Basic Website Sections

Content structures of contemporary websites

There are certain pages or divisions of information that commonly appear on most websites. These areas of data in a website’s structure are considered instrumental in developing a framework for the content. They tend to follow a pattern, across today’s internet, that has proven effective for most types of websites. Presenting a logical organization of your website content will improve visitor interaction and increase the number of those who will return. The following synopsis covers the basic structural elements that make up an effective website.

Home Page

This page should provide a concise introduction to the substance of your website. Your website homepage is the front door to your site. Here you should introduce the theme of your site, provide links to your main content areas and begin to develop your message. Therefore, the homepage of your website must achieve these three main objectives;

Introduce your website theme

Website theme refers to the use of graphic elements, color scheme and the method of presenting the material that makes up your website content. The look and feel of your homepage goes a long way in gaining credibility with the people who visit your site. Clean, simple and subdued graphics with subtile color choices are most effective because they convey an appearance of professionalism which translates into a sense of dependability.

Link to the main sections of your website content

Your homepage should only provide links to the main subject areas of your website. Break your website content into manageable blocks of information, which can be easily classified, and point to them from your homepage. By doing this you are directing your guests to delve deeper into your site and stay awhile. Also, having too many links on your homepage will only act to confuse visitors and muddy up your message.

Begin to develop your central message

Once you have established your website goals it is necessary that you communicate those objectives to your audience. Begin to develop your central message or mission statement on your homepage. Here you should introduce your visitors to the central purpose of your website. Lead them deeper into your content with poignant and intriguing copy. Keep it brief and full of enticing hooks to the deeper sections of your site.

Content Main Sections

Your website main sections should cover the primary topics and subject areas of the information you are presenting in your content. Breaking down your website content into chunks of related data facilitates understanding and the logical progression of thought on the part of your visitors.

Too much information, all at once, causes confusion and lack of orientation in your audience’s mind. By providing links to these introductory pages you are creating clear pathways into a deeper and more involved discussion of a particular subject.

Content Subsections

The subsections are where the body and core substance of your website resides. These webpages are composed of all of the data that supports your content main sections or topic areas. The bulk of a website is in it’s subsections where supporting text and graphics are stored for retrieval.

Consider these webpages to be your money pages. When a person drills down this deeply into your content they are very interested in what you are saying. These are not casual guests they are buying customers. Either they are buying into your message or they are ready to buy whatever product you are selling.

Sitemap

Provide links from all of your webpages to a sitemap or directory page. Ideally this page should provide direct links to every page on your website and serve as an index or directory tree for your website content. If you find this to be impossible then at least link to your website main sections and pertinent subsections.

This is only the most common type of website structure for you to consider. Your situation might be unique and call for a different style of website basic layout. Tailor your website to suit your needs but always remember that it must satisfy the informational requirements of your audience. Organization is the key to making this happen.