The goal of your website should be to easily connect your customers or clients to the information they are searching for.
If you get that right, nothing else really matters.
Information can be a host of different things, not just in written form.
From product descriptions to contact details and information about your team to links to your social media profiles, every visitor to your website is searching for something.
Think about the last time you went on a website.
Take this blog page for example. You’re probably here because you wanted to see if your website includes the following features we’re about to point out.
That is the piece of information you’re searching for.
At the start of this blog, we said ‘the goal of your website should be to EASILY connect your customers to the information they are searching for‘.
The word easily is important here. You can have all the necessary information, but if it’s hard to find, visitors will get frustrated and leave.
So below we’ve described different features we believe your website should have to make the user experience better for your website visitors.
We haven’t listed the features in any specific order because that will depend on your business.
Good Design
A good website design can set you apart from the crowd.
A page that looks good to the eye will yield more results because people will enjoy using your website.
The visual aspects are not just the only element that is covered by a good design. The structure of your website also is important and a good web design team will make sure your page is set up correctly.
Consistent Design
A good website design is not enough though.
You must ensure the design of your website is consistent throughout your site.
If the layout of your pages changes drastically from page to page, visitors will be confused and struggle to locate what they are looking for.
Don’t make your website difficult to use.
Responsive Design
This topic falls under the good design header above but it’s a pretty important point so we decided to separate them.
Having a website that isn’t optimised for all common device screen sizes is a major issue.
Not only will most of your website visitors be coming from mobile devices, having a website that looks rubbish on a mobile looks unprofessional.
Description of Who You Are and What You Do
Your website should clearly state who you are and what you do or provide.
As soon as a visitor clicks on your website, are they able to figure these two points out?
You don’t want to make it difficult for them as this will only frustrate them.
An About Page
Chances are, visitors to your website want to find out a little more about you and your business.
Have a link to your about page clearly visible or include an about section on the home page.
Your about page doesn’t have to be too detailed or complicated. Just make sure to include some information on the purpose and goals of the business and how it started.
Include team members here too if your business has different departments.
Contact Information
Don’t make it difficult for people to get in contact with you.
Include your postal address, phone number, and email clearly across your website.
If you don’t want to be contacted by phone or post your email, have a contact page or a contact form easily located so people can send direct messages.
Request only the basic information such as name, email, and phone number.
Clear CTA (Call-to-Action) On Each Page
When someone visits your website, what do you want them to do?
In the website world, this is a call-to-action.
Do you want them to contact you, call you, purchase a product?
Whatever it is, make it clear and easy to accomplish.
Use buttons and headers to lead your visitors to where you want them to go.
High-Quality Images
A picture is worth a thousand words.
High-quality imagery on your website can really set you apart from your competitors.
Images allow you to SHOW your customers what you do instead of just telling them.
Stock images are okay, but if you have genuine photos of your business in action, use them!
Working Buttons and Links
Buttons and links that lead to nowhere are a pain for website users.
Remember, a frustrated visitor will most likely exit your website and find a different website to seek the information they are searching for.
Perform an audit of your website to check all buttons and links are working correctly.
If not, fix or set up redirects for any issues you find.
Scanable Text Content
Make your text scannable.
Scannable text is easier to read so write in short sentences and short paragraphs.
This will allow your visitors to find the information they need easily and move around your website quicker than they would otherwise.
You’re making the user experience better for them by using scalable text content.
Service Descriptions
If you provide some sort of service, it’s important for you to describe what the service is and what is involved.
You don’t need to go into every detail, but a potential client or customer should be able to read your description and have an idea of what will happen after they hire your services.
