It’s easy to decide you want a better website. What’s harder for business owners who might not be familiar with the intricacies of web design and Internet marketing, is figuring out how the website should function and what it should look like.
We often speak with businesses that are sure they want something “better” online, or know they need to be profiting more from their web presence, but aren’t really sure about the specifics. If that sounds like you, you’re in luck. Today, we’re going to share a few of the biggest features that make a new or upgraded website valuable to your company.
Beautiful Design for Credibility and First Impressions
For all the technical details that can (and should) go into building a great website, visuals and first impressions still matter a lot. When your website is beautifully designed, it creates a great first impression for visitors who come to you through search engines, social media, and email newsletters.
Visuals aren’t the only thing that matter on your website, but they’ll always be important. If you don’t feel like your layout is going to impress customers, have your web designer address that before you move on to other parts of the project.
Adaptability and Growth Potential
It used to be that you could build a website, put it online, and then wait a few years before refreshing. Now, it’s almost impossible to attract the attention of search engines (and real-life customers) without ongoing updates, blog articles, and social posts.
For that reason, you need a website that can grow and adapt. At a minimum, it should be built with a Content Management System (CMS) that allows you to add and revise pages on the fly. That’s the easiest way to keep your website from becoming static or out of date.
Did you know that more than half of all Internet traffic originates from a smart phone or tablet?
Connectivity
Your website should be the hub of your online presence, not the only destination. As such, it needs to be connected to other outlets that your fans and customers utilize.
These will likely include social media profiles, your blog, and an email newsletter subscription. You could even offer a mobile app. Any of these might be more useful to someone who wants to work with you than visiting your website. At the same time, they also offer opportunities for networking and referrals, which help increase your marketing reach.
Social profiles can’t replace your business website, but they can help draw traffic and attention in the right direction.
Mobile Compatibility
Did you know that more than half of all Internet traffic originates from a smart phone or tablet? That seems obvious when you consider just how many people are carrying around mobile devices, but it’s something a lot of business owners overlook when having new websites built.
There are a lot of ways to get a mobile-friendly website, but the easiest (and most cost-effective) is to ensure that your next website is responsive. That just means it changes its appearance to adapt to a user’s display while offering the exact same content.
With responsive web design, you still only have to maintain one website, but your business becomes more accessible to every customer.
There’s a lot that goes into building a successful web presence. But, if you can manage to combine all four of these factors, you’ll have something that’s impressive, reliable, and able to help your business grow in the future. Once you get past all the bells and whistles, what more could you really want from a business website than that?
If you want to be sure you get the very best in terms of design and bottom-line business results, call Creative State for a free consultation today!
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