Customers have certain expectations when they come to your website. Every business is different even in the same industry, but every business needs a few basic pages to form the foundation of their website.
From these four initial pages, you can expand your content as your business grows and you have more information to provide clients.
Home
Your “Home” page is your first chance to leave a positive impression with customers. It’s also where you teach visitors about your business and encourage them to either learn more about you or buy your goods and services.
On a typical homepage, users expect you to provide the following information:
Navigation: This is the bar which usually sits at the top of your homepage and includes links to the other important parts of your site. A clear navigation bar helps users get around the inside of your site and creates clean bridges to help search robots traverse your pages.
Call to Action: Now that you’ve given the reader things to be interested in, it’s time to provide them with a way to interact. All it takes is a simple brightly colored button with the words “Learn More” or “Call Now” to encourage your visitors to engage in a desired behavior, whether it be contacting you or learning more about your services.
Value Statement: How is your business uniquely qualified to serve the customer? I like to see a trust-building statement on the home page to reassure visitors they will be in good hands with your business. Be straight-forward about exactly what services you provide and the industry you serve. This same information will help search engines understand what type of services you provide.
About
After you prove to visitors you can solve their problem, you earn the right to tell them about you. The “About Us” page is where you can share more detailed information about yourself and show off your credentials. What type of information should you include on your about page? It varies based on the type of business you run, but many of the elements are universal.
A professional services firm might choose a formal approach:
- Legal business name
- Date of founding or incorporation
- Years of experience in your industry
- Any trademarked product names
- Awards for service and innovation
A home services company might want to make this section more personal, including pictures and short bios of team members who will be calling on customers in their home. You can keep it professional and facts-based, but your About information will be more interesting if you add in a little lighthearted humor or a personal touch. All of this helps potential customers see you as real people. For example, check out how we introduce our team. Our about us page includes photos, cats, clever job titles and a discussion of who would win a fight with a bear.
Products/Services
You need to flesh out the page describing your products and services for two reasons. First, great product pages give interested customers enough information to help them make informed decisions. Being transparent builds trust and eliminates confusion.
Second, internal products and services pages covering your suite of services help search engines categorize your content and identify your business. Google, in particular, is smart enough to figure out exactly what kinds of products you say you provide and will often serve well-written product pages up for more specific searches instead of leading searchers to your homepage. Make sure to include a way for users to navigate from these pages to either your contact information or an online buying tool.
Contact Us
Including your name, address and phone number at the bottom of your homepage is helpful for search engines but people have been conditioned to look for a dedicated contact page when they want to get in touch.
The “Contact Us” page can also serve as a place to gather information from your customers so you can serve them product-specific information on an on-going basis. Not only can you promise to answer their questions and meet their needs, you also get a chance to educate them about upcoming specials, industry changes or service model changes. There’s no better way to avoid future issues than by proactively keeping your customers informed about your business.
There are a multitude of other pages you can include on your website to keep your customers informed and interested, but these pages cover the bases so you’ll meet expectations every time.
Want to know your website currently stacks up? Try out our free website self-audit tool today:
