A strong, solid website can help your business to gain credibility, build trust with customers and better your competitors in terms of sales and profit. Updating your website is just the first step and over time, businesses should keep in touch with the latest words of wisdom, that will keep your website competing and converting.
It’s said that a website’s shelf life lasts for up to 3 years, due to the constant developments in technology and larger competitive markets, as well as customers catching on to businesses being at their beck and call. To stay ahead of the game this year, WebEden have offered up 5 things that your business’ website should make sure it excels in each of these 5 must-have areas.
Mobile-Friendly, Responsive Design
Although the need for improving a mobile user’s experience was made a component of ranking in Google’s algorithm back in 2015, it’s taken quite some time for a vast amount of businesses to adopt this requirement.
2017 is set to be the year of mobile, in which more internet users and website viewers choose to use their mobiles over their desktops. As such, it’s imperative that businesses take the time this year, to ensure that their websites are responsive and/or mobile user-friendly. If not, you run the risk of competitors overpowering you with their brand new, customer friendly websites.
User Experience Look & Feel
User experience is key when it comes to converting consumers into customers and turning your website visitors into converters. It’s well worth the time and effort of analysing every aspect of your website, to discover ways in which you could improve your users’ experiences with your website.
From improving site speed to a simple navigation, introducing a site search bar to provide extensive contact information and persuasive calls to action, there’s plenty of ways to improve your site, not just for 2017 but for the foreseeable future.
Expert, Influential Content
Relevant, engaging content has never been more important for your website than it is in 2017. As competition grows, businesses need to not only put themselves out there as professionals and experts in their field, but become known as a trusted brand, too.
From shorter pieces of content like product descriptions and customer reviews, to long form, more in-depth content such as case studies and e-books; publishing various content types on your website, is a surefire way to become known as an industry expert and a brand that partners and customers can trust.
Thorough Branding Throughout
Your branding defines who you are and makes you instantly recognisable to audiences you are hoping to engage with. As such, your branding should remain thorough and consistent across the various channels in which you choose to present it.
Whether it’s social media, print, email marketing and your website itself, keep the logo, colours, tone of voice – and whatever else you incorporate into your branding – the same, to maintain a good reputation and remain a well-known brand over competitors.
High Quality Imagery
While stock photography works as a good filler when appropriate, this year businesses should look to publish images of their own across their website. Consumers are beginning to see the same stock photography used all over the place, which forces them to struggle to differentiate from one brand to another.
By investing in some professional photography for your website, your business has the opportunity to make itself unique. Better yet, photography is much less costly than it once was, so you can be sure that your images will be well worth the small investment.
