The Six Most Important Features of Your New Website

Key Characteristics of a Quality Website for Business

Business owners love a good looking website. They tell us to make their website look cool. They want their users to be impressed by it, to spend time (and money) on it. What they don’t usually think about are the really practical but crucial elements of a website that we don’t notice until they’re not there–or, worse, done poorly. I am presenting to you 6 key points that are important for a successful website. And these are:

1. User Experience

Each website has its own purposes and objectives. None of them can be achieved if it isn’t stupid-easy to navigate the site. I think this is the single most important element of any and every site because I have no patience for websites that confuse me or present me with broken links or missing pages.

So what is the key to nailing this part? Test, test, test, then test some more. It doesn’t matter what’s on your site or how good it looks if people can’t get what they need, or leave out of frustration.

2. Speed on a website

A fast site is a good user experience (UX), and a satisfying UX leads to higher conversions, and now that Google is pushing so hard in this direction, it is time for us to take action.

Very slow sites are a bad user experience – and Google is all about good UX these days. People like fast sites in 2018. And so does Google. A SLOW SITE can be a NEGATIVE Ranking factor.

3. Mobile response

Do I need to say this? 80% of internet users own a smartphone. Perhaps you are even reading this from yours! Make it mobile responsive.

4. Analytics

Installing Google analytics is so easy that I’m sure you already have it on your site. The question is: are you using it?

It’s the end of the year and you’re planning your marketing for next year (right?). Your analytics will tell you almost everything you need to craft the web site piece of your marketing strategy. How are people finding your site? What keywords are they using? How long do they spend? How many pages do they visit? Which pages to they visit?

You want to know traffic sources, keywords, and user behavior so you can audit your marketing, determine your ROI, and craft growth strategies for the future.

5. About

I hate when I got to a website and can’t figure out what the company does or what their product is for. Have you had this? You go to the about page and it says a bunch of lofty things about how the company has been utilizing innovative technology since the 1900 and is a leader in its industry. What does that even mean?

Just one sentence somewhere on the site about what you actually do would be very helpful to the lost visitors who wander to your website from a social media link and wonder, What the hell am I doing here?

Point ‘em in the right direction. Send ‘em home.

6. Social Media Links

It may be a Millennial thing, but I always check out social media links when I visit a new website. It’s a great way to get a feel for the business. I want to know if they’re posting funny memes or if I can see Instagram updates on their Facebook feeds. Do people like them? Is there a new product coming out? Is it a cool company?

Put your social media links up and invite people along (it’s an easy way to grow your following–and effortlessly generate more leads).