When generating sales online, it goes without us saying that you’re not even in the conversation without a website. However, as website capabilities increase, technology pushes us more to replicate an offline shopping experience. If your website hasn’t got the right content, it can be as detrimental as not having one at all. In fact, in some cases, it can be worse for your business.
Would you rather someone not find your business at all or find it and have a bad experience on your website? Neither, right? Let’s talk about what pages are essential to your success and why.
Homepage
Getting your homepage right is a lot harder than you may think. Bear in mind, the average person spends less than 15 seconds on a website, so those first impressions are integral.
A useful homepage keeps people around for longer, so working out what works for your customers is vital for online success. Your homepage should scream what your business does, why it does it and what makes you better than your competition. BUT, it should do all of those things in as few words as possible! The more words on the screen, the more off-putting your homepage can seem, so tread carefully. Go for an aesthetically pleasing, informative and welcoming homepage.
Think about when you enter a shop; you don’t want to be bombarded with ‘buy this’; you want to feel valued. Let your customers look around and find something they like on their own. But subtly guide them in the right direction with your UX design.
About us
It’s time to start telling your story. Every great business has a story, and the telling of that could be key to winning over your potential customers.
In the current climate, avoid being too formal. People don’t want a lengthy timeline or every nitty-gritty detail; they want simple reasons behind your decisions.
What is your company all about? Does it have a particular ethical standpoint? What does shopping with you mean? On your ‘About Us’ page, champion honesty and integrity over everything else. If someone reads something about you that doesn’t turn out to be true it can have a terrible backlash in the long run.
Blog ✍️
Having a blog on your website is vital on several levels. Your blog is where you will speak to your customers on a more personal level. You allow them to see how your business thinks and what personality traits are the driving force behind its success.
Blogs are essential for improving your SEO; think about all those fantastic search terms and keywords you can build into your blogs! If you’re a fashion brand, talk about fashion, talk about other things of interest, but focus on those keywords.
Your blog is the perfect asset for driving traffic. If you write a brilliant blog post that becomes viral, think of all of that website traffic. It’ll look like Deansgate on a Saturday; sounds good, right?
Our services/What we do ️
You may have noticed we’ve already given you three essential pages, and we haven’t even spoken about your work/products yet. A what we do page is crucial, especially if you are in the services sector.
If you make clothes, telling people you make clothes could seem a little silly. But, take us, for example, as an agency, we have such a varied range of capabilities that if we didn’t tell our customers, they might never know.
A ‘What we do’ style page allows you to speak in a little more depth about your business processes. If you differ from your competition, that’s your USP. Champion your unique selling points at every opportunity.
Contact us ☎️
Without a contact page, any website is pretty much useless. Imagine finding the exact business you’ve been looking for and then not being able to get in touch with them. Annoying right?
What’s the point in being in business if people can’t contact you regarding your business? There’s none! So, let’s make your contact page as useful as possible.
Include a lead capture form. This allows you to understand what your potential customers are after and how valuable their custom could be to your company. We would also suggest including all your contact information, including your location, and a handy map to find you.
Oh, and don’t forget those social media handles; guiding potential customers to your social feeds can be productive in the long term.
When we receive a new website brief, we dive right in! We want to help you break free of the norms and sculpt your business in the way you see it. If you have any questions or want to discuss a web design project, contact Create8 today.
Take a look at some more of our blogs for helpful tips, tricks and advice:
