Building a website from scratch? 5 pages every website needs

My father-in-law planned to sell his old house quickly. It was a simple four-bedroom house at the end of the street with a garage and a front garden. There was nothing special about it, but he wanted to sell it for $1000 more than the market price.

I’m no expert, but I clearly remember the post-pandemic real estate market being quite slow. Pops persisted and repainted the entire house before advertising the photos.

He painted it white, making it stand out from its light brown neighbours. Its roof was now red and towered over the surrounding greenery. The majesty of the afternoon sun glinted off the gold-tinted windows, blinding everyone. 

He thought adding a glittery touch made it look more special. It did. He received twice as many inquiries about the house for sale after the makeover.

You judge a person, a place, a product, or a service based on what you see if you know very little about them. 

You are not stereotyping; you are simply attempting to make sense of the visible information such as their colour, clothing, and communication style.

It’s the same when clients browse a company’s website. If you’re creating one for your company or a client, keep this in mind.

With many web users’ attention spans shortening as the months pass, you can’t overload them with information. You can’t make it so simple that it insults their intelligence.

In this article, we will hit the sweet spot. We’ll look at the five basic pages that every website must have and what you need to include in order for your website visitors to be engaged and take action.

Page # 1 Homepage – The first impression

A good homepage is your website’s first impression. It is the starting point for all other web pages. It is well-designed if it effectively guides the user to the desired content.

The homepage should not have too many graphics or images that distract from the message. Yes, you want to impress visitors with elaborate designs, but it’s pointless if they get confused and don’t buy anything.

A homepage is not a landing page, but it can be used effectively as one.

Your homepage (or landing page) should highlight your most important features as well as testimonials from satisfied clients. It’s also frequently the most visited page.

You want to keep it clean and inviting, just like your front yard. Unless you want to turn off potential customers. Do you?

Page # 2 About Us Page – Who are you? What do you do?

Some business owners enjoy telling the entire history of their company, while others prefer to sum up the company’s philosophy and goals. 

Some people like to include their team’s profiles and bios, while others chose to include photos of their employees’ work and accomplishments.

As you can see, there are multiple strategies to designing an “about us” page, but the one that communicates to your target audience is the most effective. 

Include your web visitors in the story, even if the page is about you, and try to answer an important question:

What’s in it for them?

Page # 3 Services – What do you offer?

Every company provides a distinct to its clients. It could be a single product, variations of a specific item, or a highly customizable service that is too complex to put a fixed price tag on.

Before designing your services page, answer the following questions about your product or service:

• How do you decide which services to provide?
• How do you know when you have too much or not enough?
• What should you offer or highlight first?

Even if you do not intend to offer your services to a large number of people, you should still have a page on your website that lists your services and their descriptions. 

This will make it easier for potential clients to find you, especially if the page is search engine optimized.

Page # 4 Processes – Handhold your website visitors to a brand experience

If you offer a service, I’m sure there is an assessment or discovery call before a client is onboarded. This page can discuss the steps prior to onboarding as well as what they can expect once they begin paying for your services.

Even if you sell products in a store, you can have a similar page that describes how to use the product. You can also include the payment and delivery processes in this section.

The customer experience begins with researching your brand, followed by purchasing, using, and advocating for your product or service. 

Hold your clients’ hands throughout the purchasing process because you are establishing a relationship, not just selling something disposable.

Page # 5 Blog – Showcase your authority

Content is the king and it is also what keeps visitors on your website. We’ve all heard it, right? So, why do so many websites seem to be lacking in content? 

Many business owners believe that writing a blog is a waste of time because they don’t understand how to use it to increase traffic.

You can’t just slap some words on a page and call it “content,” you need something that will entice your audience to stay on your site and read more.

Aside from that, it must be shareable so that your visitors can become advocates and spread the word. They may not be paying customers yet, but if they share your values, they will be.

Bonus: Contact page – How can clients reach you?

A few years ago, it made sense to include an address so that customers could physically visit you to buy something or close a deal.

With the rise of on-demand services, same-day deliveries, remote offices, and outsourcing, dedicating a page to contact information is now a waste of web space.

A better option is to place it in the footer, where visitors can see it no matter where they are on the website. You can also provide other ways for them to contact you, such as a live chat, an email address, or links to book a call.

TL; DR

There are numerous factors to consider when creating a brand-new website for your company. All of the pages, how to organise the information, make it appealing and user-friendly, and much more.

As you can see, having a website is an excellent way to build and grow your company’s brand, but it is not without its challenges! 

If you’re thinking about creating a website, we hope this article has been helpful in providing you with the five pages that every website needs to be successful.

If you have any questions or concerns, particularly about the design and how to make it consistent with your brand, please get in touch with web design professionals such as us.