BUSINESS & FINANCE :: JUNE/JULY 2007
Building Web Content for Small Businesses
By Karen S. Furst
You sit down in front of your computer and put your hands on the keyboard. A blank monitor screen stares back at you. You want to write some copy for your new website, but where do you start? Lucky for you, website content has coalesced from a random collection of information into a cohesive set of standardized pages that web surfers are not only accustomed to, but expect. Follow this basic formula for sure-fire success:
Home Page
Think of the home page as a storefront window. Here, surfers will
peer in at your contents and decide whether to enter your site or
keep on walking by. Weigh that choice in your favor by making your
home page visually appealing and easy to comprehend. Surfers want
to find out about your product or service, and they want to do it
with a minimum of effort. They’ll be asking themselves, “What
kind of site is this?” and “What can I do here”
along with the most important, “How do I contact this company?”
Make it easy for them! Provide links to each major area of your site,
much like a table of contents. But don’t clutter up the home
page with too many elements. Keep it simple and allow your page (and
the people looking at it) a chance to breathe.
Products or Services
This page is probably the most important one after the home page.
Here you will describe for your customers what types of products and
services you offer along with prices or rates. Don’t just list
them randomly – categorize and subcategorize to make the information
more user-friendly. For example, a garden center might categorize
its services as Landscaping Design/Build; Retail Sales; Garden Maintenance;
and Planting Services, with a short description of each and links
to a separate page of more detailed information.
News
Use this page to post relevant content about your business. If you
are expanding your business, tell about it here. Sales or special
promotions can go here as well. Post informational articles related
to your products or services here. For example, if you run a yoga
studio, including an article about proper breathing techniques can
go a long way toward keeping surfers on your site AND coming back.
Informative, well-written, interesting articles will build your company’s
reputation by positioning you as an expert in your field.
Company History/About Us
Potential customers who are uncertain whether to buy from you will
be reassured by a short company history emphasizing your solidity
as a business. This is your chance to establish your reliable reputation
and your company’s worth. Familiarize visitors with your qualifications,
describe how your business has grown, and to provide a human face
for your organization.
Just remember two points when writing this page:
1. Forget the word history. Avoid droning on and on about the founding
CEO’s childhood or the fact that your deliveries were once made
by horse and buggy. Think CliffsNotes rather than encyclopedia.
2. Promote a professional appearance and profile. Get a professional
photographer to take your picture instead of posting that snapshot
of yourself in a Hawaiian shirt at the beach. Keep the focus on professional
accomplishments. Nobody cares about your favorite pet cat Fluffymittens
needing a flea dip. Save this for your personal blog.
Testimonials
How many times have you wanted to try a product or service, but were
unsure of its worth? What do you do? Ask your friends! In an online
environment, people want reassurance when buying items they cannot
see in person or when engaging services from an unknown business.
The customer who hesitates decreases your sales margin, but increases
your bandwidth by returning to your site again and again as she makes
up her mind. Tip the balance in your favor by providing her with testimonials
to help her feel confident and ready to buy. Testimonials are statements,
written by a third party, that endorse your product or service. There
are many ways to collect these; the simplest is to ask for permission
to quote when a customer compliments your business. Put your testimonials
on a separate page linked to from the bottom of your company history
page.
FAQ
If you find yourself repeatedly answering the same types of customer
questions (Where are you located? Do you take credit cards? Do you
deliver?), you might need a Frequently Asked Questions page. Ask the
people who answer the phones and those at the front desk at your business
what questions are asked most often. Don’t get carried away
with this, however. Nobody wants to scroll through hundreds of lines
of text to find the answer to a single question. Perversely, if your
FAQ is too extensive, people will simply give up and call you, exactly
what you were trying to minimize in the first place.
Contact Page
Usually composed of an email link or form that permits users to contact
you, your contact page allows visitors to find out how to get in touch
with your business. But don’t make it the only place. Your business
address and phone should be posted on every page of your website.
Make it easy for your valuable potential customers to find and contact
you. Include a street address, even if you don’t use it for
mailing. A physical location reassures customers that you have a permanent
business presence and aren’t just some fly-by-night charlatan.
Driving directions and business hours can also be posted to the contact
page.
While each business is different and has its own set of requirements for a website, these 7 basic pages will ensure that you are off to a good start. If the task still seems unmanageable, try jotting down the information using bullet points. Once you have listed all your facts, it will be easier to combine the phrases into complete sentences. (That’s how this article was written!) As you shape your rough copy into sparkling web content, keep in mind some of the following guidelines for good writing.
Effective Writing
Reading text on a monitor screen for long periods of time creates
eye fatigue. People will be reluctant to read reams of information
at your site. Attention spans are short, so keep your copy short and
to the point. Break up large blocks of content with subheaders. Use
bullet points to allow readers to quickly scan for the item of interest.
Provide “find out more…” links that point to additional
content. Put the most important information at the top of the page
where it will most readily be seen. Use good grammar and correct spelling
or hire a proof reader or copy editor. Write in the active voice.
Instead of: “The passive voice should not be used,” try
“Don’t use the passive voice,” or better yet, make
it a positive statement, “Write in the active voice.”
Revise, revise, revise.
Once you have completed your text and posted it to your site, you may be tempted to check off that task and forget about it. Instead, be sure to return periodically and reread your web content with a critical eye. Refresh your site with new photographs and revised text. Good content is worth every minute you spend on it. Communicating effectively to your customers will ensure good long-term business relationships. So get those fingers typing and fill up that blank screen!
Furst Design offers graphic and web design services for small- to medium-sized businesses, helping business owners create an image and define their web presence through good design. Karen S. Furst has over ten years of experience with a degree in Art History and certificates in computer graphics and web design from the Delaware College of Art & Design. For more information or to schedule a consultation, contact Karen at 302-757-1056. See an online portfolio of her design work at www.furstdesign.net.
