Pages a Japanese supermarket's website should have

Your customers already know what they want. A bag of short-grain rice, a tub of white miso and the good soy sauce, plus those dried seaweed snacks the kids keep asking for. What they don't know is whether you stock it, what time you open, or where on earth to park.

So your website has one job: answer those questions before anyone sets foot in the shop. No cleverness required. Below is every page worth having, in order, with what goes on it and what to leave off. Only build what matches what you really do. If you don't offer delivery, skip that page. Simple as that.

Purpose: Tell a stranger in about five seconds what the shop is, where it is and why they should come.

Start with the shop's real name, exactly as it appears on your shopfront. Then one plain sentence: "Independent Japanese supermarket in [your town]." Follow it with your address, today's opening hours and a phone number, all near the top where nobody has to scroll.

Next, show what you stock. A short row of links to your main product categories works well, each with one real photo taken in your own shop. Add a line or two on what makes you different, if there's something true to say. Maybe you stock fresh fish on certain days. Maybe you carry regional sauces nobody else does. Say it plainly.

People search for a shop's own name as much as they search for products. In the UK, "japan centre" is searched about 33,100 times a month (a DataForSEO estimate, 18 October 2026). You won't be that big, but when someone types your name, your website and your Google listing should be the first things they find.

Avoid stuffing the home page with every product you sell, a rotating banner that hides your opening hours, or a long welcome speech. Avoid stock photos of sushi you don't make. Avoid music that plays on its own. And don't bury the address in a footer in grey text. If a hungry person can't find your hours in five seconds, they'll go elsewhere.

Purpose: Show customers what you stock in each aisle, so they can tell whether the trip is worth making.

Make one page per real category. For most Japanese grocers that means some of these: fresh and chilled, rice and noodles, sauces and seasonings, snacks and sweets, drinks, frozen, and tableware. Only list a category if you really stock it. A tableware page for three bowls and a teapot will look thin, so fold it into another page or leave it out.

On each page, say what you carry in plain terms. List the types, the main brands and the usual pack sizes. For rice and noodles, that might be short-grain rice, udon, soba and ramen, with the brands on your shelves. For fresh and chilled, say what you stock and how often it comes in. If stock varies week to week, say so honestly, and tell people to ring if they're after something specific.

Add a photo or two of the actual shelf. Customers like seeing the real thing. It also tells them you're a proper shop and not a template.

Avoid listing products you don't have in the hope it brings people in. Avoid copying descriptions word for word from a supplier's catalogue, because other shops will have copied the same text. Avoid vague headings like "Our Range" that say nothing. And don't make ten near-identical pages for tiny variations of one product. Google's spam policies treat lots of near-duplicate pages, made mainly to game the system, as spam. One honest page beats ten thin ones.

Purpose: Help someone who's cooking a recipe and needs one specific thing, and tell them exactly where it sits in your shop.

This is the page type most owners skip. It's also where you can be most useful.

Think about what customers ask at the till. Miso paste. Dashi. Mirin. Kewpie mayonnaise. Panko. Make one page for each ingredient people really ask about. Keep each one honest and short.

For each, cover three things:

Take miso paste. A short, plain page that says what you stock, which type is which and where it sits will save someone a wasted trip.

There is demand for this. A search like "where to buy miso paste UK" gets an estimated 20 searches a month nationally. That's small, and it's only an estimate, so don't expect a flood. But the people typing it have a clear need, and your page is the answer they're after.

Avoid writing the same page over and over with only the ingredient name swapped. Avoid claiming health benefits you can't back up. Avoid saying you stock something you've run out of; if it varies, say "usually in stock, ring to check". And don't write about ingredients you don't sell. Fewer, better pages beat a pile of filler.

Purpose: Remove every excuse not to visit.

Put this on its own page, and repeat the key details on the home page. Include your full address, opening hours for every day, a phone number and clear directions. Say how people can get to you by public transport, and where they can park. If parking is awkward, say so, and tell them the nearest option. Honesty here earns goodwill.

Add a map, a photo of the shopfront so people know what to look for, and a note on step-free access if it applies. If there's a landmark nearby, mention it. People find shops by landmarks, not postcodes.

