Do you have a website in the works, but aren’t sure where to start when it comes to the content? You’re not alone. A lot of small business owners and entrepreneurs face this problem, after all, there aren’t enough hours in the day to handle the tasks that are within your wheelhouse. Add web content development to your list of tasks, and you might find yourself staring at a blank screen, blinking cursor demanding words you can’t seem to find.
With this helpful guide, we’ll cover the basics you need for a five-page website, ensuring your fingers will be singing across the keys of your computer in no time.
5 pages to include for web content development
You don’t need an English degree or years of experience as a freelance writer to tell your business’s story in the website. Just include these five pages for web content development, and you’ll be well on your way to a good website.
- Home
- About us.
- Products and services.
- Testimonials
- Contact us.
Ready to start typing? Good. First, take a look at each of these pages in depth so you can learn what to include, and then be prepared to break out the next great American novel, I mean, website.
Home
On your home page, you want to include the top things visitors need to know in order to decide to do business with you. Who are you? What do you do/sell? Why should I trust you? How do I contact you?
Start by doing the following:
- Describe your business in one short sentence (tagline).
- Describe your business and what’s great about it in just a few sentences.
- This information will come in handy as you start to lay out your home page.
Calls-to-action
Once you’ve got that jotted down, it’s time to talk calls-to-action (CTAs). What is the one most important thing you want your visitors to do before they leave your site? Be clear, concise and tell them what you want them to do.
Primary contact information
Include one primary way for customers to contact your business on the home page; typically, this is your phone number. Your “Contact Us” page can include all of the various ways to contact your business.
Products and services section
Include a short-bulleted list or a few photos of your products and services on the home page, and then add a link to the full product/services page to view all.
Signup form
What information do you need to collect (i.e., email, name, phone, etc.)? The less information you require, the more signups you’ll get. Very briefly describe why your visitors should sign up and include this information with your signup form.
Credibility
Include one customer quote or review on the home page and link to the testimonial pages for visitors to read them all.
About us
The About us page is your chance to shine. You’ll want to dig deep and tell your business’s story, How did you start it and why? What do you do differently than other businesses? Get personal, get passionate. Consumers are interested in the face behind the business, and a lot of potential customers are willing to go out of their way to make purchases at a shop they connect with.
Consider incorporating features like:
- Photos of yourself or your staff.
- A biography on your expertise.
- Company or product awards.
- Testimonials or specific quotes from your customers.
- Remember, the goal is to connect with your customers. Be genuine and authentic.
Products and services
This webpage is relatively self-explanatory, list the general categories of products/services you offer, and then describe them in more detail. Create a detailed list of all your offerings, and make sure you’re highlighting how each product solves for a pain point or offers a solution to your prospective buyer. To further encourage consumers to purchase, consider incorporating the following (depending on your industry):
- Product images.
- Pricing payment options.
- Return policy, warranties or guarantees.
- Shipping options and time frames.
Testimonials
Like your Products page, the Testimonials page is pretty straightforward. Increase visitor confidence and trust by adding recommendations, quotes and testimonials from your customers. Ask top customers to write a few sentences about your products and/or services.
Contact us
A well-designed, easy-to-find Contact page is a must. After all, it’s basically your best salesperson. At any time, a visitor can navigate to your Contact page and find key information about your business, hours of operation, location, contact details, so it’s important to make it shine.
When planning your contact page, you’ll want to include the following:
- Phone number.
- Hours of operation.
- Physical address, direction, map.
- Email (make sure it’s a professional one that matches your domain).
In conclusion
If you break down web content development into these five key pages, Home, About us, Products and services, Testimonials and Contact us, you can see that word smithing isn’t all that scary. Just remember to keep your customers at the forefront of your mind, and you’ll be well on your way to creating engaging content!