Welcome to our blog post about the must have pages on your small business website. This blog post is going to assume you are a savvy business owner and are stepping into website planning mode (or bravely editing your current website).
Welcome to the wonderful world of website building! It may be daunting. It may be a steep learning curve at times. BUT I can promise you it will be well worth the effort. Hang in there! If at any point you need some extra pointers please get in touch with us. We love helping business owners hit their goals.
With that being said, if you are on this page be prepared to learn about the must have pages for a website. This is deep in content planning territory. Are you ready to get your knowledge on??
Planning your content to include must have pages on your website
When planning your website content you should ask yourself a couple of questions. The first one – What pages do I need on my website? You know, the must have pages that you can not afford to exclude! This is an important part of your website planning and will help build the foundation and structure of your site.
On this page we will list the most important pages your website needs and explain why. Let’s dive in.
Okay, okay so tell me:
What Pages Do You Need on Your Small Business Website?
Not all websites are the same. But if you look closely, most GOOD websites have some basics. The common web pages you find on the majority of websites are:
- Home page
- About page
- Services page
- Contact page
These are the BARE MINIMUM (not including your legal pages)! When I say that, I mean, do not have a website with less than the above. There was a popular trend of Single page websites a few years back. We created a few. They look great but you need to be careful to optimise them to their full potential. With a single page you are limiting your search reach within search engines. That is not good for your digital marketing strategy. Yes, you will need to come up with more content for your website but doing the hard yards now, you will reap the benefits in the future.
So, let’s agree to stay away from single page websites. You will thank me later, trust me!
Number of pages you must have on your small business website
So with the basic bare minimum website pages listed above, we would like to point out that these are in fact the bare minimum. The following list is our ‘go – to’ list of your must have pages for your small business website, in order to be a GOOD (and successful) website.
12 pages your small business website must have if it is a service website
- Home page
- Services page
- About us page
- Testimonials / Reviews page
- Portfolio page
- FAQs page
- Blog page
- Contact page
- Privacy page
- Terms and Conditions page
- Sitemap page
- 404 Error page (AKA Page not found page)
13 pages your website must have if it is a product website (ecommerce website must have pages)
- Home page
- Products page
- Categories page
- About us page
- Testimonials / Reviews page
- Portfolio page
- FAQs page
- Blog page
- Contact page
- Privacy page
- Terms and Conditions page
- Sitemap page
- 404 Error page (AKA Page not found page)
BONUS Pages:
Press or In the Media page
Okay, great!
Now I know what pages I need for my website,
what now?
What content do I need to add to each page?
Home page
Your website home page will be the first page most of your visitors will see. So it needs to pack a punch with SPEED (or load time), and content that converts or directs your visitors to complete an action. For example, navigate to a service or product page (for converting) or complete a contact form to begin the lead process.
Your home page should be clear and to the point. It doesn’t need to give a lot of information and overwhelm your visitors. It should offer answers to questions:
- Who are you
- What do you do
- How can you help your customers
- What does the visitor need to do next
Now, I am sure you have this page on your website already. Just make sure you answer the questions above to make this important website page a success!
Services page
A services page is a great opportunity for your visitors to find important information about your services in one place. You have the ability to drill down on your services a little more than simply listing the industry. For example if you are in the website hosting industry, your service page is where you will get more specific on what you offer. You would list your hosting options and your service options etc, not just “Website hosting”.
Once you have listed your services you will want to add a detailed description of what each service’s benefits are and answer the visitors question – Why should I choose to purchase this service?
Offering your features and the benefits visitors will gain from using your services is also important to add to your services page. You will want to avoid any technical or industry jargon. Be clear and concise with your descriptions so your visitors will understand the information you provide on the page.
Additionally, your services page will connect with your visitors via a customer pain point. Understanding what makes your prospective customers tick is a great marketing tactic. Offering a solution to these pain points is a great way to convert your visitors.
The main objective in writing your services page is to be clear and concise making it easy for the visitor to digest the information.
* You may need to add separate pages for each service you offer. For instance, we offer multiple web design options so we have created a separate page for each option.
About us page
Your about us page is one of the most important pages on your website. A great about us page will have the power to:
- Communicate your story and purpose
- Separate you from your competitors and point out why you are the right fit
- Build and maintain trust and authority in your industry
- Give customers a reason to purchase from you
Putting a face to your brand will help build loyalty and legitimacy of your business. This will assist with building relationships and gaining repeat customers.
So, with that said, you need to add:
- information about the faces behind the logo and brand
- Awards and accolades your business and staff have achieved
- Your business mantra
- Images of your team (don’t make the mistake of adding too much text and not enough images)
Your about us page should answer the following questions:
- Who are you
- How (and why) you started your brand
- What makes you and your brand different to others in the industry
- What are your brand beliefs and values
- Why visitors should choose you and your business
Testimonials / Reviews page
Adding a separate page for your reviews and testimonials is a great way to showcase your happy customers. It also adds social proof to your website and builds trust in visitors who are yet to purchase from your business.
