New Location Website Launch Checklist for Local Businesses

Give the new location a clear online home before opening day

A new location creates a simple customer question: “Where are you, and can I visit or contact you there?”

Your website should answer that question clearly before the location opens—or as soon as the information is ready to share. That does not guarantee more search traffic, calls, or bookings. But it can give prospective customers a reliable place to confirm the address, hours, services, access details, and next step if they find your business while planning a visit.

This checklist is for businesses opening a second physical location, relocating to a new address, or expanding into a new area with a customer-facing office, shop, practice, or facility.

It is intentionally different from a service-area page. If you travel to customers across multiple cities without opening a physical location, read Local Service Area Pages: What to Include When Your Business Serves Multiple Cities.

Table of contents

• Decide what the new location page needs to do
• Build the essential location information
• Explain services and availability accurately
• Help visitors plan their arrival
• Coordinate your website and Google Business Profile
• Handle a move, closure, or old address carefully
• Prepare for inquiries before opening day
• Run a final launch check

Decide what the new location page needs to do

Start by choosing the page’s job. A location page is not just an address dropped into the footer. It should help a visitor determine whether this is the right place, whether it is open, how to get there, and how to take the next step.

For most businesses with multiple physical locations, that means creating a dedicated page for each location. The page can live beneath a Locations section in the main navigation, such as:

• yourbusiness.com/locations
• yourbusiness.com/locations/downtown
• yourbusiness.com/locations/north-side

A dedicated page is especially useful when locations have different:

• Hours
• Phone numbers
• Services
• Staff or departments
• Parking or entrance instructions
• Appointment availability
• Accessibility or visitor information
• Opening dates

Avoid making every location page nearly identical except for the city name and address. Instead, give each one the details a customer would need to use that specific location.

Choose the right opening status

Be direct about the location’s status. Do not make customers guess whether they can visit today.

Use a clear label such as:

• “Now open”
• “Opening on [date]”
• “Appointments available starting [date]”
• “Coming soon”
• “Relocating to [new address] on [date]”

If the opening date is not final, do not publish a precise date just to fill the page. A simple “Opening soon” message with a contact option is more useful than information you may need to retract.

Build the essential location information

Before publishing, gather the details in one shared source of truth. This reduces the risk of an address, phone number, or hours being written differently across pages.

New location page checklist

Include these basics on the new location page:

• [ ] Location name, if you use one
• [ ] Full street address, including suite, unit, floor, or building details where applicable
• [ ] City, state, and ZIP code
• [ ] Main phone number or location-specific number
• [ ] Regular business hours
• [ ] Any separate department, showroom, pickup, or appointment hours
• [ ] Opening date or current opening status
• [ ] A clear primary action, such as call, request an appointment, or contact the business
• [ ] A link to directions or an embedded map, if appropriate
• [ ] A short explanation of what customers can do at this location

Put the address and hours in selectable text—not only inside an image or map. Visitors may need to copy the address into a navigation app, and text is easier to check and update.

Put the location in the right places across the site

The dedicated page is the main source of detail, but it should not be the only mention of the new location.

Review these areas:

For contact information generally, review 7 Contact Page Mistakes That Cost Local Businesses Leads.

Explain services and availability accurately

A new address does not automatically mean every service is available there. This is where vague launch copy causes confusion.

If a customer can only receive certain services at one location, say so plainly. For example:

Our Northside location offers consultations and product pickup. Installation appointments are scheduled at customer homes.

Or:

Routine appointments are available at both locations. Specialized treatments are offered at our Downtown office only.

This kind of wording helps visitors choose the right location before they call or submit a form.

Answer the practical service questions

For each location, verify:

• Which services are available there
• Whether service availability starts on opening day or later
• Whether walk-ins are accepted
• Whether appointments are required
• Whether customers can pick up orders, drop off items, or meet staff there
• Whether the location has different holiday or seasonal hours
• Whether the location serves a different customer type, such as residential versus commercial clients

If the expansion includes a new offering as well as a new address, keep the two messages separate. A location page should explain where customers can go. A service page should explain what the service includes and how to inquire. See How to Add a New Service to a Local Business Website Without Confusing Customers.

Help visitors plan their arrival

A customer who has already decided to visit should not have to call just to find the correct entrance.

Add arrival information that is specific to the location and genuinely useful. Depending on the site, that may include:

• Parking availability or validation details
• The correct entrance, building name, floor, or suite
• Pickup instructions
• Public-transit landmarks
• Whether the location is inside another business, office park, or shopping center
• Wheelchair-accessible entrance information, if confirmed
• Instructions for checking in at reception
• What customers should bring to an appointment

Keep this section practical. “Conveniently located” does not help someone find a suite in a large medical building. “Enter through the east lobby and take the elevator to Suite 410” does.

