You made the massive decision to create a website for your business, so now you wonder, ‘what pages do I need on my website so it’s legit?’
That’s a very good question. I’m so glad you are asking before you begin to build your website (genius!)
Your website is one of your business’s most essential assets and opportunities to tell the world about who you are, what you do, and to connect with your potential customers.
Let’s not forget that by all of a sudden having a website, your sales aren’t magically and instantly going to increase by a gazillion percent. To clarify, like any other marketing tool, you need to create a website that does its job and works FOR you, not AGAINST you.
Let’s say you have a new website and you use old and poor-quality images, it’s filled with spelling errors and you have no contact information on it, as a result, you are no better off. In fact, in this case, your website will hurt you because it will represent your business as a dated, unprofessional enterprise that can’t be contacted.
So, what pages do you need on your website to be seen as legit and to create a solid foundation for a successful site? Let’s discuss.
1. An Awesome HOME PAGE
The home page, as you know, is usually the first page that your visitor sees. Your home page is the visitor’s very first impression of your business so you want to make sure it’s super amazing.
The ‘Above the Fold’ area on your home page is the space that someone sees as soon as they land on your site (no scrolling). You want your ‘above the fold’ area to have an awesome picture + a description of who you are and what you do (your elevator pitch works really well here. You also want to include a call-to-action button prompting the visitor to do something (think about where you really want to send people … your products page? Book an appointment?
Your home page will also have a few other sections to it that should correspond with the other pages of your site. The most important stuff and call-to-action should be above the fold. And then as you scroll down the page, little snippets that you are sharing about areas of your business and opportunities to lead them there.
Here is an example of the ABOVE-THE-FOLD section from my home page.
2. ABOUT PAGE
The ABOUT PAGE is the most visited interior page of your website so you want to make sure it’s good. So often we muck this one up and either skip it (because we find writing about ourselves too tough and keep putting it off) or put some version of an ABOUT PAGE that just lists off our accomplishments and doesn’t really do you justice.
The purpose of your ABOUT ME page is to connect with your ideal client and show them that you are relatable, capable, and can solve all of their problems. Writing About Me pages is something I do all of the time for clients during our VIP Copywriting days and I have come up with a proven template and step-by-step approach to easily tackle this page. If you want to have a look at this TEMPLATE, click here to check it out.
Don’t forget to include a picture of YOU and a call to action at the bottom of the page on how the reader can get in touch with you! You never want to leave them hanging.
3. CONTACT PAGE
You would be amazed by how many businesses do not have a contact page. If your website visitor wants to contact you, you better well make it easy for them; after all, that’s a potential lead or sale! Catch my drift?!!
Your contact page should be labeled in a menu bar at the top of every page and in your footer menu at the bottom of every page.
On your CONTACT page, you need to include a way for your customer to reach you, bonus points if there is more than one way. Think about your type of business and the way your customer would want to reach you – phone? Email? Contact form with an area to explain their inquiry? In-person?
If you are a brick-and-mortar business, I would suggest including a map with your address so that it is easy to find you.
4. PRODUCT/SERVICES PAGE
I am guessing you are selling either products, services, or a combination of both in your business. We want to definitely include a page that talks about your products and/or services. If you are a product-based business with a lot of products, try to sort your products into logical collections or tags so that your visitor can easily find what they are looking for.
For example, when you go on most clothing retailers’ websites and click ‘shop’ or ‘products’ there is normally a drop-down menu or sub-categories/collections. These subcategories help to funnel visitors to where they want to go more quickly.
If you are service-based and want to list your services, please take your time to explain what it is that you do and how you serve your clients. Your descriptions should include:
- How you are going to help ?
- What change they will see by working with you?
- You understand their current frustrations
Strategic product and service descriptions are something that I develop for my clients all the time. If you are interested, book a complimentary 15-minute chat to find out more, CLICK HERE.
5. PRIVACY POLICY
In most cases, there is a requirement by law to include a privacy policy on your website. This is due to the quantity of information that is collected everywhere, whether we are aware of it or not. Firstly, I suggest doing a basic google search and/or speaking to someone in the web development field to find out more on this important page and get information specific to your country.
In addition, a link to your Privacy Policy Page is usually located in the footer menu at the bottom of every page.
BONUS PAGES:
A BLOG
I did not include a blog in the top five pages you need because I realize that it is not a plausible option for a lot of small businesses. The reason a blog page is a great asset for a website is because:
- You demonstrate your expertise, knowledge, and behind-the-scenes of your business
- It is amazing for SEO (search engine optimization)
Your BLOG PAGE gives your visitors an opportunity to get to know you better. And SEO helps Google to get to know you better so you show up in more search results.
PROOF PAGE
I just made up the term ‘PROOF PAGE’. This type of page is one that you include to showcase your work, projects you have completed, and happy clients that rave about you. This type of page could include one, or a combination of the following:
- testimonials
- case studies
- before and afters
- photo gallery
- project summaries
I didn’t include this as a must-have page, because there are ways that you can sprinkle in your ‘proof’ throughout your website. You don’t necessarily need an entire page dedicated to it. Powerful quotes/testimonials are perfect for adding to a page to break up text or reinforce you are good at what you do. Feel free to sprinkle in your ‘proof’ throughout your site and/or on every page.
I wish you luck in creating (or tweaking) your website to make sure it’s legit. Remember that your website is a work in progress so there will always be edits and changes. Your website will evolve and change as your business does. If you are looking for more information on SEO (search engine optimization), please check out this article: 10 Tricks to Make Google (& Your Readers) Love You. And if you desperately just want to get your website done/written/fixed, book a complimentary consult with me ASAP so we can get to work!
From my kitchen table to yours,
I am a professional copywriter, brand strategist and the Founder of Kitchen Table CEOs. Through tips, writing templates and one-on-one consulting services, I help women entrepreneurs create the content, brand and online presence they need to launch and grow their business. For more information on my services and how to work with me, please click HERE.
