A great website can be a valuable asset for your business. A website is important for a business not only for potential leads but also to establish itself as a trustworthy brand. However, for your site to fulfill its goal, it’s imperative that you include a few quintessential pages to help your potential customers understand your company. While every website will be different and perhaps even unique, there are some pages you cannot go without:
These are the:
These pages serve to educate your visitors with key information about your business. Including them in your site can boost credibility and increase conversions.
Home page
Your homepage is your chance at a great first impression for visitors. Since it’s the first page people see when they visit your site, it should capture the user’s attention within seconds and make viewers want to explore your site more. Having a captivating home page is more important than you think. Unless someone visits your page based on a direct referral, most people will be skimming through web pages and spend only a few seconds giving each a glance.
Your home page needs to capture visitors’ attention and communicate just enough to get them to stay and check out your other pages. In this, small details matter, such as the intensity and hues of colors that are used, fonts and sizes, and the right choice of words. All these elements can make a homepage welcoming and professional.
Your company logo and headline are a given, but the organization and layout are vital to catching the attention. A homepage overloaded with paragraphs, pictures or links will more than likely chase a customer away instead of helping them find the information they came for. A search box is perhaps your best tool to include because it provides a shortcut to navigating and giving them straight answers.
About page
Just like it sounds, the “About page” tells a potential client what your company is about. This is one of the first pages you’ll design when you’re building out your website. Sometimes called “Our Story” or “Our Mission”, the About Us page tells visitors who you are. When guests want to know more about your values and your brand, that’s the page they’ll go to.
About pages can be self-promotional; it’s basically the point. Your company or brand name is vital, and you might want to include a very brief history of your business and why you saw the need to start it in the first place. Once you know the “why” behind your products or services, you’ll have enough to start writing your “About Us” page. You could highlight a company motto or values and future goals. Address a potential client in a non-generic way; some have suggested using first-person dialogue so your potential client feels like they are hearing this from an actual person.
Talk about yourself - a bio to make a client feel like they know who they will be working with, and include valuable team members. For instance, if you have a clinic, you can include some specialists and a short bio that establishes credibility and trust for each. Include links to a contact page, because after convincing them that you are the company or brand they need, it should be easier to navigate a way to reach you.
Services of Products page
The Services or Products page is your website’s core. Think about this page as an interactive Salesperson who is trying to convince users that your services or products are the ones they should choose. A lot of companies get creative when designing their Home page or other pages, but when it comes to their services or products page, many feel that simply listing their services or products is enough. Not quite! A good way to start developing your services and products page is by asking yourself, “What do people want to know about our services and products?” This is a good way to make this page customer-centered.
While it does need to be properly organized and categorized, it can be thorough so as to not leave out a useful skill or product that a client might be looking for. Pricing is important because when someone does not see a price, they will immediately assume that it is because it is too high. Plus, comparative shoppers will be interested in knowing this without directly contacting you. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is especially true when designing your services/products page. If possible, use a corresponding picture for each product or service. Many users prefer to look at media rather than read content.
CTA’s or call-to-action buttons such as “add to cart”, or “see purchase details” etc. will help promote sales because they have been proven to be effective marketing tools. To add legitimacy to your products, more people are including a product rating. Even when it is not favorable to the product, it is to the customer because they won’t feel like you are trying to trick them into purchasing from you.
FAQ page
If you spend a lot of time answering the same questions from clients through emails or social media, a “frequently asked questions (FAQ)” page can save you a lot of time. A well-written FAQ page can convince customers that you know what you’re doing and why they should be working with you, instead of with the competition. What can you include in the FAQs? It will depend on what your company is about. Think about the most common questions asked by customers. Start by checking what are the questions that keep popping up in your inbox. What makes people hesitate before purchasing? Automating these answers can make it easier for your customers to buy with confidence.
