Essential Content to Include in Your Webpage for Better User Experience

Having a well-designed webpage is crucial for user experience, and it all starts with the content you include. A clear and concise headline is essential, as it sets the tone for the rest of the page.

Including a clear and concise headline can increase user engagement by up to 30%. This is because it helps users quickly understand the purpose of the page and decide whether to continue reading.

A well-written headline can also improve your website's search engine rankings. This is because search engines use the headline as a key factor in determining the relevance of your content to a user's search query.

A good headline should be no more than 2-3 sentences long and should include the main keyword or phrase. This will help users quickly scan the page and understand the content.

Defining your purpose is the first step in creating effective website content. To do this, you need to understand why you're writing what you're writing.

Knowing your end goal from the outset helps you craft great content. Every piece will have a purpose, and answering questions like "Are you trying to inform, entertain, and/or persuade users?" can shape the tone and style of your writing.

To create a clear roadmap for your content, you should determine what action you want the reader to take, such as signing up for a newsletter or purchasing a product. This informs the design of your call to action (CTA).

Before writing your content, it's essential to prepare by creating a visual sitemap and brainstorming keywords and phrases users might search to find your page. This will help you generate high-value content that drives engagement and action.

To structure your writing, write a unique page title and meta description for each page, and use a 5–7 word headline (H1) that includes your main keyword. This will help with SEO and accessibility.

Here's a simple framework to follow:

Page structure and navigation are crucial elements of a well-designed webpage. A clear and intuitive navigation menu can make all the difference in keeping visitors engaged and reducing bounce rates.

To create a user-friendly navigation menu, make sure it's visible at the top of the page and organized in a hierarchical structure. This means grouping related links together and making it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for.

Conducting user tests is also essential to ensure your navigation menu is simple and intuitive. You can also include a search box to help visitors quickly find specific content.

A good example of a clear and well-structured navigation design is Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria homepage. Their navigation menu is easy to follow and provides a clear path to the pages visitors need.

Helping readers navigate your website is also crucial to creating a positive user experience. This can be achieved by embedding links within your content that point to related pages on your website. This not only provides additional value to the reader but also encourages them to spend more time on your website exploring related pages.

Diet Doctor is a great example of this. They've embedded links to other comprehensive articles that dig deeper into topics related to their content. This helps with search engine optimization (SEO) and provides a clear path for readers to follow.

In terms of structuring your writing, it's essential to organize your content in a logical and hierarchical manner. This means breaking down your content into sections and using a clear page hierarchy.

A good way to do this is to use a visual sitemap to plan out your content and page structure. You can also use the Storybrand formula as a guide to break down your pages into sections.

Here's a breakdown of the sections you might include on a basic brochure-type website home page:

Remember, breaking down your pages into sections can help you lay out content in a way that's easy for visitors to scan and understand.

Breaking your content into smaller chunks is essential for flexibility and reusability. This approach allows you to separate individual elements of your content, making it easier to assemble and reassemble them as needed.

Consider the example of a web page with multiple elements: a headline, summary, images, video, copy, quotations, reviews, and a "book now" button. By structuring your content into its smallest building blocks, you can reassemble these elements for different contexts and devices.

Here are some essential content elements to consider:

These elements can be tailored to fit different devices and presentations, such as a desktop or mobile version of your web page.

Images need text alternatives to describe the information they represent, which is crucial for accessibility and SEO. This is especially true for visitors who use screen readers.

For a grouping of images in one image, the alt text should explain the information of the entire group. If the image is complex, like a graph or diagram, you can provide a text equivalent of the data in the image.

The alt text should contain the exact text as the image if you use text as an image. However, it's recommended to avoid images of text altogether.

Here are some SEO and accessibility image best practices to keep in mind:

Remember, images help users visually find web pages for a wide range of tasks in search, so it's essential to make them accessible and understandable.

Breaking down your content into smaller chunks is a crucial step in creating a flexible and user-friendly website. This approach allows you to separate your content into smaller, manageable pieces that can be reassembled in different contexts and on various devices.

Having separate fields for each chunk of content in your CMS makes it easier to separate and reorganize content later on. This is especially important for websites with different versions for desktop and mobile devices.

Many mobile sites only display a portion of the content that their desktop counterparts display. For example, a desktop version of a web page might show all the chunks, including a headline, summary, images, and a "book now" button, while the mobile version might only show the most important chunks, such as the headline and a "book now" button.

