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An effective website is like a recipe.
Each ingredient plays a specific role in bringing the meal to life. If you skip an ingredient or two, or use it incorrectly, the whole thing falls apart.
The same can be said of a website.
If you want a website that converts, all of your individual pages – from your Homepage to your Contact page – must work together to support that goal.
To make that happen, you must first understand the ROLE each page plays, so you know which pages to use and how to make them most effective.
There are 5 key pages that almost every business website has:
- Homepage
- Features/Product/Service pages
- About
- Contact
- Blog
While every business is different, chances are, your business website will need at least 1 – if not all – of these pages, which is why it’s important to know how you should use each one.
In this article, we’ll walk through these 5 common web pages, discuss their core functions, and how you should (or shouldn’t) use them – with examples throughout.
If you’d like to learn more about building websites that convert, join my newsletter to get updates on my 4-week bootcamp that’s opening again (for the 2nd time!) on January 23rd.
Alright, let’s dive in, starting with the most important page of most websites: The Homepage.
#1: Homepage
Core functions: Welcome & direct visitors
The role of the Homepage is like a greeter at a store.
A greeter welcomes visitors, highlights a few things they may be interested in, and points them in the right direction – and an effective Homepage does the same thing.
Your Homepage messages should be short and sweet, and the content should be organized in a way that allows visitors to explore without getting distracted or lost.
Like an annoying store greeter, you don’t want the Homepage to be too long or filled with too much information that may overwhelm the visitor, turn them off, or cause them to lose interest.
Remember that while most visitors may land on the Homepage, they won’t stay for long – and most won’t scroll past the first third of the page.
Why?
The Homepage is not meant to give visitors everything they need – it’s simply a launch pad to send them on their way.
This is why a strong user experience (including an intuitive navigation) and pages that are properly structured with high-quality content is so important.
If you have those things, you don’t have to jam everything into the Homepage and hope for the best.
You can relax knowing those other pieces are working hard to help visitors achieve their goals in a fast and enjoyable way.
#2: Feature/product/service pages
Core function: Drive sales
While you could argue that Feature/Product/Service pages are partially educational, the main reason they exist is to SELL whatever you’re offering.
Think of these pages like a display case for individual features, products, or services.
It’s your chance to shine a spotlight on what makes them great, from the individual components and the benefits they offer, to the outcomes and results customers can expect when using them.
For this reason, these pages tend to be longer with more detailed information, visuals, videos, and other types of content that demonstrate why a visitor should choose YOU.
These pages are also often stuffed with various forms of proof, including testimonials, star ratings, case studies, stats, certifications, awards, scientific data, or anything else that builds trust while overcoming potential purchase barriers.
These pages may also go into more detail around “the problem” visitors are experiencing and how this particular feature/product/service solves it.
Because these are sales pages, the main call-to-action should always be sales-related, whether it’s “buy now,” “schedule a demo,” “book a free consultation,” etc.
Long story short?
Feature/Product/Service pages are meant to SELL, so be sure to keep that in mind when developing the structure and content for them.
#3: About page
Core functions: Education / sales
Contrary to popular belief, the “About” page is not an opportunity for you to wax poetic about your brand.
It’s an opportunity for you to communicate information about your brand (education) in a way that relates back to the visitors’ goals, wants, needs, etc (sales).
For example, let’s say one of your brand values is “transparency” – let’s see what it might look like to present that information from a “brand-first” perspective vs a “customer-first” perspective:
Brand-focused:
“Transparency is at the core of our business”
Customer focused:
“You’ll always receive clear pricing and time estimates”
While both statements reflect the idea of transparency, the second option frames it in a way that’s relevant to the customer, as it relates to their specific goals and needs.
Similar to the “Why us?” page, the About page can also be a great place to showcase how you’re different from competitors and why a potential customer should choose you over an alternative solution.
For example, let’s say one of your differentiators is that you’ve been in business a long time.
That’s certainly an accomplishment for you, but unless it’s framed in the right way, the customer may not understand why they should care.
Here’s an example to show you what I mean:
Brand-focused:
“We’ve been in business since 2010”
Customer focused:
“For over a decade, our team has restored thousands of vehicles from dirty and dingy to sparkly and shiny”
Both statements educate the visitor on how long the company has been in business, but only the second option frames it in a way that speaks to the visitors’ wants and needs.
To sum up, the About page is an opportunity for you to educate visitors about your brand, but in a way that’s relevant to visitors.
When you’re creating your content for your About page, always ask yourself: How can I tell them about me in a way that SELLS them?
#4: Contact page
Core functions: Sales / information
While it may feel like a “boring” or “throwaway” page, the Contact page is anything but.
Depending on what you’re selling, it could be one of the more important pages on your site, as it’s most frequented by those who are furthest down the sales funnel.
This means the Contact page is yet another opportunity to sell visitors who are exploring the option of contacting you for more information, a quote, to book a demo, etc.
To do that, you want to include a clear and intuitive contact form with copy and questions that engage the visitor, while also providing you with information that can help tailor the sales experience once the visitor clicks “submit.”
You may also want to include some social proof – like star ratings, testimonials, or stats – to reinforce the visitors’ decision of contacting you (or considering you as an option).
And because the Contact page is also an informational page, it’s important to include key information that visitors expect to see, like:
- Email address
- Phone number
- Physical address/locations/maps
- Store hours
- Social icons
Finally, you may also want to include information about what visitors can expect once they contact you, as doing so may help remove potential barriers around reaching out.
For example:
What Happens After I Submit?
We’ll be in touch via email within 24 hours with your free quote. If you have any questions or need help, you can always call us 999-999-9999 or email our team: info@email.com
#5: Blog
Core functions: Education / authority + trust building / lead capture / SEO
A lot of websites use the blog as “filler” content when they’re not sure what to “say” or need to fill in empty space on a page.
They say, “We need a blog,” but they don’t really know why (and most of the time, they fill it with a few articles then let it go stale like one of those old containers in the back of your fridge).
This is a mistake.
Out of all 5 of the pages we’ve covered today, the blog is the most versatile in terms of its core functions and benefits.
The purpose of the blog is to educate visitors, showcase your knowledge/authority (and build trust), and to capture leads who may not be ready to buy today, but may purchase in the future.
A blog can also be helpful for SEO purposes if you’re able to weave relevant keywords into your content.
Knowing this, the blog should include high-quality content that fills the knowledge gaps your visitors may have, while also demonstrating your expertise as an authority in the space.
This can include guides, how-tos, tutorials, demonstrations, case studies, videos, thought pieces, guest posts, podcast episodes, templates, or anything your audience may be interested in.
The blog should also include a way to capture email addresses, like at the bottom of each article or as a pop-up featuring a free lead magnet.
This will give top-of-funnel visitors an opportunity to further engage with you, while also allowing you to build an email list filled with potential customers.
To sum up, the blog has many functions and benefits, but if you’re not going to actually use it for anything but filler, you may as well delete it from your website.
Which pages are right for your website?
You now know the core functions of the 5 most common web pages across business websites.
Hopefully this gives you a better sense of which pages are right for your website and how to properly utilize each page, so you can get the best results.
If you’d like to learn more about building websites that convert, join my newsletter to get updates on my 4-week bootcamp — cart opens January 23rd. First lesson drops February 1st!
Thanks for reading; if you have questions or need help, comment below.
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