Use real photos when possible

A few current photos can make a new location easier to recognize. Consider including:

• The exterior storefront or building entrance
• Signage visible from the street
• Reception area, showroom, waiting room, or counter
• Parking entrance or pickup area when it is difficult to spot
• A team photo at the new location, if appropriate

Photos should support wayfinding and trust, not substitute for essential written details. For guidance on choosing stronger visuals, read Why Real Photos Sell Your Local Business Better Than Stock.

Coordinate your website and Google Business Profile

Your website and Google Business Profile should not contradict one another. Before announcing the new location, compare the customer-facing details you publish in both places.

Check that the following information matches where applicable:

• Business name
• Address and suite number
• Phone number
• Hours
• Opening status
• Website link
• Services or categories described to customers
• Photos of the correct location

Your website should link visitors to the location page that contains the full details. The Google Business Profile can be another place customers encounter the location, while the website remains the place where you can explain services, access, policies, and contact options in more depth.

For a broader overview, see Google Business Profile and Your Website: How They Work Together to Get You Found.

Do not publish a profile or website page with placeholder hours, a temporary phone number, or a tentative address unless you clearly label it and have a plan to replace it.

Handle a move, closure, or old address carefully

Opening a new location is sometimes paired with moving or closing an old one. In that case, customers may still arrive through old search results, bookmarks, social posts, printed materials, or saved contacts.

Your website should make the change unmistakable.

If you are relocating one location

Update the old location page with a direct notice:

We have moved. Visit us at [new address].

Then link prominently to the new location page. Keep the old URL useful rather than leaving a dead end, especially if it was previously shared with customers.

Also update:

• The contact page
• Header, footer, and mobile navigation
• Location-specific service pages
• Staff or team pages that mention the old address
• Directions, embedded maps, and parking instructions
• Downloadable PDFs, menus, brochures, or forms hosted on the site

If an old location is closing permanently

Tell visitors whether the business remains open elsewhere and what they should do next. If another location can serve them, provide its address, hours, phone number, and link.

For more detailed closure messaging, read What to Put on Your Website When a Business Location Closes.

Prepare for inquiries before opening day

A new location announcement may prompt questions before the doors open. Customers may ask when appointments begin, whether a service will be available, where to park, or whether the phone number is active.

Prepare a simple process before you publish.

Inquiry-response checklist

• [ ] Confirm who receives website form submissions for the new location
• [ ] Test the form and notification email or inbox
• [ ] Decide who answers opening-date and availability questions
• [ ] Create an internal answer for common questions, including services, hours, and access
• [ ] Add a location field to the contact form if customers may be choosing between locations
• [ ] Set an accurate expectation if responses will be delayed before opening
• [ ] Ensure the thank-you page does not promise a response time you cannot support
• [ ] Review the location’s phone routing or voicemail message, if applicable

Do not rely on a launch announcement alone. If a visitor submits a question and receives no confirmation or response path, the page has left an important job unfinished.

These related guides can help with the handoff:

• Local Business Website Lead Notifications: How to Stop Missing New Inquiries
• How Local Businesses Should Handle Website Leads That Arrive After Hours
• What to Put on a Local Business Website Thank-You Page After a Form Submission

Run a final launch check

Review the new location page on a phone as well as a desktop computer. Many visitors will be looking for hours, directions, or a phone number while they are already on the way.

Final publishing checklist

• [ ] The location page has the correct opening status
• [ ] Address, suite number, phone, and hours are accurate
• [ ] Location-specific services are clearly described
• [ ] The page explains appointments, walk-ins, pickup, or access rules where relevant
• [ ] Parking and entrance instructions are complete
• [ ] Maps, direction links, and phone links work
• [ ] Photos show the correct location
• [ ] The location appears in navigation, contact information, and footer areas as planned
• [ ] The website’s details align with the information you are publishing through Google Business Profile
• [ ] Old location pages, maps, and address references are updated if the business moved
• [ ] Contact forms and inquiry notifications have been tested
• [ ] A team member can answer likely pre-opening questions

Keep the launch page useful after the announcement

A location page should continue to work after opening week. Once the location is operating normally, replace temporary “coming soon” language with current hours, services, photos, and arrival details.

Revisit the page whenever the location changes its hours, adds a department, adjusts appointment availability, or modifies access instructions. A location page that stays accurate can reduce avoidable uncertainty for customers deciding where to go and how to contact you.

If you would rather not build and maintain these website updates yourself, StoopCraft builds websites for local businesses and includes on-page SEO as part of its $69/month service. Learn more at StoopCraft.