9 Pages You Should Have on Your Website, No Matter What Industry You're In
I get asked pretty regularly if I build websites.
I have. In the past.
These days I prefer to do website management (edits) or write page copy and content. Building websites from scratch isn't a passion of mine. But having worked directly on more than fifty websites and used thousands more as a consumer, I have a pretty good sense of the basic pages that should be on most websites. I would go so far as to say these 9 pages are essential no matter what industry you're in.
If you're just beginning the journey to build a website for your business, using the outline below should get you off to a great start when building your site map! Whether you're doing it yourself (not recommended) or hiring a professional (highly recommended), it's important that you spend the time deciding on what pages you want on your site BEFORE the work begins. A site map is like your website's blueprint: it helps the designer know what to build. Having these ideas in mind before you get started will save you TONS of money and time.
HOME PAGE
Pretty self-explanatory. But don't take your home page for granted! Many people will never bother to move past your home page if it is not professional, modern, and enticing.
See mine here.
Tips For Success:
-Your navigation bar should be easy to find and read. Yes, your website may look "prettier" with the navigation bar at the bottom of the page, but don't assume people will scroll down or even notice that they can scroll down. In general, just don't make assumptions about people's behavior.
-Your logo should be near the top of the page, preferably in the upper left or close to it as we naturally read and scan from left to right.
-Include a call-to-action (CTA) in the top half of your website. Or if you'd rather not position a CTA there, include some sort of confirmation that the user has come to the right place and you will provide them with the answer to their problems.
ABOUT
A lot of people struggle with this page, but a compelling about page is its own reward. This is where will people will go to learn more about you, your brand, and your mission. You may want to separate these into subpages under one "parent" tab called About or have them all on one page in separate sections. It doesn't really matter, just choose one or the other.
See mine here.
Tip For Success:
-Ask close friends and family who really know you and your business to read through the copy you've chosen for your about page and make sure it sounds like you. Even if your website is pretty professional all-around, the about page is your opportunity to let a little personality creep in.
SERVICES/PRODUCTS/PROGRAMS
The name is interchangeable, but the contents of the page should directly answer the question, "What are you selling?" Everyone is selling something. Even if you're not selling goods or services, you're selling yourself and your company at the very least.
On this website, I have a Services page which provides insight into what I sell under the umbrella of Minute Marketing. On my author website, I have multiple pages instead of just one page that answer the question "What are you selling?", but all work together to sell me as a writer and someone with a blog worth following.
See mine here.
Tip For Success:
This is one of the most crucial sections of your website. Don't rush through this. Take the time to really think about the services you want to feature, how you're going to position them, and the copy that will go with them.
GALLERY
If you have pictures, videos, links, or case studies that showcase your work and help people make a decision to work with you or not, you should consider adding a "gallery". I have a gallery on this site of my video tutorials. I call it the Learning Library, but it's really a gallery.
See mine here.
Tips For Success:
-Browse competitor sites to see how they set up their galleries and them assemble all of the materials that you want to showcase before starting work with your web designer.
-It may make sense to have multiple galleries on your site, but each gallery should be organized by the medium. For example, you could have a picture gallery, a video gallery, and a gallery of case studies.
TESTIMONIALS
They used to say that content is king. Content is still important, but in 2018 I would say that testimonials, your "social proof", has taken the title. You should always be working to gather more client reviews. Even if they don't all go on your website, you can use them in other ways.
See mine here.
Tips For Success:
-Ask your reviewers if you can use their name on your site. You might also ask them if you can use their photo or company logo.
-Try to get some testimonials on camera. These are especially powerful as people who are thinking of working with you can see that it's a real person leaving the review.
-If getting reviews on Yelp, Google, or another site is important to use, ask your reviewers to write their review on that platform. You can always copy and paste it over to your website or social media for later use.
BLOG
When I tell people to consider having a blog of their website, this advice elicits more eye-rolling than any of my other suggestions. Yes, they are time-consuming and don't have an immediate payoff. But blogging is a long game with tremendous upside.
Blogging helps your website by allowing you to easily add new content to it. It also helps people to get up-to-date information about your company and learn more about you. It also allows you to produce more content for your site which can get you to rank for certain keywords and increases your chances that your site will get found. It also helps you get seen as the authority in your field. And it gives you something to share in social media, on emails, and more. Check out my recent blog with 16 Ideas for Repurposing Your Long Form Content to get inspired about all the things you can do with a blog.
See mine here.
Tip For Success:
-Add the blog section and commit to starting small. You may have noticed that I'm only averaging one blog a week right now. Would I love to be doing more? Yes. Is that realistic for me right now? Definitely not. Am I committed to showing up here weekly? You betcha.
CONTACT
This seems obvious, but a lot of people have an incomplete contact page. I recommend using a contact form and if you feel comfortable, you can also include your email and phone number in the page text.
See mine here.
Tip For Success:
-Placing your email in the open like that could increase the spam emails you receive so create an email just for website inquiries or use an email you don't really care about, like an info@yourdomain.com email. You can always delete it and create a new one if needed.
-Placing your phone number in the open can also be scary. If you have a physical location, you probably have a phone line there. But if you run an online business or run your business out of your house, you probably only have the private number on your cell phone. You can use Google Voice to set up a free secondary number on your phone. That way you can switch it if needed without compromising your main phone number.
PRIVACY POLICY
Privacy policies have always been one of those things people know they should have on their website, but don't. However, with the new GDPR enforcement, it is critical that you include a privacy policy on your website. If you are working exclusively in the US, you can technically be a little lax about the contents of the privacy policy for now, but most experts believe it won't be long before we see similar regulations in the US. If you don't know what GDPR is or how it affects you, Social Media Examiner has a great resource on how GDPR affects marketers. If you're interviewing web designers, ask them if they are familiar with the GDPR regulations and know what you will need to have on your website to be compliant. For most people, I would recommend you read through the resource above and then work with a designer who is comfortable taking the reins on this instead of you needing to tell them what you need done on the site. You should still understand what GDPR is and why it matters, but I suspect that many of you will start to feel overwhelmed as you dig into it.
See mine here.
Tip For Success:
-While your web designer should be able to help you get your site GDPR compliant, you should still write your privacy policy for yourself. You HAVE to know what's in it and abide by the terms you set forth - no exceptions.
SUBSCRIBE
Another obvious one, but so many people forget to add an opt-in or at the very least, a subscribe button, for your email list. If all the changes on Facebook taught us anything this year, it's that we need to be focused on building our business where we have some measure of control. Build a great website and focus on building up your email list of interested subscribers. I promise you the results will be worth it in the long run.
See mine here.
Tip For Success:
-Mailchimp is my favorite low-budget email service provider. As of this writing, they STILL let you have a free account if you have less than 2,000 people on your list. And that offer doesn't have a moratorium on it. I personally have had a free Mailchimp account for years and so have many of my clients.
-Even if you have no idea what you're going to send your email list, get the subscribe button on your website and promise me you'll figure it out soon. Okay?
So now that you know the nine essential pages you should have on your website, whether you're just setting a website for the first time or are redoing your current site, you'll want to grab my free site map worksheet below. Click the button below to grab my free fillable site map worksheet plus a completed example that will help guide you in creating yours! Taking the time to plot out your site map now will save you a ton of time during the website creation phase, whether you're doing it yourself or hiring someone.
I hope you found this outline helpful. Are there any essential web site pages you think I missed? Any that you want to argue that you don't need in your industry? Leave me a comment below!