Most useful pages to have on a new website

- Home

State exactly what your company do or offer summed up in the first sentence. First impressions last, so try to immediately attract a newcomer to view the rest of the website. Statistics have shown that most anonymous visitors only visit the home page.

- Products/Services

Make sure all the company's core information is stated here. Keep this section organised and up-to-date as out-of-date products will make your site lose credit.

- Pricing

Try not to have prices available on your website. Visitors are more likely to make an enquiry for a quote if they have no idea what your pricing structure are. If the client contacts you directly, it also leaves room for negotiation.

- Portfolio/Projects/Testimonials

Any impressive jobs that you have done and good testimonials is one of the best ways to reassure newcomers of your expertise. Try to include work that you've done over a period of time.

- About us/Company

Give some company background and anything you could brag about. Keep it sweet and short. If your company has been around for a while it would be wise to say so.

- Contact us/Enquiries

Contact details (email/phone/fax/address), Enquiry form

Other

- Terms of service

This section is important in order to protect you legally. List any special conditions to back you up.

- Sitemap

This is a navigation page (almost like Windows explorer) so that the visitors can see how the website is laid out hierarchically. This page also gives a quick summary of the site's pages and easy access to the whole site's sections.

- News/reviews

Some credit from the media or any publications that could make you look good is always a bonus to have on your website. This section also functions as another excellent reference and testimonial for your site.

Wim Conradie is a majority shareholder in Matogen Corporate Web Development (www.matogen.com). He studied electronic engineering, computer sciences & industrial engineering at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and started first web development business in November 2003. He has a 'passion for business and adding value to other busnesses'.