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Your business is not just about one individual component. But when a customer interacts with you, they are going to inevitably take away a certain perception of your company which can either build your brand or knocks it down. If you are trying to build your business and help it grow, you’ve got to think about how the customers interact with you. This is where a website becomes so important. We all form opinions about the websites we visit immediately. Some keep us coming back and others force us to turn our backs and never return. So let’s have a look at some of the key components that are so crucial to fostering an effective experience on a website.
One of the fundamentals of website design is an intuitive website that will help your users so they are happy. It may not be the reason they return, but a well-developed website map that is easy to use and navigate will go a long way. Because your customer knows what they want, you need to get them to where they want to go quickly and easily. If you want to help visitors, using “breadcrumbs” could be the best approach. Breadcrumbs involve telling the visitor where they are on the website and how they got there. When you see breadcrumbs, such as Home > Products > DVDs > Action > Terminator 2:Judgment Day, if the customers want to go back to DVDs, they can click on that breadcrumb. The easier it is for people to navigate your websites, the more likely they will return.
Purpose
When we have a well-defined purpose with clarity, this can give us a far better idea of what we want from our website. When you have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, you can determine how the website should be managed, what type of content should be included, and the message you want to communicate. Amazingly, many companies do not know what they want to achieve. Lack of direction without any foresight can ruin a business. So many companies don’t know what they want, and this can run the risk of being aimless for an extended period of time and losing your business money. So when you don’t know what your target audience is or how you plan on curating content, these are all considerations that can be a significant waste of time.
Website Usability
People who visit your website are there to find the information they need, not to browse. But we are all impatient customers, so if the website doesn’t load quickly enough or it doesn’t provide a wide array of products, we are unlikely to return unless it serves our specific needs. If your website has a large number of products, you need a solid search function, product catalog, and a shopping cart. But the more things you have, the simpler your website needs to be. When you look at usability you’ve also got to remember that your layout is pivotal. So for all of the essential information you want your customer to see right away, it needs to be “above the fold,” in other words, on the first screen without having to scroll down. This part may encompass your company logo, tagline, and some of the main navigation links.
Being User-Focused
The one component that makes your website successful is whether it is user-focused. A user-focused website needs to be accessible, but it also needs to be functional. This is something many website design companies overlook because they run the risk of focusing on making the website look good without it being functional and accessible. Designers need to make sure that it looks good, but it also remains simple. This also means when it comes to additional content, whether it’s videos or blogs, it has to be written for the person visiting. If you want to convince the visitor to do something, you need to provide that simple nudge in the framework of curated content that actually provides meaning to them and stimulates them to venture into your website further. Many people use a “Call-To-Action” at the end of their content, but it’s also about making sure that the content truly aligns with the core ideals of the website.
The Appearance
The design needs to present your business in a professional light, and this means it should appeal to your target audience while using modern trends and functionality to make it more striking. Because design trends are forever changing, it’s vital for your website to have a design that can stand the test of time or is malleable enough so it can evolve with changing trends. We can all look back at those really old WordPress websites and cringe at how primitive they are. The common culprit is companies that just don’t have any concept of what a modern website should look like and what they can do. While many businesses like contractors might opt for a very primitive website, the fact is that with a little bit more in the way of design and functionality it can turn customers into really effective targets.
Search Engine Optimization
Any business worth their salt will have an understanding of some form of Search Engine Optimization. Many argue that SEO is completely irrelevant now, but a great website that has been designed impeccably is completely useless if there are no visitors. Search Engine Optimization is crucial to driving traffic to your website but this is where having relevant and relatable content will help you to connect with customers. SEO covers a lot of ground, including keyword research, analytics, mobile SEO, indexing, crawling, and technical SEO. Because search engines like Google will determine where your website appears in the results and is constantly updating its algorithm, you need to keep up with the major updates. The fact is that SEO is probably the most important component to ensuring your website reaches the right people.
Making Updates Easier
A brand new website is amazing but, in essence, a website needs to be similar to a LEGO house: you need to have the structure there, but you need extra components available so you can add to it as and when necessary. Updating your website through a content management platform makes life easier and there are many ways for you to add features to your website with various plugins. If you need to create extra functionality for your website, adding the right plugins that can grow your leads and customer base is essential. Amazingly, these are things a lot of website owners can forget about when they are trying to get a website up and running. This is why it’s so important for you to remember that a website is not a finished product in the traditional sense. You need to continually add to it to make it more functional, more appealing, and just to evolve with the times.
Contactability
You need to set out on your website a wide variety of methods for customers to get in contact with you. Having numerous options to connect with customers through social media links is a great way to promote any company. Additionally, using these links on your website can help to increase your search engine ranking. Because Google associates social media pages with your company, when it looks at these links this can make a big difference to bringing those customers in. As far as being contactable is concerned, you also need to make sure that every form allows customers a number of options to engage with you. A Subscribe or Call-To-Action button on your Thank You page is going to be a simple thing that can go a long way. Because we have to remember that when we’re trying to engage people it’s not necessarily about the more, the merrier. Instead, it’s better to have a small number of engaged website users who are there because they want to be. Many websites try to use baiting methods, commonly known as clickbait but this is very bad for your SEO rankings.
Testimonial Pages
A website sells products, and this is why customers need to know that they are in good company. A testimonial page is one of the best ways to showcase your services and your products. When visitors land on your testimonial page, this should aim to establish more trust. It’s very unlikely that customers are going to look for your testimonial pages, so you can scatter testimonials throughout your website. Putting them on your product and homepage are little ways to tuck your testimonials away. It is such a small component, but it is a simple way to ensure that customers remember they are in trusted hands.
Your website is always going to be so important. Lots of companies overlook the website because they have social media. But the reality is that the website is the one true place where you can establish your brand and make it the one true place that communicates who you are and what you’re about.