Keep the hours current. This matters more than almost anything else on the site. Update them for bank holidays, festival closures and your own holidays. A customer who turns up to a shut door doesn't come back easily. If your hours are different over a holiday period, put a notice at the top of this page and on the home page.

Searches like "Japanese supermarket near me" and "Japanese grocery store near me" are common. As rough UK-wide estimates, they run to about 2,400 and 1,600 searches a month. Those are national totals, not figures for your town, and they're estimates. Still, they show people are looking for a shop close to them. Make it easy to see yours is one.

Avoid opening hours as an image, because nobody can copy it and it won't read well on a phone. Avoid vague wording like "open most days". Avoid directions that only make sense if you already know the area. And avoid leaving out the postcode.

Purpose: Show customers the shop takes food labelling seriously, and keep yourself on the right side of the rules.

A lot of what you sell comes from Japan. That brings labelling responsibilities, and customers with allergies will want to know you take them seriously.

Here's what you can say on this page, and what you should know yourself. Prepacked food must list its ingredients, with allergens identified. The 14 allergen groups include cereals containing gluten, milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, nuts, sesame and sulphites above 10 mg/kg. That matters in your trade, because many sauces, seasonings and snacks contain allergens.

Prepacked food labels must also show the name and address of the business responsible. From 1 January 2024, prepacked food sold in Great Britain must show a UK address for that business, or the UK importer's address if the business is not in the UK. It has to be a physical postal address, not just an email or phone number. And if you relabel or repack imported goods, that responsibility is yours.

So on the page, explain in plain words how you handle this. Do you add English labels to imported products? Do you buy from a UK importer who does it? Say which. Tell customers with allergies to read the label on the pack, and to ask staff if they're unsure. Say that products and recipes can change, so the pack in their hand is the one to trust.

If any of this affects your shop in a way you're unsure about, check with your local council or the Food Standards Agency, or whichever regulator covers you. Don't guess.

Avoid promising a product is "allergen free" or "safe for allergies". Avoid copying a Japanese label's wording and presenting it as the UK label. Avoid vague statements like "all our products comply with regulations". Say what you do, not what you assume. And don't treat this page as a legal document; keep it short and clear.

Purpose: Show you're a properly registered, inspected food business.

Anyone who sells, cooks, stores, handles, prepares or distributes food must register as a food business with their local authority, at least 28 days before trading. Each site needs its own registration. Online-only sellers also register. So if you've got more than one shop, each one is registered separately.

You don't need to publish your registration paperwork. But a short line on this page saying you're a registered food business, and which local authority you're registered with, builds quiet trust. If you're not sure of the details for any of your sites, check with your local council.

Then there's your hygiene rating. The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with ratings from 5 to 0. Displaying the sticker is voluntary in England and a legal requirement in Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has a different scheme, so if you trade there, check what applies with the relevant authority.

If you've got a good rating, say so on the site and link to the official listing for your shop. Don't just copy the number; link to the real thing so it can be checked. If you're a limited company, remember you also need to show your registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered on your website. A footer line usually does it.

Avoid showing a rating you don't currently hold, or an old one that's since changed. Avoid vague claims like "highest standards of hygiene" with nothing behind them. Avoid hiding company details in tiny type. And avoid saying anything about your rating you can't prove.

Purpose: Explain, in plain terms, how someone can get your products without visiting. Only build this page if you really offer it.

If you deliver or run click and collect, this page matters a lot, because customers will have questions you can answer in advance. Say what you offer and what you don't. Cover which areas you deliver to, how orders are placed, how long collection takes, and what happens with fresh, chilled and frozen goods.

Be specific, but only about things that are true for you. Set out delivery days, collection hours, minimum order sizes and charges if you have them, and say who to contact if something goes wrong. If chilled goods travel differently from dry goods, explain how.

Keep it honest about limits. If you only deliver locally, say so. If a product isn't available online, say so. If a delivery slot can run out, say that too.

If you sell online, remember the registration point above: online-only sellers also need to register as a food business. And the labelling rules apply to what you ship, not just what's on your shelves.

Avoid promising delivery times you can't hit. Avoid hiding charges until checkout. Avoid vague wording like "we deliver nationwide" if you really don't. And avoid describing a service you plan to offer one day as though it exists now.

Purpose: Give each shop its own clear page, so customers can find the right one fast.

