Your website is important.
The impression it makes is crucial to how your business is perceived online. For most customers, it will be their first interaction with your company, but if your website isn’t up to scratch it could be their last. So, you better get it right.
In 2021 websites can be complicated, there’s a lot to consider when building a modern site to represent you and your business. From social media integration to e-commence functionality there’s a lot to think about when putting your site together. Most business owners have the foresight to identify these features but lack the time or expertise to implement them. If your time is at a premium then don’t worry, we have five simple tips to improve your website today.
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✔️ Improve your Google ranking
✔️ Understand your site performance
1. Clean Web Design
This may seem simple but you’d be surprised how many websites fail to adhere to standardised web design. In case you weren't already aware, FULLTIME.digital offers custom web design, but we have listed some best practices to keep you on track.
When designing your website you should always include;
- A clickable logo – top left (acts as a ‘home’ button and returns users to the landing page)
- Navigation tabs – top of the site
- A ‘Contact Us’ button – top right
In addition to this you can implement a number of other staples depending on your business and your aims.
Trying to get your point across? Explicitly state your value proposition high up on your homepage.
Want to build a following for your social media accounts? A social icons bar is a must.
These basic design standards ensure that your site will be easy to navigate, which is of course essential for customer satisfaction.
2. Customised and Credible
Custom design is dominant. When putting your business online a generic D.I.Y. template just won’t cut it. You can bet your competitors won’t be settling for a build it yourself site so why should you? When trying to convey trust in your business via the internet the fact that you have taken your website seriously goes a long way.
A site laden with obvious ‘Made by Shopify’ logos will instantly convey that you haven’t invested the proper time or resources into your online presence. Keep it clean, keep it professional and keep it unique to your business. That includes everything from your domain name to your landing page. Don’t take the cheap and easy route, it really shows. Your website should be all about trust and credibility. If you’re not a designer, do not design your website and/or brand! Leave it to the professionals.
3. Search Engine Optimisation
Answering a question directly is the best way to get higher placement on Google.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is one of the key factors in getting your site seen by your target audience. When considering your online presence be sure you dedicate time to SEO and gaining traction for your site. SEO can be slightly intimidating to the uninitiated, but once mastered it can give you a real edge over your competition. When starting out the most important thing you can do is consider your keywords. Keywords are how search engines will find your site when processing a request. The best way to think about this is to look at your site in reverse. What are the likely questions people will search when looking for your business or service, and does your site answer those questions?
For example, a search might be ‘Where can I get an M.O.T. in Milton Keynes?’. If you run a garage in Milton Keynes and you want to be a top search result then your site needs to answer this questions. Therefore when considering the text for your website be sure to include the keywords ‘M.O.T.’ and ‘Milton Keynes’.
While we steer clear of WordPress sites now as there are many SEO obstacles with the platform, a great tool for getting the most out of SEO on the WP platform is the Yoast plugin, which helps to analyse the strengths and weakness of your web content for search results. However consider it a guide rather than an SEO bible.
Alternatively, regardless of whether your site is custom built, WordPress, Webflow or any other platform, FULLTIME.digital offer a comprehensive audit and actionable insights through (our clear optimisation process is detailed on our SEO Service page) to optimise your web pages and rank higher on search engines.
4. Live Chat
Implementing a ‘live chat’ feature is one of the smartest things your site can do today. Here are five reasons why;
- Instant messaging is quick and convenient, customers love it.
- Live chat is far more efficient and cost-effective than a call centre and will help improve call centre deflection rates.
- The availability of live chat builds trust and confidence in you and your site.
- Live chat can directly drive sales as well as service when used effectively.
- Be instantly interacting with customers you can gain great insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your site. If customers keep bringing up the same questions then your site is clearly missing some information.
Simply put, make sure your site has a live chat feature.
5. Make your website work for you
Think outside the box. What could your site do to make your life easier? There a number of things to consider that could make your site a more effective tool for your business.
When designing your site consider implementing a ‘sign up’ feature for a mailing list to acquire potential customers contact information automatically. Know your product inside out? Perhaps a quote generator could be what you need to take your site to the next level. Even a simple contact form could be enough to generate a hot lead if there is sufficient interest in your business.
To *slightly* misquote John F. Kennedy – Ask not what you can do for your website, but what your website can do for you?
FULLTIME.digital build and optimise websites specific to your needs and your business. Want to get serious about your website?
Get in touch and talk to the team.
