In today’s online world we all know that a website is the number one selling tool for small businesses. But if it’s not optimised to attract customers and make them want to work with you, then there’s really no point in having it.
Here’s the ten things that you need to have on your website:
A great homepage
The majority of your customers will land on your website at the homepage and if it’s no good then they won’t be going any further. Your homepage needs to be a snapshot encapsulating who you are and what you do. You need a headline which clearly states what your business offers, a sub-heading which explains what makes your business unique and a call to action to prompt them to take the next step. This is essential across your website – on every page you need to be guiding visitors around, suggesting new things that they should be looking at.
Navigation
It needs to be simple for people to find what they are looking for. Clear, well laid out menus with easy to understand labels are essential. Think like a customer and make sure that the information they will come looking for is simple to find. If you aren’t clearly directing people to a section on your website then you need to be asking yourself if it even need to be there?
About Us
People buy from people and the start of the journey to working with someone, no matter what service they are providing, is to understand who they are. Share your story so that you engage people in what you are doing and build a connection. We also recommend introducing your team to give your website more of a human, personal touch.
Product or services page
Make it clear what you are offering. It never harms to clearly set out what it is that you can provide. High-quality, relevant imagery is great here too. Beware of using stock imagery if you can avoid it, people want to be sure that you are real and AI or stock imagery can erode trust.
If you are selling a tangible product then clear pricing is essential but with a service provider we know it can be more tricky to provide costings especially if you provide a bespoke service. If it’s not possible to put pricing on the website then make sure it’s clear and easy for them to get a cost ASAP.
Contact information
If people want to work with you then you need to make it easy for them to get in touch with you. A contact form is great but also give your email address so people can send their details that way if they prefer. There is less of a reliance upon providing a phone number nowadays but if you do provide one then ensure there is an appropriate voicemail message in place so they know they have got through to the right person.
Testimonials and reviews
While this can be hard for a new business to do, as soon as you have happy customers it’s essential to get reviews up on your website. Social proof is vital and a recent study showed that 90% of customers read reviews before deciding to patronise a business.
If you are starting out then case studies are a great way to showcase your skills and experience, talking about work you have done before to demonstrate that you know what you are doing.
Blog or News section
In today’s social media world, it can feel like having a blog on your website is now outdated but in fact it’s vital for boosting your website performance. When determining its rankings Google is always looking for fresh content and that’s what a blog provides you with. You’ll want to ensure that each blog piece is at least 500 words (as that’s the amount Google is looking for) and is full of SEO rich words – the phrases that your customers will be searching for and that you want to pop up in the search for.
Blog posts also help to make you a thought leader, demonstrating your skills and experience, and they share more about your business and what’s important to you. Remember, to include a mix of articles which educate, entertain, promote your business and start conversations.
E-commerce capabilities
If you want people to be able to shop directly from your website then it goes without saying that this needs to work well. Make everything as smooth and easy as possible, use a reputable provider such as Shopify and offer safe and secure payment methods. Again, consider the websites that you find easy to shop with and make sure yours is functioning in the same way.
Make it work for mobile
The majority of business owners design their website using a laptop or desktop computer but don’t forget to then test it on your mobile and make sure all the pretty layouts and buttons are still working. Recent statistics show that 60% of website traffic comes from mobile devices so don’t let this be an area which is letting you down.
Analyse what’s working
Finally, remember that building a website is not a one-off job. You need to be constantly refreshing what you are doing and ensuring it stays responsive. We highly recommend using analytics provided to you by your web host or through Google analytics to continually evaluate what’s working and make adjustments as needed.
In short, it’s not easy to get your website working effectively and adding all these elements in. Our team at COG can take this off your hands and give you a website which truly shows off the brilliance of your business. Get in touch today and we’ll let you know how we could help.