Updating your business website can be really exciting.
For a small business, especially a service business, the most important pages are probably the Homepage and the Services page.
The homepage is the page you want potential customers to hit. There they can instantly see what you have to offer them and how it can help with something they need or want.
Then the services page tells them even more and answers their questions and by the end they’re ready to purchase.
But does it always work like that?
What I find is that other pages, the seemingly less important pages, can be very important, because they help answer common questions along the sales path.
Here are a few of the overlooked business website pages that can make or break a deal with a new client or customer.
1. About
This is one of the pages included on most business websites, but I often get the feeling that business owners don’t want to do fill it out. They think, “Who wants to know those kinds of details?”
And I totally get that sentiment. About pages usually have information about your values and your location and the team or executive staff and that kind of thing. Funny little anecdotes about the company history.
Here’s the thing, when you’re in person buying something, especially in a B2B situation, you’re committing to somewhat of a long-term relationship. And it’s not just with a business or a brand. It’s with the people behind that brand.
Humans like to get to know one another. We like to connect with each other. That’s why the about page can be so important. It’s often one of the most visited pages on a small business website because potential customers want to get to know you better.
2. Contact
I don’t know that the contact page gets enough attention. I think we obviously know that it’s important, but I think it’s underrated because we figure if our homepage and services pages do their job that the person will simply fill out the contact form and be on their way.
But what about the information to include on the form? Should you get more info or ask for less info? What should your message received text say? Should you direct people to a certain page like your Facebook page or newsletter signup after they’ve submitted the form?
This should be one of the pages you’re testing and tinkering with the most.
3. Pricing
You might have pricing on the homepage, the services page or it could be its own page. Or maybe you don’t even have a pricing page.
But if you think about interactions with your customers what is one of the first things they ask or what is one of the first things they want to ask, but they’re just thinking about?
Pricing.
We all think about money. We know that before we even discuss business we need to know that we’re in the right ballpark with price. If we can’t afford it right now then why have the talk? Let’s save some time here.
Having a really good pricing page, even if you just include ballpark figures, can save you incredible time and the leads you do get should be very qualified.
4. Portfolio
Very important especially for creative service businesses like web designers. These pages can be very tricky. It can be difficult to organize them. Do you organize your portfolio alphabetically, by industry or by what?
It could be any of those things. Should the images be big or should they be small? Should visitors have to click on something to view all the details?
There is no one right answer, but the answer is not to overlook this page. If you’re showing examples of your work you want to test this page. Even have your mom sit in front of a computer and browse your portfolio with you watching. See how she interacts with it. See if she looks confused and then ask her questions.
5. Blog
This would be not the individual blog posts, although that’s important too, but the blog archive page. Kind of your blog homepage. There can be lots of little issues and distractions that make it difficult for visitors to find the content they’re looking for on your blog.
Keep the blog simple. Make sure the dates are visible. Don’t overwhelm visitors with too many calls to action or images that take up the entire screen.
Last Thought
I like to think that a business website is never “done”. It can feel that way after a big redesign effort, but the reality is that the best websites are kind of in a continuous tinkering phase. They’re always changing and getting tweaked and that kind of thing. And these five pages aren’t overlooked like they are on most small business websites.