By having a dedicated testimonials page you are allowing other pages of your website to remain clutter free. You can show a handful of reviews on product pages or your home page and direct visitors to your testimonials page for more information.
Portfolio page
This is where you dazzle your visitors with your amazing work. It is an opportunity to show how great your product is without saying you are great. The portfolio page is a visual representation of your services and products that your visitors will want to see before engaging in your services or purchasing your products.
FAQs page
A FAQs page is a great opportunity to provide answers to Frequently Asked Questions before people contact you. This will save you time answering the same questions on an individual basis and will free up your support emails.
Be sure to answer your questions honestly and offer an easy to understand solution. Additionally, you should add a call to action for each FAQ to persuade your visitors to take the next step in purchasing your service or product.
Blog page
A blog on your website is a great opportunity for you to give visitors the chance to understand more about you and your business. You can provide behind the scenes or share your opinions on relevant topics to show your brand personality.
Additionally, a blog is a great marketing tool to drive traffic to your website. A blog has the ability to generate leads for your products and services via organic searches and social shares.
We use our blog page to inform our visitors of important elements they need to focus on for their website success.
Contact page
A contact page is an industry standard website page. It should show potential customers all the ways they can get in touch with you. These include a contact form, contact details, physical address through to social platforms.
Privacy Policy page
A privacy policy page informs your visitors about what information or data you collect on your website and how you (and third parties) may use this data. Third party tools (such as Google Analytics) collect visitor data so it is important to explain your policy, even if you don’t collect any data yourself.
A privacy policy can also build trust in your visitors. These days, internet users are well aware of their private details and want to know how you will handle them.
Terms and Conditions page
If you offer products or services on your website, a terms and conditions page is essential. Your terms and conditions form a legal document so it is important to get professional help from your legal team. Some platforms offer basic terms and conditions as part of their online service but they are BASIC and you should still have them sighted by a lawyer.
Sitemap page
Adding a sitemap to your website is imperative to your SEO, which is why we are listing it in our must have pages for a website.
What is a sitemap?
Simply put, a sitemap is a list of the pages on your website. The purpose of a sitemap is to provide a list of your pages, images, posts and files on your website. Your sitemap is used by search engines to crawl your website. It acts like a roadmap of your website helping search engines find all of your important pages.
How do I create a sitemap?
The good news is, a sitemap is easy to create. Depending on the platform you are using you may need a plugin. RankMath and Yoast are the two best options for WordPress websites. If you are using Shopify, you are in luck. Shopify creates a sitemap automatically.
How do I know if I have a sitemap?
If you would like to see if your website has a sitemap, simply add /sitemap.xml to the end of your domain name. If you have a sitemap it will show a list of pages on your website. If not, you will see an error page.
404 Error page (AKA Page not found page)
Our final must have pages for a website is the 404 page, aka error page.
A 404 error page is something you have most likely encountered but may not have known what it was or how you go there. This type of error page is when you encounter a broken or expired link. This means your url path is incorrect and there is no page associated with that particular url. This may be a typing error or a url has been edited.
What does a 404 error page do?
If a visitor comes across a 404 error page it tells them that the web server could not find the requested page. A 404 page will prompt the visitor to go back to a working page on the website.
How do I fix a 404 error?
A 404 error is an easy fix. Simply monitor your website for broken links on your preferred website audit platform (or manually test your links). Once you establish the 404 you simply need to update the page that is displaying the error link or adding a 301 redirect (if the url is no longer).
So if it is easy to fix a website so there are no 404 errors why do I need a specific page for them? Well your website will one day show an error. Whether it be a typo or you rename a page url and forget to update links, it is inevitable a 404 page will pop its head up.
By adding a custom 404 page you are limiting visitor frustrations if they reach a broken link. You are offering them options to stay on your website and browse alternative pages. Adding a 404 error page helps your visitors navigate to important pages on your website, eliminating frustration. This is why it is one of our must have pages for a website.
Most platforms allow you to edit your 404 page. Additionally, a lot of themes come with 404 error pages as standard. Editing your 404 page will give you greater control over branding and user experience. Ideally you don’t want any visitor hitting your 404 page BUT things happen. So having an on brand 404 page is a great way to redirect your visitors and keep them on your site.
What do I need to add to my 404 error page?
The main factors you need to include are a :
- simple explanation of what has occurred
- Call to action for your visitor
If your brand is looking for a fun casual approach to the 404 page then a cheeky comment might suit your site. For example:
“Well this is embarrassing, we can’t seem to find that page” text alongside a funny image and buttons to the home page and another important page.
Make sure you add helpful content that will answer your visitors questions.
– Zel Designs (Tips for web design and SEO)
What are the most important pages on a website
So now you have a list of website pages your website needs ( your website must haves so-to- speak) AND information to guide you with the content that goes on each page.
Summary
Now you are equipped with the knowledge of the must have pages for a website, you are free to go and build your dream site! Be sure to check off each page as you create them on your website. You don’t want to miss any of these must have pages.
Need help with your website? Get in touch to discuss how we can help you achieve your online goals.
