Top 10 Important Features You Need to Have in Your Website

By: Nicole Serrano & Henry Ng

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Website

09 May 2019

Top 10 important website features you need to have


 

Are you a start-up thinking of getting a website? Or maybe pondering on getting a revamp to align your brand with current trends to target a wider audience? If so, you probably took the initiative to search for the essential features you’ll need in a website, which might have led you to this article.

If you’re going to get a website, might as well do it right and invest in the key elements that will make it functional and effective. We’ve listed down the important must-haves that will guarantee a user-friendly experience to help elevate your brand and convert visitors into customers.

 

The Top Ten Must-Have Elements in a Website

1. Design Bleeds Trust

Design bleeds trust

“Design is intelligence made visible.” – Alina Wheeler

One of the most important elements in a website is an awesome design that can leave a good, lasting impression on your viewers. This has the most impact because it affects how you present your brand to your potential customers. It has to have that “Wow” factor at first glance that will make them want to continue scrolling down your website.

A good website needs to look attractive and professional while embodying that trustworthy appeal that will get customers to put their faith in you.

Also read: What Makes a Great Website? by Verz Design

 

2. Design Attracts, Copy Sells

Design attracts, copy sells

“Sell a good night’s sleep – not the mattress.”

The first step is getting your audience’s attention with attractive designs, but the real challenge is getting them to stay. A website’s content has to be well-written and compelling enough to get people interested and possibly, convert.

Often nowadays, people want good designs and interactive HTML effects on their websites but have been underestimating the value of good contents. Apart from being informational, the contents found on your website also has a high impact on your SEO ranking. It can be modified to use SEO-friendly keywords that are relevant to your target audience, increasing your chances of getting on top of the search engine results.

Good copy also commands respect and helps convince your potential customers that your company is professional, reliable and an expert in your field.

 

3. Attractive Homepage Banners

Attractive Homepage Banners

 “Make it simple, but significant.”

Your homepage is the most important part of your website and the banners in there possess the highest heat map for your potential customers. It’s possible to have a rotational effect, allowing multiple banners to be displayed.

Since this is the first thing that your audience will see in your website as it is placed above the fold, the taglines can be modified and designed strategically to lead your audience to important pages in the site. It is also crucial to choose the right photos because this has a great impact on your web design.

 

4. Logical and Intuitive Navigation

Logical and intuitive navigation

 “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln

Before designing the website, you need to plan a logical sitemap first that will allow your visitors to easily navigate around your website. This is important because it improves your user experience and is good for SEO.

A drop-down menu in the main tab of pages makes it easier for visitors to go through your website’s pages and to click on their desired location from there. The naming of the pages should also be easily understandable and arranged properly.

It is also important to include call-to-actions in strategic places so that your potential customers know where to go or what to do once they’re in the decision-making process of engaging your brand.

 

5. Mobile Responsive Design

Mobile responsive design

“Be where the world is going.”

It should come without saying now that a website should have a responsive layout especially since most people are on their smartphones. A mobile responsive design uses a framework approach of multiple grid layouts that respond to whatever device the website is being viewed on. Because of this, you are giving your browsers a better user experience, which might eventually lead to lower bounce rates and high conversion rates.

Since 2015, Google has also been prioritising mobile responsive websites in their search engine results. Having one website that adjusts with the device is preferable to avoid issues of duplicate content.

 


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6. Fast Loading Speed

Fast Loading Speed

“Time is of the essence. Don’t waste it.”

Your website’s loading speed greatly affects the user experience of your visitors. According to Forbes, your website should load within 2-5 seconds and if it fails to do that, you will lose potential visitors. We’re now living in the digital age where everything is accessible at the palm of our hands. Because of this, the attention span of people has decreased as well.

A fast page loading time builds trust within your audience, as it yields more returning visitors. On top of that, your page load time also affects how search engines rank your site amongst your competitors.

Check out your website speed with Google’s PageSpeed Test.

 

7. Smart Contact Details Integration

Smart contact details integration

“Design isn’t finished until somebody is using it.” – Brenda Laurel

Part of ensuring that your audience has a seamless user experience is by making it easy and hassle-free for them to contact you. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that when they click on the phone icon or the “Call Us” call-to-action, it should already be connected to the viewer’s phone. This will save them time from having to manually type in your phone number in their phone just so they can give you a call. The same thing goes for email addresses that it should also be connected to their email application so that they can easily send you an email if they want to.

As for your location, it also helps to pin your address in Google Maps so that it’s easier for your audience to locate your office. These things may seem minor, but they can highly contribute to converting browsers to enquirers when they are implemented.

 

8. Customised Thank You Page

Customised Thank You Page

“Always have an attitude of gratitude.”

A Thank You Page is the landing page where visitors who have converted are taken to after sending an enquiry, purchasing a product or subscribing to a newsletter. This is an opportunity to leave a good impression in your customers’ minds and to possibly encourage them to engage you even further. When done right, Thank You pages can have a massive influence in getting higher conversions with your existing customers.

Some of our suggested ways to make the most of your Thank You page is by displaying special offers and latest advertisements, cross-promoting links to other parts of your website, adding social media buttons, asking for customer feedback, showing some of your testimonials, and more.

To know more about how a Thank You page can benefit your website, check out this article by us: Creating a Thank You Page that Engages and Converts

 

9. Blog Integration

Blog integration

“Content is not king, it’s the kingdom.”

Blogging is an effective strategy to feed information to your readers as it can get qualified traffic to your website. A blog has the potential to become a go-to resource for readers, resulting in better SEO ranking and familiarity with your target audience. You can also post new contents that are relevant in your industry that people can find useful, as these articles will introduce them to your business.

Having a blog also elicits trust and authority because by presenting useful information and talking about important topics, you are presenting yourselves as experts in your field.

Know more about the importance of blogging to your business here.

 

10. Effective Customer Database

Effective Customer Database

“The heartbeat of all businesses are customers.”

In some websites, the contact information submitted in enquiry forms is usually automatically sent to the email of the website’s owner. However, this isn’t enough as emails can get all messed up and deleted after some time due to lack of extra space or for other reasons.

It is important for businesses to have a contact record database that captures and stores all these essential information from your existing customers and potential leads. In the scenario that you will need them in the future, this centralised database will come in handy. It will let you keep track of client information in an organised and efficient manner.

 

Web Design Services in Singapore

A website is your business’s gateway to a whole new platform of opportunities, so it should not be brushed aside or taken lightly. In order to ensure its effectivity, you need to implement these important features mentioned above. Don’t limit yourself and do more thorough research to find out what other functionalities and elements will work best for your brand.


Want to know more about how a website can help your business succeed in this digital era? Let Verz do the assessment for you! Give us a call at 6841 1680 or shoot us an email at enquiry@verzdesign.com so that we can schedule a free consultation.

 

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