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A business’ website is one of the first points of engagement. This is where potential customers get to know you, what you offer, and how to make a purchase or book your services.
Your website pages help differentiate you from the competition and get discovered. Even the number of pages and your website’s structure can play a role in a customer choosing you over a competitor. It’s important to get the right mix to efficiently and effectively communicate with your customers or audience.
This guide will help you understand which web pages are important for your website and how to best structure your web pages for maximum brand visibility and relevance.
Why the mix of pages on your website matters
A mix of web pages helps website visitors quickly find the information they need on your site. Your website pages tell others exactly what they need to know about you, your product, your brand, and the kind of action they need to take—whether that’s booking you for your services or buying a physical product.
Modern digital readers spend a matter of seconds on a website before deciding if they want to leave or continue browsing. Cramming all of your business’ information on one page can make for a challenging user experience.
Another critical consideration is search engine optimization (SEO) and AI optimization (AIO). Website navigation, including site structure, is an important component of usability, relevance, and quality, which impact visibility in search and AI results.
What core pages does every website need?
Every business has its own specific set of needs. For entrepreneurs, the core web pages you need will vastly differ from the web pages required for a global brand.
In general, your core web pages need to tell your target audience about your business, what goods or services you offer, what sets you apart, and how to contact you.
Homepage
Your homepage is your first impression. It’s usually the initial web page a user will land on. Think of it as the centralized hub leading to the rest of the pages on your website.
Homepages will often feature specific aesthetics and designs that reflect your brand. This includes:
Images, logos, fonts, and taglines that reflect your brand identity
A header or banner image at the top of the page
A prominent call-to-action (CTA) button
Primary website navigation
Highlights from other pages, like top products, reviews, or services
When adding images, be mindful of how many you include and their size. Large image files can slow down loading times. If visitors are ready to leave after several seconds, a web page that doesn’t load quickly is going to make them close the browser faster.
About or bio
This is also sometimes called a bio page, depending on your work, whether you work on a team, or the focus of your website. Writers, designers, or creatives will often go with a bio page, specifically noting biographical and professional information, versus business relevant information.
An about page gives you the opportunity to tell your audience who you are, what you value, what you’re offering, and, potentially, how your product or service can make their life easier or better.
No matter how you frame the copy, it should be targeted to your user and look to solve whatever problem brought them to your website in the first place. This is an opportunity to build trust and credibility with people who are just discovering you. Consider what details would help you build that with your audience.
Contact
The contact web page is the final essential page your website needs. This is where your customer can send you a note if they have a question, look up your location and hours if you have a physical shop, or give you a call to schedule an appointment.
Of all the web pages to keep relevant and up-to-date, this one is the most essential. Out of date information can lose you business and hurt your visibility in AI and search results. Additionally, keeping a mix of contact options for your audience to reach you emphasizes that you care about them.
Some common components of a contact page include:
Email address
Phone number
Business location address(es)
Business hours
Contact form
Social media links
FAQs
Store or services web pages
For some people, the core web pages may be all you need. Someone with a personal portfolio or resume website, for example, may just need those core pages and a page to share work examples. For businesses that sell products or services, you’ll need to expand your web pages.
The following are common web pages you’ll probably need for an ecommerce or service business website.
For online shops
If you sell digital or physical products online, you’re going to need a few different types of pages. If your site is on an ecommerce platform, like Squarespace, you’ll be able to create and update these pages in a connected dashboard that links to your main store page.
You’re first going to need a centralized product page where you can list all of the products you sell. If you have a large product offering, consider breaking these pages into categories for easier navigation. In addition to a general online shop page, you’ll need:
Product detail pages: Detailed pages for each product you sell, including quality images, a clear description, pricing, variants like size or design, and reviews
Cart: A simple cart page detailing customer orders and total pricing
Checkout: Secure, easy-to-use page that helps customers feel comfortable with completing their purchase
Depending on what you’re selling, you might need more specialized product-related pages, but similar guidelines apply to what type of information to highlight. For example, content creators may need a members-only page for membership communities. Others may create a video library or online course page to charge for their content.
