Before you set about developing a website, it must be clear what your objective is and how it will be measured, and who is your target market. People use the internet for different purposes, and this should be understood as well. Armed with that knowledge, you can add features to the website that will optimize your online presence, present a pleasant user experience, and meet your objectives.
Regardless of the information gleaned from your research, the following 6 features must be incorporated in your website design:
- Responsive design – don’t take it for granted that people will only visit your website using a laptop or desktop computer, create a website that enables people to have a good user experience regardless of the type of device that they use. Nothing annoys me more that to pull up a website on my mobile device and be confronted with a website that was clearly meant for desktop users. Here’s a hint, there are more mobile phone users on the internet than those with desktop devices.
- About us page – you have a personality, or your business has character; let it shine. Be clear and precise about who you are and what you do. Stay away from generic statements that can be applied to any business. e.g. “We're committed to quality service and customer satisfaction.” That statement may be true, but take care to personalize your message. Visitors to your website want to know the authentic people behind the business.
- Resources page(s) – it does not matter what you are promoting on your website, you should have a “Frequently Asked Questions” or “How To” page to feed your target market with useful information. In fact, this may be the best way to free up time answering email messages or phone calls. Redirect people to your website to get all the information they need.
- Real photos – stock photos are nice but they often fail to convey your personality or your business’ image. In as far as practicable, use your own images and ensure that they are of high quality.
- Call-to-action – what action do you want visitors to your website to take once they arrive on your website? Whether it is to contact you, purchase your product or service or subscribe to your newsletter, make the call-to-action readily available. People should not be jumping through hoops trying to figure out what to do next. In fact, once they have to stop to think about the next action, you’ve lost them.
- Social media sharing – ensure that visitors to your website have means of sharing your content on social media. This is very important in the era that we are living in whereby your message can reach lots of people quickly with minimum effort. This is also valuable for your Search Engine Optimization efforts.
In summary, these 6 features can go a long way to ensure a measure success from your web presence. Combined with relevant unique content, you will be sure compete with others in your niche.
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