[vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”How to select the right pages for your site” open=”false”]Most companies only require 5-10 pages on their website, so don’t feel like you need to have even half the number of pages listed below. Often Home, About, Services/Products, Portfolio/Photo Gallery and Contact Us works just perfect. Once you have worked out which pages you would like on your site please write this list in the Project Collaboration Document under the “Create Website Content” section.

Cool Tip: You will be able to add new pages yourself to the website whenever you like down the track using the content management system.[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”How to write your text” open=”false”]

1. Write in conversational plain English and let your business’s brand/personality shine through.  Of course if you are in a technical profession and your target customers prefer and expect a more technical/corporate language, go with that.
2. Check out your competitors’ websites to see what text they have written and how they have communicated it.
3. Think about your business and ask yourself what would my customer want to know about it, what frequent questions do we get asked, etc.

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1. Great photos can make or break a website, so make sure you spend enough time collecting high quality photos.  It can be even more important than the text you write!  For example, visit Emmanuel Rossi and My Harvest to see the effect great quality photos can have on a website’s overall look.
2. Photos of your business VS stock photos – ideally your website should have quality photos of your business, maybe even you and your team, and these can be taken by a professional photographer (approx cost $500-$1000) or by yourself using a smartphone.  But if you can’t get these you should consider using high quality stock photos; we recommend Stocksy and you should buy photos that are at least 1000px wide.  On Stocksy the Medium size photos are perfect and cost $25 each.
3. Homepage – try to collect 3 high quality landscape (wide shot) photos for the homepage slider.  If they are over 1000px wide that is perfect.  Visit Bay Dental Brighton for an example of landscape (wide shot) photos.
4. Photo Gallery – if you want a photo gallery page on your website, then you will need 6 or more photos for this page.  Photo gallery pages work great for all kinds of businesses because they communicate a lot of information in a simple eye’s glance.  So whether you are a law firm or a tradie or a restaurant, you should definitely consider this.  Visit Farinacci Pasta to see an example of a photo gallery in use.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”How to record awesome video” open=”false”]Video is more engaging and interesting to visitors than even the best text and photos put together, so if you can create a video for your business, do it!

1. A professional videographer would charge around $1000-$2000 for a 1 minute smartly edited video showcasing your business.  Although it sounds like a lot, the results can be huge!  For an example of a well executed corporate video, check out Eview’s video.  As you can see the quality of the service, the company’s unique story and the social proof, is so well illustrated by video.  It sells visitors within seconds and convinces them to do business with Eview.  Very valuable!
2. Importantly, avoid trying to shoot your own video.  Unlike photos which you can easily DIY with a good smartphone, shooting and editing professional video is tough.  Also, DIY videos tend to often detract from a website, and so instead of increasing sales, they often decrease them!
3. If you do create video, once completed simply upload your video to Youtube or Vimeo.  Both are great options.  We use Vimeo for all our professional videos (eg our homepage video) – cost $199 a year for commercial user – because it is more customisable and we upload a lot of videos, but if you only need to upload a few then go with the free Youtube option.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”How to get a cool logo” open=”false”]If you don’t have a logo, we can design a custom picture-based logo for you that looks fantastic and communicates your brand clearly (eg My Harvest).  If you do not need this type of custom logo, we can create a simple plain text logo for free (eg  Emmanuel Rossi).  If you would like either of these, please mention this in the Project Collaboration Document under the “Create Website Content” section.[/vc_toggle]

[vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Home” open=”false”]Three rotating photos of your business (eg Brisbane OMS) or your service/work/product (eg Ellis Design Group) or related imagery (eg Bay Dental Brighton Homepage), each with matching taglines/slogans outlining your business/service/product, is a great approach for the top part of your homepage.

Alternatively, you can go with a single photo / no rotation, which can also work well to focus the user on your message (eg Property Tycoon Finance).  We personally like this approach the most as it is less flashy, but more effective.  It is also increasingly the trend amongst notable companies online.

Below the slider/photo, you should have important info that you want visitors to see when they land on your homepage, eg brief version of your about story, brief rundown of your services, where your business is located etc (eg Sydney Corporate Transport).

You can also look at the demo site of the design you like to get good ideas of what sort of content would work perfect for your homepage.[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”About” open=”false”]Photo(s) of you/your team and your business, along with approx 500 words about your business, eg how you got started, who you work with, what makes your company different to the competition, what values you operate on etc (eg Hyatt Gallery About Page).

• Worth it?  An about page conveys the personality behind the business and builds trust fast with visitors as they can put a face and a story to a business.  We think every website should have this page.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Services” open=”false”]Information about your services, and where appropriate, photos to go with the text (eg Intralink Services Page).

• Worth it?  A services page helps you explain exactly what you do, which helps visitors work out whether you are the right company for them to do business with.  It also saves you time answering common questions.  Definitely essential.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Portfolio” open=”false”]9-18 nice photos of work you have done; suitable for both creative businesses (eg The Photography Business Portfolio Page) as well as normal businesses (eg Sierra Properties Portfolio Page).

• Worth it?  Absolutely!  There is no better way to convince people to do business with you than to show them work you have already done for other customers.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Photo Gallery” open=”false”]Similar to a Portfolio Page, but different because the photos are not so much of work you have done, but rather of your business in general.  This involves 9-18 nice photos of your business/services/products/team so people can get a feel for your business and quality at a glance (eg Farinacci Fresh Pasta Gallery Page).

