The 7 Essential Web Pages of a Business Website
The 4 essential basic web pages
1) Homepage
A homepage has to give visitors a snapshot of who
you are and what visitors can do on your website. Ideally, the main
body of the homepage should not be more than 350 words, with the rest
of the content devoted to teasers of your products and services page(s)
and your sticky pages, such as customer stories, news stories, and
informational articles.
Get a free homepage template outline with tips and ideas.
2) "About us" page
The "about us" page should give information
on your company to visitors who are interested in knowing more about
the people behind your products, services, and cool website: your
staff, your history, your mission, and your organizational structure.
A lot of small businesses make the mistake of putting this information
on the homepage. In reality, most people just aren't interested in
you, just what you have to offer, which is why the homepage should
be devoted to what you have to offer the visitor. But this "about
us" information is still important to have for those prospective
customers who want to dig deeper before making a decision. Such customers
look for an "about us" page to tell them what they need
to know.
Get
a free "about us" page template outline with tips and ideas.
3) FAQ (frequently asked questions page)
A FAQ is a chance for you to address potential
customers' concerns so they are more comfortable ordering. Of course,
as your business grows, you may also want to create a FAQ with help
information for returning visitors and customers, to cut down on support
requests and to provide information even when you're closed. However,
it is always important to make sure you keep your FAQ for potential
customers separate, and make it the most prominent on your homepage.
You don't want your potential customers to be getting an eyeful of
everything that could possibly go wrong with your product or service.
Get
a free FAQ/"frequently asked questions" page template outline
with tips and ideas.
4) Products and/or services page
Your site needs at least one page that sums up
what products and services you offer, with important details about
each one. Each product or service description can link to a page that
has a more complete description about it. If you have two or more
well-defined groups of products or services, you may want to give
each group a separate page; for instance, UpMarket has a "content"
page, "online copywriting services" page, and an "internet
marketing services" page. If you have a shopping cart or catalog,
you may not need a products and services page. Still, an overview
of what you have to offer can always be useful for visitors who want
to learn more about what you have to offer, especially if your assortment
is subject to change.
Get
a free "products & services" page template outline with
tips and ideas.
3 essential "sticky" pages
The pages are called "sticky" because
they get visitors to read and therefore "stick" to your
site. Every business website needs at least one each, but preferably
more. Without anything to read, a visitor who needs a few minutes
to decide might decide to think about it while looking at a different
web page--and once they've left your site, they may never come back.
1) Customer stories (a.k.a. case studies)
Explaining what you've done for one or two of your best customers
is a great way to communicate what you do. You should incorporate
testimonial quotations on these pages. You can also have another page
just of testimonials from your customers, but a list of compliments
is no substitute for explaining what you really do for your customers.
Get
a customer story/case study web page template outline with tips and
ideas.
2) Informational articles (a.k.a. whitepapers)
Your customers and potential customers will appreciate
getting more general information about the field or industry of your
business, and tips and tricks for using your products or services.
Plus, publishing articles on a subject makes you an authority. An
added benefit is that you can distribute these articles for other
websites to publish in exchange for a link to your website--a great
way to build your reputation and build up links to your site.
Get
an informational article/whitepaper web page template outline with
tips and ideas.
3) News stories (a.k.a. press releases)
When you have a new product or service, or even
if you've just re-launched your website, you need to announce it to
the world. Putting a link to your news story or press release is a
great way to announce the new developments in your business to your
customers and returning visitors. Plus, by distributing your press
release to other websites and web press release clearinghouses, you
can build links back to your website.
Get
a news story/press release web page template outline
Articles
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