When you’re building or improving your website or blog, one of the first considerations you have is what pages should your site have? It would be nice if there was a pat answer that fit everyone, but that’s not the case, and you find that out fairly early in the process.

What if you asked the question a different way – one that gets at what you’re really asking – which is, “What is the minimum set of pages my site should have?” The answer is probably a shorter list, for one thing, and knowing the minimum requirement to go live takes a great deal of the pressure off from day one. You can (and likely will) add pages as you grow.

Assuming you’ve done your homework and have identified an authentic (for you) target market/niche and have created your X,Y,Z sentence, coming up with the minimum required pages list is fairly straightforward.

Your X,Y,Z sentence tells people what you do, for whom you do it and the benefits those people get when you do it, and should be clearly stated on your Home page.

• The what you do is fleshed out on your Products, Services or What We Do page.
• The for whom you do it is described on a page called Is This You? or Who We Help
• The benefits should be on the Home page – clear as day – and restated on the other pages of the site, where appropriate.

One of the first things people want to know (if they’ve stayed past the first 10 seconds on your site) is who is the person behind this site? That’s your About page. And they’ll expect a way to contact you, so that’s your Contact page.

Recommended Pages for Just About Any Site

• Products, Services or What We Do – this is pretty self-explanatory, yes?
• Is This You? or Who We Help – this is where you zero in on and talk directly to your target market/niche/ideal client.
• About – this page is all about you. Don’t write it in 3rd person, ok? Be brave – write it like you’re talking to your ideal client – in 1st person. Be personable, friendly, approachable – real.
• Contact – give the maximum contact information you’re comfortable with. The more ways there are to contact you, the more your readers will trust you.
• Blog – fresh, updated content to help drive traffic to your site and connect with your target market
• Home – ideally, this page should be written last and be based on or compiled from the best of the other pages, making sure you include your X,Y,Z sentence.