• Worth it?  A photo gallery can communicate exactly what your business is about and what makes it special in just seconds.  Best of all, this works for both photo-friendly businesses (eg boutique food retailer – Farinacci Fresh Pasta Gallery) as well as less photogenic businesses (eg electricians – A1 Electrical Gallery).

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Blog/News” open=”false”]Where you can post news or other useful information for your target customer (eg Red Knot Migration Blog Page).

• Worth it?  Definitely!  It takes a lot of work to create content for this, but you can do it one article at a time and over the space of a few months/years.  Generally speaking, no part of your site will rank better in Google than blog posts you add to your site targeting specific keywords/search terms people are typing into Google.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Contact Us” open=”false”]Your phone, email, address and an online enquiry form and if applicable also Google map of location, opening hours, service areas etc (eg Farinacci Fresh Pasta Contact Page).

• Worth it?  Definitely.

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[vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Team” open=”false”]Photos and bios of all the people in your company, or at least the senior members (eg Bay Dental Brighton Team Page).  You can also combine this page into the About page, so the About page would have your story, business photo, and then also the photos and bios of team members.

• Worth it?  A team page, or team photos on the about page, helps to build the same kind of trust and familiarity people feel when they visit a business in person.  So even if it takes a bit of work collecting all the photos, it is definitely something to seriously consider.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Products” open=”false”]Information about your products, and where appropriate, photos to go with the text (eg AHBW Products Page).

• Worth it?  If you sell products you might want to showcase every single product on your website (eg Lightmax) or you may prefer to just give people an idea of what types of products you have (eg AHBW Products Page).  The advantage of the latter approach, is that you don’t need to get content together for every single product (text and photos), you save money on website development and you give visitors just enough information to convince them to speak to you or visit your business.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Case Studies” open=”false”]Photos and written summaries of work you have done for clients and the results it has achieved for them, so you can show visitors the quality of your work (eg Sport Business Case Study Page).

• Worth it?  This is just like a portfolio page, but more in-depth and more text focused.  If you can put together case studies, go for it, as they work really well to show people results you have achieved for businesses in a similar position to them and thus work really well to persuade them to work with you.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Process” open=”false”]Walk people through your process from start to finish, so they know exactly what it is like to work with your company.

• Worth it?  For complex service businesses, a process page can help demystify your business and in doing so give visitors the certainty and reassurances they need to take action and get in touch with you.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Pricing” open=”false”]Listing out your services/products and associated pricing (eg Bohemian Brides Product Page).

• Worth it?  It depends!  The advantage of a pricing page is it answers perhaps the number one question visitors have and it saves you time dealing with people who wouldn’t be able to afford your products/services.  The disadvantage is people start to make their decision based on price and thus may treat your product/service like a commodity.  So it depends on what the norm is in your industry and for your target customer.  Generally speaking, our advice is to avoid such a page.  It is much better to speak to prospective customers first, show them how your business can help them solve their problem better than the competition, and then you will no longer be competing on price.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”FAQ” open=”false”]Nice clear answers to the most common questions you get asked from prospective and existing customers (eg Global Talk FAQ Page).

• Worth it?  A FAQ page is great for both visitors and yourself, as it helps them find the answers they want fast and it saves you hours and hours of time answering the same questions via email, phone or in-person.  Also, a smartly written FAQ page can act as a great sales tool as you can answer visitors’ hesitations head on and get them enquiring.  But with that said, for some businesses it is better not to have an FAQ, as not having one encourages prospects to contact you and during the contact process you can sell them perhaps better than your website.  Worth thinking about this one!

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Clients” open=”false”]Logos of all the notable clients you work with or have worked with (eg Sport Business Clients Page).

• Worth it?  A clients page filled with logos of other businesses, especially any well known businesses, works really well to show people that other people trust your business and so should they.  Even if the logos are of everyday businesses, it is still worth it.  If you go with this page it is a good idea to link each client logo to the client’s own website.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Testimonials” open=”false”]3-6 testimonials (or many more) from current customers, along with their full names, and if applicable and/or possible company/position, website address, location and their photo or company logo (eg eChimp Examples Page).

• Worth it?  Always!  It is just as important as a portfolio page.  You might also want to consider combining your portfolio page and testimonials page into one, like we have done with our examples page.  This is a very effective combination!

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Careers” open=”false”]You can either have a general page about what it is like to work at your company and invite people to enquire about whether there is a position open, or you can advertise specific positions on the page (eg Casair Complete Aviation Careers Page).

• Worth it?  If it makes sense for your business, go for it, but this is not an essential page.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Partners/Links” open=”false”]Mini directory of other businesses/websites you have a relationship with and your target customers might find useful.  This also encourages these other site owners to link to your site, which is good for SEO/Google.  (eg Dr Tom O’Brien Partners Page).

• Worth it?  Not essential.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Media” open=”false”]Extracts of any interviews or articles that have been written about your business by local and regional news outlets and/or other websites (eg HMKC Lawyers Media Page).

• Worth it?  A media page filled with news articles or website articles mentioning your business, work beautifully as social proof that your business is quality, trustworthy and generally of note.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Terms” open=”false”]Your company’s T&Cs (eg MTR Electrical).  If you would like to create this page, please seek legal advice to determine wording and what sort of cover it gives you.

• Worth it?  It depends on best practices in your industry.

[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle style=”style1″ title=”Privacy Policy” open=”false”]Your company’s privacy policy (eg Tax & Super Direct).  If you would like to create this page, please seek legal advice to determine wording and what sort of cover it gives you.

• Worth it?  It depends on best practices in your industry.

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