Website ‘Must Haves’

Your website is one of the most important parts of your business. It’s often the face of your online presence and the place your ads and promoted posts will direct potential clients to, so it’s essential that you get your website right! It’s amazing how many badly designed websites are still active on the Internet today; if your website doesn’t pull its weight, then you will lose custom because of it.

Luckily for you, we have put together a short list of ‘website must haves’ below, follow these and you can be sure your website will be performing at its best all of the time.

1. A sensible and easy web address – not only will your website address be on your business cards and promotional stationery/merchandise; it will also often be told to people by mouth. A long-winded, complex and hard to remember web address will not stick in peoples’ minds, so make sure you keep your address simple, to the point, and easy to remember. For example, if your company sells cheap sports equipment, don’t be tempted to pick the web address wesellcheapsportsequipmentsobuyfromus.com no no no! How about www.cheapsportsequipment.com it’s much shorter, easier to remember, and won’t take up the whole of your business card!
2. Tell visitors who you are – when a person arrives on your web page, they should be able to immediately identify who you are and what your business is. This information should be readily available on your home page and should usually be made up with your company logo/name and a brief paragraph which makes it clear what your business is. People don’t want to land on your website and have to literally go digging to discover who you are and what product/services you offer.
3. Quality, engaging content – don’t make your website boring, dull and unwelcoming to potential clients. Your websites content is so important, as it has the potential to keep people returning and also to encourage sales! Make sure your content is to the point, not overly long or wordy, that it’s written in clear to understand language, that it’s interesting and engaging and that it will sell your product/service. Ask questions of your visitors to get them thinking – ‘isn’t it about time you upgrade your gym wardrobe? Those joggers looking a little shabby?’ – and make sure your content tells them exactly how to purchase those new joggers from you!
4. Customer testimonials – these are great for encouraging people to use your service/buy your products. Make sure your site contains true testimonials that you might have gotten from platforms such as Trustpilot or eKomi, or even ones that you have specifically requested from your clients (make sure you seek permission to use these and don’t put any personal details of your clients on the Internet). Reading about the experiences of others with your company will help new clients get an understanding of the service they can expect, so it really does pay to take time setting up review accounts with leading platforms and embedding these into your website.
5. A clean design – no one wants to go on a website with a black background and red text that is just impossible to read, and which causes serious headaches! Make sure your site is clean; keep it easy to read, keep it looking fresh and welcoming – causing your visitors headaches because of your colour scheme really won’t help boost sales! Black text on a white background might be cliché and the ‘norm’ but it’s successful, and when it comes to business, that’s the main thing to aim for.
6. Call to action & contact information – make sure your potential clients know how to get in touch with you if they need to. A contact page is an essential part of a website, so be sure to add your email address and telephone number to one on your site! You can even go one further and have a contact form on all pages of your website, which allows people to send an instant message to your company. Make sure you give instructions too –‘Add to cart’ or ‘Message for more info’ – little statements such as this really do encourage people to purchase from your website.

So, now you have a good list to get you started. Making a website can be a time-consuming and lengthy process, but done correctly, it really will be worth it. If you would like the professionals to handle your website, then get in touch with Garvey’s IT today and let us help make your business a success!