We all know every business website needs a home, about, services & contact page. Some websites need a few more – maybe a portfolio, online store. And a website with just these pages will do a good enough job, and get your client’s business online for customers to find. But to have a bigger impact for your client and to really set your website design packages apart, there are several other pages you need to include (even if your client doesn’t think they need them). These pages will give your client a big return on their website investment, support their online marketing efforts & allow the website to serve their business and their clients more effectively.
Designers often leave these ‘extra’ pages to the developers discretion. This is a missed opportunity to optimise a client’s site and showcase your expertise as a designer and website strategist. It can also lead to more revisions and increase the build time for a website project.
This post will outline the essential ‘extra’ pages you should include in every website design package in order to create websites that exceed your clients expectations and function as valuable marketing tools to meet their business goals.
Legal Pages
Don’t forget the legal pages. Every website needs a Terms & Conditions Page & a Privacy Policy page. They need to be easily accessible, and well structured so that they are easy to read for anyone inclined to do so.
404 Page
The 404 page is the page that website visitors are directed to when the page they are looking for has been deleted, or has moved.
A good 404 page should help the users either find the content they are looking for or reorient themselves on the website. On top of that, a 404 page is a great place to showcase the brand – and even have a little fun!
Thank You Page
A Thank You page is the site page that someone is redirected to after filling out a form on the website. Whether it’s a contact form, opt-in form or a checkout form.
A good Thank You page will, of course, include a message of gratitude. On top of that, it will:
- nurture your client’s new lead down your clients sales funnel
- tell them what to expect next and how to access the offer they just signed up for
- recommend additional resources related to the offer they signed up for or the purchase they made
- give them an opportunity to spread the word about the offer they signed up for with social share buttons
Landing Page
Every website needs a landing page template! Even if your client thinks they don’t need one – really they do! If they plan to do any marketing that directs people to their website – they need to have a landing page template that is designed to convert visitors to leads or sales.
Search Results Page
Is there a search box on your client’s website? Then you need to make sure that there is an on brand, easy-to-follow, optimised search results page to go with it.
A good search results page will make it easy for visitors to see relevant search results, filter them further if required (for example by size, price, or category) and navigate to the information or products they are after. And it shouldn’t be shy about announcing when there are no search results. A page without results is also a good opportunity to offer recommendations similar to the query without results or showcase popular content or products. Just make sure that you make it clear to the searcher what they are looking at so they don’t get confused or frustrated!
Blog Pages
Even if your client doesn’t think they will be starting a blog or writing regular articles right now – you should include a blog page template and an article template in your designs if they are using a CMS like WordPress. This will mean your client’s website can grow with their business and is a fully functional marketing tool.
FAQ Page
An FAQ page is a page in the website dedicated to the most common concerns, questions or objections that the website visitors have. It is a customer service tool, a sales tool, and can help improve the website SEO.
A good FAQ page should include relevant and well-organised information and make it easy for clients to find what they need to know. It should link out to other pages for more detailed information (eg the shipping information page, how-to or instructional content, articles or product information), and it shouldn’t be a dead-end. If visitors can’t find the information they are after, the FAQ page should have all the contact information on hand so they don’t have to go looking to get in touch with their questions.
Testimonials Page
A testimonials page is a place for your clients to showcase the positive reviews they have received. Its a powerful tool for building trust and encouraging visitors to take action.
A good testimonials page will be visually engaging, using a range of different content – for example images, video and social media content. Testimonials should be specific – and align with the features of your clients product or service so you can link readers on to find out more.