We’re auditing your website – this is part three of the seven-part series! We’re going through the four main pages that most websites have and offering tips on optimizing those pages.
You can see all the website tips and tools here.
Or get the printable checklist!
Home page
1. First, take a look at each section of your page and notice the purpose of that content.
2. Evaluate each section of content, each graphic, link, button, form, and call-to-action.
Think about why it is on your home page.
3. Next, think about what you want your visitor to do next after landing on your home page. Where are they in their journey?
Do you have content for someone who is ready to buy? Someone who is just browsing? Someone who’s In between?
4. Then, compare the two lists. How does your content match up with what your visitor needs to move forward in their relationship with your business?
A little experiment
To help you think about the rest of the content on your home page, let’s do a little thought experiment
Imagine walking into a store or a business office. You know why you’re going there, right? – whether it is just to explore or whether you have something specific you are looking for or need.
If you haven’t been there before, you are looking for how to find what you need. You’re looking for signs in the store, or maybe a person to help you. If you walk into a business office, chances are, someone asks you, “How can I help you?”
How can you offer the same level of service on your website? How can you clearly show what you offer and how you can help your audience?
Your website visitors click on your site because they think you have something they need. How are you helping them find it?
Two questions
Let’s recap what your website visitors are looking for:
1. Do I belong here – do they have what I’m looking for?
2. How do I find what I’m looking for and how do I move forward?
When you look at your home page, are you answering both questions clearly?
About Page?
Did you just roll your eyes? It’s the page I struggle with the most, but let’s take a look at it.
The first thing is that your About Page is not about you; it’s about your audience.
What you share on your About Page helps people with two questions they have as they are looking to take the next step in their relationship with you:
1. Can this person help me?
2. Why should I trust this person to help me?
So what you share on your page should be your relevant experience, your story of why you do what you do, and your passion for helping people like your ideal client.
A little uniqueness and personality don’t hurt either – you’re letting people get to know you so they can trust you.
So how much do you share? That’s a question each person has to answer for themselves.
For me, there are parts of my life I’m willing to share and some that are off-limits for sharing online.
So I use the two questions I listed above to tell those parts of my story authentically.
How can you use those two questions to guide you in telling your story on your About Page?
Services Page
This page is the one where you tell people what you offer and how they can work with you!
It’s critically important that this page makes it easy for people to take the next step with you, whether that means a phone call, a meeting, a purchase, or even just staying in touch with you.
Also, I might have lied when I said that the About Page was the one I struggle with most – this one is hard for me, too.
So I have some tips that have helped me with this page.
Leave plenty of white space – not too much, but don’t crowd this page
Make it scannable – use headings to break this page up into sections that are easy to read
Tell them what comes next – make sure they know what will happen if they buy. How will the offer be delivered?
Make it easy to buy – keep your purchase process as short as possible. Only ask for the information you really need. Combine steps or skip them where possible
One more tip is to have something for people who are not ready to buy. Can they get on your email list? Follow you on social? Binge-read your blog? Or even purchase a tiny product that might help them get to where they need to be for your larger offers?
Like the other pages, the best advice I can give is to know your audience and think about them as you create this page.
Contact Page
Most websites have a contact page, but what is it really for? Do people use it?
Yes, they do – they use it to get in touch with you. Your visitors ask questions, request help, or even start the process of becoming a client using the contact page.
So here are a few questions to consider:
1.Does your contact form ask for the right information? Can you remove information you’re asking for in the form?
Is there information requested or required on your form that stops people from using it?
For example, do you really need their phone number? I know that can be a deal-breaker for me when using a contact form.
2. Or – is there more information you could ask for that would help you qualify the person better? Or help them better in some way?
One example is to let them choose which of your offers they are asking for information about.
3. Is the flow working for you?
Where do you receive these messages?
On the website platform? To your email?
Do you receive them consistently, or is there something you can do to get them promptly?
4. Finally, is there other information you could offer on this page that would be helpful?
Examples are store hours, a link to policies, a map of your location, or directions to your store? Even tips on parking?
