It’s a given that a website is a must for any business, as a one-stop shop to showcase the service or products, and act as a platform for potential and existing clients.
There are many options for the type of website you can have, and the pages and posts to include.
Website must-haves – what are they?
But what are the website must-haves? We have some pointers for small businesses.
If your business is selling anything or allows booking, the customer is going to have to give personal details, and you as the business is going to have to set some terms and conditions.
Terms and Conditions are recommended as a website must-have mainly to protect your business against abuse and copyright, limit liability, terminate accounts and set guidelines and rules. These act as a legally binding contract between yourself and the user to ensure you are all happy and understanding of the business, service or product provided.
If you are ever facing a legal battle, the court will undoubtedly look at your Terms and Conditions page, so it’s advised it’s sharp and up to date. The main areas to ensure you are covered are:
This is generally an additional page on top of the Terms and Conditions, and is legally required if collecting personal information and details from the user.
It states what you will and won’t do with the details, where they will be stored, e.g. in a form on WordPress, and for how long.
As a small business, it may be that you need to use all existing clients for future marketing, such as emailing them to ask them to rate your service after using it. In this policy you can spell out that you will use the given email address for this purpose, but it may be that all other information is deleted after use. It’s also a good idea to state what you’ll do with card payment details, as many people are still unsure whether to give their details online. It really is a website must-have.
Clickhereto see our Privacy Policy
This is a website must-have for everyone. Cookies are memory bites stored in your browser when someone visits your website, and allows the site to remember information between pages or visits, for example which pages that particular visitor visited the most. The aim is to make the experience of surfing the internet a personal one, noting the regular behaviours of the user, and trying to show the most relevant content and adverts. The idea of the Cookies Policy is to highlight what the cookies are targeting and give web users more control over their online privacy.
The main points to include in your policy are; work out what cookies your site has and what they are used for (you may need to carry out anauditfor this), inform visitors to your site of the cookies used, and gain their consent, giving them some control.
As a small business, an About Us page is a website must-have. Consumers like to see the people behind a business, and who they’re buying from, and in today’s society, where small businesses are promoted, it can work in your favour to state this on this page.
Other points to include could be how long the business has been running, the idea/ethos behind the business and qualifications and skills of the owner and people working for the business. People love reading about other people, so to be able to know why a small business that they want to buy from has been set up, is sure to encourage and increase interest in the business and brand.
Not all of you will have the time to write blogs yourself, especially running a small business where there is not many of you! However it may be worth investing in someone to write them for you – 60% of consumers have made a purchase based on a blog post. Almost 40% of other businesses see it as the top form of content marketing. If that isn’t enough to persuade you, here are some of the benefits:
EMS has some tips on where to findcontent ideas for blogsif you’re struggling.
These are our top website must-haves. For further information on these or any other digital marketing advice, book a free consultation with us today.
book a free Marketing Planning Call
We offer a free consultation with our expert team, available either virtually via Zoom or in-person at our office in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.
During this free marketing consultation, we’ll conduct a review of your current operations, specifically focusing on how you are utilising various platforms to effectively reach your target audience and market your services. We’ll assess the tools and strategies you’re currently employing and identify any immediate areas for improvement.
We will develop a top-level strategic marketing plan tailored specifically to your needs and propose solutions that not only align with your vision but also drive your business towards achieving significant results.
