Typically, people spend countless hours a year navigating from one site to another on the Internet. We consume a lot of information in different ways and “we learn a lot.” However, when we begin to enter the playing field of taking our business to the digital world, that is, to the online world, it is then when we realize that we know very little or nothing about what information to put there.

Regardless of how many websites we have seen, when we decide to create our own online presence is when we really begin to notice and see that there are “established” patterns that repeat themselves over and over again. Why? Because they work, really, really well.

What’s here for you?

In this article, you will learn which are the most important pages and elements of your online presence, and above all, the information they should contain.

Before I begin:
I want that you note that you must create a clear NAVIGATION area that allows visitors to visit your other pages. Well defined menus and strategic links will help you to achieve that.

1. Homepage

Without any doubt, this is the page most people will see first. The home page is the first impression of your business to potential customers. It should tell who you are and what your company does.

The content of your home page should be relevant to your business. You need to make sure that your home page content is interesting, engaging, and have a natural flow to capture your visitor’s attention within seconds. Your homepage needs to be well-designed, load fast and look professional. There are studies that show that you have 5 seconds to convince people to stay on your website.

What to include:

Well, it all depends on the type of business. If your website is about selling any service, you need to highlight some featured services or products on the home page. It is best if you can use a slider right after the navigation area to show your services and other important information.

Usually, people want to put many things on this page, but I suggest you NOT to do so. Remember, your home page is the first step of the journey — not the final destination. The copy, design, and visuals should guide the visitor to their next step, or the call-to-action.

A short description of who you are and what you do, a brief explanation of your services and products, and perhaps some bullet points on how you can help your potential customer or client is enough. You can also use several CTA (Call to Action) buttons to tell the users what you want from them.

2. About Page

People do business with other people, and visitors want to learn who’s behind the company. The about page is often one of the most visited pages on any website. This page provides information about you, your company, what you do, and what you have for your visitor.

What to include:

A summary of your company. You can mention the history of the business, whom it employs (with biographies and pictures of the staff, or just yourself if you are a sole proprietor), any special achievements you received, and the ways you differ from others that provide the same product or service.

An about page typically includes a brief company history, mission or vision statement, executive leadership bios, awards, and other information.

3. Services or Products pages (if you offer them)

Here you can list all the details about the services or products you provide. Begin the page with a brief explanation of your products or services prior to outlining them. If they contain extensive descriptions, consider dividing them into sections, as well as adding a link to a landing page, where readers can learn more about a particular product or service.

What to include:

An outline of your available products or services, short descriptions of each one of them, links to pages that contain more information, what the customer can expect by purchasing them, and why customers should buy those products or services from you, rather than your competition.

Note: If you sell many products, consider creating a full eCommerce website, which will allow you to organize your products in different ways. This will add a huge set of advantages that you will benefit from.

4. Portfolio page

The best way to turn visitors into customers is not by praising your products or services, it’s to show what you’ve done for your customers. In some services, an online photo gallery or portfolio exhibits proof of your capabilities. You can also incorporate a video if that medium helps to persuade potential customers that you are the right brand for their needs.

What to include:

If you’re offering a service like photography, copywriting, hair styling, web design, or even house painting, consider including examples of your work. This speaks volume about you.

5. Testimonials / Reviews page

A testimonials page will allow visitors to hear what others think of you and your business. This is your chance to show off the positive reviews your company has received. Where possible, include photos and contact info of the author (a link to their social media account). This will add authenticity to each testimonial. Anyone can write a review, but those with photos of real people that can be traced to an actual source will provide credibility and establishes trust.

These opinions—coming from previous customers or third parties—carry the added weight of social proof. Testimonials can be incredibly persuasive.

What to include:

Make sure to include titles, locations, and full names to add legitimacy to the testimonials published on your website. If your customer is willing to record a video about their experience with your product, that’s even better!

A brief paragraph of praise from customers, perhaps as long as a sentence or two. Include photos and contact info of the reviewer, preferably with a headline above each testimonial, to catch a customer’s eye.

Note:

Don’t limit yourself to having testimonials only on this page. You can, and I advise you to do so, to include small blocks of testimonials on the homepage and sale pages as well.

6. Contact page

A contact page plays a vital role by allowing communication between the website owner(s) and the visitors.

Your contact page shows potential customers all the ways they can get in touch with you. It is also important to have your phone number, email address, and physical mailing address on the footer throughout all of your website pages, where possible. Social media icons with links to your social profiles are usually shown on most websites these days.

What to include:

All of your social media accounts, your mailing address, phone and fax number, email address, and even your business hours. You can include an interactive contact form so your visitors can reach you. It’s very common to include a Google Map on them to show the business’ address.

Some companies prefer using a contact form instead of listing their email address for spam prevention purposes.

7. Blog

A Blog is a website, or a section of a website, made up of topically related articles. Blog posts are usually listed in reverse chronological order with the most recent blog post appearing first. What you are reading right now is an article or Blog post.

