5 Essential Elements of a Successful Service Provider Website
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You’ve started a new business – congrats! It’s a big deal to step into the unknown and take a chance on yourself. I did back in 2017 when I left my “good government job” to try my hand at entrepreneurship. I haven’t looked back since.
If you’re in the beginning stages of creating your business, grab my guide, 10 Steps for Starting a Business as an Online Service Provider. It will take you through the initial steps you need to focus on so you can maximize your time and set yourself up for success.
So now that you’ve started a business, you’re probably trying to get your website up and running. Yes, you could get by without one for a while. But it’s much easier when you have a place to send people who are interested in working with you. And it adds legitimacy to your business.
As we saw a few years ago when Facebook and all its apps went down for hours, we can’t just rely on social media. We need to have somewhere for our businesses to call home.
That’s why a website is so important. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming or a ton of work. It can be as easy as choosing a template and writing some copy.
Websites are dynamic things and yours will change over time - our website has gone through what feels like a thousand different iterations. But in the beginning, when you’re not entirely sure of your brand and services, you just need these five things (all of which are built into our Squarespace templates).
EASY NAVIGATION
Getting around your website should be a breeze. Use clear words in your header menu so your visitors don’t have to guess at where they will end up if they click on something.
There’s also internal navigation to consider. How and where your pages link is just as important as your header menu for two reasons:
This is how Google will crawl your website and understand its structure for indexing
This is how your visitors will quickly find what they are looking for.
Make sure you submit your pages to Google for crawling in the Search Console. It’s much faster for getting them indexed.
CLEAR SERVICES
Remember this mantra: a confused mind says no.
As a service provider, it’s your job to make sure you’re communicating what you do in a clear and concise manner. Your services page should tell your readers these things:
What you do and the benefits of your services – not just the what, but the why behind it
Who you work with: you’re not for everyone, so make it clear who is right for your services
What’s included: how specific you get will depend on what you do, but at a minimum, you should give an overview of what they get when booking with you
The price: I’m a big believer in pricing transparency. Rather than trying to convince people that they should want to pay your rates (or that they’ll be worse off for not paying them), just tell them upfront so they can decide if it’s even an option. At a minimum, you should include a range.
AN ABOUT PAGE THAT CONNECTS
You’ve probably heard that your about page is really about your client. And that’s true to an extent. But it’s also likely the first experience someone has of you. So it should communicate who you are.
About pages are often the second most visited page (after the homepage). People want to know who they are dealing with. That’s especially true if they plan to spend money with you. Your about page is an opportunity to connect with them and build trust.
A PORTFOLIO
Part of selling your services is giving people a look at your past work. Clients want to know what they can expect from you. That doesn’t mean you need to have every single project you’ve ever done. Just the ones that you’re most proud of and that best showcase your work.
If you don’t have anything to fill a portfolio yet, here are some tips:
Offer 5 people the chance to work with you on a small project for a deep discount (not for free - you deserve to be compensated for your work)
Try to collaborate with another service provider that offers companion services (ex: if you’re a copywriter, try to collaborate with a web designer)
A portfolio is an essential page because it gives your potential clients a reason to trust that you know what you’re doing. So prioritize this page.
All of our Squarespace templates come with either a portfolio page or a testimonials page (which can easily be turned into a portfolio page).
A CLEAR WAY TO CONTACT YOU
This may seem obvious, but lots of people bury this page. If you’re selling services, you’ll probably have some kind of intake process. Make those instructions clear. What do they have to do to book a consultation with you? What happens after they complete your form? Tell them what to expect.
This communicates to them that you’re a serious business owner and builds trust from the beginning. No one wants to feel confused when they are trying to spend money.
It’s one thing to know all this, but it’s another to actually implement it. Building a website can be painful, especially if you’re not tech-savvy. There’s also the issue of deciding where to put it. We chose Squarespace because it’s self-contained, easy to learn and combines different services so we don’t need multiple platforms to run our shop. And those are the reasons we now build Squarespace templates for service providers of all kinds. Browse the collection here.
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