If you run more than one shop, give each its own page. Each branch gets its own address, its own opening hours, its own phone number and its own directions and parking details. Include a photo of that shop's front.

Say what's different, if anything. Perhaps one branch has a bigger fresh section. Perhaps one has a car park. Perhaps one stocks tableware and the other doesn't. Write only what's true of that site. That's what makes each page useful, rather than a repeat of the last.

And here's the trap. It's tempting to copy one page and swap in a new town name. Don't. Google's spam policies treat many near-duplicate pages made mainly to manipulate rankings as spam. More to the point, customers can tell. Write each branch page as if it's the only one.

Also remember each site needs its own food business registration, so each branch should be one you can show is registered. If you're unsure, ask your local council.

On searches: "Japanese supermarket London" is estimated at about 880 searches a month in the UK. That's a rough estimate, and it won't map neatly to any one shop. Don't build your plan around it. Build the branch page so a real person finds the right door.

Avoid copying one branch's page across all of them. Avoid listing branches without addresses and hours. Avoid using a town name in the shop's name just to look bigger. And avoid leaving a closed branch on the site.

Purpose: Make sure the free listing people see on Google and Maps is accurate and matches your website.

This isn't a page on your website, but it works hand in hand with it, so it belongs on this list. For many customers it's the first thing they'll see.

A few rules from Google's own guidelines. Use the real-world business name shown on your shopfront, your website and your stationery. Don't add keywords to the name. You can't pay for a better local ranking. And keep your hours and holiday hours updated.

A checklist:

1. Name, exactly as on your shopfront.
2. Address and phone number, matching your website.
3. Opening hours, including holiday hours.
4. Category, chosen to describe what you really are.
5. A short, honest description.
6. Real photos of the shop, shelves and entrance.
7. A link to your website.

Avoid adding words like "best" or "cheap" to your business name. Avoid listing a fake address or a shop you don't run. Avoid leaving old hours up over a holiday. And avoid ignoring questions and photos customers add.

Purpose: Show real customers are happy, and show you listen when they're not.

Reviews do a lot of the persuading for you. Give them a home on your site, or at least a link to where they live. Pointing to your Google reviews is often enough.

Ask happy customers to leave one. A small sign at the till or a line on your receipt does the job. Make it easy, with a link or a QR code. Never pay for reviews, write your own, or ask friends to post glowing ones. It's dishonest, and it shows.

Reply to reviews, good and bad. Thank people for kind ones. For poor ones, stay calm and specific: say sorry, say what you'll do, and offer to sort it out in person.

If you quote a review on your site, use the customer's actual words, and don't edit them to change the meaning. Don't make up customer names or stories. If you can't use real ones yet, leave this page out until you've got some.

Avoid cherry-picking only the best lines and hiding the rest. Avoid arguing with reviewers in public. Avoid inventing quotes. And avoid putting a star rating on the site you can't back up with a real source.

Purpose: Let people know who's behind the counter, and why they should trust you with their shopping.

This is your chance to sound like a person. Tell the real story: who started the shop, why, and what you care about. Maybe it began from a love of Japanese food. Maybe it started by bringing in a few hard-to-find products. Say what's true, in your own words.

A photo of the real owner or team does more than any amount of copy. People like knowing who they're buying from.

If you're a limited company, this is a good place for your company details: registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered. It's a legal requirement for UK limited companies to show these on your website.

Avoid grand claims you can't prove, like "the UK's best Japanese supermarket". Avoid a vague mission statement with no actual shop in it. Avoid stock photos of smiling strangers. And avoid pretending to be bigger or older than you are.

You don't need to build everything at once. Start here, in this order.

1. Home page: name, address, hours and what you stock, near the top.
2. Opening hours, address, parking and how to find you: so no one turns up to a shut door.
3. Product category pages: one honest page for each aisle you really stock.
4. Registration and hygiene rating: a short, clear page, with company details if you're a limited company.
5. About the shop: your story, your face and your real details.

Sort your Google Business Profile alongside these. It's free, and it's the other half of the same job. Then add ingredient pages, imported goods and labelling, delivery, branch pages and reviews as you have time.

Not sure which topics your site doesn't cover yet? Seracu offers a free snapshot that shows which topics your site lacks compared with competitors. It's a quick way to see where the gaps are before you decide what to build next.