Anatomy of a Website

Jamie Smith

WordCamp Kansas City 2016

Your presenter:

Jamie Smith

• Owner of Jamie’s Notebook

• Lives in Northwest Arkansas

• Jamiesnotebook.com

• @JamiesNotebook

An effective website must:

• Be search engine friendly (links, plugins, keywords, mobile)

• Be intuitive to navigate (function)

• Be clear with its call to action (what do you want readers to do?)

• Be clear in how the company/organization can solve the visitor’s specific

problem(s) (Content…words and/or pictures)

Search engine friendly

• Plugins-for websites I like All In One SEO

• Links and keywords

• Pages (more pages are better for SEO but use menus)

• Blog

Don’t make them think

Guidelines

• Navigation should be intuitive

• Navigation should be uncluttered

• Consider what order/location most sites place functions

• Content should be in the logical place

Tips/Common issues• Use menus function with subpages (usually

no more than 5-7 parent pages)

• Search usually top right

• Home-About-Services-(Other)-Blog-Contact

• Social media icons usually near top right or directly under header image

• Widgets usually right column

Call to action

• All the information on your website is great … what do you want them to do

about it? Think beyond “hire us.”

• Every page and each blog should have a distinct call to action with a link

(usually the contact page)

• Call to action should also be in the side columns (could include call us,

connect to us, etc.)

Potential calls to action

• Sign up for a newsletter

• Take a quiz

• Download an audio or video file

• Download an ebook or white paper

• Fill out a poll or survey

• Make a comment

• Pose a question

• Sign up for a webinar or teleclass

• Make an appointment for a

complimentary consultation

• Refer a friend

Clear solution to problem

• You are a solution to their problem. Tell and show them how you help them

and therefore are the best choice

• Capture their attention with creative words, but don’t sacrifice clarity.

“Edginess” often leads to ambiguity

• Avoid tired buzzwords

• Be careful with industry lingo-help them understand what you are talking

about (pictures are great for this)

General best practices

• At least one (the more the better)

applicable photo on each page.

• Write in third person throughout the

site (even bios). An exception might be

the contact page. Even then, it’s best to

use plural first person.

• Reduce your photo file sizes to help

page load time

• Consider the F-reading pattern when

writing

• Website is a major part of your brand.

It should fit your company culture and

overall brand

• Only use content that you have

permission to use!

Essential Pages

What should they include (or not include?)

Home

• This isn’t just a welcome mat-it’s a hub

• You have mere seconds to capture—and keep their attention

• Home page should tell very clearly what you do and what hurt point you

solve, as well as invite them to engage (CTA)

• TOO much information causes clutter and will turn them off

Home

• Headline-tell what your site has to

offer

• Subheadline-zero in on a common

pain point

• Primary CTA (2-3 above the fold with

at least one below the fold. Meet

different needs of the buy cycle)

• Supporting images or video

• Describe what you do matters-keep

the copy lightweight

• Easy navigation

• Resources

• Some form of success indicator

About

• Should tell who your company is and why it exists

• Brief but thorough history

• Include dates not “X Years”

• If someone were to write a blog about your company from your about page, how accurate and complete would it be?

• Pictures help tell the story (don’t use stock photos here)

• You do business with people. Show your humanity!

Services/Products

• This is where you can go into more detail about what you offer and how you

help.

• You need pictures and words that tell your story

• Use different keywords throughout the text to fit various searches (keep in

mind some may not know exactly what they are looking for)

• This is one of the first places I recommend moving into subpages

• List all services at top then go into more detail at bottom

Blog

Blogging more frequently will improve your SEO

Key components of a blog post:

• 350 – 700 words

• Attention-getting, key-worded title

• Open paragraph has to go immediately to the point

• Relevant image(s)

• Main body – make it easy to skim using subheadings, bullet points, etc.

• Close with a discussion question/call to action

Contact

• Phone number

• Hours (as applicable)

• Mailing address (if different or if you don’t want visitors)

• Physical address with Google map and written directions

• Social media

• Contact form

• If specific requests should go to a specific person, consider listing that email.

Other possible parent pages

• Portfolio/Testimonials/Gallery (having pictures of your work, if applicable,

is also great for individual service pages)

• News/Media (links to articles featuring your company, press releases you’ve

written, etc.)

• Purchase/Hire (Do you sell products online? Do you offer services and want

to share rates?)

Other Suggested Pages

Their parent pages and best practices

Under “About” • Mission/Vision

• Meet the team

• Message from our Founder/CEO/Leader

These pages expound on

who you are as a company

and to some degree,

individuals

Under “Services/Products”

• Could also be categories of

products/services

• Link to each page from the main services

page and also link back to the main

service page from the individual pages

• Each page should detail what the

service/product is but more importantly,

how it solves the reader’s problem.

These pages are a great place

to go into more detail about

individual services or product

categories, complete with

pictures where applicable

Additional resources

• #WCFAY 2015 Why and How Businesses Should Blog on SlideShare

• #WCKC The Beginner's Guide to Writing in WordPress on SlideShare

• Check the blog for the company who created your theme

• Canva and Picmonkey are great for altering pictures