The website for your company, business, and brand is commonly going to be people’s first impression of you. With a smartphone in the hands of most of the world, it is more than likely people are going to know you exist because of the internet. Your website becomes the “spokesperson” for your brand. It is so important that it is something that needs to be well thought out and planned.
Building a successful website is a science and an art all rolled into one. There is a lot that needs to be considered and included in your website to make sure that it helps to bolster your success. The proper research is required during your process of creating your online presence. One helpful way to gather your thoughts and refocus your design goals can be to look at website inspiration in order to collect ideas. From artistic to technical, every piece of your website needs to serve a purpose.
5 Important Features of Your Website
Information about web development is easily accessible and out there for the taking. Because of the importance of a company’s website, people have done research to figure out what succeeds to draw in clients. For instance, Marketing Insider Group put out a great blog post about the most important things to include in a website.
Here are five important features your website must have:
The Name
The name of your website is the thing that people are going to remember. This is going to be what they share with their friends when they tell them to go and see what you have to offer. It needs to be short, sweet, memorable, and to the point.
It has also been shown that domain names that end in .com are more successful than those that end in .co, .net, or .org.
All the Necessary Contact Info
You have probably come across those websites whose contact information seems sketchy or is hard to find. This is a major red flag. Clients, and potential clients, want to know that they can contact you whenever they need to.
Contact information may be more than just phone number, email, and address. It can also include all of your social media accounts and the hours of operation for your brick-and-mortar locations.
Easy to Use
Responsiveness and navigability are important features for users. People are creatures of instant gratification, and they want to be able to find what they need and find it quickly. They want to be able to locate the navigation bar at the top of the page, find the page they need and want that page to load quickly.
Part of this is also making sure that your website is also mobile-friendly because so many people are using their tablets and smartphones to do everything.
Content, Content, Content
Anyone who has done any sort of business on the internet has heard the saying, “Content is king.” The content on your site needs to be informative and on-point. According to Marketing Insider Group, “Google favors pages with longer content that shows you as an expert in your field.”
Infographics and great visuals are important too. These images can stick with people. You will also want to make sure that the images are as small as possible so that your site loads as quickly as possible.
Customer Reviews
Before the internet, word of mouth was the most important form of advertisement. Customer reviews and testimonials are the new age forms of word of mouth. These help to gain the trust of a potential client. They show that you are legit and can generate satisfied, happy customers.
Remember, issues and mistakes are bound to arise. It is a show of honesty to allow customers to testify to how you dealt with and corrected an issue they had.
Website Inspiration
Now that you understand what features your website needs, it is time to go out and find your inspiration. Whether it is found by checking out different web design templates or sites that have already launched, looking for inspiration is a great way to see what is working for other successful sites. Try to look for successful sites within a similar category as your brand’s niche. This way you can see what is working for other businesses like yours and possibly implement this strategy.
Being successful on the internet will require some work and research, but it is something that anyone can do. If you understand what it is that you need to do, you can make it happen. The most important thing that you can do is to make sure that your website represents your business and what you are all about.
Remember, first impressions are so important, and you only get one chance at them. So you should take your time to make sure that your website is exactly what you need it to be. Don’t rush it. It is an important step in the direction of success for your business.
