5 essential elements of a great website.
Lisa Scott
1,000's of Leads Generated for our Clients ?? 25+ Years of Website Design + Digital Marketing One-on-one support and consulting. Your next client is out there - we help them find you!
For most small businesses, their website, or online presence, is the only form of marketing and advertising they do. Unfortunately, many companies underestimate the power of an online marketing tool and do not invest enough in their website for it to generate leads.
An ineffecitve website is a waste of your time and money, while a great website will be money well-spent to:
- Engage prospects
- Set your business apart from its competition
- Help your sales teams
- Improve your site's ranking in search results
Invest in your success!
Hire a professional web firm who has the experience to help your business, otherwise you may pay the price.
A great online presence includes these 5 elements:
1. Mobile Optimization
If your website is not mobile-friendly, chances are you will lose business. More people use their smartphones than their desktops!
And there is a good chance you'll be ranked lower on Google's mobile search results. In the past, Google has indexed sites by the content on desktop versions. However, Google is now indexing and rating site pages based on mobile experiences instead. Mobile-first indexing is here to stay!
Since more and more people look at websites from their smartphones or tables, your website should accommodate this form of viewing with a true mobile-responsive solution that works on any device.
See image above for examples of mobile-responsive sites.
Responsive sites automatically adjust on different screen sizes. Everything from headlines, text, images, CTAs, etc. must be optimized for small screen devices.
Testing on different browsers and devices is critical to make sure everything works properly...don’t forget this step!
2. Content
Content marketing is one of the most effective, practical, and useful digital marketing strategies that your brand can use to reach and engage quality leads. The right content is important for the user experience and SEO.
Build trust with your prospects by sharing your expertise. Consider why someone is looking at your website and focus on how you will solve their problems and meet their goals. This starts with the main messaging on your home page!
Every piece of content should be well-thought-out to market your business and set you apart from your competition. Google favors websites that have in-depth quality content by ranking them higher in SERPs (search engine results pages).
3. User Experience
Great user experiences are the backbone of a great website. The user experience ultimately determines whether you see an increase in your bounce rate or an increase in your conversion rates.
A great website should have intuitive user experiences and clear Calls To Action to improve traffic and conversions.
Prospects are coming to your website for a reason. What they're looking for should be easy to find, not a frustrating scavenger hunt. Site architecture, design and website features all contribute to an engaging UX experience.
Even your "404 Page Not Found" page is important to help your visitors. Improve the user experience by giving clear direction to where you want the user to navigate next to. Don’t let this page be an afterthought, get creative! Here’s ours: https://www.edoutwest.com/404
A well-planned user experience allows you to define customer journeys on your website that are most conducive to your business success.
4. Website Design
First impressions are critical, so your site better wow your prospects as soon as the page loads!
The design of your website, much like a mysterious recipe, is a complicated process that is worth getting exactly right. Web design is more than just visuals and aesthetics; it also affects your SEO and rankings, powers your audience’s perceptions of your brand, and influences your visitors’ behaviors. Your site’s design and layout affect your entire web presence.
A website has many visuals to contend with - logos, images, graphics, illustrations - and they all play an important role in creating the overall look and feel of your website. Visuals are processed faster by humans so using quality graphics will be worth the investment. Don’t forget to make sure that graphics are optimized for mobiles phones, as images which look good on the desktop might not look good on small devices.
5. SEO
Don’t start a website without thinking of your long-term SEO strategy to increase your organic search results. This includes keyword research, title tags, meta descriptions, Alt tags, internal links, external links, content creation, and much more.
Make sure your web firm sets up Google Analytics and Search Console. They are keys to growth in SEO. If you don’t know what’s happening with your site, you can’t fix it. And if you don’t know what’s working, you can’t make sure to do it on every page. Read my article to find our more:
Of course, these aren't the only things to consider, or for your web design firm to be experienced in. But, it's a great start towards a powerful online marketing tool for your business. Make sure to discuss these important elements with the website firm you consider hiring.