You’re ready to widen your customer base and know that getting your business online is paramount to reaching more customers. But what exactly should be on your website? Most business owners already have a company profile with information about their company and what they offer. This is a great start, but perhaps you want to know how to add more substance to your content. You might even have no written content at all, and no idea where to start. This article will help you understand what information you need to compile in order to have an informative and captivating website.
Why the content needs to come from you
As web designers, we specialize in creating the website, not the content. We can adjust, edit and lay out the content to provide the best user experience and design. However, we cannot create the content for you, as we have no idea what your company’s background, services, or products are. Each industry is different, and your website’s quality will be affected by having the correct and relevant information displayed on it. While you can hire a professional copywriter, this might not work for everyone’s budget. By using the tips in this article, the task won’t seem that daunting anymore.
What information needs to be on your website?
Most small business’ websites are comprised of 4 pages, eg: Home, About, Services/Products and Contact. This is the basic blueprint for most websites and covers the basic information your potential customers are looking for.
Your Home page welcomes the viewer, with a general summary of your company and what you have to offer. This ensures the viewer that they have found the correct company they have been searching for. It also helps the viewer easily navigate your site.
Your About page may list company history, your mission, and vision, team members, company values or any information regarding your company. This is where you show what makes your company unique, what sets you apart from competitors, and why customers should buy from you. While start-up businesses and smaller companies don’t need to elaborate as much, this page adds legitimacy and credibility to your business and company image.
Your Products or Services page is where you expand on the products or services you have. Be as detailed as you can, this will spare the viewer the frustration of having to enquire about a product or service if they just want to know something simple, or just moving on to a competitor. This also prevents you from having to send the same email over and over again in response to the same enquiries. Accompany your description with a decent quality but candid image of your products. People generally do not appreciate an old pixelated image that looks like it was just copied from Google. If you’re offering services, being specific in which services you offer is also important. If you are offering cleaning services, for example, make sure to specify whether you do domestic and/or industrial cleaning as well.
Your Contact page lists all your contact details, such as your physical address, contact number, and email address. If your company has multiple branches, list their locations as well. If you’re operating from a physical location, not just online, having some directions or a Google Map will make it easier for customers to find you. It is also a good idea to have an enquiry form so potential clients can easily get in contact with you.
These are just the most common pages used, the number of pages will depend on the amount of information you have. If you have a lot of products or services, or you sell a wide range of products or service in different industries, it will be better to categorize them into individual and relevant pages. Other pages can include customer testimonials, upcoming events, FAQs, your previous works or portfolio, resources or blog posts etc. The information for your website will depend on your company, your budget, and your industry.
How to write and compile content for your website
Don’t be afraid to have a look at other websites that are in your industry. While this will not give you content, as using their copyrighted information and images is illegal. This can help you in understanding how to structure your content, which information your customers want to see, and where you should be elaborating.
While writing your content, do not assume that all customers will be knowledgeable in your industry or its terminology. It is very rare to have a target market that already knows all the applications and details of your products or services. Be informative and detailed in your descriptions.
Beyond user experience, having informative content on your website will also benefit your search visibility. If someone searches for Samsung screen repairs, you won’t be very visible if you only included electronic repairs in your services. Work these keywords into your content, but keep the sentence structure natural.
If someone searches for Samsung screen repairs, you won’t be very visible if you only included electronic repairs in your services. Work these keywords into your content, but keep the sentence structure natural.
Additional content for your website
While photos of your business or products are important and preferable, we offer the option of stock photos as well. Stock photos are professionally taken photographs that we can buy online to use commercially, without having to stress over copyright issues. Stock photos can save you quite a bit of time and money, as you do not have to hire a photographer just to have some quality images for your website. While stock images cover a broad range of applications, it can be difficult to acquire pictures for a certain niche or a specific product.
Your company’s branding will also have an impact on the quality of your website. While apart from your logo, it does not necessarily have to be included in your content, I suggest reading this article on creating a strong brand while creating your content. Planning your branding before creating your website will give you a great advantage.
