A website is a vital tool for businesses which is the equivalent to a digital business card. First impressions matter – even more so online. The average time spent on a website is 15 seconds, if you haven’t captured someone’s interest with your content in that time then you probably aren’t ever going to.
Business websites are used to increase visibility and attract or convert potential customers. In order to achieve these goals, your website content should clearly display important information, such as who you are and what your purpose is. It is also a fantastic opportunity to showcase your brand’s unique personality and use it to connect with your customer base.
DO:
- Be creative and authentic.
- Highlight what makes your business different from others.
- Keep the website content simple and clear so that it’s easy to read and understand.
- Sound like a human by letting your personality shine through the writing.
- Speak directly to the reader by including sentences that feature ‘you’ or ‘your’ in order to forge a connection.
- Consider your target audience when writing your content, will they respond better to more formal language or will they prefer for you to keep it casual?
- Use visually attractive headings in case a reader is skim reading the page.
- Test the text across different screens. What looks good on a desktop may look too long on a mobile device
DON’T:
X Never copy content from another website. It’s against the law and can end up hurting the brand
X Don’t lie or exaggerate about a product or service
X Do not include too much complex language or technical jargon, your website needs to be easily readable by your target consumers.
X Don’t use stock photos that you don’t have permission to use. Where possible try to use your own photographic content first to add more legitimacy to your site.
X Below we go through the most common website pages and our top tips for getting them right:
Home Page
The home page of your site is the first page viewers will see and therefore needs to make a positive impression. With over 1.5 billion websites on the world wide web, you need your site to stand out and attract your target customers quickly. Your home page should let users know the most important information about your company without overloading them with information. It should be visually appealing, informative and encourage them to navigate onto another section of the site.
Our top suggestions for content to include on your homepage are as follows:
- A short snappy description of what you offer. This should inform visitors exactly what to expect from your company and what products or services you provide. This should also communicate how your business will help potential customers to achieve their goal.
- Add some calls to action. These are prompts on your webpage, often in the form of a clickable button, to encourage an immediate response. A common addition is a ‘Contact Us’ button that takes the user to a fillable form.
- Include your unique selling points. It is important to let readers know why they should choose your company over others.
About Us
You will notice an about us page on nearly every website you visit. The primary purpose of an about us page is to inform the reader about the company and its operations. This is a straightforward goal that nearly all businesses have to fulfil in some fashion or another. However, there are other reasons why about us pages are common fixtures on business websites. The text on these pages is a marketing tool for a business, enticing potential customers with both the history and the aspirations of a business, as well as adding a human element.
Some things you can include on the about us page:
- The mission statement of the business. This should be written in this section of the website as it answers two questions: ‘Who we are?’ and ‘what is our mission?’.
- Company history. Help the reader understand the origin of the company, customers love to know about the human element behind a brand.
- Highlight your target audience. Forge connections with your audience by writing as if you were writing to a specific person. The targeted persona will them identify with your brand which is the start of a commercial relationship.
- Use endorsements or reviews from customers or experts in the field which will help the business to support who they say they are – inspiring trust on the visitor.
E-commerce
E-commerce is a fast-growing industry as it allows consumers to shop at any time or place across the globe by accessing online stores on their devices. This makes it a very competitive market. Recent research by Nasdaq suggests that 90.8% of all retail sales will be through e-commerce by 2023. Therefore, it extremely important that the website content on your retail page encourages customers to make a purchase. The e-commerce section of your site is a great opportunity to showcase all the best aspects of your offering.
Here is our top advice for the content to include on your e-commerce page:
- Provide high quality photos or videos. If you are selling a physical product it is imperative to include images that show off your merchandise and appeal to your target market. Try to include multiple photos from different angles so that the customer can get a full representation of what they will be purchasing. If you have multiple versions/colours of the same product try to include a photo of each.
- Include short captions under each option to give a description of the product. Customers should then be able to click through to see a more in-depth explanation that will include the key features and benefits.
- Make sure the price is clear and in the right currency for who will be accessing the page.
- If your product is available in different sizes, add a size guide to include conversions for the most popular sizing’s (UK, Europe, USA etc.)
- If you are selling clothing, be sure to include information about the model and what size they are wearing to give potential customers a clearer idea of how it may fit on them.
Services
The service industry is a huge part of the world economy and comprises of experts providing their skills to help others solve a problem or achieve a specific goal. The service page of a website details what that specific company can offer to potential customers. It is the page users will navigate to in order to find out whether your company can provide exactly what they are looking for. Your home page will have given them basic information, but you will need to give them more details in order to convert them into a customer. Your company’s service page needs to be detailed, informative and enticing.
Some pointers for making the most of your service page:
- Be clear about the services you offer, let potential clients know exactly what you can offer them and how it will benefit them. Make sure to specify how you will go about providing this service for them, they need to see that you know what you are talking about.
- Showcase examples of previously completed work. This is the perfect opportunity to show off to potential customers. If you can, include some photos to further illustrate your point.
- Have a number of different options to choose from. Think about it from your client’s perspective, they may be looking for something basic or for a much bigger project. Include options for different price points to accommodate for budget restraints.
- Consider whether or not you wish to display your pricing. For some services, the price can vary vastly from project to project so it is sometimes best to avoid listing prices and instead offer a free consultation or a contact form to receive more details. However, if it is a competitive industry or a fixed price point, you may wish to entice customers with your deals.
Contact Page
A company’s contact page can sometimes be an afterthought, but we are here to tell you that it is one of the most important pages on your website. For a lot of companies, their contact page is one of the most visited on their site. This is where potential customers go if they want more information and where existing clients head to ask for advice or get a problem fixed. Your contact page should look professional and be easy to use. You need to assure visitors that you care about each and every message that you receive through your website.
Here are our top tips for great contact page content:
- Include a contact form. This will allow users to quickly and easily fill out a template making getting in touch with you nice and simple.
- Explain why readers may want to contact you in the first place.
- Include your company email, phone number and social media platforms so that people can chose to contact you in their preferred manner. Some people would rather talk to a real voice on the other side of the phone whereas many prefer the informality of direct messages through social media.
- Feature a map or location, clients like to know where the company they are considering is based.
If you follow this guide when creating your website content, we are certain that you will manage to entice new customers and impress your existing audience. Good luck!