A simple website checklist for Rhode Island small businesses
Most small business websites don't need a rebuild. They need an hour of attention. Wrong hours, an old phone number, a service you stopped offering, photos from three years ago — small stuff that quietly costs you calls.
Here's the checklist I run through with Rhode Island businesses. You can do most of it yourself in an afternoon. Work top to bottom and fix what's actually wrong.
Start with your hours, phone, and contact info
This is the part people check before they decide to call or drive over, so it has to be right.
- Are your hours current, including any seasonal change?
- Is the phone number correct and tappable on a phone?
- Does the email go somewhere you actually read?
A restaurant that changed its summer hours but left winter hours on the site is going to get a frustrated customer at the door. A salon that switched booking systems needs the new link, not the old one.
Make sure your services are clear
Someone should land on your site and know what you do in about five seconds.
List your real services in plain words. Drop anything you no longer offer. If a landscaper stopped doing snow plowing, take it off so you're not fielding calls in January. If a contractor leaned into kitchens and baths, say that up front instead of burying it under a long list.
Update your photos if the site feels old
Photos age faster than copy. A few clear, recent shots of your work, your space, or your team do more than a stock photo ever will.
Contractors: add a couple of recent project photos. Salons and barbers: show real cuts and the actual shop. Food trucks: a current photo of the truck and the food. You don't need a photographer — a clean phone photo in good light is fine.
Match your website to your Google Business Profile
Your Google listing and your website should agree on the basics: name, address, phone, hours, and what you do. When they don't match, it looks sloppy to customers and muddy to Google.
If you only fix one "search" thing this year, keep your Google Business Profile and website lined up. It's the highest-payoff move for a local business.
Check how it looks on a phone
Most people will find you on a phone, so look at your own site on one. Is the text readable without pinching? Do the buttons work with a thumb? Does the menu open?
If the site is awkward on mobile and there's no quick fix, that's usually the sign it's time for a makeover instead of another patch.
Test your forms and buttons
Fill out your own contact form and make sure the message actually lands in your inbox. Tap every button and confirm it goes where it should. Broken "Book now" and "Get a quote" buttons are lost work you never even hear about.
Cut the old stuff: promos, dates, and seasonal leftovers
Expired specials, last year's event, "Happy Holidays" in March — clear it out. Old dates make a site look abandoned even when the business is busy. If you run seasonal promos, set a reminder to pull them when they end.
Make it obvious what area you serve
If you travel to customers, say where you go. Cleaners and landscapers should list the towns they cover. Marine businesses should note which marinas or areas they service and update seasonal availability. A food truck should make it easy to find where you'll be this week, even if that's just a link to where you post your schedule.
Clear service areas help the right customers contact you and help you show up for nearby searches. If you're a trades business, a simple service area section pulls real weight.
Add recent work when you have it
You don't need to blog every week. But when you finish a job you're proud of, or get a new menu, or add a service, put it on the site. A few real updates a year keep the site honest and give people a reason to trust you. If you want examples, see how I've handled this for other local businesses.
Know when to stop patching and ask for help
There's a point where editing an old site costs more time and frustration than starting clean. If you're scared to touch it, can't update it yourself, or it just doesn't match the business anymore, that's the signal.
A simple, current site beats a fancy one you can't keep up. If yours is past patching, that's the moment to talk through a starter or a makeover.
The quick version
If you only have ten minutes, check these:
- Hours, phone, and email are correct
- Services list matches what you actually do
- It works and reads well on a phone
- Contact form lands in your inbox
- Google listing and website say the same thing
- No expired promos or old dates
That covers most of what quietly hurts a small business website.
If you'd rather hand it off, I build clean, simple sites for Rhode Island businesses without agency pricing or subscriptions. Tell me what's going on with your site and I'll point you in the right direction.
Current pricing
| Feature | Starter | Plus | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 75 dollars | 250 dollars | scoped |
| Pages | 1 page | Flexible pages and sections | Scoped pages and features |
| Contact | Tap to email (prefilled) | Form to your email | Advanced forms or embeds |
| SEO (on-page, one-time) | Meta, structure, sitemap.xml, robots.txt | + local terms and town-focused structure | + tailored on-page tuning for your area |
| Content help | Copywriting included | Copywriting included | Copywriting included |