As a service company, your website is your online storefront: It is the first place potential customers go to learn about your business and the services you offer.
So it better be interesting especially since as a service provider, you can’t rely a product to do the talking (think about Apple)
Creating an effective website is challenging, especially if you're not sure which sections to include. In this post, we will discuss the key sections that every service company website needs to include to its website
Hi Hero 🦸
The hero section is the first thing your visitors see when they land on your website. Based on what you put there, people will either leave (and you get a bounce) or keep reading and follow your call to action (which is your goal)
To make this happen, you need to grab their attention with a hook that explains your unique value proposition (what makes your business stand out) and support it with impacting visuals
You can refer to this post “A Detailed Guide To Pick The Right Visuals For Your Service Website” to learn about the different images you can use for your hero section
Content sections
Content is the main reason people are visiting your website but you can’t just drop them big chunks of text and hope for the best.
To be read, your content needs to be:
- Organized with a clear hierarchy that can be scanned in seconds,
- Split in text blocks of limited size
- Illustrated with visuals supporting your message and branding
To create a bit of variety you can use different layouts (grids, lists, columns) and alternate them to build harmonious compositions like these creative grids layout
For service companies, there are informative sections that can’t be ignored:
About
This is where you introduce yourself and your business to potential customers. It's a chance to showcase your expertise and build trust and credibility and it “gives” a face to your business
You can include a brief overview of your company history, your mission and values, and any awards you've received. You can also include photos of your team and office to give your website visitors a sense of who you are and what you're about.
For larger business, you can complement this section with a dedicated team page that present your team members and their expertise (for example, a law firm will put there all their associates with their practices)
Services
The Services section is where you showcase the services you offer. This section should be organized in a way that's easy to navigate and understand. Consider grouping your services by category or industry, and include brief descriptions of each service. You can also include pricing information or a call-to-action to encourage potential customers to get in touch for a quote.
Blog
A blog sections serves to educate potential clients, showcase your expertise and also generate traffic to the site via SEO. For maximum impact,
- High quality content only + fresh
- Categorization + Filters & search
- SEO optimized
Banner
Banner are used to focus attention on specific elements that can be:
- Call to Action (Download an ebook / Enroll to a webinar / Send a message)
- Easy to find information (Hotline number, 24/7 assistance number, incoming event…)
Contact
Every good story needs a conclusion: in your case, a project inquiry from a potential client
For this to happen, you need to give a way for people to get in touch with you. That is the purpose of a contact section (that usually redirects to a contact page).
Have a look at this post Simple UX rules to build better forms for more information
Social proof sections
When content sections serve to educate visitors, social proof sections goal is to build trust and help visitors foresee what you could do for them.
Social proof sections are essential to convert visitors into potential clients as they subtly imply that you are a real business with clients, partners and a track records of success
These can take different shapes:
Logos
When potential customers see that you have worked with other reputable companies or organizations, it builds trust and credibility especially. Visually, logo can be organized in grids or in slider and needs to be unified in dimensions (I like to use grayscale logos to get matching colors)
Testimonials
Testimonials are essential for conversion as they are living evidence of how you helped people to be successful. For maximum impact,
- Feature testimonials from clients that are representative of your targeted audience
- Use real names, title and jobs (with a linkedIn link)
- Make the quote specific (state the problem solved, the results) and avoid the “They did a great job” type of quote
- No testimonials is better than fake ones. People have a nose to sniff these out especially if you see this image as client profile
- The “Graal” of testimonials: a video from a happy client
Case studies
Case studies are the ultimate combination of informative content and social proof (it is just a pity that they take that much efforts to be created)
Case studies have this special power: make visitors picture themselves working with you and being successful. For maximum impact:
- Follow a narrative (intro / adventure / happy ending) where your client is the hero (and you are the catalyst)
- Give context and facts (metrics in results if you can)
- Illustrate with images or videos
- Pick case studies that will talk to you targeted audience
Navigation sections
Navigation sections contains links and key information needed to browse the website
Navbar
Usually located on top of the page, navigation bars contain the links to the different pages of the website and also contribute to its look and feel: mega menu, burger menu, vertical menu, always visible, sticky…there are many options to customize them
Footer
Located at the bottom of the page, the footer features
- Main navigation links (so you don’t have to scroll up to the navigation bar
- Contact information: Phone + Address + Social (social proof)
- Legal terms links
- Newsletter Opt-in
- Copyright notice
