Website can go a long way in establishing credibility for a small business, but a website must create a good experience for the user.
In this episode of 5 Business Rules, Monika Jansen and I offer up five essential elements you must be aware of to make your website work for you. Spend 4 minutes watching the video or read on for the tips.
#1 Keep it simple
Don’t get so caught up in the cool things you can do with apps and technology that your site becomes a cluttered mess. If your site is difficult to navigate, visitors will leave and you’ve lost your chance with them.
Keep it clear and simple and always be aware of the customer experience.
#2 A mobile site is a must
Your site MUST be optimized for mobile devices. If it’s not, you are losing sales. Don’t believe us? Check out these stats:
- 60% of all internet traffic is from mobile devices.
- 11% of ALL INTERNET users only use a mobile device to access the web.
Ensure your site is responsive to all devices and screen sizes. Don’t forget to check it on both a PC and a MAC!
#3 Make contact information available
Make pertinent info easy to find – especially if you have a brick & mortar business. Many people use mobile sites to get an address or phone number so they can do business with you. In fact, Google’s research has shown that 50% of consumers who conducted a local search on their phone visited a store within 24 hours.
Think about how you use your mobile phone. Before you go out to eat you may check a restaurant’s menu online or call to see if you can get a reservation. If that information isn’t easily available to you, you’re likely to go somewhere else.
#4 Tell people what to do
Implementing calls-to-actions (CTAs) on your site helps people understand the next action they are supposed to take.
Prompt your visitors to take the next step and include a colorful button they should click on using words like:
Buy Now
Call today
Download Now
#5 Speed is important
To be considered user friendly, a site must be easy to get around and load very quickly. Actions should be simple and fast, especially when it comes to ecommerce.
While the average page speed for websites is about 5 seconds, Google actually recommends a load time of 2.5 seconds. Why? We all want instant gratification and if a site takes too long to load, we’re outta there.
Wondering if your website it up to snuff? Let us do a free evaluation. Get started now!
