If you plan to invest in your company’s website, you need to make the right decisions that will help you leverage your business. Owning a page is not mandatory just because everyone out there has one; it’s a way to promote your brand and generate more profits. However, this is possible only if your company’s website is up to date and user-friendly. How do you achieve that? Here are 7 essential elements your page should contain.
1. A Visible Search Box
Let’s think about the importance of a website’s usability; visitors expects to be easily guided and find the information that interests them in a matter of seconds. One of the key elements that will improve your public’s experience is adding a visible search box to your website. This will enable them to find any information in a matter of seconds using keywords. Setting your search function in Analytics will allow you to see the research requests and understand your prospect’s needs.
2. Anticipated Answers
As soon as you are familiarized with the most frequent inquiries of your visitors, you can anticipate their questions with an easy to access FAQ section. Make sure all your answers are concise and down to the point, don’t post insufficient or ambiguous answers that will disappoint your visitors. Employee resources can also be dealt with in this section; you could guide them to an online employee portal or career page adding the necessary links.
3. More Images
Your business website shouldn’t rely exclusively on well-written content. Adding tons of text could make the visitors turn away to another website which is more user-friendly. Quality images are one of the best SEO techniques that will optimize your website and make it more appealing for visitors. Relevant pictures increase your chances to engage your target audience and help them understand your business easier if:
- they are relevant
- you use high-quality materials not stock photos that visitors might find on other websites too
- they have the right size that won’t slow your website’s loading time; use a compression tool to reduce their size
4. Include Links to Your Social Media Accounts
Social media is currently the most popular digital marketing mean that helps business increase brand awareness online. If you are present on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest try to connect with prospects using these channels. Add all your businesses’ social account to your website; people need to know the ‘human’ face of your business and keeping in touch on social media is a great way to generate more leads.
5. A Business Blog
A business blog is an effective tool that gives you the chance to prove your expertise and market your services. You should post relevant content that will guide visitors to connected sections from your site. Use high authority resources and quote thought leaders; these two elements can help you boost trust and rank your posts better. Another useful strategy is to write posts that give people practical takeaways; this will keep them coming back for more and increase your chances to turn them into clients.
6. Testimonials
Testimonials can’t miss from your website. You need to convince visitors they can rely on your experience and the feedback you got from other people are the easiest way to do it. You could either post your client’s comments in this section or ask them to sit a mini-interview and help you make a video tutorial. Make sure the feedback you post isn’t limited to compliments and praises; this wouldn’t sound natural and would only increase client’s mistrust. Your testimonials aim to provide basic info about your real skills and how they enable you to help people in a fast and efficient way.
7. A Clear Call to Action
No matter what kind of business you promote, your website must enable visitors with a clear view of what is expected from them. In ‘technical’ language, this is called a call to action and it states your desire. So, what do you urge people to do?
- buy a product
- book a session
- subscribe to your email list
- contact you for a free quote
No matter what CTA your business counts on, make sure you make it clear and visible. People shouldn’t scroll deep down to the bottom of your page or browse through your sections to find it. Your intention should be highlighted in a different font and style to draw visitor’s attention or you could also use clickable buttons to make it even more tempting.
These seven must-have features will help you build a user-friendly and engaging website. If your current page doesn’t have all these elements, start adding them one by one and don’t forget to test their efficiency by analyzing conversion rates.