Small Town Website Must Haves

I’ve recently moved to a very small town outside of Yosemite National Park. The town is so small that we even have our own local telephone company and [ISP][6]. Even though I’m still in California, I get the feeling that not everyone in town understands the internet as well as they should. Many of the small businesses in town don’t even have websites, which is a shame, because so much of the local revenue is generated from tourism. Those that do, unfortunately, aren’t as complete as they should be. Some don’t even have the bare minimum of information that a local business website should offer. Every local website should include:

  • Full name
  • A description of what the business actually does. If it’s a restaurant with an attached bar tell me so, don’t make me guess.
  • A telephone number and email address (that is actually checked and responded to)
  • Your street address and textual description of where you’re located. 124-B 8th Street does me less good than ‘At the corner of 8th and Bullion Streets between the auto parts store and the bank.’
  • A map is always handy, too.
  • A photo of your business from the street
  • Does your business sell specific brands? If so, list them. There are at least three hardware stores in town and they all sell different brands of chainsaws. I always forget which one is which, and it’d be handy to be able to figure it out before I have to visit all three.
  • Extra Credit: A photograph of the owner. I always like to know when I’m talking to the owner and not just another employee. What else does a small business website need? Do you have any recommendations?

This post was inspired by Beck McCray’s Checklist for your business website.

[6]: http://www.sti.net/ “Sierra Tel Internet – Central California’s Internet
Provider”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *