Your website’s static pages provide readers with valuable content and should be relatively “evergreen” for you. Here are my recommendations for your site’s five must-have website pages when you launch.
Home
This one sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s one you really need to think about before jumping in. Is your home page going to be more of a “static” page that doesn’t change, or will it house your most recent and featured blog posts? Perhaps a combination of both?
To use my current sites as examples, Design by Christi is a static site. I very rarely update or change the home page. It’s a clean, simple place for visitors to land and easily navigate to their desired content. I have a lot of control directing traffic by choosing which pages to feature prominently– in this case that’s Blogger, WordPress, and Branding services in my large promo boxes.
On the other hand, my personal blog Completely Christi is a blog-style landing page. The home page changes with each post I publish. Visitors will see my “featured” content that I’ve hand-selected up top and then the rest of the page shows a variety of recent posts.
Finally, my educational site Ms. Fultz’s Corner is a combination of both with static content up front and my most recent blog content directly below it, just barely showing in this screenshot.
No matter which style you use, you’ll want to have a prominent link to your HOME page so your readers can always find their way back.
Visit this post for a more detailed look at homepage must-haves.
About
If I land on a site that catches my attention, I always look for an ABOUT page. It’s a great way to connect with your readers, provide your credibility, and invite readers to join you on your social channels as well. I recommend checking/updating your about page once a year, or after any major changes. In addition to your navigation menu, you can link to your about page wherever you display your user profile {sidebar, footer, author box below posts are common}.
I use different ABOUT pages for my various projects.
Contact
A contact page is essential. In addition to linking your email address in any of your social links, you should also set up a contact page. I strongly recommend using a contact form that makes it simple for users to send you an email right from your site. If you’re on WordPress, Ninja Forms is a good free option.
Legal
I always tell my website clients I don’t give legal advice, but it would be remiss of me if I didn’t advise you to look into adding disclosures, terms of use, and a privacy policy to your site. With GDPR compliance, you need to make sure you’re letting visitors know how you’re collecting/storing/using any of their data. You also need to disclose your affiliate relationships (think Amazon).
Archive or Sitemap
As your site grows, you’ll need a user-friendly way for readers to navigate your posts and pages. WordPress has numerous options for this, which can vary based on your chosen theme. You can also add a custom one in Blogger, but it takes a little more work. A few WordPress examples:
- Category Archive (with content excerpt)
- Category Archive (no excerpts)
- Category Index
- Site Map
- Another Site Map
Bonus Pages
Depending on your site, these additional options may be a good place to start for your next set of pages once you have the initial five must-have website pages up and running:
- FAQs
- Portfolio
- Services / Shop
- Start Here
- Custom 404
- Worth With Us
Pin for Later
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