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Designing Your Website
The Top Ten Pages to Include
By: Tara Kachaturoff
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1. Home page.Your home page is the very first page that someone will find when they input your domain name into their browser and press the enter key. Within seconds, they will form an opinion of you and your company. For that reason, make sure it is attractive, easy to read and easy to navigate. Simple is better. Use few colors and make sure that you do not use multiple fonts and font sizes as too much of any of these can make your site appear chaotic and unprofessional.2. Vision or Philosophy.Although this isn't a necessary page, I think it is really important, especially if you are trying to attract your ideal client. Write about your vision and mission, your overall philosophy when it comes to dealing with your customers or clients. This is the place to tell people about what is important to you, and the values you hold most dearly. |
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3. Product or service offerings.Make sure that you have a page listing all of your product or service offerings as well as detailed descriptions or testimonials from satisfied users.4. Articles.Create a separate page where you can post your articles or those from others (used with their permission, of course). These pages are a wonderful resource for visitors.5. Resources.Provide a webpage for resources. You can include affiliate links to other products and services, books, links to informational websites and names of others who offer complimentary services or products. You can use this page to post interesting articles that others have written, thereby reserving the formal "Articles" webpage for your own articles.6. Free offer or report.Always provide some sort of complimentary article, report, or other offer to visitors. Make sure that you include all of your contact information on whatever you offer. If you don't have anything to offer, pay someone to write an article or special report for you, or ask someone if you can give away an article that they've written. Even though it will include their contact information, at least you are the one providing the information. By giving things away, you'll become known as someone who provides great resources.7. Seminars, classes and workshops.If you offer seminars or classes, make sure you include them on your website, complete with meeting dates, times, locations, and costs. If you have access to an online shopping cart or PayPal™, create a way for visitors to sign up and pay for the classes online.8. Testimonials.Testimonials are one of the most powerful tools you can use to build your business. They hold a great deal of credibility because they are written by a third party about you.9. About us.This page is exactly what it sounds like. Write a professional biography that provides the visitor information about your background and experience. It's also a good idea to include a picture if you have one. Consumers like to do business with people they know, like, and trust. A nice picture of you smiling can help with relationship building. |
10. Contact Us.This webpage should include every possible way to contact you. Include your name, address, telephone number, fax number, business hours (especially important if you are a brick and mortar establishment), and all the various email addresses through which people might contact you.If you have several employees or departments, make sure that you list the appropriate contact telephone numbers as well. In fact, it is a good idea to include your complete contact information as well as a link to your email on every page in your website.
Make it easy for people to contact you. If they have to hunt around for your name or other contact information, they'll probably click away to another site first!
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| Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff is a business consultant, writer, speaker, Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and producer/host of Michigan Entrepreneur Television. Drawing on over 15 years of corporate experience, she coaches executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs on business and lifestyle issues and has been featured in print, radio and television. Her websites include http://www.virtualleverage.com www.tarakachaturoff.com |
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