A visitor on a service page is asking one thing: can you solve my problem, and what happens if I ask? Many pages answer a different question, which is "who are we?", and spend the first screen on history, values and a stock photo of a handshake.

A good service page behaves like the first five minutes of a conversation with a sensible person. It answers the questions a buyer has, in the order they have them, and it makes the next step easy. This guide lists those questions and shows how to answer each one.

The questions

  1. What is this, in plain words?
  2. Is it for someone like me?
  3. What will I get?
  4. How does it work, and how long does it take?
  5. What does it cost, or how is the price decided?
  6. Why should I trust you?
  7. What do I do next?

Build the page in that order. Each section below answers one question.

1. Say what it is and who it is for

Open with a headline that names the thing, and a line underneath that names the audience. Then show the main action.

  • Weak: "Innovative solutions for the modern business."
  • Stronger: "Monthly bookkeeping for sole traders, with one fixed fee."

The weak version could be about anything. The stronger one lets the right visitor recognise themselves and lets the wrong one leave quickly, which is a kindness to both sides. (The example is invented.)

2. Say who it is not for

A short list of situations where the service fits is useful. A line about where it does not fit is better. "If you need ongoing hosting, we can point you to options, but we do not provide it" saves a wasted call and makes everything else on the page easier to believe.

3. List what they get

Replace adjectives with deliverables. "A comprehensive review" tells the buyer nothing. "A written report of the ten most important problems, ranked, with a suggested fix for each" tells them exactly what arrives. For each service, state:

  • what is included, and in what form;
  • what is not included;
  • how many rounds of changes are part of the price;
  • what you need from the client, such as content, access or decisions.

4. Show how it works

Three to five steps, from first message to finished work, with the rough time each takes. Say who does what and when the client's input is needed. A simple sequence such as "Brief, plan, build, review, handover" is enough if each step explains what happens in it.

5. Deal with price honestly

Buyers who cannot find any sense of cost often assume the worst. If you can publish prices, do. If you cannot, explain how the price is set, what moves it up or down, and how quickly a quote follows an enquiry. What to put on a pricing page covers the options in detail.

6. Offer proof you can stand behind

Use only evidence that is real: finished work, a short description of a project and what changed, a quote from a client who agreed to it, figures you can back up. If you are new and have little of this, show your method, a sample deliverable or a worked example instead. Invented logos, vague "trusted by" claims and made-up testimonials do more harm than having no proof at all.

7. Answer the objections

End the page with four to six real questions, taken from the emails and calls you actually receive. Typical ones: how long does it take, what if I am not sure what I need, can you work with what I already have, what do you need from me, and what happens after the work is finished.

8. Give one next step

Pick a single main action, such as a short enquiry form or a booking link, and repeat it at the points where a reader is likely to be ready. Say what happens after they click. "We reply within two working days" is helpful if it is true, and harmful if it is not.

Write in the buyer's words

  • Copy phrases from real enquiries. The words customers use are the words they search for.
  • Keep one idea to a paragraph and most sentences under 25 words.
  • Prefer a plain label such as "What you get" to a clever heading.
  • Use numbers where you have true ones, and leave out superlatives.
  • Read the page aloud. Anything you would not say to a customer should not be on the page.

How service pages usually fail

  • They start with the company's history instead of the customer's problem.
  • They list services the business rarely sells.
  • They put several different services on one page with no structure.
  • They hide the price and the process.
  • They offer five different actions, so none stands out.
  • They use stock photos that say nothing, where real work would say a lot.

A review checklist

Before you publish, ask a colleague who does not know the business to read the page for a minute. Then check that they can tell you what you do, who it is for, what they would receive, roughly what it costs or how that is decided, and what to do next. If they cannot answer one of those, that section needs rewriting.