Fleshing out a website can be a bit daunting, especially if you’re an alcohol brand. In this guide, we dive right into the pages your website needs in order to be successful. We’ve also included some simple best practices and examples to help you find the inspiration you need to make your alcohol brand website the best it can be.

What Pages Does Your Alcohol Website Need?

When building a website for your alcohol brand, these are the pages you absolutely need to include to give potential customers the information they’re looking for.

• Homepage
• About Page
• Product Category & Product Page
• Product Locator
• Blog
• FAQ
• Contact
• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Sitemap

Even the most simplistic, minimalist website should include these pages. See below to find out why each of these pages are important.

‍

1. Homepage

The homepage is one of the most important pages of a website. A homepage serves as the proverbial front door to your virtual brand headquarters, and since first impressions are key, you want to put your best foot forward. Your homepage can be as simple or complex as you like, but every homepage should include these elements:

• Header - A header should be attention-grabbing and relevant to your brand or business. 
• Subheader - The subheader should supplement your header and offer a more in-depth explanation of your business. 
• Primary Call to Action - What is the main action you want customers to take when visiting your website? Position that CTA high up on your homepage to encourage customers to take that desired action.
• Visuals - Striking photos and videos go a long way in attracting and keeping the attention of visitors to your website. Make sure these visuals are high-quality and high-resolution (without slowing down your website).
• Social Proof or Reviews - User-generated content in the form of product reviews helps boost your brand credibility. Use a widget like Embed Social to embed reviews from various sources directly on your home page.
• Credentials and Awards - Show off your brand accolades on your homepage! These credentials will also help boost your credibility and prestige in the eyes of your customers. 
• Secondary Call to Action - First-time site visitors aren’t always ready to make a purchase. A secondary call to action on your homepage is helpful to increase conversions in a variety of different ways, from email newsletter subscriptions to further exploration of product offerings.
• Navigation - Site visitors need to have access to the other pages on your site! Be sure to include a navigation menu at the top of the page that allows users to jump to any page they want on your website. 

Premium cocktail mixer brand Betty Buzz does a fantastic job with these homepage elements. Take a look.

‍

2. About

The about page is where you can really introduce your brand to potential customers. Buyers are more intent than ever on getting to know the businesses they shop from, so let them know who you are as a company. 

Include these points on your About page to help customers get to know your brand:

• Company History - Tell everyone how the company was started, what need you wanted to meet, and what it took to get the business to this point. 
• Mission and Values - Explain what makes your business different from the competition and how your values play a part in day-to-day operations.
• Team - If you operate with a small team, showcase them with photos and short biographies. With larger companies, this gets a little complicated. In this case, feature the owner or CEO to add a personal touch to your About page without cluttering it too much.

Learn more: How to Make a Memorable About Page That Converts

‍

3. Product Category & Product Pages

Your products are the business–so give them a place to shine! On the Product category page, feature all your available products so your customers can find out more about your offerings. If you carry a wide selection of products, consider splitting the products into multiple categories that customers can click into to view that grouping of products.

When users click into the product pages, be sure to include a brief description of each product, like caloric information, ingredients, and ABV if your product is alcoholic. You can also feature tasting notes, pairing suggestions, and more to add more flavor to the copy. 

For many alcohol brands, the Products page doubles as an e-commerce page where customers can purchase your products from. Make this process straightforward, with a prominent Add to Cart button and relevant shipping information easily accessible. Be sure to provide a link for customers interested in buying your product if you don’t sell directly on your website.

[yellow tail] does a great job of categorizing and displaying all their available wines. Customers can click on the wine they’re interested in to read more about the product and find out where to buy it.

Learn more: 9 Must-Have E-Commerce Website Features [+ Bonus Tools]

‍

4. Product Locator

Even if you sell directly through your website, you should still have a product locator accessible to your customers. Product locators help customers find your product in the moment rather than wait for the product to ship. It also strengthens the partnership between your brand and the retailers that carry your product. 

