“If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business.”
– Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft
With a statement like that from Bill Gates, business genius, everyone knows that having a website and a presence online is crucial for their business. So what holds so many back from creating the website their business needs?
One of the top reasons is likely the intimidating process of creating a website outline and figuring out what content should go on their website pages.
For many years now, I have been helping business owners with the daunting task of organizing their websites. I’ve been amazed at the number of clients who, even after paying me to create their websites, stall out on getting me the actual text content that will make up their website.
This process of content creation does not have to be intimidating. There is a simple recipe for success. If you follow it, you can drastically expand your reach and connect with your desired customer.
Let’s break down the website organization process into three major steps.
Step 1 – Identify the Goals of Your Website
Step 2 – Determine What Website Pages Are Necessary to Achieve That Goal (I will go over the typical website pages)
Step 3 – Organize the Content For Each Page
Step 1 – Identify the Goals of Your Website
Having a solid understanding of your target audience and their needs can help you decide what type of content to include on your website.
Here are a few thought provoking questions to help you get started.
- Who are you building this website for?
- What are your visitor’s needs and pain points?
- Are you answering their basic questions?
- How can you resolve their doubts and concerns?
- Are you speaking to them in language they can understand (their language)?
- Are you guiding your visitors to do something on your site, like take a next step?
- Is there a “call to action?” (Examples: sign up for a newsletter, make a purchase, submit a contact form, visit a next page, etc.)
- If a prospect finds your website, what opinion will he/she have of your company?
These are some basic questions you should ask yourself before starting to write or gather content for your website. Now that you know the goal of your website, let’s discuss how to determine what website pages are necessary for your site.
Step 2 – Determine Your Website Pages
Amy Porterfield, Online Marketing Expert, always coaches business owners to “Start simple and get fancy later.”
I like her advice. Too many people think they need to have a state of the art website, when really they just need to start with a simple, quality website for their target audience.
A website outline is going to look very similar for most businesses. It’s the content within those website pages that is going to vary and be unique.
Let’s run through the typical website pages for most small business websites.
Home Page: The home page will often be the first page on a website that a visitor sees. At a glance, your home page should identify your website’s main service or product.This page introduces your business and links to other pages on your site with that get into more detail..
Tip: An quality logo will make a powerful first impression and a concise tagline on your home page can effectively and simply describe what you do.
About: This page is usually a description of you and your business – why you do what you do, what makes you unique and why you are qualified. It’s usually a good idea to include personal pictures of you, your team, and your location if applicable. Read this post that addresses common concerns about including personal photos on your site.
Tip: Show some personality when you tell your story; make it fun. On your About Page creatively tie in benefits for your prospect and your page becomes that much more engaging.
Gallery/Portfolio: If you have a need to display pictures for any reason, like a contractor showing project before/after photos, it’s a good idea to make a dedicated pictures page to display photos in a gallery format. If you do not use a dedicated pictures page, your pictures should still be used throughout your site.
Tip: Spend the money to invest in a professional photographer to take photos for your site OR commit the time to discovering how to take better photos even if it’s just on your smartphone.
Product/Service/Pricing: If you sell a product or service, you may want a page describing the product or service in detail and giving pricing information.
Tip: I’ve looked at stats for many sites and this is often one of the most visited pages after the home page. People want to see what you offer and how much it will cost them. This is also a great place for a call to action!
References or Testimonials: If you have references or testimonials that are appropriate to display, it’s smart to include them on your website either on their own separate page or scattered throughout the site.
Tip: You can incentivize happy and satisfied customers to provide you with a testimonial in exchange for a discount on future services or products. You will have to follow up in order to get these testimonials, but a good reference is worth more than gold, so follow up!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): A list of frequently asked questions is a good way to make sure all of your visitors get their questions answered AND it will save you time in the long run! One of my favorite things is a prime prospect who calls me after reading through my entire website and has 95% of their questions already answered.
Tip: If you don’t include a FAQ page, you should ask yourself what questions your website visitors will need answered and make sure they are answered on your other pages. If you don’t know what these questions are, you will soon find out when prospects start asking them!
Contact Page: This page will have your contact information (Phone, Email, Address if necessary). It should also have a contact form that people can fill out. You can receive a notification by email when someone fills out the form.
Tip: If you have a brick and mortar location, you will want to include a map and some basic directions to your business. If you are in a major city, you may want to include public transit options for your customer to get to your business.
NOTE: Your site is not required to have all these pages. This list is just suggestions to get you thinking about possibilities. You may wish to view websites in your own industry for more ideas.
Step 3 – Organize the Content For Each Page
In many cases, content creation is what slows down the web development process. The quality of the content can determine whether a prospect will call or submit a form. Too little content can leave questions unanswered, and too much will bore the reader. It’s imperative that your content is clear and concise.
Remember, a large percentage of viewers are on mobile devices, so keep your content short and to the point. Have you ever noticed how long a five sentence paragraph looks on your phone? When possible, use lists and headers to separate content. This allows the mobile user to scroll easily and find the information they are looking for.
One other key component is easy to follow call-to-actions. Don’t lose a potential customer who bounces to a competitor’s site because they didn’t know what to do next.
Finally, ask someone to review your content. If your website is full of typos, what does that say about the quality of your product or service?
I like to to evaluate if site content is complete by asking the basic questions WHO, WHY, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW? Does your site answer these questions?
My hope is that the information here has inspired you to get a website outline together and has given you the tools you need to start writing the content for your website pages. If you have any further questions, comment below and I’ll be happy to answer.
Depending on your business and what you are looking to accomplish, my website building services may be a good next step. It’s my passion to help growing businesses establish themselves with an online presence. I’ve designed hundreds of website and may be able to help you with yours. For more information, visit my Complete Website Package page.