A website is the most important marketing tool for your business. An online presence is a minimum requirement if you want to present a professional image, reach new customers and increase profits.
This article outlines 10 Important Website Pages Your E-commerce Site Should Have. The Key pages to consider for your website include;
#1. Home Page
This page should provide information about what you can offer your customers or clients, plus a brief overview of what else they can find on your site. This should also be obvious from your main navigation (the links to other pages on the site).
Think also about your main call to action; make any special offers prominent on the home page and, if it is a selling site, make it easy to get to your product catalog.
#2. About us
Use this page to tell your customers a bit about yourself, your business and its history, and your vision. If your business is closely linked to you personally, be sure to include a brief biography and head shot, plus links to your personal presence elsewhere on the Internet, such as your personal blog, Twitter account or Facebook profile.
#3. Contact us
Make it easy for people to reach you. Provide contact information in the footer of each page, with more detail on a dedicated Contact page. Include your mailing address, phone number, and email address as a minimum. You may also want to include a contact form.
#4. Products/Services
A summary page of what you can offer, plus links to pages for individual products or services. Think about a call to action for each of these pages—such as a prominent “buy now” button.
#5. Search Page
Include a search box prominently on your site, usually toward the top-right of the screen, so that visitors can look for the things they’re interested in.
This is particularly important if you have a lot of content on your site. If you’re using WordPress, this function will be included.
#6. Shop
This might be a significant part of your site if your business sells products online, or a single page if you have just a few products you sell.
Use PayPal “buy now” buttons or Lipa na Mpesa if you don’t have many products, and consider more advanced e-commerce options if you have a large store.
#7. Testimonials/Reviews
Include testimonials from current customers to show that you have a proven track record of delivering real benefits rather than theoretical ones. It helps reassure potential new clients. If you don’t have any testimonials yet, email your clients, and ask for feedback.
You can also use LinkedIn to solicit recommendations or create a short customer feedback form using www.surveymonkey.com. If you sell physical products, include product reviews.
#8. Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
These can help your customers learn more about what you do, your products and services, and help you spend less time answering queries by phone or email.
If you have a complicated product, consider including online video demonstrations or tutorials somewhere on your site.
#9. Blog
Your website may include a blog as a subsection (e.g., www.myonlinebusiness.co.ke/blog) or link to a blog on a separate domain name, or your entire site may be a blog, with the latest posts appearing on the front page.
If your blog is separate from your main site, you can still pull in extracts of your latest couple of blog posts on to your home page to highlight your blog and to keep your content fresh.
#10. Widgets
A widget is a discrete bit of code from another website that adds a specific function to yours. Commonly used on blogs, they can be used on any website too. Widgets include Facebook badges, latest blog postings or tweets.
Very easy to use, just copy and paste the code supplied into your website to add extra functionality without having to invent it yourself.