How to create winning web pages
Most websites include the same key pages: a Homepage, an About Us page, Products and Services pages, and a Contact Us page. There’s a reason for this consistency: it allows the people who visit your site to understand what to expect on each page so they can find information easily.
In this article, we’ll go through what each of these pages should include, to give people a good experience on your website.
Every website needs a key objective.
Whether that’s:
Getting leads
Selling products
Building a community
Encouraging people to visit your shop
And each web page needs:
a focus keyword
an objective
a desired action
Once you have defined this, you can start to create content that captures the attention of your ideal customer with the words and images you select.
Homepage
The home page is the most important page on your website because it’s the first page people land on most of the time.
In order to make a good first impression, you need to quickly communicate how you can meet your customers’ needs.
What are you offering of value to your customers?
How is this more helpful, or better value, than the competition?
Visitors to your site should understand what you have to offer and what they need to do next, in just a couple of seconds.
You can communicate this with a well-crafted headline and sub-headline, carefully chosen imagery, and a clear ‘call to action’ button.
Example: Weka Coffee
Weka is my favourite New Zealand coffee roastery. Their homepage simply states why their coffee is superior. The image shows the roasters, carefully selecting and roasting the beans, with Sharon (their hand-crafted coffee roasting machine) in the background. The call to action is clear: get better coffee.
Objective: To capture attention and convey what you have to offer.
Desired Action: For the visitor to click a link, taking them to a relevant page of your website.
Products/Services page
Depending on what your business offers, this could be one page or many pages.
Effective Product or Services pages make it easy for the customer to understand what you are offering and remove barriers to completing the desired action by:
Including all the essential information
Not overwhelming with non-essential information
Preempting common questions in the copy
Including a picture
Including the price
Good Products and Services pages are visually attractive and include a clear and obvious button so customers know how to take the next step.
Example: Citta
Citta creates fresh, contemporary designer homeware. Their product pages match their brand with a minimalist approach, presenting only the key information, with sections that you can click to open for more information. It’s easy to see what to do next – add that duffle bag to your cart!
Objective: Cover all the information your customer needs in a clear and concise way.
Desired Action: Buy, Book or Enquire about the product or service
About Us/Our Story page
People visit this page when they are genuinely interested in learning about your business.
Most of the other pages of your website focus on what you can do for your customers and what they will get out of using your products or services, but the About Us is your chance to talk about why you do what you do.
Take the time to tell your story well. This is your opportunity to connect with your customers on a deeper level than just what you have to offer them and build trust and brand loyalty.
Tell your story in a way that…
your ideal customer will be able to relate to it.
explains your values, what drives you, and what you stand for.
demonstrates why you are different and how that benefits your customers.
Add a photo of you or your team, this helps people connect with you.
Of course, this page should still contribute to the overall objective of your website. So if your website’s main purpose is to sell products, create links to any products you mention in your story, and include a button at the bottom of the page to view all your products.
If the purpose of your website is to get enquiries about your services, you might include two buttons, one linking to your portfolio of work so they can learn more, and the other, directly to the Contact Us page.
Example: Bio Blends
Bio Blends is a nutritional supplement company offering natural, plant-based supplements created by Dr. Libby Weaver, a well-known expert in the field of nutrition. The About Page includes a picture of Dr. Weaver and explains why she created the products, why they are different from other supplements, and how they can improve your wellbeing.
Objective: Connect with your ideal customer so they feel more positively towards your business.
Desired Action: Click a page that leads your customer towards your main objective.
Contact Us page
Your Contact Us page should be easy to find from all areas of your website.
It could include:
contact information
opening hours
links to social media
a map of where you are located.
Most Contact Us pages include an enquiry form so that customers can leave their name, email and phone number and a short message for you to follow up with them.
After submitting the form, the confirmation message should let them know their message has been received and how long it will be before they can expect to hear back from you. Keep the tone of this message on-brand (not sounding like a robot), so it feels more personal.
Contact Us pages are pretty straightforward but there are few things to keep in mind when creating your enquiry form:
Don’t add any questions that aren’t necessary at this stage
Don’t add any questions that require too much work to answer
Don’t make non-essential fields ‘required’ to submit the form.
These same principles can be applied to Checkouts too. You don’t want to have any barriers to completing your lead form or purchasing your products.
Example: The Little Flower Shop
The Little Flower Shop’s Contact Us page is the perfect example. It contains their contact information, store hours, and location (including a link to open the location in Google Maps). It also includes a simple enquiry form with no tricky questions.
Objective: Get the information you need.
Desired Action: Successfully submit the enquiry form.
Depending on your business, your website may also include a Blog, Our Work, Reviews, Galleries, an FAQ page, How it Works page or any other manner of pages.
If you get these four core pages right, remember your website’s main objective, and define the objective for each page you create, you’ll be able to create content that has a purpose and develop a website that performs well.
Conscious Digital Specialise in helping new businesses get started online, with a website that functions well, looks great, speaks to your customers and reflects your brand.
