Let’s talk about secret website pages! When you’re making a website page wishlist, the first ones that come to mind are probably the obvious must-haves that neatly fit into your strategic client journey. I’m talking about the heavy-hitting marketing pages: the homepage, about page, services page, and contact form. Bonus points if you add a blog to build up that content library and increase organic site traffic!
Four pages you never knew your website needed – but totally does!
I’m willing to bet there are a handful of equally essential website pages you haven’t thought about…and those pages are pretty dang important (in my professional opinion!) These secret pages aren’t usually part of the main client journey on a site, and that’s why so many people overlook them entirely. These are the pages that will take your client experience to the next level, build better brand marketing, and generate better SEO & analytics for your site.
In fact, I think these pages are such a crucial part of each website that I’ve included them with my Launch Week templates as a “secret page” bundle. These four templates are the hardworking, behind-the-scenes pages you never knew your website needed!
Thank You page
By the time someone fills out a contact form on your site, they’ve made it all the way to the endpoint of the client journey you’ve planned (congrats! 🎉). Once that form is submitted, you could just display a generic “thank you” message, but that’s a teensy bit anti-climactic. On the other hand, a custom thank you page is a way to go the extra mile for clients and keep them engaged with your brand.
Your custom page could include:
- Detailed instructions on what the client can expect next.
- Recommendations for other useful pages on your site.
- Links to interact with your brand on social media.
And from the techy side of things, by sending people to a dedicated page, you’re going to get super-useful analytics. The only traffic going to the thank you page is from people your website *actually* converted, so you’ll get a detailed count of your site’s conversion rate (cool, right?!)
Here are a few of our fave. Thank You Page examples from past clients:
404 page
It’s almost inevitable that, at some point, a site visitor will try to navigate to a page that doesn’t exist on your site. When that happens, a generic 404 error page will pop up to let them know they’ve strayed off the beaten path. The problem is that your run-of-the-mill 404 page isn’t that aesthetically pleasing (and it sure doesn’t look like the rest of your site.)
A custom 404 is a page that displays whenever someone tries to go to a page that doesn’t exist on your site (I know, it’s kind of a paradox! 😂) If visitors run up against a site error, instead of seeing a regular, boring 404 page, they’ll be redirected to a page that looks like the rest of your site and steer them back to working pages. Plus, you can use the analytics from this page to pinpoint potential problems on your site!
Ultimately, this is the perfect opportunity to turn a negative user experience (not being able to find a page) to a positive user experience (being redirected in a lighthearted way). Bring in some brand personality-driven copy and funny gifs to creatively say, “Uh oh, this page doesn’t exist! Here’s what you can do next…” Have some fun with it!
Here are a few of our favorites 404 examples from past clients:
Instagram links page
By now, you’ve probably already noticed that you only get to add ONE link to your Instagram profile. Of course, picking which link goes in that space can be hard, especially since you can send people straight into whichever funnel you like (hello, huge marketing opportunity!). That’s where a service link Linktree comes in: you build a mobile link page in their service, so you don’t have to choose just one link to share. You can list all of your relevant links on that mobile page, then put the link to that page in your bio. Yep, it’s pretty convenient.
The main problem is that link in your Instagram bio drives valuable traffic, and you’re giving it all away to a third-party site! Instead, use a custom Instagram links page that is hosted on your own domain. It will blend seamlessly with the rest of your branding, and all that traffic will raise your SEO ranking.
Here are a few of our favorite Links Page examples from past clients:
Resource Page
You know how entrepreneurs and clients are always chatting about the best tools for small business owners? Visitors to your website are curious about that, too! A Resource page is a corner of your website where you can share your branded freebies, favorite tools you’re recommending on repeat, and the services you rely on to run your business.
It’s also a convenient place to compile all of your affiliate links, so you can get a commission each time someone makes a purchase based on your advice. My clients love being able to send out one link each time someone asks for recommendations!
Here are a few of our favorite Resource page examples from past clients:
Do you have any “secret” pages on your website?
Adding these four additional pages to your site will elevate your site’s user experience, keep visitors engaged with your brand, and provide insightful analytics. You’ll even see a boost in your SEO!
The Secret Page bundle is included with my Launch Week service, where you can get the strategy-driven site of your dreams in just one week. Book your Launch Week now!
