Domain name
- You own your domain name and can access where it's hosted
Basic Website Essentials
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Mobile-friendly design (responsive on all screen sizes)
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Fast loading speed (under 3 seconds ideally)
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SSL certificate (HTTPS)
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Clear navigation (simple menu, logical structure)
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Accessible design (alt tags, readable fonts, keyboard navigability)
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Contact information (phone, email, contact form)
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Cookie & privacy policy (GDPR-compliant if in the UK/EU)
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404 error page (custom and user-friendly)
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Regular backups (automated if possible)
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CMS updates & plugin security (WordPress, themes, etc.)
SEO Foundations
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Custom page titles (unique and keyword-relevant)
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Meta descriptions (enticing, around 150–160 characters)
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Header tags used properly (H1 for main heading, H2–H6 for subheadings)
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Readable URLs (e.g.,
/about-us/not/page?id=12) -
Optimised images (compressed + descriptive file names and alt tags)
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Internal linking (linking between relevant pages)
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XML sitemap (submitted to Google Search Console)
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Robots.txt file (correctly configured to allow indexing)
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Google Search Console setup (site verified and indexed)
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Google Analytics or GA4 installed
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Microsoft Bing Webmaster Tools setup
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SEO plugin or tools (e.g., Yoast, Rank Math, SEOPress)
AI & Modern Search Considerations
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Fresh, helpful content (answers real user questions)
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Content formatted for featured snippets (e.g., bullet points, Q&A)
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Schema markup (especially for local business, FAQs, products)
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Fast and accessible pages for AI search
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Clear site structure for crawlability
