You’ve finally realized that you need a website for your business, non-profit, or personal use. The question now becomes, what do I do and how do I do it.
We’ve all been using the web long enough to know what makes a good web site. That list of criteria is probably subconscious. The list here will bing them to the forefront so that you can make sure you have these 10 Must Haves for Building Your Website.
1. K.I.S.S.: Use Clean & Simple Design
Gone are the days when you string animated GIFs across your site and use up every bit of white space.
Keep In Simple Sweatie was a term my Mother used with me growing up. You don’t need to make things complicated. You want things simple enough that people know what to do.
Think of the simple and clean design of Apple products. Love them or hate them, Apple products are sleek, clean, and intuitive. You want your website to be like that.
Look at sites you like to go to often; chances are, they have a clean and simple design. If you use a clean layout, your users will thank you for the improved experience by staying on the site more, which can increase your Google ranking.
2. Ever Site Needs These Five Core Pages
The foundational pages, whether you have a static HTML site, or a dynamic WordPress site you need to build out with these five pages.
- 1. Home — This is the page your domain will point to, ie. www.Example.com will bring people to your front door. Make sure that on the home page you include a prominent call-to-action (CTA). They’ve come to your house, what action do you want them to do? Call you? Fill out a contact form? Make it clear what you want them to do.
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2. About Us — People buy from those they know like and trust. The About Us page can help people get to know you and your organization. This will help start to create trust. On the About Us page, make sure to share what your business is about, why you started it and include photos of you or your staff. Keep it brief and to the point. You can always add sub-pages under this.
- 3. Products/Services — Your web site should include what you do. The products and services page should include things like detailed descriptions, images, pricing, etc. You can always add sub-pages under this.
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4. Customer Testimonials — Knowing that you have satisfied customers help build that trust. Be sure to include quotes or reviews from satisfied customers.
- 5. Contact Us — Phone numbers, hours of operation, location & map, email address, social media links. Ideally you will also have a contact form that people can submit their questions or comments through.
3. Use Strong Calls to Action (CTA)
Most people want to know what the steps should be. Create a clear and decisive CTA that lays out what you want clients to do. Call you? Fill out a contact form? Make it clear what you want them to do.
4. Include Sign-up Forms
Email is an invaluable tool to create loyal customers and increase sales. It is a proven fact that is cost less to keep a customer than it does to acquire a new one.
Use a special offer to entice people to provide you their email address. Offer a free white paper, special content, exclusive VIP offers, future discounts, or expert advice. They need to feel that they are trading their email for something of equal or greater value.
5. Keep Information “Above the Scroll”
The old newspaper adage of keeping things “above the fold” referred to keeping important headlines above the fold of the paper while it sat at the newsstand. People could easily see what was important without having to pick up the paper. If it enticed them enough, they’d pick it up and most likely buy the paper.
On a web site, the “above the scroll” refers to the bottom of a customer’s window on a Web page.
Make sure that when a person lands on a page, the most important information is near the top so visitors don’t have to scroll down. If the content above the scroll isn’t engaging, visitors probably won’t scroll down to read more.
6. Spend Some Money on Images
Pictures are worth a thousand words. Having the right image can make your visitors feel confident about you and eventually about what they will be buying.
Avoid the over used stock photos that are all too common. At the same time, don’t rely on cheap or free images because that can also make you look cheap.
Be aware that most images your search for online are copy righted and can’t be stolen from one site and used on yours. You could open yourself up to a law suit.
7. Contacting You Should Be Easy
Visitors should be able to see how to contact you within seconds of landing on your site.
Have your Contact page in your site’s primary navigation.
Also consider putting your phone number in your header and footer so it will show on every page of your web site.
8. Testimonials or Reviews
The overwhelming majority of consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations. Think of the last movie you went to see based on a friend’s recommendation. Since they know you, they might have mentioned why you’d love the movie and what parts you might not like.
The same holds true for your product and services. People want to hear from real people, who speak the way they do.
Ask current or past clients or search for your company on listing sites like Google® Local, Yelp® etc. Since these sites allow consumers to leave and share reviews, you can integrate sites like Yelp directly with your website. That way, when you get a new review it can be added directly to your site automatically. If that scares you, you do have the option to pick from the reviews you want, and manually add them.
9. Be Personal
Having a solid About Us page is more important than you realize. Most new visitors will spend time learning about on this page.
Remember, people want to do business with people they know, like and trust.
Don’t make this page to “salesy”
As the name suggests, it’s about who you are. Take time to explain your background, your story, the reason why you’re in business. If you are a business of more than one, introduce the other members of your team. Including pictures of you and your staff can help people connect. Just be mindful of the 1000 words each picture tells.
10. Make Friends with Google (Search Engines)
You can’t just build it and expect people to find your site. You need to make sure that the search engines (while there are others than Google, Google controls 66%+ of search) can find you.
One way to do so is to submit your site to Google.
Another way is to utilize proper code and tags on your site to help Google index your site for the words and products/services you want to be ranked for.
