Here's What Each Page of Your Website Should Do
Website building platforms like Squarespace and Shopify make it super easy to put together the structure and design of your site—but what about the content? How do you know which information to include and where to put it? What should your focus be on each page of the site?
If you aren’t a seasoned marketer, it’s hard to know the right answer.
In my experience, these are the most effective ways to approach the 3 main pages of your website: your homepage, about, and services.
Homepage
Your homepage is (99% of the time) the first page visitors find on your website. That means it’s your first chance to make a good impression and convince them to stick around.
Here’s the basic formula for a great homepage:
An irresistible headline that captures the primary pain-point of your target customers
A short blurb or two explaining your customers’ journey from life before you to life with you
A brief introduction to your services or products, and
A compelling CTA to learn more
The first thing you want to do is introduce yourself and your business. Explain who you are (briefly), what you do, and—here’s the important part—who your customers or clients are.
Website visitors are only as valuable as they are qualified, so it’s important to begin setting expectations about who your services are for from the very outset. You also want to make it clear who your business isn’t for.
Once you’ve set those expectations, give remaining visitors a reason to stay on your website. Explain where they can find additional information and use a compelling call-to-action (CTA) to encourage them to click-through the rest of your website and learn more about you and what you can offer them.
About page
When someone visits your About page, it’s because they want to learn more about who you and your company are. Why do you do what you do? What kind of mission drives you? How did you get to where you are in the business world? Who are the people behind the brand?
About page visitors are looking to forge a connection with you—to figure out if the two of you might be a good fit. They want to know your story.
Too many people and companies treat their About page like an afterthought. When you do it right, it can be an invaluable asset.
Back away from the hard sell here. These visitors are already interested in what you offer, so you don’t need to convince them. Don’t sell visitors on your service or product, sell them on you.
Your About page is where you can connect and build a relationship with prospects. Be personable. Don’t blabber on about your education or your qualifications. Talk about your favorite food, where you love to travel, your passions.
Services or products
Once visitors are looking at your Services or Products page, they’re definitely interested—enough to spend time learning more about what you offer and how you can help them. This is your opportunity to really sell.
Showcase past work that exemplifies each service. Make sure your copy uses plain, everyday language. Do some initial research around who your customers are and how they talk about their problem and solutions like yours. Copy on this page should be entirely in your customer’s language.
Services pages are also an opportunity to prove your chops and what you can do for clients or customers. Display testimonials from those you’ve worked with in the past. If it makes sense for your industry, pull in reviews from third party websites.
Last (but certainly not least!), include a clear, compelling CTA for visitors who are ready to take the next step and work with you. Use language that identifies what the next step is and words that create a sense of urgency. Here are a few examples of good base CTA copy (just be sure to make it specific to your business):
Contact me today
Schedule an intro call now
Download now
Subscribe for the next [email/release/download/etc.]
Don’t overcomplicate it
At the end of the day, your website is a tool you can draw on to introduce new leads to your business, your team, and your product. The tendency is to spend way too much time putting way too much information down—don’t fall into that trap.
Clear, focused copy that’s targeted to your ideal customers will always be your best bet.