Does My Business Need A Website?
If you’ve recently started a business (or even if it’s not that recent), marketing is probably on your mind.
What do you need to do? Should you set up social media channels? Is paid advertising an option you should go for? Is print the way forward? And do you need a website?
Visibility is crucial for any new business – generating sales is all about getting your offering in front of the right people at the right time so they can buy.
One of the first things many people do when they’re considering buying anything is search for the business online to see what other people are saying. Social proof and validation are essential for any customer and by having a website and curating reviews, you can ensure you’re in control of that aspect of the buying process.
Lead generation can be a long-term process and nurturing those leads can all be for nothing if you can’t build confidence in your brand.
A website is one of the simplest ways of presenting credibility, especially for a new business.
Showing that you know what you’re doing, emphasising your expertise, and providing reassurance that they’re making the right decision by purchasing – these are all things you can present by having a visible and effective website.
So, what about the website?
Well, to make things easy, we’ve compiled a handy list of the must-include features you should have on your website…
The Top 5 Items You Absolutely MUST Include On Your Website
Building a website from scratch can feel like a daunting prospect – but it needn’t be. We’ve compiled our list of the top 5 things you need to include on your website, starting with…
1} A Clear And Concise Description Of Who You Are
It might seem obvious, but a clear and concise description of who you are, what you do, and how you can help creates the instant confidence potential customers need to proceed.
Not only that, but from an SEO perspective, it ticks a lot of boxes – you’re including keywords related to your business naturally because you’re explaining exactly what it is you do.
The goal should be to ensure that nobody who lands on your website should have to work hard to discover who you are, what you do, and where they can buy from you.
By including all of this information on your home page (as well as repeating calls to action to buy or contact you in various places, including in the navigation), you ensure you’re not losing people at the first hurdle.
2} Contact Information!
When it comes to contact information, repeat, repeat, repeat, and just for good measure, repeat again.
The reality is that just popping your contact information on a ‘Contact Us’ page could diminish your chances of people taking action. By including your email address, phone number (and physical address if that’s relevant) on each page, you can ensure that if they want to get in touch, they will.
Keeping those crucial details as a permanent fixture in your navigation can also make it simple for people to make contact for any enquiries or questions, too.
It’s a simple addition to any website, but one that can be incredibly effective.
3} Optimised Mobile Navigation
Any website is only as good as its mobile navigation.
You could put a tremendous amount of time and effort into creating the best-looking and most effective website you could possibly create, but if the mobile navigation is ineffective, you’ve got a big problem.
The reality is that more than 55% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices, so you’re losing the attention of more than half of your audience if you’re not focusing on your mobile site.
The good news is that there are plenty of options to create websites that won’t break the bank and don’t require a web designer’s background to pull together.
Wix and other similar web builders can help you create a website for free or if you’re looking for the expertise to get it done, freelancers can be a great starting point to get you off the ground.
If it’s one long endless scroll of text and information, you’re going to very quickly lose the attention of your audience… so, how do you optimise?
Clear, concise information and simple navigation through your pages and your website to make it easy for people to find the information they need.
Which brings us to our next point…
4} Keep It Brief!
While it’s not a specific feature or item in itself, simplicity is one of the most essential elements that any business owner should employ on their website.
There’s no need to go into tremendous detail on your homepage, for example.
The idea is to introduce yourself by letting people know what you do, giving them the reassurance that you know what you’re doing and that others would recommend you, and offering them the chance to buy or contact you.
For other context, whether that’s product information, your story, information on you and your team, or relevant content (blogs, news items), make sure you point them to what they should read next on other pages.
And that leads us to the final crucial element you must include on your website…
5} Customer Testimonials
The most powerful tool you can utilise on your website is the recommendation of others.
Whether it’s written word or video, seeing other people who appreciate your product or service enough to recommend you to others is the sort of social proof that money can’t buy.
It performs the dual role of allaying any fears potential customers might have, whilst simultaneously instilling confidence in your brand.
One of the first things people look for when they’re considering purchasing something from someone new, whether that’s a large business or a small one, is what other people have to say.
Nobody wants to be burnt by something that doesn’t live up to expectations, and having specific and varying testimonials can be the difference maker when people are making that decision.
So, are you ready to get that website up and running?
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