There are a few pages that are essential to have when you create an online store. These give your customers information about your business, how to get in touch with you, and why they should trust you.
The home, about, contact, frequently asked questions (FAQ), and policy pages can be created using Shopify’s ‘pages’ feature. These pages don’t change much (like product pages do) and it’s important to use them to portray a professional image. Use well-thought-out written content and high-quality images.
Doing this speaks to the quality of your products or services and will increase customer confidence in your business, making it more likely they will purchase from you.
This may seem obvious, but your store needs a powerful home or landing page. This is often the place where shoppers land after clicking on an advert or social media link, and first impressions count!
A good home page like these examples from Archies Footwear and Grip6 show how you can explain your value proposition with brief and punchy text and beautiful visuals. Note how the different brands present merchandising elements differently based on the type and size of product catalogue they have.
Use a few compelling, well-written words or sentences to outline your unique value proposition. Include high-quality, professional images that communicate what your brand or product is about.
Decide which pages you want to feature in your main navigation menu, and what can be moved to the footer of the page. Your main menu will include links to the key pages or categories on your site such as the products and contact pages.
Make sure that there are clear calls to action on your home page so that customers know what to do once they’re there. Do you want them to click straight through to a product, or would it make more sense to give them more information or options in a collection?
Customer testimonials is another valuable feature that can be added to a home page. Adding social proof bolsters shopper’s confidence in a brand, especially a new one.
The about page is sometimes called ‘about us’ or even ‘our story’. It gives you the opportunity to humanize your brand and create a personal connection with your customers. Use this opportunity to share information about your business and the reason why you started it. You can talk about what makes your product unique, how they are made, and what materials they are made from.
Use the about page to get into the mind of your prospective buyers. Find ways to persuasively, but sincerely, earn their trust and make them feel connected to the values of the brand.
Make this page personal and eye-catching. Consider adding a short video introducing yourself and the business, and mention any accolades the business has. Use high-quality photos to add to its professional feel.
The contact page is where customers will go if they have a problem or want to ask questions about a product or service. The more information you are willing and able to include here, the better, so that customers can choose how they want to get in touch. This may include a phone number, email address, social media links, the address of your physical store, or a contact form.
You can generate a contact form easily with most Shopify themes. Create a new page, go to the template section on the right, and choose ‘contact template’. There are free apps available if you would prefer to feature a customized form.
You may want to include a link to your FAQ or policies pages in the contact section, so that customers who have related queries can look them up there instead of contacting you directly.
If you have enough resources, you can also consider installing a live chat app on your site so that customers can engage with you directly and immediately.
A frequently asked questions page provides an obvious place where customers can look for answers to their questions. Keep track of the most common questions shoppers ask you via phone calls, email or social media, especially those around confusion about returns or delivery frustrations. Add these to the FAQ page. You can also provide links to your returns and policy pages.
Foldabox do an excellent job of providing their customers with a search input to ask a question. If there is no answer online, they are able to send in inquiry.
A good FAQ page will take some pressure off your support team who can focus on responding to other queries rather than having to repeatedly answer the same questions.
It’s a good idea to have a page or pages that deal with your returns, privacy, shipping, and terms of service policies. This gives customers a good idea of what to expect from you and can protect you legally in case of a dispute. In some jurisdictions, these pages may be legally required.
You can find templates for policy pages in Shopify, under ‘settings’. Customize these according to your business and local laws. If you’re not sure what those are, you might want to ask a lawyer to assist you.
Having these pages also gives customers the impression that you’re a legitimate business and will instill a sense of confidence in them.
Masthead photo by William Iven.
