When it comes to determining content for a website, people usually go one of two ways. They want to say too much, or they want to say too little. As with most things, it’s actually about finding the right balance. You want to say enough that you answer your visitor’s questions, establish yourself as an authority, and provide clear actions for people to take. But you don’t want to say so much that you overwhelm them and/or drive them away.
This doesn’t just apply to how much content is on a particular page but how many pages are on your website.
It’s critical that you find the right balance of content on your website. After all, roughly half of visitors will leave a website if the message is lacking. So, how do you determine whether or not your website has the right number of pages? That’s what we’re here to figure out.
To start, let’s take a broader look at the website industry…
How Many Pages Do Most Websites Have?
If you’re building a new website, it’s natural to look to other sites for guidance. This can be a very helpful and healthy practice for a number of aspects. But when it comes to deciding how many pages a website should have, it’s not as helpful as you might think.
Determining the average number of pages for a website is nearly impossible.
According to recent estimates, there are over 130 trillion pages indexed by Google. Meanwhile, there are over 1 billion websites indexed. While you could theoretically divide the first number by the second, the number you would end up with would be very misleading. Even if it was accurate, it wouldn’t be very helpful.
This is because the optimal number of pages for a website is very circumstantial.
A large & complex website could have hundreds, if not thousands of pages. Examples of these websites include large online stores, school websites, research centers, digital catalogs, etc.
Meanwhile, some websites are a singular landing page. They may be for a specific marketing initiative, a product that’s coming soon, a new startup, or some any other simple, singular item/initiative.
Most websites likely fall in the middle, Even then, the middle has a wide range. The key takeaway here is understanding that there isn’t anything close to a universal answer for how many pages a website should have. It’s about determining what makes sense for your audience, your brand, and your general goals.
With that said…
It Should Probably Be More Than One Page
As we just said, there are plenty of websites that are a singular landing page. Under the right circumstances, this is completely fine. But if you’re building a primary website for a particular brand/organization/service, you will almost certainly benefit from having more than one page.
Cramming too much into just one homepage can be overwhelming and disruptive to user pathways. If you’ve set up an effective homepage, it should be guiding people to one of a few different endpoints. Some of these endpoints will take the form of interior pages that will be able to provide deeper context and further action steps. Even if you’re targeting a singular audience, not all members of that audience will be in the same place. Some may be ready to take action immediately. Others may want to get to know you a little better first.
Interior pages allow you to meet the needs of one visitor’s journey without disrupting someone else’s.
If search engine optimization (SEO) is important to you (and it should be), then that’s another reason to build out some interior pages. The more pages you have on your site, the more opportunities you (theoretically) have to appear in search results on Google and other search engines.
However, that doesn’t mean you should just be creating pages for the sake of creating pages.
Each page on your website should be unique and valuable. They should serve a purpose that relates to actual human visitors. Proper SEO is always about placing real people first and search algorithms second. As you’re working through your site’s content, be thinking about what areas would benefit from having their own page.
If you’re still feeling stuck…
Common Pages That Most Websites Have
While the number of pages on a particular website can vary greatly, there are certain pages that you will find on most well-made websites. We want to be clear that this isn’t a universal list that every site must follow. You also shouldn’t limit yourself to just these pages if it makes sense to expand further.
In our experience, however, most websites can benefit from the following pages…
Homepage
Every website is going to have a homepage, and for most websites, it will be their most visited page. This is because it’s the first page people land on. It acts as the gateway to the rest of your website. All of this makes the homepage arguably the most important page on your website.
It should immediately speak to your target audience, provide a general overview of what you offer and who you are, and tell visitors what actions to take.
Service/Product Page
If you’re providing any sort of goods or services, then you will likely want at least one dedicated page for those offerings. This should clearly lay out what you offer and provide deeper content than what’s found on the homepage.
Like the homepage, it should be driving visitors to specific actions, whether it’s buying a certain product, scheduling a consultation, or taking another relevant action. If you have a range of products or services, you may want to expand into multiple pages.
About Page
Almost every website has an about page. Unfortunately, they tend to be boring, short on content, and they lead nowhere. This is a mistake.
For many websites, their about page is the second most viewed page on the website. This is because visitors want to know if you’re legitimate. An “about” page should be designed to create empathy, trust, and authority with your visitors. Share your story. Explain to them why you’re the best choice to help them with their needs and wants.
Don’t be afraid to hype up your brand but don’t create a dead-end.
As with any other page, you should be guiding visitors to the next step, whether it’s browsing your services, reaching out to connect, following you on social media, or something else relevant to growing your brand.
Contact Page
The contact page is another page that’s often treated as an afterthought. You’ll typically find basic contact information and a generic form. Again, this is a mistake. The contact page often acts as a final catch-all for visitors. If they’re not sure what to do or how to move forward, they’ll often find their way to the contact page.
A phone number and vague contact form might not be enough for them to take the next step, however.
Think of your contact page as the closing chapter to your website. It should reinforce the previous messaging. It should satisfy lingering questions and provide resolution. Don’t be afraid to put a little messaging above your contact form and details. It may be a good thing to list some FAQs as well. This will help qualify potential leads and reduce the number of basic questions you receive.
You may want to consider multiple contact forms as well, depending on what types of audiences will be reaching out to you. This is your final chance to connect with a visitor and keep the relationship open. Make it count.
Determining Content
Hopefully you have a decent idea of what pages your website should have. Now you need to figure out what content will populate those pages. If they don’t have an adequate amount of content, they won’t do their job of helping your visitors or improving your SEO.
If you want to maximize your website’s effectiveness, every page should have at least 500 words on it.
This ensures that they provide enough information for both human visitors and search engines. If you’re struggling to hit the 500-word mark, it may be a sign that you don’t need a dedicated page for a particular subject.
Or it may mean that you need some help with your content strategy and website messaging.
If that’s the case, you’re not alone. Content tends to be the biggest hang-up in any website build, whether you’re creating a website from scratch or rebuilding an older website. Agencies and brands both have a tendency to deeply underestimate the work that’s needed to create authentic, effective website content.
That’s why we’re here.
This Blank Page is a content strategy agency that makes it easier to create effective messaging for websites. We work closely with brands of all shapes and sizes to establish a strong foundation for their content that ensures they’re speaking to their ideal audience and creating a website that will grow their digital reach.
If that sounds like something you’re in need of, contact us today to schedule a free consultation. If you already have a website, but you’re looking to improve it, make sure to check out our free website assessment here.
