Now we get to the more exciting bits, setting up your first website pages! Firstly I want to explain the difference between pages and posts to avoid any confusion.
A page is used more for information purposes, like your About and Privacy Policy pages. They are the basic structure of your site and you don’t need many.
A post is used for writing all your articles, the majority of your work, like the one you’re reading now.
You can add a post to a category but not a page.
Your First Pages
There are a few pages you should be setting up before you start writing articles.
- About
- Contact
- Privacy Policy
- Affiliate Disclaimer
- Home Page (if you’re having a static home page and not a blog roll)
About Page
You about page should be just that, a page about you. This will probably be the most visited page on your website so spend some time on it. Your aim is to get people to connect with you so write a bit about your background and interests. You should also include an image, this is another thing that will help you to connect with your readers.
You can check out the about page on this site to give you some ideas. A really good resource for writing an about page is over at Amy Lynn Andrews site
Here are a few tips for writing your about page.
- Think about who you’re talking to, if your website is about sewing then you don’t want to listen to me talking about health issues. Understand your audience and craft your page accordingly.
- Don’t just give facts. When people visit your site they want to see a glimpse of the real you.
- Write about your professional journey but in story form, not a list of facts as if it were a CV.
- Tell your audience how you can help them, whether with physical products or digital ones.
- Write a bit about how you’ve helped others.
- Think about what you like to read in an about page. I like to feel I can trust and that they can provide me with a solution to my problem. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a kitchen gadget or a spiritual retreat, you’re all about providing solutions to problems!
- Try and write how you speak, you can go back and edit grammar and spelling after the article is written (this is the same for any content). Your words will flow much more naturally if you write this way and in the first person as opposed to third.
Contact Page
This is the page that lets people contact you. Rather than put your email address on a website you can add a simple contact page using a plugin called contact form 7. You can see how to add plugins here
Affiliate Disclaimer
The FTC now requires all affiliate websites to have a disclaimer, you can see the article here. Ours is a fairly simple one which you can feel free to copy, (you’ll find it in the footer). There are many examples of affiliate disclaimers to be found via a Google search, which you can copy and use.
Privacy Policy
Again, this is another legal requirement and you’ll find ours here. One of the main reasons your site needs a privacy policy page is to disclose your intent. This is so people know what information is being traced behind the scenes. Your readers also have a right to know what happens to any private information. The use of cookies should also be covered. I’m sure you’ll all have seen the warnings that pop up on websites now warning about cookies being used.
Feel free to copy our privacy policy, just replace the email and domain name fields with your own.
Home Page
Another important page and is usually the first page visitors see when they land on your site. You want this page to be clear about what your site is about, how you can help and what services you are offering. It’s like an extension of your about page. People have a short attention span and generally you have between 3 and 5 seconds to grab their attention! Using a compelling image at the top of your copy helps.
If you use a blog roll you can have a “sticky” post (more about this later), this should be written in the same way as a home page.
That’s it, your first five pages and your website is up and running!
If you have any questions or need help with these pages, leave us a comment below or feel free to contact us.
Here you can find a step by step checklist for setting up your wordpress website.