Here at Grappos, we’re proud to provide the best store and product locator for alcohol brands. Our team helps you integrate and customize the product locator on your website so that it blends seamlessly with the rest of your site design. Additionally, our team manages the tool in its entirety, from data to updates, so you don’t have to worry about learning new software.

Check out how FitVine Wines uses the Grappos Store Locator on their website.

‍Request a Grappos Product Locator demo →

‍

5. Contact

Though you should include at least one method of contact in the footer of your website, you should also have a dedicated Contact page. If customers have a question that isn’t answered on your website, they need a way to reach out and have that question answered by your team. If you have a brick-and-mortar location, such as a brewery or tasting room, you might want this page to double as your location and hours page. 

This page doesn’t need to be overly complicated. A few lines of copy and branding should do the trick. Take a look at 13 Stripes Brewery’s simple but effective Contact page.

‍

6. Blog

A blog is a perfect way to generate traffic through high-quality content. If you want to grow the e-commerce side of your business, starting a brand blog is a must. For alcohol brands, there are many ways to go about creating content for your blog, though it will depend largely on the products you sell and your brand mission.

Your blog is also a great place to share company news, such as new product releases, as well as any good press your business receives.

The McBride Sisters Wine blog is a great example of a brand blog done right. Their mission is to be as inclusive, accessible, socially aware, and sustainable as possible in an industry largely dominated by tradition. The McBride Sisters blog is full of female empowerment, supporting black-owned businesses and creators, the part wine plays in the history of persons of color, and more. 

‍

7. Frequently Asked Questions

A page for frequently asked questions will save you a great deal of time and will provide information conveniently to your customers. On the FAQ page, include the most common questions your brand gets asked as well as other information you want your customers to know. You can keep the answers dry and formal or permeate them with your brand’s personality. 

Take a leaf out of Free Spirits’ FAQ book.

Learn more: How to Create an Effective FAQ Page for Your Brand

‍

8. Terms & Conditions

A Terms & Conditions page explains the rules of engagement users must agree to when using your site. These pages include a great deal of information and legal jargon, but they’re necessary to have in order to protect the rights of both your business and your customers. E-commerce platforms like Shopify provide tools that generate terms and conditions for businesses so you don’t have to write up one from scratch–unless you really want to.

‍

9. Privacy Policy

Concern for data privacy is at the forefront of many consumer’s minds. A Privacy Policy page shows potential customers that you take their privacy seriously and demonstrates transparency with how you’ll use the information they give you. Many countries and U.S. states also require a Privacy Policy statement somewhere on your website, so it’s all around a best practice to have a page dedicated to this information.

On a Privacy Policy page, you should include the following information:

• A list describing what information you collect from site visitors
• Where and how you find that information
• The reason you collect this information
• How the information is collected and how it is stored
• Who else has access to it and whether it will be shared or sold
• The rights that users have over their data
• How users can use those rights
• Your company’s contact information
• Your website’s cookie policy 
• How users can access and delete their stored data

‍

10. Sitemap

A dedicated Sitemap page will help users easily navigate your website. In general, a sitemap is a simple organized list of all the pages on your website. If you have a fairly simple website with only a handful of pages, a sitemap in your footer should suffice. However, if your website includes dozens and dozens of pages, a dedicated Sitemap page will be beneficial.

Note: There are XML sitemaps and HTML sitemaps which are distinctly different from one another. An XML sitemap is necessary for search engines to crawl and index your website. An HTML sitemap, which we’re referencing here, is meant for actual site visitors as a way for them to navigate your website.

‍Bespoken Spirits has a very clean sitemap section in their website’s footer.

‍

Conclusion

Your website is your best salesman and most powerful marketing tool. Be sure to invest the time and energy into making your website the best it can be. You’ll see a quick return on investment by implementing these best practices and tips on your alcohol brand website.

You might also like:

• The Top 10 Best Brewery Websites that Influence & Inspire
• 5 of the Best Winery Websites [+ Best Practices]
• How to Increase Brand Awareness (Strategies & Tools)