Think of your Blog as your greatest and most affordable marketing tool. A Blog drives traffic and leads/sales. A survey by HubSpot found that 57% of businesses who blog have generated a lead from it. A Blog gives your business a voice, it creates a place where you can tell your story, share expertise, and engage with your customers.

Your Blog is one of the most important assets you may have in your online presence. You can have written an article 3 years ago, but the user found it today and he (or she) was so engaged, that he can make a decision to buy from you now. Your Blog is your online Swiss Army Knife.

This is very important:
A classic (physical) business model has only ONE (1) main entry, and most people have to enter by that door. But, on the Internet, due to the nature of Search Engines, the user can access your website through your (service pages), and more importantly, through the articles that you write on your Blog. The majority of searches people do online are to get information about something, not to purchase something. And where do they find that information? They found it on Google. Ok, that’s true, but where does Google get that information from? From Blogs.

A Blog can serve as a more efficient way to storytelling, product mentions, and sign-up links together in order to answer potential customer inquiries, solve problems, and pose your product or service as the preferred solution.

What to include:

First of all, you need to come up with a strategy. You must figure out why you’re starting a Blog and whom you’re blogging for (your target audience). Next, you need to map out what your Blog should be about and the topics to cover.

A great strategy that is foolproof is to create (write) content related to your niche, that is, to your products or services. Don’t be afraid to be conversational and casual in the way you write. Quality trumps quantity. Studies suggest that long-form and in-depth blog posts outperform shorter shallow blog posts when it comes to search engine optimization and getting shared on Social Media.

8. Privacy Policy page

Privacy Policy lets the visitor to your website know what you’ll do with the personal information they give you. On this page, let the site visitor know how any personal information and data (e.g., advertising, cookies, emails, etc.) collected will be used, and whether or not it will be shared with third parties. You must strictly adhere to your privacy policy. Having this page is not optional; it’s a must. You can be object to a huge fine if you don’t have this page on your website.

What to include:

Your Privacy Policy may include detailed information about what cookies your site uses, how they’re used, and how a user can control cookies placement via limiting or forbidding your website to place cookies on their device.

You also need to mention the data you collect, how it is collected, how visitors can get a copy of the information you obtain, and if such content will be shared, tell with whom and how.

Normally, data collection is possible through the use of cookies. Cookies are text files that websites put on the visitor’s browser. They can be used to remember the username and password of a visitor so that they can easily log in to a website.

You might be using cookies on your website to provide custom advertising to your visitors based on their searches and personal interests. Or, perhaps you’re using them to enhance your website use.

9. Terms of Use and Conditions page

Similar to the above-mentioned Privacy Policy, a Terms of Conditions page is usually a must for most websites. This is a page that outlines the “rules” and “conditions” a visitor to your site must agree to abide by in order to use your website.

What to include:

You should include the rules and guidelines and how your website functions. For example, which country’s laws that governs the agreement, an intellectual property disclosure that states that your website is your property and that it’s protected by copyright laws, and links to other sites clause that you are not responsible for or have control over third party links on your website.

10. FAQ page

The FAQ page is your space to answer the most frequent questions you are asked. The frequently asked questions (FAQ) page will tell everyone – on one page – exactly what they need to know. This will save you time answering those same questions on an individual basis. Provide honest answers for each one. Your answers should be a call to action, and persuade a potential customer to take the next step and buy whatever you’re selling.

If you receive the same type of queries from different customers, you may want to consider a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page to provide answers.

What to include:

Make sure that the answers to the most common questions or objections regarding your product or service be on this page. Such questions should also remove any doubts a customer may have, in order to make them feel secure enough to make a purchase from you.

Who has to provide the CONTENT?

As the owner of the website, it’s your responsibility to CREATE and PREPARE the content of your website.

In my years of experience in website development, I’ve seen that many well-established business owners, wanting to take their business from physical to digital, many times don’t even know how to speak or present their own product, much less how to sell it on the web. I have seen the same story repeat itself very often.

If you don’t know how to do it, THERE IS NO PROBLEM;  instruct your marketing team to do this   SUPER IMPORTANT TASK    or hire a     Copywriter.    But you have to do it in the right way because you must understand that your website is your machine to make money online.

CONCLUSION:

Despite of the belief that every business is unique, your website visitors (this means your potential customers) have already set expectations of your website, what information they expect to find on it and where on your website they expect to find it.

Now, you might wonder, Luis, why do they have expectations?
The answer is very obvious: they may already have visited other websites (your competitors) and they already know the information that should exist in a website on your type of niche. If they don’t find that information on your website, chances are that they leave your website immediately and look for another provider. In that way, you’re losing a potential customer.

In this list, you’ve learned the 10 most important pages your website should have, and the type of information these pages should feature and include.  I hope that you’ve enjoyed learning them.