website is in good shape. freeehouse checks these points on every draft.
- The home page says what, for whom and where.
- Phone, email and form reachable on every page.
- Each service has its own section or page.
- Real photos instead of stock images.
- Readable and usable on a phone.
- Core Web Vitals in the green.
- Impressum and privacy policy linked from every page.
- Google Business Profile maintained and linked.
Next step
Go through the list with your current website and mark what is missing. Most gaps can be closed with texts and photos you already have.
If you want to know how your website would look with these points covered, you can request a free draft from freeehouse.
If you want your current website rebuilt without paying for the build: freeehouse builds it by hand, and you only pay for hosting with care, cheaper than today. Claim your spot on the waiting list
Frequently asked questions
How many pages does a small business website need?
As many as you have services and questions. Typical are a home page, one page per main service, About us, Contact, Impressum and privacy policy.
How fast does my website need to load?
Google rates the largest visible content as good if it loads in 2.5 seconds or less.
Is the mobile view really that important?
Yes. According to StatCounter, almost 60% of web traffic in Germany came from phones in September 2026.
Do I have to put prices on the website?
Legally, in many cases not, but a price range helps customers. Consumer offers have their own rules on price indication.
Do I need a cookie banner?
Only if you use technologies that are not strictly necessary, for example certain statistics or advertising services. Then § 25 TDDDG requires consent. This is not legal advice.
Sources
- StatCounter: Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablet Market Share Germany, accessed 22 October 2026
- web.dev: Core Web Vitals, accessed 22 October 2026
- DDG § 5 Allgemeine Informationspflichten, accessed 22 October 2026
- Art. 13 DSGVO Informationspflicht bei Erhebung, accessed 22 October 2026
- TDDDG § 25 Schutz der Privatsphäre bei Endeinrichtungen, accessed 22 October 2026
- Google Unternehmensprofil Hilfe: Lokales Ranking verbessern, accessed 22 October 2026
Providers' prices and terms change often. What counts is what's in your customer account and your contract. Not legal advice.
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