How long should website text be?

Website text should be long enough to answer what a customer came to find out, and no longer. For most small businesses that means a short home page that points the way, service pages long enough to explain the work and answer the usual questions, and a contact page that is mostly facts. There is no magic word count. A page with too little leaves people calling to ask, and a page with too much buries the answer. Here is how to judge the right amount for each page, with rough lengths as a guide.

The rule: one page, one question, fully answered

Every page exists to answer one main question. The right length is however many words it takes to answer that question completely, plus the next two things a customer would ask.

A page that answers "Do you fix tankless water heaters?" with a single line is too short. The customer still wants to know which brands, how fast, roughly what it costs and whether you service their town.
A page that answers it with your company history, a list of every plumbing service and three paragraphs about customer service is too long. The answer is in there somewhere, but few people will dig for it.

Before writing, write the page's question at the top of your notes. When the question and its follow-ups are answered, stop.

Rough lengths by page

These are a guide from what tends to work for small local businesses, not a rule. Some pages will be longer or shorter, and that is fine.

Home page: short, and it points. A clear headline, a sentence or two on what you do and where, a short list of your main services with links, a little proof such as reviews or a photo of your work, and how to get in touch. Often a few hundred words in all. The home page's job is to send people to the right next page quickly, not to explain everything.

Service pages: the longest pages on most sites. This is where customers decide. Each main service often needs several hundred words or more: what the service is, how the job goes, what affects the price, how long it takes, what you need from the customer, and a few common questions. A simple service may need less. An expensive or worrying one, like a roof replacement, a root canal or a legal matter, deserves more.

About page: medium. Who you are, how you started, who does the work and why customers can trust you. A few short sections, with photos, are usually enough. How to write an about page covers what to put there.

Contact page: mostly facts. Phone, email, address, hours, a short form, the area you serve or directions. A sentence of introduction is plenty.

Questions page: as long as your list. Each answer should be a few sentences, not a paragraph-long essay. Add questions as you hear them.

Gallery or project pages: photos with short captions. A sentence or two per photo saying what it shows does more than long paragraphs.

Signs a page is too short

Customers call to ask things the page could have answered.
The page could belong to any business in your trade; nothing on it is specific to you.
It lists services by name with no explanation of what they include.
There is nothing to help someone decide: no price guide, no process, no proof.

Very thin pages also give Google little to understand about what you do. Thin pages explains what that means in practice, without any promises about where a page will show.

Signs a page is too long

The answer to the page's main question is not visible without scrolling a long way.
The same point is made three times in different words.
Paragraphs run longer than a phone screen.
There are sections about you that the customer did not ask about, like your mission statement on a drain-cleaning page.
You find it boring to read yourself.

Long pages that still read quickly

A long page is fine if it is easy to scan. Most people on a phone do not read every word; they jump to the part they care about. Help them:

Put the short answer first, in the opening two or three sentences. The details follow for those who want them.
Break the page into sections with plain headings, each one a question or topic the customer would look for. Using headings so visitors can scan shows how.
Use lists for things people tick off: what is included, what to prepare, which brands you service.
Keep paragraphs short, two to four sentences.
Repeat the call button at the end and partway down, so nobody has to scroll back up.

Cut words, not answers

When a page feels long, the temptation is to delete whole sections. Cut padding first:

Opening lines that warm up instead of answering: "When it comes to choosing a plumber, there are many things to consider."
Claims every business makes: "We pride ourselves on quality."
Repeats of the same point.
Long sentences that can be two short ones.

Usually you can cut a third of a page without losing any information. If it still feels long after that, the page may be covering two topics and should become two pages.

What to do this week

Pick your three most important pages.
Write the one question each page answers at the top of a note.
Check whether each page answers that question and the next two follow-ups.
Add missing answers to thin pages; cut padding from long ones.
Look at each on your phone and add headings or lists where it looks like a wall.

If your current pages are either a few lines or a wall of text, you can see your site rebuilt first with your existing words arranged into clear sections, then trim or add in the panel.