How to plan your website content in 3 simple steps
Planning and writing content for your website can be one of the most difficult parts of getting your business online. What should you write? How many pages do you need and which ones? On top of that, your website content needs to be strategic, not just sound nice.
Ultimately, you want your website content to welcome visitors, help them to understand what you do and how you can help, and finally help them feel comfortable to take the steps to buy your products or hire you.
Today, I’m sharing my simple 3 step process for planning your website content.
STEP 1: DEFINE GOALS
To ensure your content is strategic, you need to start with the end in mind. This means starting by defining the top 3 goals you have for your website. What results are you hoping to get from your website?
For example, two of the most common goals are: getting new clients/selling products and building an audience/list.
STEP 2: IDEAL CLIENT ACTIONS
Now that you’ve defined your goals, you need to reverse engineer how you’re going to meet those goals. To do this, ask yourself: In order to reach each goal, what actions do your ideal client needs to take?
For example, in order to get more clients, your ideal client needs to book a consult, fill out an application or call/e-mail you. (You decide what action works best for you and your business.)
If your goal is to build your list, then the action your ideal clients would need to take is to sign up for your newsletter.
STEP 3: IDEAL ENVIRONMENT
Finally, once you’ve determined an action for each goal, you need to explore how you can create an ideal environment that will encourage your ideal client to take that action.
Ask yourself: What does your potential client need to know in order to take that action? How can I help my ideal client feel comfortable and confident in taking that action?
It’s in this step that you’ll start to really see what content you need on your website!
For example, in order for your ideal clients to to book consults (leading to your goal of getting more clients), they will need to feel like they know, like and trust you.
To accomplish this, you’ll need:
A Homepage that clearly states what you do & who you work with
An About Page that shares who you are and helps potential clients relate to you
A Services Page that clearly explains your packages and paints a picture of what it’s like to work with you
An application form or calendar for your potential clients to book a consult
Optional: a blog that demonstrates your expertise and helps to build trust
Step 3 takes a little more work because you really need to step into your ideal client’s shoes and consider how they are feeling and what they need…from the moment they first land on your website to the moment they fill out your application form.
However, step 3 won’t be effective unless you go through steps 1 & 2 first.
Most people skip these and jump straight to the pages they think they need, without considering why.
Going through this exercise will give you a lot of clarity around what your website needs, as well as how you can give your ideal clients the best possible experience.
If you’d like to give this exercise a try, I’ve put together a PDF printable that you can download here.
And of course, if you’d like help with this process, just reach out!