Website Basics
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit.
Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
~ Muhammad Ali
Websites ALWAYS take longer than you think so start the process sooner rather than later!
Below we talk about the basic components of a starter website because your website will often become the biggest communicator for your brand and business online. And fear not, even if you’re not ready to start seeing clients, you can start working on your website. You can create it “offline” so it won’t be live until you are ready. Remember this will constantly be evolving and may NEVER be “perfect”. As your practice grows, so will your website. Sometimes you will just have to say, “It is good, it is good enough” and set it free.
Required Pages when Building a Website
There are four pages you need before taking your website live.
Homepage
This will be the page that people will land on first when they enter your website address. You want this page to be inviting and immediately let people know they are in the right place. I recommend having your picture on this page and use text to succinctly convey the type of work you do. Have some type of statement, whether it is a quote, your tagline, or a descriptor of your work that your ideal client will resonate with.
About you and your work
This page is where you place the copy we were developing in Week 4 – Write your Story. You want to balance speaking about your professional credentials with who you are as a person. Weave aspects of your personal story into how you can help your ideal client with your expertise. Remember, your client is reading this trying to decide if you “get” them. Use this as an opportunity to hit any points that you think they would be looking for, while letting them get a sense of your personality.
Services you offer
On this page, clearly outline what it is you offer, who those services are for, and what the process would look like. You may eventually split these onto separate pages as you build out your site but to get started they can all be put on one. However, if you have different client profiles (Example: Couples and Individuals) I would recommend creating two separate pages so you can tailor the content to speak to the differing needs of those clients.
Contact
This is where you explain to clients where you are located and how they can contact you to get more information or book an appointment. There should be a link to this page on all pages of your website so people can quickly get in touch with you. If at all possible have a contact form on this page so people don’t have to leave your website to reach you.
Additional Pages: Once you have established a simple web presence, you can start expanding your site and consider adding these pages:
Blog
A blog is a fabulous tool to provide value for your current and potential clients and is very helpful in increasing your rankings for search engine optimization. (We will talk more about this in its own section)
FAQs
If you find that you are getting the same question more than once, put the answer online. If people can answer all of the questions they may have about working with you from your website, there is a greater chance the ones who do call will have already decided they want to work with you. Your website will have done most of the screening process for you.
Resources
If there are resources that you use or recommend you can create a directory on your site so that people can find those resources faster.
What to expect
You may want to have a page outlining what people can expect when they come to a first session or when they come to work with you.
Action Item:
For those of you who already have websites, post a link to it in the group. Ask for specific feedback if there are any pages you are working on.
If you don’t have a site yet, start mapping out the pages you will have and determining what content you have, and what you still need to write.