Overview of Important Web Page Components

There are several basic components that make up most successful web sites. Beyond that, there are core services that are specific to the audience or purpose of that web site. A home page is central to most web sites, and as such is probably the single most important component of a web site. There should also be a page where visitors can locate phone numbers, addresses, and emails for relevant departments are listed. Another helpful section is the “Company Information” page, where visitors and media can find out more about the business, such as its history, goals, and recent events. The last generic component is the site map or site search features, which help users with navigating the site and locating information. All of these components support a “core service,” which may be anything from a product listing to pay-per-use service for information. If the supporting sections do their part, the core services will enable the business to fulfill its purpose for creating a web presence.

The home page is the first page that most visitors see when they visit the site. It should clearly communicate the purpose of the site, it shouldn’t be stuffed with graphics or other time-consuming files, and it should have clearly marked links to the other sections. The easiest way to clearly communicate the purpose of the site is to simply state it in eloquent but easy to understand prose in location central to the page. The page and its components should not be extremely large (as in file size), since most people loose interest if a page doesn’t show the data they are looking for within 10 seconds. Along the top or left hand side, links to other critical pages should be listed in a structured and professional fashion to enable the visitor to easily find the section he is looking for.

After the home page, the company’s contacts page is by far the most important. Most visitors who are truly interested in what the company has to offer will, when unable to find what they are looking for in the other portions of the site, turn to the company’s contacts page. This page should list Email, Street Address, and Phone number for area of the company for which a visitor might want to gather information. It might seem non-intuitive to provide such dated information as street addresses in the Internet Age, but there are still many items that require street addresses, such as registered mail and physical goods.

The company information section is important to many different types of visitors, and it is important to keep those different segments in mind when developing this section. Media and journalists may visit the site gathering information for a specific story. Students, potential employees, and investors also all have reasons to visit this section, whether to gather historical information or to find out the latest and greatest achievements of the company. Some visitors may also be interested in the organizational or physical makeup of the company, although the risks of advertising such information must also be weighed, as with all information placed on the web.

The last generic components critical to all web sites are the navigation aides. A site search engine is a navigation aid that allows visitors to enter words to search for on the site. A site map is a hierarchical map of the site that shows how it is laid out, and allows the visitor to click on any portion of the map to go to that portion of the site. Navigation bars, present on most pages throughout the site, typically lead to pages that a visitor to the current page may also find useful. Most pages also include a button somewhere that allows the visitor to return to the home page and start their journey afresh.

All of these components are in place to enable the web site to fulfill its goal. That goal, or “core service,” is the reason the company started the web site. Many companies use their web site to advertise the company’s products. If that were the case, then the home page would clearly state and link to that section of the site. Likewise, the navigation aids would make it easy for visitors to find their way to that section of the site, and the company information pages would frequently refer to and link to the pages that contain the company’s products.

By correctly using the four basic components discussed above – home page, contact information, company information, and navigation aides – a company helps the visitor to make the most of their visit to the company web site.

July 2002, Brian Culp