5 features you need on your new website

I was talking to a business owner who recently re-launched his new website and spotted a few things they could improve on. So I thought that I would write about it so others can benefit as well.

Consider your website for your business like the shop window. Usually if you care about your business you need to clean your windows and make sure that passers-by see the right things when peeping through for that 1-10 seconds they do. First impressions are important.

1) Is your website Mobile friendly?

Did you know that in 2018 52% of Traffic generated to websites around the world was through a mobile smartphone?

Because mobile phone screens are considerably smaller than that of a monitor, websites need to adjust dynamically to different screen sizes and web browsers. If you use a CMS which stands for Content Management System such as Wordpress or Joomla then depending on the "theme" you use this should be pretty straight forward. If your website is manually coded then this would require some extra code that will allow it to become mobile friendly.

Not only does it allow the mobile viewers to engage peroperly but Google absolutely loves mobile friendly websites and boosts your ranking in search engine results. The last thing you want is that people zoom in the screen and get frustrated.

2) SSL Certificate (Green Padlock)

If you have been connected to me a while then you may have noticed that I stress this point quite often. Having an SSL Certificate on your website ensures that traffic to and from your website is encrypted. This means that hackers cannot use common tools to view passwords or login information entered on your website.

Nowadays there are free ways to have this certificate installed on your website. I know that Cpanel Webhosting platform have a button where you can install this certificate for free and easily through "LetsEncrypt". There are many technical benefits to SSL but one of the main non-technical benefits is that it automatically improves customer trust. I know I get put off by companies whose websites are not secured by this layer of security.

3) Captcha on your "Contact us" page

Most websites have a page where those visiting can send you a message online, this is great for having messages come through to you directly from your website. However, many internet bots will start spamming your email inbox by entering in information and sending you links to phishing websites and other unwanted content. Google have a great Captcha system which you can embedd in the form which will verify that the person entering details on your site is in fact human.

4) Cookies Consent Button

Actually, i'm not a website designer but I can do bits and bobs. So when I had a crack at designing https://broadband9.com (wip) someone pointed out to me that I needed a Cookie consent button for users to accept cookies when visiting my wesbsite. This is part of the GDPR rules recently pushed out last year. Here is a fantastic website on cookies:

5) Create a Blog Page

A company blog page is a great way to actively keep company news, marketing and industry information in one place. A place where users can read and share your writing. You should spend about 15 minutes every other day to actively write and share your knowledge. Knowledge sharing has numerous benefits:

1. Creates Customer trust in your Business
2. Engages visitors by having them commenting on your content
3. Improves SEO Rankings and results when your pages are based on specific keywords
4. Creates returning visitors who want to follow your company updates and improve relationships
5. Sometimes if you hit the sweet spot, your information goes viral which promotes your company

I will one day make another article on how videos help you promote your business. My first ever view went really well (for me anyway), so you should definitely put videos out everywhere.

Our blog is here (Where I will be updating more soon):

I hope that helps and gives you some ideas. We all work together to make the internet a safer and more secure place.

Thank you,

Ibrahim

Broadband9 LTD