Important Pages to Have on a Website
If the main pages on your website are persuasive, it's good for your business!
There are some basic pages that very website has to have, no matter what you sell. I will share a few important and conclusive facts about web content first.
(i) 80% of your business will be generated from the 20% of your basic web pages. This means that entrepreneurs wanting to succeed online will do better if they know which these pages are and what should they do to get optimum mileage out of them.
(ii) Web content writing is about communicating with your current & prospective customers. So don't limit it to just product descriptions or talking about the services offered. Instead if content can help visitor to make the right decisions, better. If you can create such an environment through these pages, you'll do great.
I've spent many months researching and testing, as to which pages are important than others. And I have come to conclusion that 7 pages and one tool are a MUST and basic minimum for every site.
Apart from these, depending on the nature of your business, you may require other business specific pages too. However here we are going to focus on the standard pages. For those of you wanting to discuss business specific pages, we can do so in a private discussion. Email Me
The standard pages, also called landing or Squeeze pages should contain real, relevant and practical information. Meaning they should have all the important details about the product along with the benefits and how the visitor can procure or order it.
Let's discuss all the pages individually and also how we can create a favorable environment for sale through them.
Index or Home Page: Home page is the face of your business. This is also a page that people will most often find though organic searches and otherwise. So it should do two things. It should grab reader's attention by talking about the benefits your services/product and second, it should convey trust.
The above elements can be effectively achieved through presentation of content.With the audience becoming more and more intelligent and evolved, subtlety is the key to effective communication. The visitor is wiser today and knows how to differentiate a fake business from a genuine one.
About me: This page can be your biggest grosser. If people visit this page from home page it means the home page has done its job of assuring them about your expertise and they are now in the process of knowing more about who you are to figure out if you could be trusted.
Poorly written or laid out pages will prove to be a huge waste of time and effort. An `about me' page going on and on about product, its description, promises, benefits, guarantees etc is not correct.
Instead your picture on this page will put your client at much ease. It is easier to interact with a face than an email id. You may be a writer, designer, plumber, teacher, trader... whoever.
`About me' page should reflect your personality (not your product's) and beliefs. You should be able to connect with your audience (& vice versa) and draw them towards you. If you succeed in this, it's a huge success & way forward.
Enquiries generated through a well written and organic `about me' page can surpass any paid advertising in quality as well as quantity. But to achieve this you have to find a way to connect with your audience at a human level and win their trust.
Product Description/Service Offered: Whether your website offers one service or a range of products, you must explain about each one in detail.
Information helps your prospect decide whether you offer what he's looking for. If you give incomplete information it is likely that your customer will look elsewhere for more information. If your competitor provides more information for the same product than you do, the customer will probably choose him/her over you.
Many people are under a misconception that placing all the facts about your product or service will kill the curiosity or drive your customer away; in reality just the opposite holds true. However you got to make sure that that the presentation is done effectively. b
'Search My Site' Tool: To improve visitor experience do get Search My Site option/tool on your site. If people can quickly search for things they want within the site, it's a great way to hold them. The more guidance you provide better are the chances that visitor will stay with you, and the longer he stays on your site, better are the chances that he will do business with you.
Besides offering convenience the tool also saves time.
Frequently Asked Question: FAQ is a page that takes a visitor a step closer to sales. FAQ is a page where through a series of small questions and answers you inform your prospective client about various ways and aspect of doing business with you, or using your product or service.
It's a platform that subtly showcases your business before your target audience. The page also helps you to build trust with your client.
Your website must have FAQ page, if need be divided into several sections depending on the nature and size of your business. The more in-depth information you share, the more credibility you will gain.
Offer Something Free: When your visitor opts for your Free Offer, he shares his contact details with you, through which you can pursue him. Let me explain it.
When a visitor reaches your website you can't say for sure whether he'll buy from your site or leave not to return. If he is a first time visitor the odds are against you and if he is a regular or returning customer he might, or may check out a few more options...
Well, you might be wondering as to how Free Offer is concerned with all this? See, when you offer something for free, like a Report or eBook pertaining to your niche, newsletter, RSS feeds etc, and your visitor subscribes to it, you get his email id through which you can stay in touch with him.
This will ensure that whenever he decides to buy the product or service you sell, you will be the first person he will think of and will know how to get in touch with you.
Contact Page: This is THE most important page on a website. Most of us know it and yet make a poor show of it. As strange as it may sound but I've come across sites where Contact Page has been difficult to find. Also an incomplete or a dry contact page is not a rare sight.
Your contact page should be easy to find, and complete with all information. Give your visitor as many options to get in touch as you can. Postal address with Google Map, email id, Cell No, Landline Number, Skype, Chat id, etc.
As you upload any new page, check twice to make sure that your contact page link is working. I've seen some sites where contact page could not be clicked... what a loss!
Testimonial: If your visitor checks out testimonial page it means it says a lot. It means he is in the process of making a decision. When your testimonials speak for you, they do all the talking; you don't have to utter a word. Such is the power of the page.
Make sure all your testimonials are detailed as well as specific. Let your clients explain what they liked about your product or service and why.
When you do justice the above pages, and market your site well, you will make your site work for you; bring you more conversions and business....which brings us to a close on this topic. I hope the information has helped.
Now that you know which pages are important next thing you should know about is how to place information on these pages to make them stand out and be effective? All these things are a part of content strategy and should be planned in advance.
