Your Website is More Than One Page, Right? Treat it That Way.

Here at BKMedia Group, web design is a big part of what we do. We strive to make the best sites for all of our clients whether they want to sell products, promote events, or just inform people. We’ve always got our ear to the ground for what’s new in the online world, but our clients work in other fields and oftentimes things change too fast for them keep up.

Recently, a couple facts caught my eye and got me thinking about just how we operate. They not only have an affect on how we go about designing a site, they also affect our clients and just how they treat their content.

Tidbit number one: Due to search engines and the way they work, the page that most visitors to your site see first is NOT your homepage.

It makes sense when you think about it, but you probably don’t think about it often. Search engines like Google direct the user to the pages that are most relevant to their search terms. So if someone is searching for one of your particular services, Service A, they will more than likely be taken to an interior page of your site – not your home page. Sure, you may (and should!) have some copy related to Service A on your homepage, but you have copy related to Services B, C, and D too! All of that ‘noise’ can detract from the focus of ‘Service A’ and leads Google to believe that your home page is less relevant than the interior page. Technically, it is – we just don’t like to see it that way.

When we design and plan websites, we try to build them so that there’s a flow – and that usually starts with the homepage. But what happens when someone enters your site in the middle? Will they know where they are and how to navigate around?

Tidbit number two: Most visitors to your site only view 2-3 pages.

Because search engines are able to provide people with results that are so specific, someone could visit your site, get the information they need, then leave. Or, if they happen to click into a minor page, buried in layers of navigation and visually lacking, they could just leave. Not only is your homepage not the first page they see… they may not see it at all!

These two facts are important to us because we design the pages your customers and clients will see. But they are something that you, our clients need to keep in mind as well. In many cases, you provide us with the content (copy, photos, etc) that will populate your site. Usually, a lot of the focus is placed on the homepage and less and less attention is paid to subsequent pages as you move deeper into the site. But if most of our visitors aren’t even seeing the homepage and are instead viewing our interior pages first, we need to make sure that those pages are held to just as high a standard.

Part of that involves your header and footer which can both quickly explain to someone just who you are and what you do, but the content is key as well. If you think something is important enough to have it’s own page, then the content should reflect that. Find some relevant photos and write more than a few sentences of copy – make it engaging, interesting, and informative so that someone clicking from Google will be able to find what they need and be more likely to stay.

It can be hard to find the time to write a thorough, informative copy for every part of your site, which is why the drop-off usually happens from homepages to interior pages. But if you view your website as an investment and a tool to grow your business, it can be easier to justify and work it into your day. If you’re totally swamped though, BKMedia Group is happy to handle it. We offer copywriting and Seach Engine Optimization (SEO) services to help ensure that your pages not only show up when people search but that they have relevant content on them as well!