IA Library · Page pattern · Reasoned, not built
Service page
“Do you do exactly this, what will it cost, and what happens if I go ahead?”
Its action: The site’s main action, for this service (book a boiler service, ask for a survey quote).
RequiredConditional on the briefCommon, not requiredLeft out for this briefYour content
Used by
Why this pattern works4 statements · 0 sourced · 0 untested or unknown
How sure we are
Worked out from research and real briefs. No site has been built from it yet, so treat it as reasoning to check, not a tested template.
What it answers
Its job Turn a general “they do this kind of thing” into “they do my thing, at roughly this price, like this”.
Use it when
- There are several services that differ in price, process or who they suit, and each has enough to say to fill a page.
- Visitors arrive looking for one service by name (“boiler repair”, “conveyancing”, “implants”).
Not when
- One service: it belongs on the home page.
- Services that differ only by name. One services page with a section each says the same with less to maintain.
- One page per service per town with the wording swapped. Google’s spam policy calls city-targeted pages that funnel to one page doorway abuse.
What the research says
- Trades briefs asked for one priced page per job type; adviser briefs for one per need or area of practice.
- No research opened says each service needs its own page. It is web convention, and NN/g pushes both ways: very long pages can be split, but not into tiny ones, and if people need most of the content, show it together.
Common mistakes
- A service page that is a paragraph of adjectives. The page exists to answer price and process.
- Hiding the price on the service page when the business publishes prices elsewhere.
What changes with the brief
| Can you publish prices? Only by quote | The price block becomes “what the quote depends on”, and the action becomes a quote request. |
|---|---|
| How many distinct services or offers? One | No service pages at all: the home page carries the one service. |
| Do clients care which person they get? Yes, they pick or meet a named person | Adds the people who provide this service, with “book with” on each. |