content – SearchRovr Demo

What to Think About Before Building a New Website? Part 2: Sitemap & Content

searchrovrdemo on November 12, 2019

In Part 2 of our series we look at Sitemap & Content. Missed Part 1? It was all about the groundwork, branding, and design.

You’ve now spent some time thinking and planning a design for your new site, now we get into the actual pages and words within the site. Design is critical, yes, but here is how you share your story.

Sitemap & Content

SITEMAP
A sitemap is most simply a list of the primary pages on your website. There is usually a hierarchy with top-level and sub-pages. Your top menu will end up being a slimmed-down or best-of version of the sitemap. A sample sitemap looks like:

Home
About Us
- Leadership
- Company History
- Careers
Our Services
- Custom Furniture Design
- Woodworking School
Blog
Contact

How many pages do you need on your site? As a general rule, we’d say as few as possible. If you are trying to cram too many ideas or too much info on a page, then it might be best as its own page. But in general, keep your sitemap lean, understandable, and something as easy to get a sense of as possible.

TEXT
Once you have your starting Sitemap identified, you need content for each of these pages. These words on a page will live within a certain design layout and might make use of photos, videos, and graphics.

The text is a key part of telling the story. It is also a key part of ranking in Google (more on that below)

PHOTOS
Having great photos dramatically helps a site feel well done. Ideally have a professional photographer take pictures but carefully chosen stock photography may also be used. We use BigStockPhoto for stock images.

PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER / LAYOUT
Once you have the text, photos, graphics, videos, etc. it is all about putting them together into a consistent layout.

Writing good copy is hard. Probably just as difficult is then transposing it into a page layout that your audience can follow.

Remember, people scan on the web! Make your content easy to follow by carefully using these tools within your web layout toolkit:

Headings and sub headings (h1, h2, h3, etc/)
Bulleted and ordered lists
Bold and italics
Buttons or hyperlinking to other content
Columns or rows
Use of backgrounds, textures, and colors
Photos, graphics, icons, and videos

…and MOST KEY, once they have made their way through the page, is there a next step? Don’t forget what you want them to do! Is there more content to go deeper, a call to be scheduled, an e-book to download or a contact form to fill out?

Sitemap, content, and creating layouts sound daunting? Contact us, and see if we’re a good fit for your project.

5 Most Common Missed Website Opportunities We See Businesses Making

Josh Mallard on November 15, 2016

missed-opportunities-website-train-leaving

Pursue these common missed website opportunities and find sweet success with your online efforts.

1. Missing Strategy / Being Thought-less

I’m reminded of the classic line asked of you while checking out at the grocery store: “Did you find everything ok?”. Great, I’ve got 6 anxious people behind me in line and now is the time to help me locate curry powder?

We see companies forming their web presences in the same manner. You need to have thoughtful strategic intent behind every part of your website.

2. Forgetting to Track Traffic or Analyze It

It never ceases to amaze me when I discover a new client has never looked at their analytics or, even worse, has none at all.

It would be like a running a restaurant with the lights out. You wouldn’t know if the restaurant was busy or not. You can’t tell if potential customers are being served. You have no idea if table 10 got the correct order.

You can’t optimize and improve what you don’t track!

3. Not Pursuing Snappy Site-Speed

How fast a web page loads is key to a great user experience and whether people stick around to dig further. The difference between a 2-second page load and a 4-second page load can massively affect your site success. (Here’s a tool we like to check site speed)

4. Letting the Site’s Content Go Stale

Blogging is hard! (Here you go: 4 Blogging Tips) Your company may be fast-moving so keeping the service and team pages updated is a never-ending chore. But wow, can it make a big difference in how people judge your brand. (Don’t forget Social Media!)

Picture this…you look up a local restaurant. The last post on the restaurant’s Facebook page is from two years ago. Half the items on the menu are no longer made or the price has changed. You’ll likely move on to another restaurant option.

Some firms neglect their websites in the same fashion. Your website is an online representation of your offline brand. It is likely to be one of the first and most important impressions of your brand!

5. Neglecting A/B Testing and Conversion Optimization

This one is hard and the most excusable in this list. However, if you have a sufficient level of traffic and clear next steps (e.g. contact forms, email lists, etc.) there may be huge missed opportunity to improve your pitch.

Tag: content