More than six in 10 businesses — or 64%, to be exact — have a website. If your business has not yet created a website, you’re in the minority. You’re also at a competitive disadvantage since some consumers won’t take a company seriously if it doesn’t have an online presence.
If you’re one of the 36% of businesses that don’t have a website, you need to remedy this. A website will give your company credibility, build brand awareness, and more. But even if you have a website where people can access you 24/7 and buy your products and services, that’s still not enough. Having a website is only part of the equation – what you do with it matters.
What follows is a look at some things to consider when creating a website for your company.
1. Monitoring
If you have a business website, monitoring is a must. One of the reasons people patronize companies with websites is the 24/7 availability. So, downtime needs to be minimized. A monitoring solution will assess your website to ensure it’s functioning correctly. Such a solution can also verify the quality of your hosting service and measure the loading speed of your site.
Whether people come to your site for help buying or selling a home, getting in shape, or building a patio deck, you can’t expect them to hang around your site if the loading speed is slow. A monitoring service will help ensure your website meets your customers’ needs. If they don’t get what they want when they want it, they’ll patronize one of your competitors instead.
2. Aesthetics
You also need to focus on aesthetics. Yes, people will judge your website based on how it looks — just like they’ll judge you based on how you present yourself as an entrepreneur or business person. You’ll want your website to look the part just like you want to look the part by dressing professionally in the right attire and shoes as well as by having other quality products like wallets or jewelry.
Have you ever visited a website that looked amateurish? Were you tempted to buy products or services from the website owner? Probably not. Your website needs to offer value to consumers, and it needs to look professional. This is why hiring a web designer is a good idea.
When it comes to aesthetics, you’ll want to consider things like font size, colors, content, navigation, graphics, and even the ratio of content to graphics. Finding a professional webpage designer will ensure you get the sort of website that resonates with your target audience.
3. SEO
Search engine optimization is about driving traffic to your website. When SEO is done correctly, your company’s website URL will show up at the top of the first page of a customer’s search engine query. Otherwise, it won’t rank high enough to matter. If your site URL is not high up on the first page of results, your target market likely won’t find you. That’s why it pays to take your SEO strategy seriously. And this oftentimes means hiring a professional.
4. Call to Action
Another thing you need to do if you have a website is to include a call to action. Don’t assume that people in your target demographic will know what to do. You need to provide them with the information they need, explain your unique value proposition, and let them know what to do. It should be easy for them to proceed to the buying stage. If it’s difficult, they’ll go elsewhere.
5. Customer Service
You also need to be responsive if you have a website. Customers will sometimes have questions and may not go through with a transaction until they get the answers they’re looking for. Provide options. Some will want to call to speak to a live person, others will want to communicate by email, and others will prefer to get help via an online chat feature. Answer queries asap, and don’t forget that after-sales support will keep clients coming back for more.
If you have a website or need to get one, remember these five recommendations. Simply having a website is not enough. It’s a good start, but it’s not enough to get you across the finish line. A lot goes into ensuring that a website meets its prime objective of helping clients. If you follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to having an effective website.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.