Elements of a Website

Hey there and welcome back.

What are the elements that make up a website? No, I’m not talking about the HTML, CSS, Javascript or PHP. I’m thinking about higher-level items. You know, the header, the footer, the homepage, the calls to action and all of that. Do you know what those things do and what role they play on your website?

If you don’t, then well today let’s take a high level look at those different elements of a website to help you as you create your new website.

But before we get started, if you want to see more videos over web design, ecommerce, digital marketing and other website related topics, be sure to hit the subscribe button and to ring the bell for notifications.

Now let’s get started.

Header

The header is arguably the most important part of any website. It’s the first thing people are going to see when they visit your website and first impressions matter. If it doesn’t look good or if it’s hard to use, people are going to leave.

The header consists of a couple of key components. First, you have the masthead or logo or site title. Really it’s all the same thing. This is where you establish your branding, so you want to make sure that you have a high-quality version of your logo there. Also, if you’re using text for your site title, you’ll want that to wrap it in an h1 tag on the homepage and a paragraph tag for every other page.

Also you want to have a primary navigation menu in the header to help users navigate through your website. This should be a simple menu. You should not have more than eight top-level items in the menu, though you can have as many sub menu options as you can have so long as it’s properly organized.

There are a couple of optional items that you might also throw into your header. First, you have breadcrumbs, which are a trail of pages from the current page to the homepage. This helps users navigate through your website and has some SEO benefits as well.

Also, you can put social icons for links to your social media pages in the header as well.

Footer

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have the footer. This will be the last thing people will see on your web pages, but it’s still important. There are a couple of key things you need down here.

First, you should have a small menu in your footer. This really can only be a top-level list of a couple of pages. For example, my footer menu just consists of links to the home, sitemap, terms & conditions and privacy pages. Simple is better down here.

Next, you should make sure that you have the organization schema in your footer. Schema is markup that helps Google understand what different parts of your pages are. And adding something like this organization schema to your footer and all of your pages will help you get started with your Local SEO.

After that, you can have links to your social media pages here as well. I’ve personally found that they work better for the design in the footer versus the header.

And finally, you need to have a copyright string in the footer. If you’re a developer, you should code this with PHP to get the current year so you don’t have to worry about updating it on January 1 every year. Otherwise, make sure that you come back each year to bump the year up. Nothing is more weird than seeing a website that has a copyright year stuck in 2016.

Calls to Action

Calls to action aren’t technically required elements of your websites. But if you want your website to help grow your business, then you’re going to need them.

These are buttons on the page that call the reader to take some sort of action. It could be “buy now” or “sign up” or “learn more”. They help move a reader through your website and into your sales funnel.

Ideally, they should be placed above the fold on your most important pages: your homepage, product pages and landing pages. And they should stand out. Make it obvious that this is where they need to go next.

If you want a website that generates leads or sells products for your business, you need to have call to action buttons.

Homepage

The homepage is one of the most important elements of your website. It’s the first thing that a lot of people are going to see when they visit your website. So you’re going to want to make sure that you’re spending a lot of time crafting the perfect homepage for those new visitors.

There’s also a lot of options for how you craft your homepage, and a lot of it depends on what type of business you run. Among the things that you can try are having a large hero image at the top of the page with a well-defined call to action. You also might want to have some introductory text about what your business is. Or you can show off some of your services or display some of your top products. If you run a service-based business, you might want to show off some of your latest and best work. And if you run a blog, you might want to have your latest blog posts.

There’s no one right way to create a homepage. The right homepage is the one that works best for you and creates a great experience for your users.

About Page

Technically the about page is optional. Your website will still function even if you don’t have an about page.

But on a getting people to buy from you level, an about page is pretty important. This is where you’re going to be able to tell your story to your world. This is all about your journey and your business’ journey to where you are today.

It doesn’t need to be an entire novel, but make sure you are open and unique with your storytelling. Use photos or videos if you want. Just be sure to tell it in a way that fits you and your business.

Contact Page

Like the about page, the contact page isn’t technically required for any website. But from a human side of things, you really do need a contact page.

It doesn’t have to be fancy or flashy. But it should have either a contact form that a person can fill out to get in contact with you. Or you should have your email, phone number or some other way for people to get in touch with you.

But make sure your website has some way for people to reach out to you for questions or comments.

Product/Landing Pages

Finally, we have the product and landing pages. They’re both sort of the same thing, but which one you use depends on what business you run.

If you sell products online, you’ll have a lot of product pages. You’ll have photos of the product and a decently long description of what it does. Depending on what you use for your online store, you might also have reviews, which can be helpful in getting people to buy the product.

On the other side, you’ll probably have landing pages if you sell services. This is the page you’re going to drive traffic to from online advertising, email marketing and content marketing. You’ll discuss what you can offer somebody and how you can solve their problems with what you do.

And on both you’ll have a call to action. For products, it will be add to cart. And for landing pages, it will be sign up or something similar.

But when you’re crafting your product or landing pages, take some time to get it right. This is where the conversion happens. They just might be the most important pages on your website.

Outro

So what questions do you have about the different elements of a website? Be sure to leave them down in the comments section below.

Next week we’ll be discussing if you truly need a new website for your business this year, the best contact form plugins for WordPress in 2021 and where to find a web agency or developer to create a new website.

To see those videos and more videos on ecommerce, digital marketing, web design and other website related topics, be sure to hit the subscribe button and to ring the bell for notifications.

But until next time, I wish you and your business the best of luck.