Websites

What a corporate website should include

The essential sections of a corporate website and why each one matters. Common gaps that make visitors leave, and what exactly destroys trust.

A corporate website is usually checked, not read. A person arrives with a specific question — what do you do, roughly what does it cost, how do I reach you, can I trust you — and looks for the answer. Below we look at which sections answer those questions and why leaving them out costs more than it seems.

Services: the main section, and the one done worst

A "Services" page with a ten-line list is the most common mistake. It answers none of the questions: what exactly is included, how the work goes, who it suits, what's needed from the client.

A working setup looks different: an overview page that acts as a navigator, plus a separate page for each service. The overview has a short explanation of each area and links. Each individual page has:

  • What the work includes. A concrete list of stages and deliverables, not "a comprehensive approach".
  • Who it's for. A description of the client's situation in which the service is needed. That description is how a person recognises themselves.
  • How the work goes. The sequence of steps from first contact to handover, including what's required from the client.
  • A pricing guide. At least the pricing model: what the price depends on, what makes a project more expensive. Total silence about money reads as "expensive and unclear".
  • A path to the next step. A form or contact right on the page, not only in the header.

Separate pages are needed for another reason too: each one attracts its own search traffic. A single ten-line list ranks for none of those ten queries. How service areas break down into standalone pages can be seen in the services section.

Contacts: the section broken by small things

Contacts is the most visited page on many corporate websites. What it should have:

  • Phone and email as working links, not an image or text that can't be copied.
  • An address with directions on how to get in if the office is in a business centre or a courtyard.
  • Working hours and time zone, if clients are in different regions.
  • Legal company details — for whoever is preparing the contract.
  • A contact form with an honest description of what happens after sending.
  • Separate addresses or forms for different tasks if requests vary: sales, support, partnerships, vacancies.

The typical failures here are primitive, which makes them all the more annoying. A form that doesn't confirm it was sent. A free-mail address next to a corporate website. A map that loads slowly, with the pin on the house next door. Each of these alone isn't fatal; together they signal a company that doesn't pay attention to detail.

Proof instead of claims

"Individual approach", "a team of professionals", "results-driven" — phrases found on every other website, and therefore meaningless. Trust is built on things that can be checked.

What works:

  1. Work and projects. Not just a logo and a picture, but a description: what the task was, what was done, what constraints came up. Even without figures, it shows you understand the subject.
  2. Attributed testimonials. A testimonial without a name and company is text anyone could have written. Three real ones beat ten anonymous ones.
  3. Documents. Licences, certificates, memberships — where the industry requires them.
  4. People. A team section with real photos and roles. It matters especially in services where the client is buying specific specialists.
  5. Public materials. Articles, breakdowns, talks — they show expertise directly, without claims about it.

If there's nothing to show yet, it's more honest to explain your approach and process than to fill the section with abstractions. Collected work is usually moved into its own section — like the projects page.

About the company: not a biography, but an answer

The "About us" page most often turns into a founding story nobody needs. Visitors come there with the question "who are you, and can I do business with you?"

That's what to answer: what the company does, how many people it has and how it's organised, which industries it works in, how it makes decisions in disputed situations. It helps to state what you don't do — it saves both sides time and is more convincing than a list of everything under the sun.

History is appropriate if it shows why the company can do what it claims. If it doesn't, it's superfluous.

Navigation and structure

A corporate website's navigation solves one problem: from any page, a person should understand where they are and where to go next.

  • The menu reflects the real structure. Items are named the way the client names them, not the way departments are organised inside the company.
  • The menu is short. If there are many items, some move to a second level instead of lining up in a row that doesn't fit on screen.
  • Every page stands on its own. People arrive from search deep into the site, bypassing the home page. A page must explain its context by itself.
  • There's internal linking. From a service page — to related services and relevant work. It helps both people and search engines.
  • Site search is needed when there really are many pages. On a small site it only hides poor navigation.
  • The mobile version is the main one. A significant share of visitors come from phones, and that's where the site should be checked first.

The home page, meanwhile, isn't "the most important" page but a distributing one: it briefly says what you do and routes different types of visitors to the sections they need.

What destroys trust

A list of signs that make people close the tab. Almost all of them are cheap to fix and expensive in consequences.

  • Outdated content. A two-year-old news item shown as the latest, a past event in the announcements, a vacancy for a filled position.
  • Broken links and empty sections. A menu item leading to "page under construction" is worse than no item at all.
  • Stock photos of people. Smiling strangers in ties are recognised instantly and work against you.
  • Missing or invalid HTTPS. A browser warning settles the trust question in one screen.
  • Slow loading. Most often caused by unprocessed images at their original size.
  • Silence after a request. The form was sent, and there's no response either on screen or by email. The person assumes the request got lost and leaves.
  • Contradictions. Different phone numbers in the header and on the contacts page, different company names in different places.

Pre-launch checklist

Go through the site as an unfamiliar visitor and check:

  1. Within a minute on the home page, it's clear what the company does and who needs it.
  2. Every service has its own page with the scope of work, the sequence of steps and a way to get in touch.
  3. On the contacts page, phone and email are clickable, the address is accurate, company details are in place.
  4. The form confirms submission on screen and by email, and requests actually reach the person responsible.
  5. There's at least one section with verifiable proof — work, attributed testimonials, documents.
  6. There are no empty sections, broken links or materials with outdated dates.
  7. The site opens over HTTPS, loads fast and looks fine on a phone.
  8. All contact details and the company name match everywhere.

If these points are covered, the site is doing its job. If not, start with services and contacts: they give the biggest effect for the least effort. You can work out a structure for your situation here.