Well structured websites provide entrepreneurs means of connecting with and engaging prospective customers and serves as excellent marketing platforms. Moreover, websites act as an extension of your staff that is available around the clock to your target audience and that too in the comfort of their own homes. So how you we use this super-significant platform to elevate our brands to prominence and drive company growth? Here we have compiled 10 crucial elements that every website should have:
1. Logical Website Navigation
An essential component for websites is a user-friendly navigation. Your website can offer the best products / services; however, that would be no good if visitors cannot locate them. So how do you ensure breezy website navigation? Make sure you view your company’s products or services from the sight and mind of your customers. Your website should be simple and logically organized, moreover, an omnipresent search and navigation should be placed on top of all your web pages. The navigation should include links to all the key pages of your website and should dig deep into vertical topics.
2. Web Design
Attractive web design is as important for websites as attractive merchandising is for retail outlets. Once visitors connect to your website they take around 50 milliseconds to decide whether or not they want to stay on. Hence, your website’s visual appeal should be meticulous. Moreover, it should be perfectly in line with your branding strategy so that the instant that a visitor lands on your website; they know what your company is all about.
Another consideration with respect to we design is usability. Ensure that your website is user-friendly and offers a superior user-experience. The good thing about web design is that the sky is your limit, you can research about your customers’ preferences and then use innovative techniques such as captivating imagery, rich animations, humorous micro interactions, hidden menus, typography, etc. to bring about the perfect user-experience.
3. Responsive Design
The number of mobile phone users has superseded the number of PC users, moreover, in the days to come to the internet will be accessible via larger devices such as TVs, hence, in order to capitalize on these growing market segments, it is essential that websites be completely responsive towards all types of devices.
4. Content is Key
Website content serves several purposes; it presents crucial details about your company, it’s product and services to visitors and determines search visibility. Here is how you can use content to convert visitors into customers:
- Define your company objectives and branding strategy and ensure that any content that is published on your website is perfectly in line with these objectives and strategies.
- A well-structured website is only as good as the number of eyes it catches, hence, business owners should lay dire focus on placing web content that thoroughly searches engine optimized because it will enable your website to appear higher on online search engines.
- Use concise statements to gain the attention of your audience. Be sure to include information about all the features of your offerings in easily understandable terms.
5. Call to Action
Equip your website with necessary Call to Action or CTA statements. These statements guide visitors towards actions that you wish for them to perform such as making online purchases, availing discounts, subscribing to your newsletter or promotional emails, etc.
6. Testimonials
One of the most recent must-haves for websites is a testimonial section where companies display remarks of satisfied customers. This feature serves brilliantly to add credibility to your website and makes new customers feel much more comfortable and informed while making purchases.
A good practice is to place testimonials right on the website’s home page. However, there should also be a page dedicated for customers’ testimonials. Important information about the customers whose testimonials are published should also be inculcated as well such as name, location, photograph, etc. These will bring additional credibility and make it easier for potential customers to connect to their statements.
7. An Opt-In Offer
An opt-in offer includes a request made by your website to incoming visitors to sign up for a free newsletter or promotional emails. This way even if visitors do not make purchases you can still attain their contact information and continue to remain connected with them.
8. Story Telling
These days, customers need to feel connected to your brand in order to remain loyal. Hence, it is essential that websites use their About Us sections to present the story behind their brand to customers. Doing so will add a personal touch to the website and will make a lasting impression on your visitors.
9. FAQs Section
In this hyper-competitive landscape, companies can simply not afford to keep customers guessing. Moreover, many a times products and services are associated with queries that usually arise in the minds of customers. Hence, companies should ensure that they have a dedicated page for Frequently Asked Questions in which they cover all the bare essentials about their brand, website, product(s) and/ or service(s).
10. Contact Information
In order to establish the credibility of your company; it is absolutely essential to include detailed contact information prominently on your website. A good strategy is to include a link to your Contact Us page below the footer and ensure that it is present across your website.
