Customers both new and old are the lifeblood of every business. After all, you couldn’t possibly stay afloat without people who are willing to purchase your products or services. Having an attractive and up-to-date website is vital to keeping leads and existing customers engaged with your brand.
But focusing on just the appearance of your website isn’t enough. You should also be paying attention to having the right content – and making sure that your website visitors can find it. Here are the top three things that many businesses are failing to make easily accessible on their website.
Who You are and What You Do
In their haste to get a website up as quickly as possible (or their hyper focus on adding as many visuals as possible), many businesses forget this very fundamental fact: people want to know who your business is, and what it is that you do. Overwhelming your visitors with too many visuals, short or choppy blocks of text, annoying pop-ups asking them to subscribe, or even too much copy, can all distract people from your core messaging.
With too much noise going on, visitors find it difficult to learn about who you are as a company – and decide if they want to do business with you. Be direct and clear about your skill set or products, and let this information take center stage. This helps guide visitors through the buying journey, and increase the chances that they’ll convert into actual sales instead of increasing your bounce rate.
A Specific Website Page
How easily a visitor can find the information they are looking for is a make-or-break part of website design. This applies whether you are offering a service or operating an ecommerce site. While you may be tempted to organize your pages how it best suits your or your budget, the fact is that it needs to be designed with users in mind.
Your navigation should be consistent, with descriptive links that make it obvious where your information or products are. Always include a ‘Home’ link so that people can easily return to your main page, and make sure your links say more than just “Who,” “Why,” and “How.” Not only does this make it easier for visitors to make their way around your site, it also makes it easier for search engine bots to crawl and categorize your site pages. This means you’re more likely to show up in search results for relevant terms, thus boosting your organic traffic.
Your Contact Information
This one should be obvious, and yet many businesses fail to make their contact information easily accessible. This goes beyond just having a “Contact Us” page. We recommend that, at the very least, your phone number is shown in an obvious place on every page of your site. You can also opt to include your address if you’re operating a traditional brick-and-mortar, or an email address if it is your preferred method of communication.
Everything that you can do to make it easy for customers to contact or find you is another way to increase your leads and conversions. Many may find it easier to contact you directly to answer a question, rather than search your website for it. And adding this information is as simple as picking a spot on your site, say the upper right hand corner, for it to be shown on every page for the sake of consistency. You should also include a “Contact Us” page that has a bit more information, such as a map of your location, but never underestimate the importance of catering to a user’s desire for instant access to information.
Is Your Website Missing Important Elements? Call Us for a Free Analysis
Your website is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal to keep your business thriving for years to come. Designing an appealing website that’s also functional for your visitors is more complicated than you might think, which is why it is always best to hire a professional to handle the job for you.
When it’s time for your business to build an effective and engaging website, Gulf Coast Web is here to help. With over 25 years of experience in managing web design for business across all industries, we have the knowledge necessary to build a site that appeals to your audience, generating you quality leads and conversions. Our staff consists of highly-trained web design and digital marketing professionals who are both passionate about their jobs and excel at what they do. And unlike many other design agencies, we have a content writer with over 10 years of experience on-staff to handle everything from website copy to blogs to social media posts. Contact us today to book a consultation with our team. We look forward to outlining exactly how we can help you grow your business with our digital media agency services.