Marketing has been a critical component of running a business for as long as humans have been trading. From the early days of bartering at markets to the modern age of the Internet, competition has always been present. The truth is, there’s probably no shortage of what your business has to offer customers. This is why it’s important to figure out what makes your brand stand out and the means to reach your target market.
What’s the first thing you need to do when creating an online presence that will allow you to differentiate yourself from the competition? It starts with a website. In this article, we’ll discuss the pages that every website should have. Not only will this give you a solid foundation to work from, but it will also help you communicate to potential customers that you know what you’re doing.
Why Do I Need Website Pages?
Let’s start by comparing a website to a book. Your website acts as a storytelling platform with all there is to know about your brand and business. Every web page is a chapter that furthers the progression of the story. Putting all the information on one page would overwhelm visitors to your website. To counter this confusion, you can compartmentalise the information into different pages depending on their relevance, helping them find what they need quickly.
Website Page #1: The Homepage Is Where The Site’s Heart Is
The first page that website users are likely to encounter on your website is the home page. Think of it as the book cover and content page. Your home page is the face of the website so it can make or break your online business, depending on the impression it makes.
Put yourself in the customer’s shoes when you design the homepage. The copy on this page must be punchy and to-the-point, with clear and user-friendly directions to the other pages. A quick skim and scan should tell the person visiting the website everything they need to know about what you offer, and it should be easy for them to navigate.
Website Page #2: A Page That Elaborates On The Products Or Services You Offer
The main objective of this page is to tell customers what you offer. It offers a platform to go into detail about what you’re selling and what makes it different.
How do you do this? You express the benefits that customers can enjoy from the products or services that you sell through good quality sales copy and images of each product or package.
Website Page #3: The Personal Story, AKA The “About Us” Page
Simply, the About Us page should relate more to what you can do for the customer. Make the page about them, what you can do for the customer, other than about you or your business. That’s not to say the listing you, your team, or your business accomplishments isn’t important. Don’t make it the focus content – make it the supporting content.
Every business wants to be relatable to their customers. The best way to achieve this than by telling the story of who you are, why you exist, where you’re from, and what you’ve achieved. This will let the customer know why they should have confidence in your business.
You can articulate your business vision in a way that potential clients can relate to, which can prompt emotional reactions, encourage trust, and acknowledge the accomplishments of you or your employees.
Website Page #4: Frequently Asked Questions Page
Remember that you’re selling to human beings with their complex thought processes and opinions. This means that most potential customers will have questions about what you offer. Deal with this preemptively by taking not of the most common questions you encounter with walk-ins and telephonic customers.
You can do 5 to 10 questions and write up good answers that customers will be able to understand easily, and that will prompt them to make a purchase.
Website Page #5: A Blog Tab Where You Post Informative & Educational Articles
You want to establish yourself as an authoritative voice in your industry. One way to do this is by posting insightful articles that inform, educate and entertain the audience.
Not only will this capture your customers, it will also help you rank higher on search engines if you use relevant keywords.
Website Page #6: The Major Call To Action – Contact Page
More than anything, the point of having a website to get people to buy into what you’re selling and make contact. This page tells them where they can find you.
Make sure your offer multiple alternatives for contact (email, phone number, requesting a call back) to ensure a response. Embedded maps (Google, WhereIs, Bing, etc.) for those with a location customers can visit can assist potential customers by finding you via GPS directions.
Team Up With Experts To Get Your Website Started!
There’s more to putting a website together than meets the eye. From usability to optics to wording, you need a specialist team behind you to get it right. It’s one thing to know what your business about, but it’s another thing altogether to convey that knowledge effectively.
At Big Rock Graphics, we dedicate ourselves to helping our clients put their best foot forward – starting with their website.
Contact us today to create the perfect website to compliment your business.