For service providers
Similar to a product page, a service page will detail all the services you offer to your clients. Depending on how many services you offer, this could be one page or a summary page and additional pages detailing each service.
Service information page: This should clearly detail what services you offer, what’s included in each, and how pricing works. For example, a freelance writer may offer content writing, ad copy writing, social copy writing, and journalism.
Booking page: Allow customers to see your up-to-date calendar, select a timeslot, and self-manage their bookings.
Business policies
If you sell goods or services to customers, it’s important to include a policy page. These help to set clear expectations between you and your clients or customers and give potential customers peace of mind.
These are some of the policies you can include on your policy web page:
Shipping: Let your customer know your shipping providers and shipping estimates, as well as any additional fees or information about local pickup or international shipping.
Returns and refunds: Clearly lay out your return policy, including how to submit a return and if there are any associated fees.
Cancellation and fees: A cancellation policy is necessary for any service-based business. Clearly detail cancellation windows and penalties, like requiring 24 or 48 hours notice for no-fee cancellations.
Payments: Service providers often have payment policies that detail which methods they accept and any charges for late or missed payments.
Privacy: If you gather any information about your customer, like address, name, and financial information, include a privacy policy. Keep the copy as plain-language as possible to ensure every visitor understands.
Additional web pages to consider
Depending on what you offer or what your website is meant to do for customers, you may need these additional web pages. Some of these pages share more about the work you do or offer customer experiences as proof to someone who isn’t yet a buyer. Others offer useful tips or create a space for community.
Testimonials and reviews
Many business owners include testimonial or review pages on their websites. These act as social proof—confirmation that another person found your product or service beneficial.
We’re naturally inclined to trust word-of-mouth recommendations from people more than marketing from brands. So this positive reinforcement uses past buyer experiences to build trust with new customers and clients.
Portfolio
For many creative entrepreneurs, it’s important to include a digital portfolio on your website. Unless you have a separate portfolio site, this is an essential way for a potential client to see your key projects, achievements, and specialities. These will help you get hired or booked.
Portfolios should highlight your best and most recent work, and emphasize the work you want to continue doing. You may also want to dive deeper into your favorite projects, including images or a short description for each.
FAQ
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) page serves the dual purpose of saving you time answering common questions and building trust with your site visitors. Collect some of the most important and recurring questions into one organized, easy to browse page. These may include duplicate information around contact, store hours, or shipping policies. Getting questions answered upfront can make it easier for someone to decide to shop with you.
Blog
Blogs are a great way to share your expertise, business news, client stories, or product information with your audience or potential customers. This is a place to show more of your personality and share information that goes beyond your other web pages.
For example, you may be selling a homemade condiment and your customers may want to know how to use it in the food. You can create and share recipes on your blog that incorporate your product.
You can also show behind-the-scenes or personal writing and information, feature specific customer stories, or write about specific topics to create community around your specialization or product.
Blogs are a great way to stay creative and engaged and provide actionable information to anyone visiting your website. If you keep the writing focused on your brand and niche, it can also help with your website’s SEO and AIO.
How to plan and structure your website pages
Every website is different. Go through the list of pages above and look at websites by competitors or peers and note down which pages your website likely needs. From there, you can plan out and structure it.
It can be helpful to sketch out a rough wireframe or draft of each page to help you visualize the design before you start building. Before you start, keep these tips in mind:
Think of the user’s experience. Think of the experiences you’ve had on other websites, and what you need to do to create a good one for anyone visiting yours.
Plan and provide a clear website hierarchy. Make your website structure and hierarchy intuitive. Start with a homepage and add pages by importance from there. You can apply the same to information on each page.
Consider internal linking: Link between important pages and relevant information. This makes it easier for visitors and search or AI crawlers to find things on your site.