Your phone number, address, and hours should be easy to find on every page of your website. On a phone, the number should start a call with one tap. The address and hours should be plain words on the page, not part of a picture.
That sounds basic. It's also easy to get wrong without noticing. Here's why it matters, and how to check your own site.
Why customers go to your website for the basics
Say you run a small theater in Bethlehem. Someone in Easton hears about Friday's show from a friend. They search for the theater's name on their phone, and they tap through to your website.
They want three things. When does the box office open? Where do they park? Can they call to ask about seats? If your site answers those in a few seconds, they buy tickets. If they have to dig, some of them give up and make other plans.
People don't always find you through a search result with a call button on it. They hear your name from a friend. They see it in an AI answer. They read it on a flyer at the coffee shop. Each time, your website is where they go to find out how to reach you. It's also the one place where you decide what they see.
Google has also been seen testing AI answers that list local businesses by name only, with no button to call, get directions, or visit the website. When a search shows your name and nothing else, your website has to do that work.
Four things to check on your own site
Open your website on your phone, the way a customer would. Don't use your computer. Then look for these four things.
A phone number that dials when you tap it
Tap your phone number. It should start a call right away. If nothing happens, the customer has to copy the number by hand, or give up. The fix is a click-to-call link. It's a small change for whoever builds your site.
The number at the top of every page
A customer shouldn't have to scroll to the bottom to find your number. Put it in the header, at the top of every page. On a phone, that's the first thing they see. If someone lands on the parking page or a show page, the number is still right there.
Your address and hours written out in words
Some sites show the address only inside a map. Others put the hours inside a picture. A phone can't tap or copy words that are part of a picture. A map can be slow to load on a weak signal. Write the address and hours out as plain text, on the contact page and at the bottom of every page.
The same details as your Google listing
Check your website against your Google listing, line by line. The phone number, the address, and the hours should match exactly. If your site says the box office opens at 5 and Google says 6, the customer doesn't know which one to believe. Fix whichever one is wrong. Your Google listing can change without you, so look at it too.
What to do when your hours change
A theater's hours move with the show schedule. Plenty of businesses are the same. A restaurant closes early in January. A shop opens late on a holiday. Every time your hours change, change them on your website and your Google listing on the same day.
If your hours change often, say how they work. "The box office opens one hour before every show" is clearer than a table of times that's wrong half the year.
Why it matters more around here
In this area, the next choice is rarely far away. Someone in Bethlehem who can't find your number has other places close by in Allentown and Easton. Someone in Quakertown can drive to Doylestown or Lansdale. A customer who can't reach you in a few seconds doesn't have to try very hard to reach someone else.
You won't see this happen. Nobody calls to say they couldn't find your number. It just looks like a slow week. It's a lot like a call that goes to voicemail.
Where to start
Today, pick up your phone and open your own website. See how long it takes to find your phone number, your address, and your hours. Then tap the number and see if it dials.
If anything took more than a few seconds, write it down. Send the list to whoever looks after your site. Most of these fixes are small. Then check your Google listing against your site and make the two match.
Judge the result by phone calls, form fills, and booked jobs. If you'd like to know whether your website is set up to get found and called, our free site audit will tell you in plain English.