If you’re a web designer, you’re in a field that should pay you well, and you should have plenty of work going forward. Virtually every company needs a website, and you can often make top dollar working for them. As you gain notoriety and amass positive feedback, clients will demand your services more.
Every company will want their website to be a little bit different. They’re the paying clients, so you need to do what they say. However, they will probably rely on you for suggestions since you’re the expert in this area.
Let’s look at some of the different business website components that nearly all sites need. If a potential customer visits any company’s website and doesn’t find these, they’re not going to enjoy the experience as much.
Basic SEO Elements
If you are creating a site for a company based in a particular geographic region, then SEO will be important. For instance, maybe you have a St. Louis-based web design company. Since that company operates primarily in one area, it makes sense that the copy on their site should mention St. Louis-related topics.
As the web designer, the company that hired you will probably not make you write the site’s initial copy. They should have a copywriter do that for you, and you can simply plug it into the proper places it should go.
However, if they’re asking for your opinion on the site as it gets closer to going live, you might simply remind them that basic SEO matters. They’ll need to do some keyword research to determine what keywords and phrases they should include in different places on the site, or else, it will not rank as highly as they would like.
A Landing Page
A landing page will be the first thing any potential client will see when they arrive at the site. It should feature the company’s name, and it should also introduce the color scheme, font, and overall aesthetic the business is trying to convey.
The potential customer should also be able to read about what the company does before the fold, meaning before they begin to scroll down. There should be a brief company description so the site visitor will have no mistaken impression about what the business is and what they do.
An About Us Section
The site visitor should be able to find an About Us section easily as well. The About Us section will cover some of the same information the potential client can see on the landing page above the fold, but it will expand on that.
The About Us section should not be too long. It should be a concise, relatable story about how the company came into existence. The copy should talk about the company’s founder or founders, why they’re the best choice within their niche, and it might touch briefly on a few of their most noteworthy accomplishments.
Testimonials
There should be a testimonials section. This section will mention some of the companies or individuals with whom the company has worked in the past.
Ideally, these should be prominent or famous people and companies. Failing that, these can be glowing recommendations in quote form, talking about how great the company and the services it provides are.
Remember that if a company uses a former client’s quote as a website testimonial, they need to get permission from that former customer before they do. As a web designer, it’s not your responsibility to get that approval, though. The company representatives must do that.
An FAQ Section
The FAQ section is an absolute must-have. As the web designer, you can create the page, but again, it’s the copywriter how should provide the content.
The copywriter, working with the company heads, should brainstorm and come up with some of the most common questions that their clients and would-be clients are likely to have. They will probably have some queries about the products and services that the company provides, such as how well they work, what they cost, and so forth.
As the web designer, you might also suggest things like a company blog section, product pages, etc. As we mentioned, no two sites will feature precisely the same pages and layout since no two companies are identical.
However, any site visitor will expect a certain format since the internet has gradually dictated what websites should resemble. If one of these elements isn't present, the visitor will likely take their business elsewhere.
