Essential Pages for Your Business Web Site
Most small-business web sites are works in progress with continual revisions, improvements, and updates. This process frequently results in failure to include important information- information that could have a negative impact on your bottom line.
The inclusion of these pages on your web site will assure you that the potential customers visiting the site get everything they need. These pages are listed and described below.
It is hard enough bringing in new customers, so don’t get caught in the situation where the interested visitors to your site have to ask you for one or more of these pages. You need to make the selling process as smooth as possible.
- Contact Us. Every small-business site should have a Contact Us page that offers visitors a complete list of ways they can contact you – from e-mail addresses to toll-free numbers to a physical address. So, even though your company does have the online presence, customers still want as many contact options as possible; and this includes a physical address. This information should be in the navigation bar and the bottom of every page.
- Testimonials. Some companies mistakenly leave out the Testimonials, considering it too self-serving, People are, however, interested in this kind of information; and it is a natural for them to ask how others think of you. And when they don’t find it, they might begin to ask why it has been omitted, or why you cannot find enough people to say nice things about your company. The link to the Testimonials page should appear in the navigation bar.
- Privacy policy. These days safety and privacy concerns are a top priority for web users. A privacy policy page is therefore an absolute necessity on your site. Anytime you collect personal information, you must give visitors the utmost assurance of confidentiality. This will build trust and decrease the amount of form abandonment. The privacy policy link should appear at the bottom of every page.
- FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are important because they save you time and money by creating a self-service format for the clients, so that you don’t have to answer the same questions over and over. In addition, if you find repeat questions on a solicited feedback form, you can always convert them into more FAQs. The FAQ page should be linked from the bottom of every page.
- About Us. The About Us page is more important than you may suppose. People are always interested in the nature of the business they are dealing with. But they don’t want to be overwhelmed with information. It is most effective to keep your company information short and to the point, and also limiting the technical jargon. The link to the About Us page should be in the navigation bar or at the bottom of the home page.
- Confirmation. The confirmation page acknowledges an order and thanks the visitor for his or her business, along with a statement that you will contact the customer shortly to confirm an order. This page will save you time and unnecessary headaches in dealing with customers trying to contact you by phone to check on their orders. This page should be linked to any kind of form on your site, such as e-mail us, subscribe to our newsletter, or buy a product.
Remember: Though these pages are essential, you cannot forget to update them on a regular basis to keep them fresh and in tune with customer interests and preferences.
