JournalCommissioning a website
What to put on your website: the content, page by page
What copy, photos and facts each page of a business website needs (home, about, services and contact) and a checklist to prepare yours.
A business website needs a few pages done well: home, about, services or products, contact and the legal ones. On each, what matters isn’t how much text there is, but whether it answers what the visitor came for: what you do, whether you can be trusted, whether it’s for them and how to reach you. This is the list I give every client before designing.
What your website needs, page by page
You have0of 21
Saved in your browser
Home: what you do and for whom
The home page isn’t there to say everything: it’s there so that within seconds people understand what you do, who it’s for and why you. A clear line at the top, an image of your own, three or four reasons, some proof (clients, reviews, figures) and a button that leads to the next step.
About: why trust you
It’s one of the most visited pages before people get in touch. Say why you exist, who’s behind it, with real photos, and what makes you different. Concrete facts (“twelve years”, “eighty projects”) beat adjectives (“leading”, “passionate”).
Services or products: a page for each
If you offer several things, each deserves its own page: who it’s for, what’s included, how it works, examples or photos and the questions you always get asked. Besides helping visitors, each page can show up on Google when someone searches for exactly that.
Contact: no obstacles
A short form (name, email and message are enough), another direct way to get in touch and, if people visit, the address and a map. Say how soon you reply: it reassures more than any nice phrase.
On every page
- A title and description for Google. They’re what appears in search results. One per page, different on each.
- Alternative text on images. It describes the photo for people who can’t see it, and for Google along the way.
- Links between pages. From a service to its examples, from the blog to the service. They help visitors and Google.
- The legal pages. Legal notice, privacy policy and, if you use non-essential cookies, a cookie policy.
How to write it
- The way you talk. Short sentences, and in the first person if you’re the one behind it.
- One idea per paragraph. On screen, people skim.
- What customers ask, not what you want to say. The questions you get on the phone are the best script.
Photos and video
Stock photos show and say nothing about you. If you don’t have your own, planning a shoot is worth it; in Photos and video for a hotel website I explain how I prepare a shoot made for a website.
Who prepares it
Nobody knows your business like you, so the first draft usually comes from you; I organise it, edit it and adapt it to the site and to Google. If you don’t know where to start, the website brief is a good first step. And start early: content is what delays websites most.
In short
Home, about, services, contact and legal; on each page, what the visitor needs to know, with your own photos, concrete facts and a clear next step. Tick what you already have on the list and start with what’s missing.
If you’d like help preparing your website’s content, tell me about the project and I’ll reply within one working day.
Keep reading
- Questions to ask before hiring a web designerTen questions for choosing who builds your website, with the answer you should hear and the warning signs. The same ones I’d like people to ask me.
- How long does it take to build a custom website?A medium-sized custom website takes about eight weeks if the content is ready. What stretches it, what shortens it and how the time splits, phase by phase.
- Website brief template: the questions I ask every clientThe questions I ask before designing a website, and a template that fills itself in so you can tell me about your project in five minutes.