By breaking down pages into sections, you can create a clear hierarchy of content and make it easier for users to scan and understand your website. This approach is effective in writing and laying out written content, and can be applied to various types of web pages.

A basic brochure-type website home page might be broken down into sections such as a website header, intro section, value stack section, and call-to-action section. You can use a formula like the Storybrand formula to determine what sections you need per page, and reorder or add sections as needed.

Including calls-to-action (CTAs) on your webpage is crucial to encourage visitors to take a specific action. A well-placed CTA can make all the difference in converting visitors into customers.

Your primary CTAs should be visually striking, ideally in a color that contrasts with the color scheme of your homepage, and should be placed above the fold. This means they should be easily visible to visitors without having to scroll down.

Afterschool HQ's website features two CTAs above the fold, geared toward program directors. Their longer CTA "Create Your Free Profile" gives visitors the nudge they need to create an account, the first step to becoming an Afterschool HQ provider.

Secondary CTAs can offer additional conversion opportunities for prospects who aren't interested in your primary objective. Place them below the fold to give visitors things to click on when they scroll down.

Spanx's homepage features three secondary CTAs below the fold, giving folks who've scrolled that far a few more options to click on. These CTAs are for two different types of conversions: one for $20 off and another to explore the online catalog.

Including a clear CTA using words like "Join", "Sign Up", or "Subscribe" can help initiate action. Take Zapier's example, where they include a concise and compelling CTA at the end of each blog post, prompting readers to join their mailing list.

A CTA that communicates the benefit of subscribing can be very effective. Zapier's CTA communicates the benefit of subscribing to stay productive, tapping into their target audience's need for productivity tools and tips.

People remember more of what they see than what they read, according to decades of research. This is why adding visual assets like infographics, graphs, and videos can help your audience better understand and engage with your content.

Using a video on your homepage can spark your audience's interest and drive them toward taking action, as seen with Chili Piper.

Infographics can simplify complex processes, graphs can visualize data trends, and videos can demonstrate how a product works in a more immersive way than text alone.

Adding an image that clearly indicates what you offer can drive action and visually tell the story you're writing about, as seen with The 4 Rivers Smokehouse homepage.

Images should be high-quality, with a reduced file size to optimize them for mobile users, and always include alt text to make them more accessible to visitors who use screen readers and to boost SEO efforts.

To make your webpage content shine, you need to follow some essential SEO and accessibility best practices.

Optimize your content for search engines by including keywords in your page title, subheadings, and body copy. This helps ensure your content gets discovered in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Consider the following SEO basics:

You should also provide accurate and descriptive HTML headings to help users and search engines understand your page content. This is crucial for screen readers and SEO.

Use only one H1 per webpage, and make sure it's the main point with primary keywords. Use multiple subheadings in order (H2–4), and write short, simple, descriptive headings. Avoid vague headings and don't use visual-only headings, such as images with text.

Finally, don't forget to review and finalize your content with your team before publishing it.

Proofreading is a crucial step in creating high-quality content for your webpage. This should go without saying, but the content of a website shouldn’t have any typos or grammatical errors. Sloppy mistakes can put off potential customers.

Use tools like Grammarly to detect errors in your writing. Grammarly isn’t just a basic spell-checker—it’s a comprehensive writing assistant that flags potential grammar, punctuation, and style issues.

Social proof is a powerful indicator of trust, and it's essential to include it on your webpage. People are more likely to believe in your product or service if they see it's been endorsed by others.

Include just a few of your best quotes on the homepage, and link to case studies if applicable. Adding a name and photo gives these testimonials more credibility. Lessonly nails this on their homepage with glowing testimonials from actual clients.

Most local services and goods thrive on social proof. So whether you're working on a law firm website design or a local bakery, make sure to include testimonials and reviews if available.

In terms of development and code, it's essential to have a solid understanding of HTML and CSS to create a well-structured webpage.

A good starting point is to use a semantic HTML structure, which helps search engines understand the content and context of your webpage.

For a responsive design, you'll want to use a CSS framework like Bootstrap or Foundation, which provides pre-built classes for common UI components.

A clean and organized codebase is crucial for maintaining and updating your website over time.

Using a version control system like Git helps you track changes and collaborate with others on your project.

Incorporating JavaScript libraries like jQuery or Lodash can add functionality and interactivity to your webpage.

A well-written and concise codebase is not only easier to maintain but also improves page load times and user experience.