A new website can do so much for your company. It can increase your brand’s exposure and build awareness, grow your finances and clientele base, and above all else, help your customers communicate with you. You may be wondering though, “What should I put on this new website?”
While this article may relate most to smaller businesses and start-ups who are getting a new website from scratch, you may also be a well-recognized company that simply wants to polish and rejuvenate your current website’s existing content before re-releasing it to the general public. Deciding on the types of web pages you want to feature may seem easy at first glance, however there may be some services you don’t really make enough money from or you feel you don’t want to use them anymore.
Whatever your reasoning, it’s best to not advertise or promote something you don’t want, and the best way to ensure that is to decide before your new website is built. With all that in mind, here are some tips from us on what you need to put on your business’s new website.
1. Home page
The home page is the very first impression your customers will make of you, so you need to make the best kind of impression possible. This page should ideally answer all of the questions your customers may have—who you are, what you have to offer, how you can help them, how much it costs, and so on—and it should function on every level as a business card and means of communication rolled into one. It should load fast (read our article on why that matters), it should look nice (think of it as you would the cover of a magazine), and it needs to respond to every function and command a customer would enter, such as filling out a form and knowing it’s been sent to a human being’s e-mail address, or clicking through to the contact page at once. If your home page doesn’t have any of these elements, chances are you’re losing those sales and customers you really need.
There’s more than those elements that are needed on the home page as well…so much so that we wrote about what’s needed in our last article. You can review those elements by clicking here.
2. About us page
The most frequently asked question any customer unfamiliar with your company and brand will ask is, “Who are you?” The second-most kind of question is, “Why should I use your services?”, and the third-most question is, “What makes you so different/special?” You may not be asked these questions directly, but it’s worth addressing these questions regardless because they’re all something we unconsciously ask ourselves whenever we need to buy something or receive a service of some sort. You can address all of these questions by putting together an effective about us page, which should answer all three of these questions while also addressing others they may not have thought to ask yet, such as “What are your credentials?” and “How long have you been in business for?”
If you’ve got a lot of staff members and none of them are shy about showing themselves on their employer’s website, you can expand on this aspect further with an additional team members section on your new site. Remember to include high-quality images or even video content of your team on this page if this is how you want to introduce them online.
3. All applicable services
Some companies may decide later on to either do away with services that don’t make enough money or add new ones later—that’s totally fine, and it’s a good way to grow your business. What matters about this section is that you reveal exactly what you do offer so that no confusion is made.
For example, if you’re an ice cream parlour but you also offer a grocery section and even a cafe, you need to separate these services from each other on your website and explain a little bit more about each. After all, your ice cream menu is going to be very different from the meals at the cafe or the grocery inventory!
4. Shop (if Ecommerce)
Going back to the ice cream parlour example, let’s say you want to offer delivery to those who can’t come to your store right now, or maybe you want to sell your ice cream even when it’s not summer in a more convenient way and package. That’s why your new business website will definitely need this section so that people can choose what they want specifically, and then they can order and purchase your products online with ease. They can also choose how they want to receive their order once the transaction’s been confirmed, such as in-person pickup or delivery to their home.
If you’re serious about the products you sell, and you want a lot of sales to happen, then having an online shop on your website is a must.
5. Portfolio/Gallery
This section applies to several kinds of businesses who have a lot of visuals to share, such as photography, real estate, ecommerce, fashion, retail, etc. For customers who want visual proof that the person they’re hiring for their service or the product they’re buying for immediate use, they’ll usually go to this section to confirm whether or not their decision to choose this business over the competition is worth their time. Companies that are more video-based can also benefit from this section so long as each item in their portfolio is optimized well enough (see our tips on how to optimize your videos here).
Categories and organization are also very handy for this part of your website, because not every customer will want to see the same results, colours, or product (depending on what you’re showcasing). Including categories can help them filter through your portfolio better (again, optimizing this part will work wonders) and help convince them you’re the best pick for their needs.
6. Testimonials
Some customers may really like your portfolio but still need some convincing as to whether you’re their best choice. That’s where reviews, or testimonials as they’re also frequently called online, can really clinch their yes-or-no decision. Your company always should show off your most glowing testimonials and deal promptly with any negative ones people may have. This page doesn’t have to be boring, either; videos are a great way to show that your company is being talked about by real people (if they want; not everyone’s comfortable on camera!).
For more tips on what to do with your company’s reviews, you can refer to our blog post here.
7. Rates
How much does it cost? That’s another frequently asked question customers have when they see something they really like online. Those who are simply looking around for information may be put off by the price. However, the rates are important because they’re meant for your more serious customers, i.e. the people who really and genuinely want your company’s products or services (depending on what you’re offering).
Featuring a rates page on your business’s website will subconsciously tell your customers something they needed to know without outright telling them. Plus, it’ll prove you have no hidden costs (something a lot of people are concerned about when it comes to doing business, not just online but in general).
An exception to this page would be if your services are all custom-based on your customers’ needs instead. In which case, you can mention this elsewhere on your website such as on every service page, or in the next necessary itinerary to put on your website:
8. FAQ
If you get a lot of questions that are very similar, having this section on your website can not only answer frequently asked questions people have for you specifically, but also in general. Questions and answers are also excellent for SEO purposes since the content created for it can be quite rich and organic in terms of context.
If you’ve noticed on Google an area called “People also ask…” then you already know how meaningful this part of your website is. Not only is it helpful to customers who are looking for information, but also it can potentially convince them that you have enough authority to know what you’re talking about, and that builds trust in your company and its brand…enough to convince them to become loyal and returning customers.
9. Blog
Got a lot to say about your industry? Talk about it more in the blog! Content is something people are searching for more than ever now, and people want content that is not only rich in terms of context, but also helps them immediately. If new customers like what they read on your blog, and decide to repost and share it on their social media or other online platform, the more likely you’ll build a following and eventually brand loyalty that turns intrigued readers into returning customers.
Informing people, revealing you have authority within your industry, and being confident in the information you give—this all builds trust in your business and, again, returning customers as a result. Keep that benefit in mind when you can’t decide whether or not to have a blog on your business’s new website (if you still need convincing, we wrote a blog post about that too. Check it out here.).
10. Contact page
For some reason this page tends to be left aside until the very last minute, making its final result appear as if it was developed in the 1990s. This is a terrible result of something that actually has potential! You can turn your contact page into another effective call to action by inserting some extra content and even an online form in addition to your phone, e-mail, and address info.
Think of this page as you would a landing one; both have similar conversion goals in mind (the customer contacts you to get help with an order, or requests your service, etc.) and both can look as glossy and eye-catching as your home page. When it’s time for a new website, don’t leave this until the very last minute; putting some effort into this page will show that you care about every aspect of your website, ergo every aspect of your company. And that very thing—care—is what customers want from businesses most.
Need a New Website for Your Company?
V3 Media has launched several beautiful, fast, and fully functional websites for companies big and small. We’ve been doing so for the last two decades—and when it comes to new developing new sites, experience triumphs over cheap costs, always. Give us a call if you need a new website that ticks all of the boxes, and then some.