Your business website is only as good as its content and its usability. Without a well-thought out design and plan, your site is not likely to generate sales for you and your site will be just another one of millions. It needs to give you an identity which is unique in its own field.
So what should your business website have to make sure that you get noticed, generate new business and enhance customer brand awareness?
Well of course you need to make sure that it’s aesthetically pleasing and that you think about colours, layout and so on. But there are other essentials which people fail to acknowledge and we have listed some of them here. Without them, your website could create a negative experience for visitors and fail to give you the return on your investment that you are looking for. They are not complicated essentials and they are by no means rocket science but they are, nonetheless, important.
Contact details and map
How is anyone going to find you if you haven’t put your contact details on there? You need your name, your address, a telephone number and an email address. People won’t spend hours looking for you and trying to trace you – they’ll just go elsewhere and find another site. It sounds basic but make sure you have these details on your site and that they are clearly visible from the home page as well as other pages.
Having a map of where you are gives customers peace of mind that you actually do exist and that they can find directions to you using a postcode search, perhaps on Google.
A ‘contact us’ form
Give customers a chance to contact you in their own time and from the comfort of their own computer. These forms mean that they can fill out a simple form with questions they may have and you can either call or email them back. Plus it saves them the cost of a phone call. Please ensure that you do respond - sounds obvious but it’s essential!
Photos and videos
Make sure you add a photo of you and your team if you have one. No it’s not being vain! It means that people can see who you are and it assures them that you are real! The more ‘authenticity’ and ‘reality’ you apply to your website, the more drawn in people become and the more they are likely to think that you are a genuine business which has its customers in mind.
Using relevant video footage can add a three-dimensional look to your site and is just another way to show people that you are real and that you understand their needs.
Newsletters and sign up facilities
Newsletters are a very important part of any business, particularly if you’re a new business. Sending out regular newsletters is a way to involve your potential audience. Allow them to sign up and opt out of your newsletters and you can then draw them in with a capturing, well-written letter on a regular basis.
Customer feedback and testimonials
One of the most powerful selling tools comes from word of mouth from others. If potential customers can see that others have used you and were happy, they are more likely to use you themselves. The feedback and testimonials will ‘speak’ directly to your audience and add yet another dimension. And don’t make them up! Make sure you get genuine feedback which can be accounted for.
Email to a friend button
Allow your visitors the chance to email the link to your site to a friend. What better way to get noticed than if someone else says to their friend “hey look what I found”? It can save you a lot of effort in getting the message out there.
Social bookmarking buttons
Social bookmarks are public web pages which allow you to list the links to all your favourite websites. They are a way for customers to tell others about you and that they like you. There are countless social bookmarking sites out there now and can be found with a quick Google search.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn links etc.
Again, it’s all about bringing the personal touch into your website and giving people the chance to ‘interact’ with you. These links will mean that your visitors can tell their friends about you and share your website link with others on their own Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages (to mention just a few). It’s all about networking and having a presence. Gaining brand recognition; being noticed and being recognised.
Blog
Give people the chance to see what you have been up to and what you have to say. Using your own blog can be a great way to enhance SEO for your site and introduce regular new content which the search engines love. It keeps your site current and fresh. It adds another dimension to your site and shows people that you are interested in them. It can include a range of topics which can promote discussions and further interest in your site.
A completed site
An incomplete site will mean that people think you are either not trading or that you are not a very reliable business. Make sure that all page are completed and that your site has credibility. Using a website builder makes this process much easier and there is online help available.
Copyright © Peter Moore 2009 - EzWeb123.com
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