Would you believe that websites only entered our consciousness during the 1990s? In 20 short years, the internet and websites have become absolutely essential in the world of business and social media. If you have a website, how can you tell if it’s working hard for you or falling by the wayside? In the 1990s, most businesses were questioning why they would ever need such a thing as a website. These days, if you’re not online, you’re nowhere.
The first sites were little more than an online brochure with simple pictures and brief information about a business. There was no interactivity or special user experience that we’ve come to expect today. In today’s busy digital world, your website is one of the most important tools of your business. It is a tool for marketing, sales, information and feedback. Visitors are coming to your site, not because they seek a hard sell or sales pitch but for information and to get a feel for whether they can trust you. Yes, they want to learn about the product or service but more importantly, they want to know who you are, what you stand for and if you’re a good match for their needs.
Not all visitors will make a purchase in their first visit, so your site needs a way of keeping in touch until they’re ready to do just that. Your website’s goal must include how to engage visitors, hold their interest and keep the dialogue going. Take a look at whether your site is currently doing this well for you or not. Why not hire professionals like Reading Web Design, who can determine what your site is doing well and where it could use a little help.
Here are some other factors to consider:
Does your site have content above the fold? This refers to space at the top of page where some companies place large headers or images. If you have calls to action and contact information here, Google gives priority to those pages when scoring. It’s all about having easily accessible calls to action and information without the need for a user to scroll to the bottom.
Take a look at your web pages and squint. Does the main thing you want your customers to see still easily pop out at you? If not, make it more obvious like a big bold button.
Is the information on your site all about you and the business? Ideally, you want to impart knowledge to your visitor to make them smarter. Give them useful information or show them something interesting and engaging rather than talking about yourself too much. The more you educate them, the more they feel they can trust you and rely on you.
Consider where your visitors are going when they’re on your site. There are many tools to help you with this, including Google Analytics. This will highlight the main areas that people are visiting and how long they spend there. This will give you a great idea of where you should be focusing your future attentions for content creation and communication.
Do you have testimonials? While nobody likes a big head, a site without useful reviews and testimonials is harming itself. Make use of testimonials, endorsements and links to other review sites to get the point across that you’re a business that means business.