We live in a world where having a website is a must for every business. It’s not just an online business card anymore – it’s a part of your brand’s identity and a powerful way to connect with your clients/customers. It doesn’t matter if you’re a small local flower shop or a large multinational corporation, your website is the first thing your potential customers will see. Based on it, they will create an image of your business’s professionalism and quality.
If you want to have a perfect business website that looks and works great, there are a few do’s and don’ts you should keep in mind. Read on to find out more about these.
Do Prioritize User Experience
User experience is a crucial part of a business website. Imagine visiting a website cluttered, confusing, or difficult to navigate – high are the chances you’d leave quickly. If you want to keep your visitors interested and make them explore further, make sure your site is user-friendly. This means it should have a clean and organized design, information that is easy to find, and clear CTAs that will guide users to their next steps. Also, make sure that your website is mobile-friendly because many people will visit it from their smartphones and tablets. Test your website on a few different devices and browsers to check if it looks perfect for everyone.
Don’t Overwhelm Visitors
A cluttered website can overwhelm visitors and drive them away – keep this in mind. Don’t use too many colors, fonts, and images that just create chaos. You should always go for a clean, organized, and simple design that speaks to your key messages and guides visitors to their desired actions. Remember that white space is your friend – it helps break up content and makes your website more readable and good-looking.
Do Use SEO
SEO is a must if you want to increase your website’s visibility and attract real visitors. As experts providing SEO services for law firms state, SEO will make your website more noticeable to people who may need your services (if it’s done properly, of course). If you want to take care of SEO, use relevant keywords in your content, meta descriptions, and alt text for images. You can also work on local SEO, meaning that you use keywords/methods to attract visitors from your/certain area. Also, focus on building good backlinks and improving your website’s loading speed (no one likes websites that take forever to load one page). Remember, a higher search engine ranking will drive more traffic to your website and improve your business’s online image.
Don’t Forget to Include Clear CTAs
CTAs – or calls to action – are an important part of every successful website. They are used to guide visitors to their desired actions – it could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting your business. Avoid generic and basic CTAs like “click here” and use specific phrases like “contact us today” or “get started”. Also, place the CTAs wisely on your website and make sure they stand out visually.
Do Invest in Quality Content
Good and quality content is important if you want to attract and build trust with your visitors. Your website should give both important and interesting content that meets all the needs and interests of your target market. This means you should have perfect blog posts, informative articles, interesting product descriptions, and multimedia (videos, infographics). It’s also important to keep your content fresh and relevant and update it regularly. This will help with SEO as well.
Don’t Ignore Loading Speed
We’ve already mentioned that no one likes websites that take forever to load one page, and we can not stress this enough. Slow websites are a major turn-off for visitors. Many studies have shown that users will leave a website if it takes more than a few seconds to load. Make sure the website is optimized for speed – compress images, use browser caching, and minimize the use of heavy scripts and plugins. A fast website will both improve user experience and positively impact your SEO ranking.
Do Implement Strong Security Measures
Security is important everywhere, but this especially goes for the online world. People leave their personal and sensitive info online, so they want to be sure it’s well protected. Protect your website and its visitors with security measures like SSL certificates, secure payment gateways, and regular software updates. You can also prominently display trust badges and security certificates on your site to reassure visitors that their data is safe. One more important tip: regularly back up your website to prevent data loss in case of a security breach.
Don’t Use Auto-Play Media
Auto-play videos or music are annoying in 99% of cases. They can disrupt visitors who are in a quiet environment or are using a limited data plan. Always give your visitors the option to play media rather than just forcing it and auto-playing. This will show more respect to your visitors and make sure they have a positive experience with your website.
Do Use Analytics and Tracking Tools
If you’re online for a while and want to measure your success (or see where you need improvement), use analytics and tracking tools like Google Analytics. These tools are great for seeing visitor behaviors, traffic sources, and conversion rates. If you analyze data, you will make better decisions on your website’s design, content, and marketing strategies, and that will of course lead to better performance and increased ROI.
Don’t Use Many Pop-Ups
Pop-ups are sometimes great for promoting special offers, but nothing should be overwhelming on your website. Don’t bombard your visitors with many pop-ups as soon as they land on your site. Instead, use a few of them, slowly and strategically – for example, when a visitor is about to leave the site or after they have spent a certain amount of time browsing. Make sure that each pop-up is easy to close and doesn’t cover the main content.
A successful website means a lot of careful planning and attention to detail. If you follow the do’s and don’ts we mentioned, you will soon have a website that doesn’t only attract people to visit your website – it keeps them there and turns them into loyal customers. Focus on these key things, and make a website that will support your business goals.
