Basic content elements of a website

There are some basic content elements that can be found on websites. This list is by no means exhaustive. Nor does it make sense to assess all of them, but it is important to weigh up exactly which elements help to achieve the goals most quickly and efficiently.

Text and image. The core of most pages. The creation of high-quality text should not be underestimated. Text also needs to be “maintained” because, depending on the content, it becomes outdated over time, which leaves an amateurish impression. Therefore, the more content there is, the more effort is required for maintenance.

Contact form. These forms usually consist of a field for the name, e-mail address and message. It is not useful to enter your street address, telephone number and date of birth as mandatory fields. This often leads to the visitor not filling out the form and thus a potential contact not being established.

Video. It has become a success story at the latest since YouTube and broadband connections. However, this content is also outdated. Maintenance is more complex here, as in most cases you are dependent on an agency to create the video.

Search. A search can be used as a central and extremely efficient navigation element for large pages. However, if the page only consists of 5 pages, a search makes little sense and looks rather ridiculous.

Comments function. The modern letter to the editor. Comments can be a very effective way of finding out what customers like.

Guestbook. In the 90s there was no site without a guestbook. Today, these have largely disappeared.

Google Maps. Google’s map service is extremely popular and can be easily embedded in your own website to visualize locations. It is also possible to build entire services around Google Maps.

Picture galleries. Picture galleries come in all shapes and colors and can be used for all kinds of purposes: The company outing, presenting products or exhibiting work done.

Social Media Buttons. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and what they are all called. Many pages are adorned with corresponding instructions to like or share the page. Only makes sense if content is also written regularly (e.g. in a blog)

Newsletter. Among other things, you can make the newsletter archive accessible on the website or find new subscribers. Newsletters also allow customers to be influenced far beyond their visit to the website.

Voting. These are usually small widgets where you can let your visitors vote on a topic.

With a good CMS (such as Kirby CMS), these elements can be mapped.