It’s also a good idea to include general questions about your industry, products, and services. Don’t limit yourself to answering only questions about your specific brand. Including questions about your industry can help you rank high among google search engines when people look up those specific questions. This can lead more people to your site and maybe land you new customers. Keep your answers short and to the point. Your FAQ’s are not the place for your marketing pitch or company story. Give a straight answer and avoid links to answer questions. Yes/No answers, followed by brief explanations count as direct answers and can save people time.
For instance, an online store could have FAQs concerning delivery location and times, pricing, payment plans, return policy, etc. Be very courteous, diplomatic, and clear when answering your FAQs, because you want to be honest and clear if this page will save time. You do need to prioritize your client’s experience over-explaining yourself, so list the most asked questions and have updated and relevant answers. This page not only helps to build trust and saves time, but also might clear up some real concerns that clients might have.
Blogs
According to HuffPost, “Blogging works as a method for attracting an audience because it provides something of value to them before asking for anything in return.” A blog that provides value can attract a large audience and eventually convert them into prospects. However, blogging is a much bigger commitment than you might think.
It takes time to consistently add new content, do keyword research, optimize your blog for search engines, and update information on blogs. If you don’t have that kind of time on your hands, then you might want to stick to social media posts or hire a professional blogger, but if you want to establish authority and drive more traffic to your site, then blogging is the way to go.
If you’re experienced at what you do, blogging is the best way to share your expertise with a target audience and attract people to your business. A blog will help people find you on Google and direct potential clients to your site.
Testimonials
Most people are understandably hesitant to purchase from or do business with a company they’re hearing about for the first time. That’s why it’s important that your website reflects positively on your business. One way to do this is by adding testimonials. Testimonials are positive reviews or recommendations left by people who have used your products and services. They can be a powerful tool to help earn your visitors’ trust. Customer testimonials not only serve as a statement of legitimacy; they also explain how beneficial your services/ products can be.
For a testimonials page to be effective, reviews need to be honest and trustworthy. A lot of companies solicit reviews because there’s no greater marketer than positive reviews. Reviews that are specific will be beneficial, especially if, for instance, someone is grateful that the company went beyond the call of duty to be helpful or your representative was just genuinely nice. Most companies control which reviews appear on their website, and a negative but not damaging review can be helpful because a client will see that while your services or products are not for everyone, you are strong enough to handle constructive criticism.
Your testimonial will appear more genuine if they’re in video or audio, or include a picture and name of the client. Some businesses
have added business links on their clients' testimonials for legitimacy purposes, but never direct contact information. Testimonials are important for your website and your business because they show future clients that your dedication and hard work are longstanding. Far from being self-praise, a testimonials page is really helpful, especially because a potential client can appreciate how your business has helped others.
Contact
Although the contact page is not a priority for many, this page is one of the most important pages on your site, because, for most companies, it is one of the most visited pages. Your contact page should display all the ways that customers can get in touch with you. You should include your number, email, address if you have one, all your social media accounts, and business hours. Including all the ways people can connect with you on social media is a great way to add credibility and allows users to connect with you in more than one way.
Many companies have seen good results by including a short form that uses fill that will help understand who’s contacting you. However, a good rule of thumb is to include only necessary fields so as not to exhaust a user’s patience. These necessary fields would be name, email, and phone number. You can also add optional fields, such as state, city, or a space for a message that a user might like to add. Your contact page should also have a call-to-action in case someone doesn’t want to complete the form.
Regardless of what industry you’re in, you should not neglect your contact page. A well-thought-out contact page makes it easy for potential clients to get in touch with you and is your first step in building a positive, long-lasting relationship with them.
Conclusion
Having a well-written, fully functional website is essential for any business, and although all businesses are unique, there are some pages that every website should have. These include a captivating home page, an informative about page, a page that showcases your services or products, a page that answers frequently asked questions, a page with positive and genuine testimonials, a blog page to update your audience, and a page where you have your contact information.
If you would like to get started on your website, but are feeling a bit overwhelmed with what to include, reach out to us and see how we can help. One of our services includes building well-designed, fully functional websites, optimized for maximum visibility on search engines. Get in touch with us and see how we can help you get started on your website today!