Whether you’re building your first website or you’ve decided on a redesign, you may be wondering how many pages it should have. This is a common question asked by business owners, with many concerned they have either not enough or too many. Read on to find out how many pages should a website have.
How many pages does my website need?
When considering how many pages should a website have, you need to take into account your two audiences: your human visitors and the search engines. Whilst human visitors prefer a website that’s simple and easy to use, search engines love content and want as much of it as possible. High-quality content makes them take notice of your site. Five or six pages isn’t enough as far as Google is concerned, with many more required to show them that you are a trusted authority in your field.
Will more pages lead to better SEO results?
In general, websites that have more pages rank better than those with only a few pages. However, it’s important to focus on producing high-quality content rather than simply churning out large volumes of content every month. The content you produce must be compelling, engaging, and of value to your visitors. There’s no point in adding hundreds of pages if they don’t provide valuable information.
Low-value pages with poor or too little content won’t rank well in the long run. In fact, they may even devalue your site’s reputation as an expert in your field if your visitors are continually bouncing off of your pages. So, yes, having more pages can lead to better SEO results, but only if they are accompanied by quality content that has value for your customers.
Is too many pages bad for SEO?
Google is unlikely to actively decrease your authority simply due to having many pages on your website. Having said this, if you have given them a reason to think you’re trying to manipulate the system by adding poor quality content or spamming with bad links, they will act accordingly and your rankings will suffer.
Adding many pages for no real reason could be viewed as spammy. Of course, if your pages feature high-quality content, this is likely to have the opposite effect and you won’t need to worry about having too many pages.
What pages should my website have?
The pages you should have on your website will vary according to the nature and size of your business. However, some typical core pages that you might want to add include:
Homepage
About Us
Services/Products
Events
Photo Gallery
Testimonials
Contact Us
Naturally, these are just a few that could be added to your website. There are many more possible pages depending on your business and what you offer. Whilst these pages are very helpful for your human visitors, the search engines will generally be looking for more. They need more information to help them decide where your website should rank in the SERPs.
You could add several other pages to your website, including:
Sub-categories for your Services page
Why Choose Us?
Blog/News
From an SEO perspective, a blog or news section can be very useful. Uploading articles regularly allows you to add fresh, relevant content that’s full of the keywords and phrases that your business wants to rank highly for. Google will prioritise it in its rankings, giving your site greater visibility.
How to write quality content
Now that we’ve established that adding pages to your website is only a good idea if they showcase quality content, it’s time to start thinking about what that really means. What makes content “quality”? Before adding a page, you need to ensure that it not only includes the keywords that you want to target for SEO, but that it is written with the reader in mind. The content needs to be relevant to your brand and industry and provide valuable information that your target customers are looking for.
Your content needs to be detailed too, giving a thorough insight into a topic. You can’t simply add a page with a few sentences and expect it to rank well. This is because Google won’t view the page as an authority source. Another factor to consider when writing content for the pages on your site is readability. The content needs to be easy to understand for your visitors. If the content is easy to consume and digest, your audience will be more likely to keep reading.
How long should webpage content be?
Many people also wonder how long content should be. The truth is there’s no ideal length for webpage content. Quality is more important than content, for both human visitors and search engines. Focus on producing meaningful, engaging content rather than the length. In general, longer pieces of content do tend to rank better with Google since they tend to be more detailed, with more keywords. However, content doesn’t need to be long-form. Adding a mix of both long and short might help with your website’s overall rank.
Professional website design in Doncaster
Knowing how many pages should a website have can be tough. That’s why it makes sense to work with an experienced web designer who has expert knowledge in this area. jask Media provides professional website design in Doncaster and the surrounding areas. We can work with you closely to design a website that reflects your business’s needs and objectives now and in the future. We provide a free consultation for anyone interested in using our services. This gives us a chance to discuss your web design project and for you to find out more about how we can assist you.
Contact us
For professional website design in Doncaster, contact jask Media. We’ve been designing websites for businesses of all sizes for several years, helping them to grow and succeed online. Call us on 01302 969019 to discuss your web design project with one of the team. Alternatively, send us a message via our website and we’ll contact you as soon as we can.