5 Simple Things Every Website Needs
Having an online presence is absolutely essential for businesses nowadays. In fact, potential customers often expect to be able to look to your website to establish several important decision making factors. For one, they want to see if you actually exist! Also, they likely want to know if you are credible and can help them with what they need or want. And of course, they want to see if you are trustworthy and have provided quality products or services to other customers. Often, if they can’t find this type of information by searching for your business online, they will move on to your competition.
Remember, Your Website is Like An Employee That Never Takes a Break
Not only does your website serve potential customers, but it also helps keep existing customers coming back! For instance, they want to see what is new and exciting at your business. Or, maybe they lost your phone number, and need to reach back out. There are SO many ways that people interact with your website, it’s hard to list them all here!
What Your Website Needs to Work For You!
You don’t want your website to push potential customers to your competition, but rather to draw them in! In today’s world, ANYONE can create a website, but not everyone knows exactly what type of information and content to include. If the purpose of your website is to find new customers, and drive more revenue to your business, take some time to make sure that your website has at least the following things:
1.) A clear description of WHO you are and WHAT you do.
In today’s crowded online world, if a visitor cannot see who you are (type of business) and what you do in a matter of a few short seconds, there’s a high likelihood that they will drift on to the next option that came up in their search results. The first thing that people see on your website should be a clear description of your business. Also, it should tell visitors how you can help them.
2.) A Professional and Modern Design
People have a tendency to judge the credibility and professionalism of a business based on their website. Lets say you had your website designed 2 to 4 years ago. Without any stylistic updates, your website likely appears dated. You can think of like having your #1 customer facing employee arrive to business event wearing a stained t-shirt and stovepipe jeans (this was even sloppy dress in the mid 90’s!)
3.) A Mobile Friendly Design and Experience.
Not all websites automatically adjust to be viewed properly on a tablet or smartphone. A mobile friendly website is becoming more important. This is because more internet users are browsing the internet (and making purchases!) from a mobile device. Take a look at your site from different screen sizes. The great thing is there are even tools online that you can use to see just how your website will look on different types of mobile devices. Trust us, it’s worth the 5 minutes to take a peak!
4.) Clear CTAs – A CTA is a “Call To Action.”
In other words, basically asking your visitors to do what you want them to while browsing your website. For instance, do you want your visitors to schedule an appointment with you? If you don’t have anything on your website that is clearly asking them to do so, they may not. Simply having a banner and a button asking your visitors to “SCHEDULE NOW” can make a huge difference in their experience and your conversion rate.
5.) High Quality Content.
As we mentioned above, people who visit your website are very likely trying to decide if you are credible and can be trusted. They either need your help with a problem, so you have to show some authority, or they want to buy something from you, so they need to trust you! Featuring high quality content on your website can establish credibility, authority and trust with your website visitors. High quality content comes in the form of website copy, blog articles, product descriptions and imagery, etc. Remember how hard essay writing was in school? Writing what people want or need to hear isn’t easy! In fact, most of our website design clients end up taking on copywriting services as well.
As we said before, ANYONE can create a website nowadays! There’s tons of DIY platforms available to you and your business. I’m sure you can relate that there are lots of websites out there that just don’t hit the mark. You’re looking for someone to help you with a problem, or something that you need, and 3 out of 5 of the websites you visited just weren’t up to par, so you went another direction. Remember, Your website is like an employee that is representing you 24 hours a day 365 days a year, so it’s not something to skimp on.
We Can Help With Your Website Needs!
If you’re ready to take your business online, or your existing website needs some improvement, get in touch with us! We can set up a FREE discovery call to help you determine if going it alone may work for you, or if making an investment in your business website will be the step you need to take to reach your goals.