I know it, you know it, even your dog knows it… having a website is a great way to market your business. It can reach a far wider audience than conventional forms of advertising, and it can also be accessed at any time – it’s literally a salesperson for your business 24/7. Investing in creating a good-looking and modern website will help to engage customers and, more importantly, sustain their interest. Just as physical stores need to be inviting and look good, so does your online presence!Â
You can use your website to inform customers about your products or services, and to provide details such as prices and availability. Furthermore, customers will be able to make more informed decisions with useful information such as customer reviews and ratings, as well as descriptions of the product or service. This will add value to your business and increase conversions from website visitors.Â
Let’s have a look at the four must-have items that your website needs to be a raging success.
Must Have #1: Clear and simple navigation
Creating a clear and simple navigation bar is the key to ensuring people don’t get lost or confused whilst on your website. Having this nailed will keep more people on your website and for longer. To begin, you’ll want to decide on the types of pages you’d like to display on your navigational menu. Think about the most important categories to your visitors and be sure to have them included in your navigation. Typically, this is the services that you will offer plus some other important pages such as About Us and Contact Us. With just a few changes, you can create a navigation bar that will provide your users with a seamless website experience.
Hot Tip: Only use your most important pages in the top navigation section. You can build any less important pages into the footer at the bottom.
Must Have #2: Strong calls to action
Having strong calls to action (CTAs) on your website is essential for success! CTAs are the perfect way to engage visitors, driving them towards conversions and boosting sales. A CTAs primary role is to direct the reader on what you want them to do next. Do you want them to fill in a form, call a phone number, download a link? This is what your CTA should do.Â
When used correctly, calls to action allow you to guide visitors as they complete the journey through your website, from awareness to action. Ultimately, a successful call to action strategy turns visitors into customers! Whether it’s suggesting an action to take, or providing further information, CTAs should be able to grab the user’s attention and make the interaction easy to understand.Â
Hot Tip: Add your phone number to the top of the website so it’s just a click away at any moment.
Must Have #3: Contact forms
A well-designed contact form can also go a long way in making customer interactions more streamlined. It also gives customers the freedom to get in touch with businesses in a quick and hassle-free way. Instead of making customers dig around your website looking for the necessary contact details, a contact form that simplifies the process of customer engagement can make a huge difference in their overall experience. Furthermore, a tailored contact form can also give customers a true sense of being valued and makes their feedback and queries even more important.Â
It’s also an effective way to get to know customers better, keep track of customer data, and create targeted campaigns that increase lead generation and drive customer retention. Understanding the importance and benefits of a contact form makes it an integral part of any website, so don’t miss the opportunity to reap the rewards!
Hot tip: don’t add too many fields for the user to fill out!Â
Must Have #4: Mobile responsive design
Rightly or wrongly, we live on our phones. So creating an enjoyable mobile user experience is essential for any website. By dynamically adjusting the content to fit the screen size, a responsive website design helps make websites and applications look and act great on any device. It enables people to browse content on their smartphones, tablets and laptops without having to squint at tiny text or scroll endlessly. Plus, since Google has made mobile-friendliness a key factor for SEO ranking, responsive design is becoming increasingly important for businesses wanting improved search engine visibility.
Hot tip: choose images with a central (or no) focal point as the outer edges will get cut off when they resize for smaller devices.
Whilst there is a little more to it, if you can nail these four key areas, you are well on your way to kick charging your online presence. A robust, user-friendly, and visually appealing website is one of the best ways to communicate with current and potential customers. It can serve as an effective platform for building relationships and brand loyalty with your customers.
Time to get started? Get in touch with Brand Hero today.