If you want your vegan business to be successful, then a high-quality, user-friendly website is a non-negotiable. Your website acts as your virtual storefront, and will basically dictate whether or not a potential customer purchases your product or service.
Think of it this way, a store could have the most delicious homemade vegan baked goods, but if the exterior is falling apart and there’s no signage, then you’re not even going to bother going inside.
Your vegan business website is an opportunity to showcase your value and support a vegan economy by providing a truly life-changing product or service to the world.
Building a website, just like choosing the perfect location for a brick-and-mortar business, can be a daunting task. How many pages should you include? What should you put on those pages? How much is too much? If you think about it from a buyers perspective you can identify what it is that you would look for on a businesses website before deciding to purchase.
You can narrow these essentials down to seven different website pages.
The 7 Essential Website Pages
1. Homepage
Website statistics show 80% of people spend 30 seconds or less on a website, so you need to grab the visitors’ attention right away. You’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression, and your homepage is the place to do that. The homepage for your vegan business will provide an impactful snapshot of who you are and what your business does.
On your homepage, less is more. Don’t overdo it with lengthy paragraphs of copy or videos that take forever to load. Remember, you have 30 seconds to make an impression and convince website visitors to stick around. This is your chance to tell people why they should care about your business and how your product or service is going to benefit them.
Some essential elements to include on your home page are:
Headline
Your headline should be simple and to the point. Who are you? A brand tagline or something attention-grabbing works well.
Subheading
A two to three-sentence description about what your product/service is and what you offer.
Big call to action button
Make it easy for website visitors to engage with you from the moment they land on your website. Include a bold, vibrant call to action button above the fold on your homepage. Some call to actions that work great include:
- Get started now
- Find out more
- Shop now
- Sign up here
- Book a complimentary session here
Social proof
Your homepage should include any social proof that you have including who you’ve worked with before and quotes from previous clients or satisfied customers.
Lead magnet
Always include a lead magnet on your homepage so you can capture the email addresses of your visitors and continue to nurture them through email marketing. This could be a product discount/coupon code or downloadable resources.
2. About page
Customers want to see the face behind the products and services they invest in. In order to build trust in what you have to offer, you need to show your potential customers who you are, what inspired you to create this vegan business, and why they should choose you over a competitor.
Having a business in the vegan industry means you’re targeting people who are conscious consumers. Your target buyer cares about the products and services they invest in and their ethical and environmental impact. The vegan community wants to support small businesses like you who they can relate to, and those truly making a difference.
The about page is your chance to tell your story and inspire people to purchase your product because they respect your cause and trust you and the product/service that you’re selling. This is where you describe your core values and the mission you hope to achieve with your product or service.
3. Blog page
A lot of vegan businesses don’t bother with an online blog. It typically falls low on their priority list. But forgoing an onsite blog is a big mistake. Creating content via an onsite blog is the best way to increase organic search traffic and an opportunity to do consistent work on SEO.
Writing blog posts about topics in the vegan niche will help you to build authority with vegan consumers. When people land on your blog and read informative, high-quality blog posts they will trust that you can practice what you preach. On top of that, if you’re providing valuable content then readers are likely to share it, which will increase your reach even further. You can use your blog to show the benefits of using your product/service, interview clients/happy customers, and post brand updates, such as new product launches.
4. Contact page
Many customers will have questions regarding certain products or services before they are ready to purchase, so you must give them a means of contacting you. Your contact page can be very basic, just including the emails for customer service, press enquiries, or collaborations. You may also want to include your business address and map with your physical location and phone number.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to provide all the above information, a simple contact form will do the trick. The main thing is that you need to make it as easy as possible for your website visitors to contact you with any questions or concerns.
5. Online shop page
If you’re selling a physical or digital product then you’ll need to have an online shop page. Your online shop page is where visitors can go to purchase products from your vegan business. The ultimate goal of your website is to have visitors land on this page and make a purchase. This is where you will list all of your products, including high-quality photos, product descriptions, and any reviews that you have. If you offer a range of different products in your online store then you should also recommend products that are frequently bought together. A whopping 31% of average online products sales come from recommended products.
Also, include social media sharing options on all your products. It’s a great way to encourage people to share your products with their network, which is free marketing for you.
6. Services page
If your vegan business is providing services, such as vegan nutrition coaching or vegan digital marketing, then your most important page will be your services page. Your services page will showcase everything you provide to your customers, including all your packages, what they include, and their prices. Some vegan service businesses don’t list prices, and instead, create bespoke packages based on customers’ needs.
Similar to the online shop page, the goal of your website is to get visitors to this page and have them book with you, so make your packages attractive! Regardless, when you’re creating your services page it’s important to get hyper-specific about what is included in your packages, ensuring that it addresses your target customers’ pain points. To build additional authority in your vegan services business, it’s a good idea to include one more page.
7. Portfolio/case study page
If you’re selling a physical product you can include product photos, videos, and tutorials. If you’re selling a service, it’s harder for your potential customers to truly get a feel for what you offer unless you show them.
An online portfolio or case study is perfect for those website visitors who are on the fence about your service and want to know more before making their decision. If you offer graphic design, you can include some examples of logos, banners, and graphics that you’ve created. Or if you’re a vegan personal trainer, you can create a case study that showcases the success your client had when working with you. Including this extra page will help you build trust in your brand and boost your conversions.
Launching a successful vegan business website
You are confident and passionate about your vegan business and know you can provide value. Set yourself up for success by launching your website with all the web pages that you visitors need to make an informed decision about your product or service.
If you’ve got the vision, but not the technical know-how, SHiDO Digital can create a functional and beautiful website for your vegan business. From designing aesthetic web pages to writing engaging copy, we can help you build the foundation for your successful vegan business.
