When we think about creating a company website, it is easy to start with questions such as what colours should we use?, how many pages will it have? or which image should go on the homepage? But there is a more important question to answer first: what does someone arriving for the first time need to know before deciding whether what we offer is relevant to them?
Start by looking at your business like a customer
You know your company very well. You know what you sell, how you work and what the terms you use every day mean. A new visitor does not. Before writing a page, try asking yourself: “If I knew nothing about this business, what would I need to know?”
- What exactly does this company offer?
- Is this product or service suitable for my situation?
- Where does the company work or deliver?
- What is included in the service?
- How much does it cost, or what affects the price?
- How does the process work?
- How long might it take?
- Who is behind the business?
- What do I need to do if I am interested?
Not every one of these questions needs its own page, and not all of them matter to every company. The key is to identify the real questions your customers have and answer them in a way that is honest, clear and simple.
Explain what you do without making customers decode it
Someone should be able to enter your website and quickly understand what you do, who it is for and why it might matter to them. Avoid phrases that sound impressive but say very little, such as “innovative solutions to power your future”, if the visitor still cannot tell what you sell afterwards. Do not assume that industry terminology is familiar when it can be explained in normal language. The UK Office for National Statistics recommends designing content around user needs and using clear language without jargon. The principle is simple: the person who knows the business does not always think like the person arriving in search of a solution.
Talk about prices when you can
Price is often one of the first questions a potential customer has. That does not mean every business can publish a fixed price. If each project is different, you can explain which factors affect the price, provide indicative prices or state where a service starts. If you cannot give a figure, at least explain how the quote is prepared. Hiding information the customer needs does not make the question disappear; it usually just makes them look elsewhere for the answer.
Explain how hiring you or buying from you works
Clarity does not end with the copy. It also applies to forms, bookings, quotes and purchasing processes. If someone clicks “Request a quote”, they should understand what information they will need to provide and what happens next. If they buy a product, they should know what they are buying, the price, any applicable charges, when they will receive it and what the next steps are. W3C recommends keeping forms simple and short and asking only for the information needed to complete the process. It also recommends giving clear instructions when a field may cause uncertainty.
Make important information easy to find
Services, contact details, location, prices, bookings or purchasing should not be hidden. For years, the so-called three-click rule suggested that any information should be reachable in no more than three steps. Nielsen Norman Group points out that there is no evidence supporting that number as a real usability rule. The useful idea is different: do not make the customer guess where the information they need is located. Four obvious steps can be better than two confusing ones.
Let someone else test your explanations
There is a simple test you can run before publishing a website: ask someone you trust who does not know the project to read it. Do not explain beforehand what you do or where they should click. Afterwards, ask them:
- What did you understand this company offers?
- Who do you think it is for?
- Would you know what to do to ask for information or buy?
- Was there anything you did not understand?
- What information did you feel was missing?
You can even ask them to complete a specific task, such as finding a service, requesting a quote or simulating a purchase. Watching where they hesitate can reveal problems that were invisible to you.
The website should help the customer make a decision
A good business website does not need to say everything or contain dozens of pages. It needs to provide the right information at the right moment. Before adding a section, a form or another piece of copy, ask one last question: “Does this help my customer understand what we offer or decide what to do next?” If the answer is no, you may not need it.