Want to know how to plan your website content?
How to plan your website. Your website is the most important online representation of your business so you want to make sure that it is an accurate reflection of your brand, company or product. In this article, we aren’t going to talk about website design elements such as colour and layout. Instead, we are going to focus on what type of content or information you need and how to start the process of preparing your website content.
”How many pages do I need on my website?”
Start with the basics and build from there. You also want to keep the following in mind as you make decisions:
User Experience – make it easy for viewers to find what they need, be clear with your content and mapping out of your users journey
Speak directly to your target market – supply relevant information as a priority and those who want to know more or read more, can always be diverted to another page with more info should they choose to.
The basic pages to start off with are:
Home Page – Think of your home page as a summary or overview of what you are presenting. You want the viewer to know within the first few seconds of landing on your website:
– who you are
– what you do (an overview of your services or product categories)
– that you are credible (eg. “Quality service since 2010” or “Winner of the 2017 Customer Service Award”
– quick “contact details” options (most viewers will be viewing your website on a mobile device so an easy option to contact you is a good idea)
– make use of descriptive images or banners that also speak to your audience
The above info should answer the viewers main questions immediately, “is this what I am looking for?”, “can they assist me?”, “is the information I need on this website?”, “do they look professional and credible?”
About Us Page (company profile) – This page should contain a longer description of your business or team members. You need to answer the question, “who am I dealing with?”
Use this page to give the relevant information you think you’re viewer may want to know. Some popular content is to tell the story of the company or brand, the history, your mission statement and company policy.
Services / Products Page – These can be one page although if you have both service and products, you may want to split them into separate pages as sub-menus. On your home page you would have given a brief overview of your services, linking the viewer to this page should they want more information.
“How to plan your website”
Here you can give a good description of the services/products you provide. Make use of headings for each service/product and give a description. With all information you are essentially solving a problem for the viewer so tell them how you can assist them. Again, the viewer is thinking “can they assist me?”, so you want to tell them exactly what you do and use words that reinforce your ability and credibility.
If each service you provide has a large amount of content and information, then you will want to create a separate page for each service. This will also be better for search engines such as Google as it gives them a better idea of what you do. (See SEO)
Gallery Page – Use this page for photos. You can have images of:
– services/products you provide
– your company (premises, staff)
– clients (proof of your work)
Testimonials Page – If possible, gather as many testimonials from happy customers as you can. This is a great way to prove credibility and show the caliber of your clients and work. A good word of mouth reference can go a long way, especially if coming from another respected brand or business.
Contact Page – Lastly, your contact page is absolutely essential. If potential or existing clients want to contact you, make sure you have all the relevant information on your website.
– telephone numbers of relevant departments (have a landline as well as a cell number, landline is perceived to be more trusting)
– email addresses
– business address (even if you don’t require people to come to your premises, having an address on your website adds to your credibility and helps bridge the trust gap)
– google map (important for helping customers find you as well as linking to Google Maps for SEO uproars)
In conclusion, the above is a guideline and will assist you in getting started. If you have multiple services and products you can branch out more and more, always keeping in mind that you want to make the viewers experience on your website as easy as possible.
If you need assistance with your website, please contact Deep Thought Media, we would be happy to assist you by answering any questions you may have.
“How to plan your website” by Jason Rinquest