What’s in a name? A common challenge for a new website is coming up with names for each page on the site. There is also the issue of writing headlines for each page and the various sections that make up a page. It’s challenging to come up with the right names for these elements during the site design process. Here are 5 tips to help with your website project.
5 Tips for Naming Pages and Writing Headlines
If you come prepared with titles and headlines when you begin the design process your designer will love you. Content is one of the biggest productivity killers in a website design project. The content often drives the direction of the design so it’s important to have content ready so the designer can be efficient with the process.
1. Be Careful With Industry Terms
Industry terms are terms you and your co-workers use all the time. They are second nature to you and they make sense. To customers – especially new customers – these terms are foreign language. It includes acronyms too. Don’t use these for headlines or titles on the page. You’ll confuse your new visitors, which make up most of the visitors to your website. You can use industry terms in your headlines and page titles, but only if you accompany them with terms the visitors will understand. If you’re a plumber and you want to use the headline A Valve on your services page, please consider using Manual Gas Shut Off Valve instead.
2. Customers First, Search Engines Second
A common question designers get is about Google and SEO. Forget about the search engines for a second. Any designer worth their salt will understand the basics of Google and SEO. They’ll know it’s all about making a usable and useful site that focuses on customers first and search engines second (a very long second). Don’t stuff your headlines with keywords. Don’t make things confusing for your user. Make it simple for the user to understand. Use common terms that are descriptive. Search engines like it better when you focus on the customer instead of them.
3. Shorter is Better
Brevity is key for headlines and titles. You want to really cut down on the words you use in your headlines. Short headlines look better and people prefer short headlines and links. Your titles and headlines will determine how well people can scan your pages. Make sure they get a full understanding of each page and each section within a page with a short title and headline.
4. Consider Clicks and Sales
Conversion is what you’re after with your site. You either want someone to contact you through a form or via phone or you want them to make a purchase on your website. Think about what will make people click and what will ultimately lead to sales. You have to speak the language of the consumer when they are browsing your site. Think about your website as a sales process. Consider the titles and headlines you would use in conversation with your customers. What questions wil they ask? Use the answers as titles and headlines.
5. Avoid Duplication and Double Meaning
Duplication confuses people. So does double meaning. Avoid duplicating pages on your site and sections on your pages. Condense your site so it is an efficient site. Also make sure to avoid double meaning. Does your “Home” page mean that a user will go to your homepage or to your home decor page? Does your “Work” page mean your user will go to a page featuring your work or to a page where they can apply for a job?
Bonus: Page Link Location
Carefully consider the location of the links on your page. Customer usability is most important, but you also want to make sure the customer is doing what you intend for them. The customer is right in most cases, but you have a business to run and a profit to make. The location of your links needs to be determined by their importance as determined by you. Think about the typical face-to-face relationship you have with your customer. Work through that entire process. Write down the details if you need to and then think about the organization of the links on your pages.
A quick example would be a new customer visits your site. Let’s say they were recommended by a business peer. They are interested in your services and are looking for more information. They arrive on your homepage. They see your logo. They read a headline that establishes what your business can provide them. From there, the customer looks for a link to the services page to learn about what you offer in more detail. From the services page you can link to about page if you think someone would want to know more about you. You can also link to the pricing page and finally the contact page. All other links are secondary and only distract from the path you want visitors to take.
Really think about your headlines, titles, and links on your website. They’re important for selling visitors on your services and products.
