Building a website is overwhelming. Maybe you’re struggling to come up with any content to have on your site. Maybe you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum and are having a hard time narrowing down to the most important aspects.
Here is what you truly need on your farm website.
Product Pages
Product pages are essential, especially as a farm and business. Visitors want to know what you offer and the practices you use.
You should have a page for each product or group of products. For example, if you raise pastured pork, you should describe how you raise your pigs and what cuts you offer on one page. But the honey you also sell should have its own page describing your bees and processing methods.
At the bottom every product page link to your online store or your order form so readers can move straight into purchasing your products.
Online Store
If you sell products that can be shipped, you must have an online store. This includes up-to-date product and inventory listings, shipping options, and secure credit card acceptance. After purchasing, customers should receive emails with order fulfillment updates.
If you only sell products that can be picked up locally, host a form on your site so people can place orders without calling. (And be sure to regularly check for orders and send confirmation that each order has been received and is being fulfilled.)
About Us
Customers want to know the people behind the farm they are patronizing. They want to know why you do what you do. Do your values align with theirs?
The main appeal of local food for customers is knowing the farmers behind their food and being able to see the practices that these farmers use. Not only do they want to know the practices, but they also want to know WHY you do what you do.
They want to know what drives you to go out into the fields and move your chicken tractors twice a day. They want to know why you only grass-fed your cattle even when feeding grain could fatten them faster.
Share why you think sustainable agriculture is best for your customers, the animals, and the earth.
Explain what you do and why you do it. People want to know!
Blog
Many people think blogs are outdated, but this is not the case! Blogs continue to be some of the top viewed pages for every website. Neal Schaffer provides some amazing statistics about blogs.
If you have Google Analytics, check it out for yourself. I bet you’ll find some of your blogs as your most popular pages!
Additionally, blogs are a great way to improve your website’s SEO which is especially important if you offer shipping for products. Word-of-mouth likely won’t reach people you live in far away states, but SEO can (if done right)!
Home Page
Planning and writing the Home page of a website is the most difficult. I personally recommend working on the Home page after you have planned all the other content on your website (which is why I have included it last on this list of essential pages).
The purpose of the Home page is to serve as a jumping off point to the other content on your website. Visitors should be able to navigate to the content they are looking for.
First time visitors may want to learn more about you and your farm so they will go to the About page. Perhaps they just want to see what products you sell so they will go to your product pages or your online store if you have one.
Returning customers are probably looking for product updates, your operating hours, or other information so they can purchase their usual orders. They may click on your top menu to go to their desired page, so you’ll have to decide if you want a path for them on your Home page or just let them use the menu.
You’ll want to keep these customer paths in mind when designing your Home page. Many websites outline a challenge and a solution on their Home page that funnels down to a call-to-action (CTA) for people to make purchase or schedule an appointment to discuss services.
Many Home pages have a section near the top that hosts new information and updates. For example, a farm may state near the top that they are now accepting beef preorders, they recently opened a farm stand, or they have new hours.
Home pages require a lot of thought and a solid strategy.
It is also a good idea to track clicks on your Home page to see which content is attracting the most attention and you can make edits from there.
Conclusion
Knowing what and what not to include on your website is difficult. Each business is unique so no two websites will look the same. Not only will you have different products, colors, pictures, and text, but you also have your own voice which should come through to those who visit your website.
If you are looking for some help if your website, I offer SEO, content creation, and other website help. Head over to my Service page to see how I could help you clearly convey your message!
Great information. I am at a loss as to what I really need as I am building my website. You’ve summarized it nicely. I like the idea of waiting until all the other pages are done before working on my home page. Thanks!