TrueInsight Newsletter

A Real Page Turner:
Essential Pages Every Website Needs to Turn Visitors into Customers

Courting a prospective customer isn’t what it used to be. According to the NPD Group, over 97% of Internet users now research their purchasing decisions online. That means virtually every online prospect you encounter also has access to hundreds, if not thousands, of suitors selling products or services similar to yours.

To top it all off, consumer attention spans are shorter than ever. Visitors spend an average of only 10-15 seconds on your homepage before deciding whether to move on or not. In order to hold their attention, it’s important to give them the information they want, in a way that makes it easy to find.

So just how effective is your website when it comes to keeping your visitors’ interest? To find out, use this checklist of the essential pages every business website must have to create a satisfying visitor experience. (Don’t have a website, yet? Not to worry. This checklist is a great starting point for planning your future site.)

1. About Us
Who are you? That’s the first thing most visitors want to know when they arrive at your site, particularly if you are a service provider. Your visitors want to know they can trust you before they hand over their credit card number. Include a company overview, history, and background information on management teams. Be sure to detail your experience in your field, and include any accolades you’ve received.

2. Frequently Asked Questions
Answer the questions your customers ask—before they ask them. A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page empowers your clients to service themselves, saving you the time and expense of redundant customer service calls.

If you don’t think your customers have questions, think again. Ask your employees for input; what questions do they hear all the time? Or ask your customers to submit questions using an online form. As you see questions repeat themselves, turn them into FAQs.

3. News
Visitors want to do business with a company that’s progressive and thriving. Adding a regularly updated company newsroom to your site shows that your company isn't stale. It’s easier to maintain then you think: simply type up brief blurbs as news happens, or post your company’s press releases as they’re issued.

You can make your newsroom work double-duty by posting your company’s media hits—items like scanned newspaper articles or links to online articles that make (positive) mention of your business. This gives your business the unbiased, third-party credibility of the media, and can help build trust in your visitors.

Of course, a newsroom that hasn’t been updated since 2002 defeats the whole purpose of having one. If you can’t update your newsroom at least once a month, lose it.

4. Services
It seems obvious to write about what your business does—but the key here is to consider how much you should write. Don’t tell your entire story. Instead, tease your audience and give them a reason to contact you. Provide a breakdown of what your company does and how it is unique. Think of this as an elevator pitch and a corporate summary rolled up in one.

5. Products
If you sell a product, feature it and make it easy to locate or buy. Bury the technical details—those who are interested will find them, but they’ll only confuse the average consumer. Make this section as striking and promotional as possible—include featured items, call-outs for sales and other special offers, and other purchasing motivators. If your company has multiple products, organize them logically from the client's perspective, like, for example, by category or description (Digital Cameras) rather than by model number (DLIK-321-G).

6. Contact Info
Possibly the most important page on your site, the Contact Information page should feature your company address, email address, and phone number, and any other important contact information. Remember the goal of your website is to convert your visitor into a customer, and even in today’s wired world, most people still prefer to stop by or pick up the phone when they’re doing business.

Because this page is so important, it needs to be accessible from every other page on your site. Include a link to it in your navigation, and repeat your address, email address, and phone number in the footer of every page.

7. Contact Form
The Contact Form may seem redundant with the Contact Information page, but there’s an important distinction: your visitors’ location. Not every site visitor will be surfing from a home computer; you may get visitors who are using a public computer, like a library workstation or a hotel lobby laptop. These visitors oftentimes don’t have access to their default email account.

The solution is simple: add a form. You can structure the inputs, capture only the data you need, and make it easy for users to contact you. Contact forms also prevent visitors from filling up your inbox with free-flow email dumps that you may not have the time to read.

Ultimately the best advice for a holding onto your site visitors and forging a lasting customer relationship online is to make sure your site has a purpose. If it is simply to provide information, do it well. If it is to sell products, make it easy and create a great experience for your customers. You want to deliver the same standard of customer service online that you demand from your regular place of business.