Creating a new website for your business can seem a bit daunting, and it is easy to oversee key information that really should be included on your website pages.
When it comes to writing the content for each page, the important thing here is to ensure your information is relevant to the page it is under, this will help Google understand what your website is about and get those all-important ranking up.
Here is a breakdown of the 9 key pages that are essential to your new website and a brief summary of what information you should include;
1. Home Page
On your homepage you should include;
- A clear and simple headline that immediately tells the visitor what your site is about.
- A sub headline that tells your visitor exactly what it is you can do or offer to them.
- Main calls to action that you would like your visitors to complete. E.g. book now, view your brochure, fill out a form etc
- Striking media, such as images and videos, will really catch your visitor’s eye. Ensure your media is relevant to your website.
- The benefits of what you can offer or do. Visitors need to know why they should use you.
- Include your top customer testimonials, with a name and photo to add credibility, if possible.
- Make it easy for visitors to navigate further into your website. Clear menus and even a search box, if possible, will help.
- Show off any awards your business has. This helps build trust with your visitors.
- If applicable, displaying any current special offers on your homepage will help you to generate more leads.
2. About Us
Your about page is about you and your business. However, to make it engaging and really stand out you should try to cover the following points;
- Talk about the benefits of someone using you / the business
- Make it unique to your business, not just something that any similar competitor could use
- Write in the language of your audience and make the tone exciting
- Open up a little to your audience, it will help build trust with them. It could be sharing a personal experience, or discussing a charitable cause you support through the business.
- Including a team page is also a great way for your audience to get to know more about the business. Again, make the information you provide here exciting and personal where possible.
3. Products & Services
Your product/services pages are where you can turn browsers into buyers, so it is important that you take great care in the design and content of this page.
Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of this page;
- Good clear product images
- A product/service description that describes the benefits to the customer
- If possible, adding product/service demo videos can really help increase consumer engagement and lead to more sales.
- Ensure that your prices are clearly displayed
- Make it easy for the customer to make a sale. Clear add to basket buttons will make this transition smooth for the customer.
- Add in customer reviews if possible, this helps new customers to build trust in your product/service
- Try to upsell via your product/services page and include recommendations for similar products/services that they may be interested in.
4. Customer Testimonials
Showing potential new customers that you have lots of existing happy customers is a great way to build up brand trust and reputation. Including a page to show off your case studies/testimonials is the perfect way to achieve this.
To make your case studies stand out you should;
- Show how you helped the person/company to overcome a hurdle/issue that they had
- State how the person/company benefitted from your product/services
- Give facts and figures if and where possible to back up your statements.
If possible get creative with your case studies, maybe include video case studies, image galleries and customer quotes.
Share your case studies on Social Media, in email marketing, newsletters and as said previously, on your website homepage.
5. News & Events
Having a blog page is one of the most cost-effective ways of promoting your website and reaching a wider audience. It can also help increase customer engagement.
Here are a few pointers to having a successful blog that will hopefully lead to more sales;
- Aim to blog as often as possible, ideally x1 a week as a minimum
- Plan your blog. Using our downloadable marketing calendar, you can plan what you are going to blog about and when. Tailor them around specific events or promotions your business is running.
- Write your blog for your customers. Ensure the language and tone you use is tailored towards your target audience. You don’t want to alienate them. Also, you will want to think about what it is that your audience will want to be reading about. Can you answer specific questions they may have via a blog?
- Make your blog more than just words. Adding images, infographics, charts, videos and other media to your blogs can make them more appealing to your audience.
6. FAQs
Having a FAQ page can be beneficial in saving time for both the business and your customers. You will aim to answer as many of the frequently asked questions that your customers may have.
Ensure your FAQ page achieves the following;
- Answers the main questions that your customers have
- Is ordered from most important to least
- Includes keywords to help with SEO
- Includes links to main pages if relevant
- Is updated regularly
- Includes visuals if possible
- Includes call to action if questions can’t be answered, e.g. contact us
7. Contact Page
For customers to be able to contact you or know when you’re open, you will need a contact page.
It is important that all the information you provide on this page matches any information you have on Social Media or any online Business listing etc
The type of information you should include is;
- Contact number
- Business address
- Email address
- Contact form
- Links to Social Media pages
- Opening hours
Ensure that if any of this information changes you update it asap across all channels
8. Privacy Policy
Your privacy policy is a legal requirement that states what personal data you obtain from your website visitors, how you gather it and how you keep it safe.
For full legal information on what to include, you should visit the government website.
But as a general point you need to include;
- Contact details
- What personal data you are collecting
- Why you are obtaining personal data
- Who has access to the personal data
- How long you hold the data for
- The right to withdraw consent
You also need to ensure the language you use is simple, plain and easy to understand. As well as being accessible to all.
9. Terms & Conditions
When writing the terms and conditions for your website you will need to consider what has to be included in terms of your legal obligations and your specific business requirements.
Again, the government website can help give you advice in this area, but some of the main areas you will need to cover are;
- Information on the exact products/services you offer
- Your prices and payment methods
- Shipping and delivery methods
- Returns/refunds and complaint procedures
- Warranties and guarantees
- Liability
- Intellectual property rights – such as ownership of your images, media etc
- How customers will be notified of any future changes to terms and conditions
- Laws that govern your terms and conditions
For more information on writing engaging SEO website content, visit our blog here.