The Most Important Pages on Your Website

A website is an integral part of any business. It gives potential customers an opportunity to get to grips with exactly what it is you do, but it also gives your company the chance to showcase your brand. 

Tone of voice, colour scheme, logos and even the layout of your text and images can give a prospective client a solid first impression. If this is done right, you will soon be bringing in an impressive number of leads.

When it comes to your website content and the pages that are available, every single page  is important because each one should serve a specific purpose. That’s why, if you realise that a page on your site doesn’t serve a purpose, you should take it down. 

Having said that, some pages are far more significant than others and so are worth holding on to and improving periodically, if you can. But which pages are the most influential and what can you do to keep them updated, on-trend and interesting?

Search results page

If your website has a search function, then people will use it in order to find exactly what it is they’re looking for. Where not every website out there needs a search function, some businesses will, especially if they sell a wide number of different products that fall under a variety of categories.

With this in mind, you should ensure that the search results page is pulling up the most relevant, appropriate items and information, is simple to navigate and is displaying those findings in a clean, easy-to-follow way for the users’ absolute convenience.

A search results page that’s not well-designed or produces a significant amount of irrelevant, random products, services or even blog posts, will make the website look somewhat sloppy and cluttered.

In summary, a decent search results page that will do well should:

• Show relevant information based on keywords inputted
• Be simple to navigate around and scroll through
• Have a quick loading speed
• Display findings in a clear and simple way

404 error page

This page is often overlooked as it’s not actually something a user will be able to find and subsequently click on. However, if the error page flashes up, for whatever reason, it’s important that it’s still in-keeping with your brand and has a friendly and reassuring tone of voice.

But what’s the purpose of a 404 error page? Essentially, it lets someone know that an error has occurred somewhere down the line. The user might have clicked on a broken link or typed the incorrect URL into the search bar. 

Therefore, the 404 error page should then point the visitor in the right direction. Perhaps supply a link that redirects them to the homepage or include the search function so they can try inputting exactly what it is they’re looking for in there.

In summary, a good 404 error page should:

• Have a friendly, helpful tone of voice
• Let the user know that an error has occurred
• Provide a solution to the error, such as displaying a link to another, generic page or a search function
• Be in-keeping with the rest of your website design

Contact page

The contact page helps to build and encourage communication between yourself and your potential customers or leads. Should a prospective client choose to get in touch with you, it’ll help you to better understand their needs and budget, where applicable. With this information, you’ll be able to provide them with the best possible advice and guidance, which will also enhance their customer experience with your company.

As well as understanding your customers’ requirements, it also opens the door for you to receive critical feedback. This is important because your main concern should be to give your clients the best possible service in order to either retain them or acquire them in the first place.

The contact page should display all the relevant information that a customer might need in order to get in touch with you. This could include your business address, a telephone number, an email address or even links to your social media accounts. The page should also be easy to find and quick to access.

In addition to that, and something that will slip a lot of business owners’ minds, is that a contact page will still need to display some form of copy, even if it’s just a short, friendly paragraph encouraging customers to get in touch with you. Its design should also be the same as other pages on your site in order to seamlessly fit your brand.

In summary, a content page should:

• Display the relevant contact information, such as a business address, email address, telephone number or social media links
• Be quick and easy to find and access
• Contain some text with a friendly and encouraging tone
• Be designed in the same way as the rest of the site

Homepage

This page is important because it’s the first thing your potential customers will see when they click through to your website. It provides the ultimate first impression for your site visitors and it often determines whether or not the user stays on your website or clicks out of it. 

When designing your homepage, think about things from the perspective of your customers. Depending on what you’re selling or the industry you work in, delve more into what your prospective clients would want to see rather than what you’d like to put on there. 

The visitor to your site needs to clearly understand what it is you do, what you’re selling, the services you’re offering – your objectives in general, essentially. Make sure that there’s an obvious call-to-action (CTA) and boldly display your logo. 

The aim of a homepage is to get your visitors to click through to other pages, ensuring they stay on site for as long as possible. It’s your opportunity to raise brand awareness and gain a considerable amount of conversions at a decent rate. 

In summary, your homepage should:

• Be designed with your customers in mind – analyse your demographics 
• Clearly outline what you’re selling, the services you offer, what you do and other objectives
• Display a clear call-to-action  and a company logo
• Raise brand awareness

About page

This is an opportunity for you to elaborate on your company’s accomplishments, accreditations, history and overall industry experience. Customers feel reassured by the fact that you have worked in the industry for many years or hold the most relevant qualifications and accreditations. Not only does it add authenticity, but it solidifies your reputation and might even set your business apart from your competitors.

As well as displaying your company’s impressive achievements and the extensive experience you have, you should also look to include your goals as a company. Perhaps you’re wanting to adopt more environmentally-friendly ways of doing things or maybe you’re looking to employ a certain number of graduates over the next year. By outlining your plans for the future, you’re adding elements of trust and reliability to your company which, in turn, will make your business more attractive to prospective customers.

In summary, your about page should:

• Outline your company’s achievements
• Explain business goals and plans for the future
• Display any accreditations, awards or qualifications you hold
• Be informative and tell the story of your company 

Product or service pages

This is your opportunity to convert a casual website visitor into a happy, paying customer. Whether you offer a service or sell products, you should work to ensure their frequent custom and this is something you can do on a service or product page through your descriptions. 

A product description should include the benefits a product or service has to offer a customer as opposed to its features or capabilities. You want to persuade a customer to go through with the purchase or to sign a contract agreeing to a service you have available. 

The best way to do this is to go through the advantages of what you have to offer rather than the technical facts and information. Although product features should be displayed somewhere on the page, it shouldn’t be prominent on the page.

In summary, a product or service page should:

• List the advantages of the product or service
• Briefly mention features and capabilities
• Contain a persuasive product description
• Display a clear call-to-action

Blog page

A blog is a chance for your brand to talk directly to your customers. It’s a slightly more informal platform for you to firmly get your voice across in a way that isn’t as straight or as engineered as the copy displayed on the majority of your web pages.

Here, you’ll be able to display the latest company news, some frequently asked questions, industry information and even a few informational articles. A successful blog is a long and fruitful journey, with no destination. 

Your blog should look to capture your visitors’ attention with the sole aim of keeping them on the page for as long as possible. The more interesting your blog posts, the more likely they are to click on a number of others, especially if they’re well-written and light-hearted.

In summary, your blog page should:

• Have a variety of different articles displayed
• Contain light-hearted, well-written copy
• Capture visitors’ attention from the offset
• Have a simple and minimalistic layout for easy navigation
• Be quick when loading up articles, especially when scrolling through

If you’re looking to improve your website, or have a brand new one created for your business, then Kumo Digital will be able to help. We have a dedicated team of marketing specialists who will be able to meticulously design the site, write the copy and boost its performance overall in the search engines. No matter what industry you work in, you’ll be able to count on us – for more information, get in touch with a member of our specialist team today.