Home | Courses | Why LaunchX | Resources | Business Tools | Library | Blogs & More | About Us
Policies | Site Map | Guarantee | FAQs | Contact Us
Need More Help?
Copyright 2009-
Starting a Business? Minimum Requirements for a Website
Whatever type of business you are planning to start, a website is an absolute necessity. When the spending public needs a product or service, their first stop is an internet search. When they find what they are looking for (a local pizza joint, plumber, tax advisor), they expect to click through and find enough information to help them decide whether this is the right choice to solve their current problem. To that end, your startup website needs to include enough information to be useful to your target market AND contain the features that help your business show up when the right terms are searched.
At a minimum, your business website should include:
Homepage
This page provides a general overview of who you are and what you do. Keep it relatively simple, but be sure the message is clear. The potential customer should be enticed to continue clicking around your site, so be sure to include your unique selling proposition (why your business is better than the competition) and the general benefits your customers get from doing business with you.
About Page
The about page is intended to familiarize your customers with your business and its key employees. Include a history of the company, along with short bios of the "experts" on staff. Highlight any important experience of the business or its key players. If personal relationships are an important factor in your sales, consider including photos of the people your customers will be dealing with.
Products/Services Page
The focus of the products/services page is to describe exactly what your business
does, the benefits you offer, and a clear call to action. If you sell products, be
sure every product includes a photo and comprehensive description as well as the
PRICE (unless you have a valid reason not to). Stress the benefits of each product
or service -
Contact Page
It is essential that you include a way for your potential customers to contact you. Include an email contact at a minimum, but an address and phone number are better. Email only or worse, no contact information at all makes your venture seem sketchy. If your company has multiple departments, include contact info for each. If you run a commercial storefront, include the hours of operation here as well. There are cheap and free programs you can use to include an official contact submission form here, where you can customize the fields for the information you want to have from those who contact you.
Key Words
During your startup planning, you should have identified a number of key words that
your target market will use in reference to your products or services. Be sure these
words are used generously throughout your website. Doing so will help the search
engines place your business in the appropriate searches, making it much easier for
your customers to find you. Use the metatags and photo labels to improve the SEO
as well. If you serve a local community, include the city or town name as well...this
can move you to the top of certain searches much faster (The best pizza in Las Vegas;
Nantucket's only touch-
Whether you develop the website yourself or hire out the work, it is essential that you create and incorporate the marketing messages and information your customers want to know. Posting a website is important, but it is only as valuable as the sales it helps generate.
About the Author
LaunchX.com is dedicated to training entrepreneurs to turn their good ideas into
great companies. The LaunchX System provides step-
Contents copyright © 2009-